Beer Guide 2015: Red Ox Brewing

Red Ox Brewing

9795 SW Murdock St., Tigard, 310-8033, redoxbrewing.com. By appointment only.

[NEW NANO] As co-brewmaster Matt Shelby looks for a party tap to sample his pale ale, I gaze in wonder at the size of his weekend-only operation. Inside his Tigard garage, Shelby has slapped together a functional brewhouse that's no place for visitors, but serves his needs just fine. Red Ox, which Shelby owns with his college fraternity brother Adam Amato, sticks to the basics: pale ale, blonde, CDA and porter, on my visit. The pale beers are classic prickly-bitter and pleasantly malty. The darker beers are a nice surprise, with a clear profile and a silky-smooth finish. Sales thus far are limited to the Growlerie and a few other westside growler spots, but we're hoping 2015 brings this Ox to town.

Drink this: Imperial Pioneer Porter. Dark, but with absolutely no dark malt bitterness, this beer doesn't reveal that it is 8 percent ABV until you drink half a pint in 10 minutes in Tigard's coolest—like freezing cold—garage.

WWeek 2015

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.