Beaverton Will Soon Get a Female-Run Brewery with Basque Pintxos Inside a Vast Antique Mall

Pints and Pintxos will open May 5 in The Garage Sale Warehouse in Beaverton

Bargain hunters scouring a maze of dusty antiques deep in the 'burbs may stumble across an unexpected scene in the next few months: two women happily making beer in the cavernous building just like they were in their own garage.

In a way, it will be their garage—at least a small slice of it.

Emilie Karas and Ellie Johnson are renting a space for brewing inside antique mall the Garage Sale Warehouse (4810 SW Western Ave., Beaverton) while also operating a food cart called Pints and Pintxos in the parking lot—essentially turning the antique mall into their own version of food-cart brewpub.

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Pints & Pintxos, set to open May 5, will start by selling beer made by other breweries, but the pair hope to put their product on tap as soon as possible. Karas and Johnson are awaiting federal permits, but once that process is complete they will occupy a few hundred square feet inside the antique and collectables mall's industrial kitchen and officially launch Hyggely Brewing.

The name was inspired by the Danish term "hygge," which roughly translates to "cozy" in English. But one must account for differences in culture: Apparently the most accurate description of the feeling is "cuddling kittens under a bear skin rug while eating fondue and having your hair brushed by a lover in front of a roaring fire."

Hyggley's brews will be paired with pintxos, small plates inspired by the snacks enjoyed in Spain's Basque Country. They're kind of like tapas, but they come with each beer and are usually skewered on a toothpick. It is one of Spain's most civilized traditions.

Karas and Johnson have more than 14 years of experience in the restaurant industry. The two began homebrewing together in 2010 after realizing they shared a passion for craft beer. After creating their favorite varieties, including a gluten-free option that was hard to come by back then. But they've since branched out from there.

Acording to the pair: "We then expanded to other styles to learn the craft and perfect each style individually. It's been a fun learning process with a lot of trial and error. We have learned it's pretty easy to make good beer, but takes a lot to make great beer and even more to make that same great beer again!"

Owners of the Garage Sale Warehouse have even bigger plans for their property—they'd like to host beer events and concerts in the event space adjacent to the mall, giving the suburban antique scene more edge than it's ever seen before.

GO: Pints & Pintxos/Hyggely Brewing, 4810 SW Western Ave, Beaverton, 971-312-5554; hyggelybrewing.com. 4-9 p.m. Thursday and Sunday, 4-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

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