The Brew Shop / Platypus Pub

The Brew Shop and Platypus PubThe Brew Shop / Platypus Pub has been open in its new location on NE 3rd (the old Ernesto’s building) since the beginning of September. After a significant amount of blood and sweat put into the build-out, the owners opened the doors on a new location that adds a full service downstairs pub to its well-stockemad homebrew supply and bottle shop business.

Prior to moving into the new location, The Brew Shop was on NE Division, and had two solid business offerings. First it provided the local homebrew community with an excellent variety of equipment, ingredients, and education with occasional classes. Second, The Brew Shop housed one of (if not the) best bottle shops in town. If you wanted something beyond the typical beers found at the well-stocked grocery stores in town, they were at the top of the list. Although they did serve kegged beer at their previous location, you had a choice of a small number of kegs and, due to licensing requirements, you were relegated to a small room behind the cash register. That overall experience pales in comparison to the new Platypus Pub and its 15 well-curated taps.

The Brew Shop in Bend, Oregon

A couple of weeks after it opened, we paid the pub a visit. They were hosting an Epic Brewing Company tasting and had tapped interesting beers like Jolly Pumpkin’s Bam Bier sour, Sierra Nevada’s Jack and Ken’s Barleywine, Avery’s Maharaja Imperial IPA, and Stone’s Russian Imperial Stout. If they can maintain the good distributor relationships and focus on high-quality, interesting variety, they will no doubt have one of the best tap lists in the city.

The food at the pub was still being worked out. My bratwurst was great, and the bun on which it was served was delicious. But Paul’s sandwich order was messed up and came out with more bun than meat. Our server handled it in a friendly, professional way, and comped that portion of his order.  This was a visit soon after the restaurant side of the business had opened, and this is the kind of issue that can be (and most-likely has been) worked out.

The Platypus Pub in Bend, OregonAfter finishing up, we made our way upstairs to see how the homebrew supply and bottle shop side of the business had settled in. Nothing to complain about here. Even though they had a massive beer sale prior to moving, the cold cases and selection therein looked as if they had been picked up and moved all at once. Even the mural above the cold cases from local artist, David Kinker, made it unscathed. The homebrew supplies are well organized with the grains, yeast, extracts and equipment all easy to find. I was selfishly relieved to see that this side of the business appeared to have maintained its focus despite the addition of running a new pub.

I’m really excited for the owners and wish them nothing but success and many happy years in their new location.

Cheers guys!