Baerlic Brewing Company officially throws open the doors to its tasting room and 7,300-sqaure-foot facility in Southeast Portland at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 28. Join the Grand Opening Extravaganzcon, which includes brewery tours, wood-fired pizza from TasteBud, a brewhouse christening, live music from Maris Otter, and of course, great beer. Try Baerlic’s lineup of five standards beers, which include Invincible IPA, Noble Oatmeal Stout, Cavalier Classic Cream Ale, Primeval NW Brown Ale and Ultra Summer Ale (USA). Brewers and co-owners Rik Hall and Ben Parsons have also been playing around with fruit, coffee, bourbon, cocoa nibs and beech wood, so watch for four to six one-off beers that will be released throughout the evening.

Baerlic’s 10-barrel brewery and taproom is lit up by skylights, original fir woodwork and beams, with a utilitarian and contemporary aesthetic. The brewery is a collaborative entity created by Ben Parsons and Richard Hall. After years of brewing on the small scale in a basement and winning numerous awards in amateur competitions all over the region, Parsons and Hall decided they should finally “give in to the voices in our heads” and move toward a small scale production brewery and taproom.

“When we say, ‘the beer here is near and dear,’ we mean it,” says co-owner and brewer Ben Parsons. “We strive to work in as close a proximity as possible for all our ingredients, materials, vendors, supplies and suppliers. And that allows us to absolutely love the beer that we brew.”

Baerlic is focused on brewing beers Parsons and Hall love to drink, and doing it in a way that respects the history and art of brewing while also pushing the boundaries on styles and processes.

“I think the biggest thing we have learned in this process is that Baerlic is not just us, Rik and Ben, and we absolutely could not have done this without the support of our wives and families, and all the incredible friends we have made along the way,” said Hall, co-owner and brewer. “The Portland beer scene is incredibly friendly and supportive and we consider this a friends and family business and want to build something that tells that story.”

Baerlic is located at 2235 SE 11th Avenue near Ladd’s Addition—next door to Blitz Ladd in the former home of Kettlemen’s Bagels.