Steeplejack Brewing Company – Craft Beer from Portland's Historic Church

Steeplejack Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon is one of the most atmospheric and unusual craft beer addresses on the US West Coast. Founded in 2021 by Brody Day and Dustin Harder, Steeplejack quickly earned its place in Portland's vibrant craft scene – not through hype and Hazy IPAs, but through traditional European beer styles brewed at the highest level. As early as 2022, Steeplejack was named Best New Brewery at the Oregon Beer Awards, with a women-led brewing crew under brewmaster Anna Buxton.

What makes Steeplejack truly unique is the setting. The flagship brewery resides inside the former Church of Good Tidings, a landmark religious building from 1909 in the heart of Northeast Portland's Sullivan's Gulch neighborhood. Over more than a century, four different congregations have called this space home – most recently the Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBTQ+ inclusive congregation that in 1989 commissioned artist David Schlicker to install an AIDS memorial stained-glass window. When the building faced demolition in 2019, Day and Harder saved it and transformed it into a brewery – preserving its striking arched hammer trusses, the original Povey glass windows, and that very AIDS memorial window. Today, beer is brewed under church rafters without losing the space's spiritual and communal aura.

Stylistically, Steeplejack takes a less common path than many craft peers: instead of the obligatory Hazy IPA carousel, the brewery focuses on classic European styles – English milds, ordinary bitters, Czech pilsners, Grodziskie and table beers. Precise, clearly defined, often rooted in historic recipe references. The awards speak for themselves: Gold for the English Style Mild at the North American Beer Awards, plus silver and bronze medals from the Oregon Beer Awards and Best of Craft Beer Awards for multiple brews.

Key facts at a glance

• Location (flagship brewery): 2400 NE Broadway, Portland, Oregon (USA); additional locations in Hillsboro, SW Portland, and SE Portland (Sunnyside/Hawthorne)
• Founded: 2021 by Brody Day and Dustin Harder
• Brewmaster: Anna Buxton, named StarChefs „Rising Star" in 2023; women-led brewing team
• Setting: former Church of Good Tidings from 1909 (later Metropolitan Community Church) – rescued from demolition and carefully restored
• Recognition: Best New Brewery, Oregon Beer Awards 2022; Gold for English Style Mild at the North American Beer Awards; numerous additional medals
• Other services: contract brewing and co-packing for partner breweries; non-alcoholic beer production using traditional brewing methods

The range at a glance

• UK & English Ales – English Style Mild, Alewife Dark Mild, Witness Mark Ordinary Bitter; the stylistic core with multiple gold and silver medals
• Central European Lagers – precisely interpreted Czech pilsners and other continental lager styles
• Grodziskie & smoke beers – a historic revival of the Polish smoked-wheat classic (Amelia Grodziskie: Silver, Oregon Beer Awards)
• Hoppy & Imperial styles – Imperial Red Ale (Bronze at the Oregon Beer Awards), fresh hop beers, and other hop-driven editions
• Table beers & non-alcoholic – low-ABV, sessionable brews like the Luminosa Table Beer, plus NA beers made in-house through the brewery's traditional fermentation approach

Steeplejack Brewing Company stands for a quiet but deeply crafted take on craft beer: European in spirit, technically accomplished, and set in a location that simply doesn't exist twice. In our shop, you'll find a carefully curated selection of the latest Steeplejack releases – fresh from Portland's historic church and usually in modest quantities.