Okay so this “first look” is a bit of a cheat since Porter Brewing has been open in Redmond, Oregon since the end of September, and these pictures are compiled from several visits. But still, it’s a new, fairly small brewery in Central Oregon that many people may not be aware of yet.

And there’s a twist: Porter is entirely a cask (or Real Ale) brewery. I wrote an article about it for the October issue of the Oregon Beer Growler:

Redmond has a new brewery: Porter Brewing Co. Husband-and-wife team Deven and Avara Roberts are opening Porter in an underserved industrial area in east Redmond, and plan to stand out with a twist.

They will exclusively “offer 100-percent cask-conditioned ales, brewed to traditional English style and served at cellar temp,” according to the website. Currently only one other brewery in Oregon is all-cask: Brewers Union Local 180 in Oakridge.

“It sets us apart from all the other breweries in the area, giving people a reason to come see us,” said Avara. “They are not just getting a beer poured from a regular tap. We like to think of it more as a destination and an experience. The beer will be hand pulled from the cask with traditional hand pumps imported from the U.K. We are excited to offer something different to the community.”

It’s a three-barrel brewery, with eight beer engines imported from England to serve the cask ales. At the time of my visits there were only six beers on tap, with a seventh coming soon. Thus far I’ve drank four of the available beers: Best Bitter, Irish Redmond Ale, 1772 Porter, and Jackpine IPA. All four were pretty good, with no flaws and the casks haven’t started to turn yet (helped by the fact that they are blanketed by carbon dioxide by cask breathers, which extends the life of the beer).

The two drinking visits spanned a week’s time; the first was with our homebrew club on a pub crawl, the second was a quieter day, stopping in with friends. Shockingly, looking back through the photos, I took no pictures of any of the beers themselves.

Here’s your first look at Porter Brewing: