From their humble beginnings as assistant brewers making barrel-aged Saisons in their free-time, to their current incarnation as one of Portland’s most respected young breweries, Ruse Brewing has always put quality, creativity, and science front and center in their pursuit of a one-of-a-kind community focused beer experience.
Having met while working together at Northeast Portland’s Culmination Brewing, owners and brewers Devin Benware and Shaun Kalis set-up a joint proprietorship to brew roughly 20 barrels a month on that system, starting in 2015. While initially brewing almost exclusively Farmhouse, Wild, and Sour Ales in the early days (their flagship Translator IPA being the main exception), over time they’ve proven themselves adept at just about every style imaginable.
Following that first year of focus on those complex, smaller batch beers, the increased demand for their West Coast IPAs called for a slight pivot in that direction. It was in the summer of 2017 that their skill in the realm of IPA took another leap forward with the release of Papyrus Iris, their beloved Mosaic hopped Hazy IPA. Yet instead of doubling down on this increasingly popular style, they continued to expand their portfolio of styles, continually conjuring modern takes on Lagers, various Pale Ales, Porters, and more Farmhouse styles.
In July of 2018, they were able to secure and open their own brewery taproom in SE Portland’s Brooklyn neighborhood, located in the Iron Fireman Collective building. It’s a warm, inviting space, with seating that offers views directly into the brewhouse, a front annex enabling pop-up food vendors, and enough space for live music performances from local musicians, including Shaun, as well as other brewers in the area who perform in their free time.
At the 2018 Oregon Beer Awards they were awarded a Gold Medal in the Hazy Hoppy Beer category for Papyrus Iris, as well as Bronze for Interpreter DIPA. This began in earnest a greater focus on Hazy & Hybrid takes on the IPA, as well as a new focus on darker, barrel aged Stouts & Porters through the winter of 2018/2019. In addition to winning Silver medals for Dark Between the Stars CDA and Interpreter DIPA, they also captured Best New Brewery and Best Brewery (Small) at the 2019 Oregon Beer Awards.
During the past 3 years, they’ve also taken part in a collaboration brews with Culmination Brewing, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Upright Brewing, Great Notion Brewing, Moksa Brewing, Modern Times Beer, The Ale Apothecary, Cellarmaker Brewing, Cerebral Brewing, Block 15 Brewing, Structures Brewing, Boss Rambler Beer Club, Humble Sea Brewing, the 2019 3-Way IPA collaboration with Fort George Brewing & Cloudburst Brewing, plus special brews for Belmont Station, The BeerMongers, New Avenues for Youth, Ghost Pig Glass, and Chuck’s Hop Shop in Seattle.
Today they continue to experiment with new styles, including a new line of Fruited Sours (Fluorescent Farm) and various incarnations of their “Stages” Imperial Stout series (Stages of the Moon/Dawn/Dusk/Sundown/Paradise) with this year’s Stages of the Moon having just started conditioning on coconut yesterday. But no matter when you visit, they always have classic and lighter styles on hand – whether be a Kolsch-style Ale, Lager, Pale Ale, or a West Coast IPA, there’s always something new to explore.
Since July of 2018, Day One has been proud to partner with Ruse Brewing as their distributor, becoming one of our best selling brands by total volume. This week we’re excited to have on hand two canned offerings – Shadow Anatomy Hazy IPA and Reverse World West Coast IPA. We’ve also received a number of new draft options which you’ll find at taprooms across Oregon. They include A Thousand Tomorrows (Hazy West Coast Pale Ale), Brain Glow (Hazy IPA), Figments of Fiction (West Coast Double IPA), the aforementioned Shadow Anatomy, Grizzly Menace (Coffee Porter), and Circular Spaces (Hazy IPA).
Day One Distribution 