Brewery: Vanguard Brewing Company
- Sun-Wed: 3-9pm
- Thurs: 2-10pm
- Fri-Sat: 2-11p
Click here for 2016 Winter hours
Location: 27501 SW 95th Ave, Wilsonville OR, 97070
Flagship / Most Popular Beers:
- Good Day IPA (Mosaic dry hopped)
- Berry White (Raspberry White)
They currently have 13 of their beers on tap. Check out their taplist here. I personally recommend “Das Lila”, a Blackberry Berliner Weisse that really hits the spot.
Local Running Routes & Races:
- ORRC 5 on the 4th (July)
- Reindeer Romp (December)
One of our Vanguard’s assistant brewers (Lee Newbill) is an avid marathon and ultra marathon runner. He recently ran 52 marathons during the course of a year and it is believed he is actually beer powered.
I have found that Wilsonville isn’t exactly the easiest place in the world to run. Memorial Park is probably your best bet to avoid traffic, but it’s not exactly close to Vanguard. Graham Oaks Nature Park also has about 3 miles of trails. I would recommend utilizing this map from the City of Wilsonville, which highlights local area parks for running, as well as which roads have sidewalks and bike lanes (which may allow for some extra room on those roads).
Other Info:
The area between Suburban Portland and Salem is a relative no-man’s land for breweries. Though there are a smattering of McMenamins and The Ram’s along the way, it seems that the Wilsonville area has been in need of some local brews. Thanks to Vanguard Brewery, there is at least one to go to!
I originally stumbled upon Vanguard a few months back as it popped up on my radar in an industrial area just off of I-5. The taproom, attached to the brewery, is small and straightforward, but there already seems to be some local regulars. There is a TV and a few tables, and food is provided via popcorn machine and, at times, a local food cart on site. Otherwise, plan on just coming in and enjoying a cold one or two and bringing your own food!
I remember being impressed with the quality of this small brewery, and it’s location is a nice option for those looking to get out of the Portland afternoon traffic before heading back south (or wanting to wait out the northbound traffic a bit). Vanguard’s brewer started home brewing 1990 and commercial brewing at Stickmen Brewing (in Lake Oswego) in 2013. Their taproom has been open a year in December, and has seen some solid growth for a smaller brewery.
Follow them on Facebook for upcoming events!
