USA, OR: Vagabond Brewing up and pouring at its fourth location in Southeast Portland

Vagabond Brewing, founded by three friends and Marine veterans who traveled the globe looking for adventure and purpose, is up and pouring in close-in Southeast Portland, the fourth location for the Salem-based brewery, OregonLive.com reported on February 28.

Opened recently in a former Darigold dairy building in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood, Vagabond charges headfirst into an area rich in breweries, including nearby Grixsen, Baerlic and Ground Breaker.

The brainchild of longtime friends James Cardwell, Alvin Klausen and Dean Howes, Vagabond first opened a taproom in a Salem industrial space five years ago. It proved so popular it quickly expanded production and opened two more locations in the Salem area.

The three friends, all of whom are combat veterans, settled on the idea of starting a brewery after serving in the Marines then touring the world. They say they “went looking for meaning and purpose and found love, adventure, and the essence of the human experience.”

The trio says everywhere they went, they also found beer, and that beer “brought people together and was an almost universal language that easily broke the ice or sparked conversations lasting well into the night.”

Thus, Vagabond was born. The founders say they are opening in Portland because they want to succeed in one of the best beer cities in the world and they love the city – as well as the Trail Blazers and Timbers.

The full-service restaurant was created in a re-imagining of the former dairy building. It boasts dining areas on two floors, a full bar and lounge area – and the crowning piece, a 1958 Cessna perched on the upper deck overlooking the restaurant. The owners hope to eventually use the plane, which was recovered after crashing a decade ago in a British Columbia field, for a photo booth.

Vagabond’s menu offers a more elevated lineup than most brewpubs, with items such as steak frites, gnocchi, and roast halibut and chicken, as well as appetizers like oysters, mussels, poutine and a charcuterie plate. Comfort food isn’t forgotten, however, with a burger and fries, fried chicken, a pretzel and ribs among items rounding out the menu.

The beer lineup runs the gamut and changes frequently from a core lineup of Victory Pilsner, Into the Wild IPA, Attack Owl IPA, On the Road Red and NW Passage Stout. Recent offerings include Justice Brew New England IPA, a collaboration with Grains of Wrath and Ex Novo, and Mo Bretta Farmhouse Saison. Many of the beers are “sessionable,” or have lower alcohol alcohol content, but Vagabond goes big too with brews such as the Hoptomic Bomb Double IPA, weighing in at 8 percent ABV.

Non-beer drinkers have an ample lineup as well, with Vagabond’s own cocktail creations, such as the Scallywag (Cruzan, fresh lime juice, pineapple syrup, apricot brandy and bitters) or the Nomad (Macchu pisco, lime juice, simple syrup, egg white and bitters). Vagabond also offers wine, cider on tap, and Attack Owl IPA in four-pack cans to go.