I could totally be proven wrong, but this seems like a head scratcher of a move. Of any US city, to me Portland, OR is least in need of outside breweries joining the already bloated brewery ranks. Plus, I’ve yet to have a Mikkeller beer I thought was enjoyable, with the possible exception of a yuzu wheat beer that IIRC was Mikkeller. Despite the article’s statement that Mikkeller makes “some of the most sought-after craft beer”, I’ve never heard anyone, anywhere state they liked Mikkeller or were seeking out Mikkeller, even the hard core trade Bros I know.
Perhaps I’m completely missing the mark on the quality and market demand for their beer, but as discussed in Richard’s thread, the craft beer market is cuthroat right now and Portland is crazy competitive. Add one more brewery to the PDX gauntlet. Mikkeller does make some pretty unique beers, so perhaps that will allow them to carve out a niche in PDX.
Good news that As part of the deal Burnside was able to sell their remaining beer and pay off debt.
I think Beer Geek Breakfast is one of the great stouts. I know, it isn’t allocated/traded/etc., but a dark beer doesn’t have to have super high alcohol and be aged in Bourbon barrels to be great, in my opinion, and I prefer Beer Geek Breakfast to most of the ones that fit that description. They’ve also done some excellent limited release (maybe one-off?) sours. Then there was the series of single hop IPAs years ago that I thought were very well done, and I’m not even a fan of that style. Overall, though, I do think a lot of their stuff is weird for the sake of being weird and not all that good. Still, they definitely have something different to offer the beer scene in that area. Stone went to Germany and Mikkeller is coming to the US; I think the US is getting the far better end of that deal.
Mikkeller is excellent, imo. I agree with Doug on the Beer Geek Breakfast, and their Windy Hill NEIPA is a regular buy for me. Had one of their other NEIPA yesterday (Oh, Hi Murk) and thought it excellent. And, many years ago, they made a 100% Nelson-hopped sour that is probably the best non-Belgian sour I’ve ever had.
Portland consumes a lot of Beer, and despite the over-saturation, it’s probably a good strategic move, especially with mitigating costs of opening (Using old Burnside assets). Now, competition down the line could lead to some issues, but the fad right now in Portland is “something different.” Beer enthusiasts are less driven by brand like they used to (Widmer/Bridgeport), but more by unique and intricate styles of beer. The arrival of something Danish could become a hit. The German beer hall: Prost! is a huge hit in Portland.