It's important to stay informed, because beer waits for no one. Here's the latest in brew news from around Portland:

Tin Bucket, a new growler-fill station/bottle shop/taproom on North Williams, carries 40 different beers poured from state-of-the-art, spaceship-like Pegas CrafTap fill stations, which purge growlers with CO2 (to prevent air contamination) before filling them with beer from the bottom up (no foam = more beer) and topping off with another CO2 purge that caps the growler with a nice foamy head to ensure a proper seal. The result? No spoiled beer—even after two weeks.

The shop offers a combination of rustic, raw wooden tables, a bar handmade by one of the owners, and the growler stations providing a bit of space-age industrialism. The beer wall boasts about 200 bottles, most hailing from local breweries. Owner Jason Monge says he hopes to fill his currently empty shelf space with more imports soon.

We walked out with 64-ounces of Georgetown’s Lucielle IPA, sealed with CO2 and a soft promise of a one-year shelf life. But who could wait that long? We'll show a bit of reserve and leave it in the fridge for a month to test the power of the CrafTap.

A short sprint away is NE Dekum's Oregon Public House, the world’s first nonprofit pub, celebrating its grand opening this week. Here's how it works: patrons grab a favorite pint on tap, and when it comes time to pay, servers will ask which charity the payment should support (from a list of eight options including Habitat for Humanity and Friends of Trees). At the end of every month, the staff tallies up the votes, and the profit is distributed accordingly. In other words, if 23 percent of patrons want to donate to Habitat for Humanity, that organization gets 23 percent of the overall profit.

Of course, if you’re feeling very charitable, you could always buy a round for the house (for just $350).

“Anything put in this neighborhood is going to flourish,” an OPH bartender shared with a touch of pride. With spots like the Tin Bucket and Oregon Public House popping up, it’s no wonder this corner of Portland is thriving.

The Tin Bucket
3520 N. Williams Ave
503-477-7689

Oregon Public House
700 NE Dekum St 
503-828-0884