St. Helens pizzeria hops into microbrew world

After years of speculation, the city's Olde Towne finally has its own brewery

By Darryl Swan

The South County Spotlight, Mar 11, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (5 Reader comments)

Server Shawn Mollenkopf draws a pint of Warrior Rock IPA for the Monday lunch crowd at Plantation House Pizza in Olde Towne St. Helens. Warrior Rock IPA is one of five specialty, hand-crafted beers on tap at the restaurant, where a new brewpub is in the works.

Photo by Darryl Swan / The South County Spotlight

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The rumor that an honest-to-God brewpub would set up shop in Olde Towne St. Helens has, at times, reached mythic status.

It’s an idea that has advanced and retreated like the ocean tides, at times churning into a frothy pitch of speculation within the community only to soon fade away again into the gray backdrop of disappointment.

But that was then.

Under the direction of local restaurateurs Jeff Yarbor and Kenneth Gates, a brewpub, one that rivals – dare we say tops – the quality of specialty pubs steered by Portland’s elite cadre of “Beervana” specialists, has finally – finally! – landed on the shores of the Columbia River at Plantation House Pizza.

Five handcrafted beers are currently on tap, and there are promises of more to come.

“We’ve been having fun down here just trying to name the beers after local legends and landmarks,” Gates says.

Names such as Nob Hill Blonde, Flying Eagle Amber Ale, Warrior Rock IPA, Shanghai Porter and Twilight Red Bite are matched with local iconography and grace the collection of tap handles behind the Plantation House bar. As new beers come on line some will enter a rotation for tap handles, while the crowed favorites will win position as Plantation House staples.

A bevy of new brewing equipment has been arranged in the spacious room directly behind the restaurant, where Gates and Yarbor have mapped out plans for a new bar and sit-down pub where patrons can watch the brews take shape.

The beer offering is only one angle Gates and Yarbor are playing to make the restaurant a booming success, and their efforts are bearing fruit even in this volatile economy. Others include hosting a monthly comic night, a new tradition going back to October that has attracted star comedian talent and has resulted in 100-ticket sellouts on each occasion. Acclaimed blues guitarist Lloyd Jones performs on select nights, and Gates says a spelling bee competition with a twist is soon to launch.

“It’s been amazing. This town is kind of hungry for live entertainment,” Gates says.

Gates, who works as a financial advisor by day, invested in Plantation House after being approached by Yarbor, a real estate broker. Gates has since taken on 50 percent ownership of the nearly two-year-old specialty pizza shop from former co-owner, Annette Tibbetts.

“It was a ‘yeah, that looks like a fun thing to do’ kind of thing, and it’s been exactly that,” Gates says. “It’s been a hoot.”

The brewpub idea started before Gates had fully come on board. Yarbor had met brewer Dylan Goldsmith at an Arts and Eats Festival in St. Helens, and Goldsmith had been in the market to establish his own brewery. After some back and forth he and Yarbor agreed on a vision for the brewpub: Goldsmith would craft the specialty elixirs, and Yarbor and Gates would become the marketing machine.

Goldsmith got his start in the brewing world whipping up batches of home brew from his house in Portland.

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