Skip to main content
Dean's Scene
4714 NE Fremont St., 319-2517.
Open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights when the neon sign is lit.
First rule of Dean's Scene: You cannot buy beer at Dean's Scene. There's plenty of suds spouting from four taps inside the pub Dean Pottle built in the basement below his plumbing shop on Northeast Fremont Street. But, by law, it can't be sold at Portland's only noncommercial homebrew pub—though a $10 donation stuffed into the box by the stairs is always appreciated. The scene is, well, a scene. Strangers who've heard about it come to drink Dean's brew with a cast of regulars in a haze of tobacco and medical-marijuana smoke below a coaster-covered ceiling. It's low-key and apparently legal: Pottle says both the cops and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission have dropped by in the last seven years, and both seem to be all right with the model since there's no booze sold and people serve themselves. Legally, it's a house party with a keg fund at the door and homebrew on tap. Just be cool about it. MARTIN CIZMAR.
DRINK THIS: Dean's toasted coconut brown seems is a regular offering. Oh, and there's always soda on tap.
Portland-Area Breweries from A to Z | Beer of the Year | Favorite Beers #2-10
Portland-Area Cideries | Top 5 Ciders of the Year | Beer Bars and Bottle Shops
Local Growler Makers | Surprising Growler Fills | Homebrew Shops
Restaurants With Great Beer | Local Beer and Liquor Pairings
An Oral History of BridgePort IPA | Beer Events Calendar | Beer Tours
Day Sips: North Oregon Coast, Hood River, Eugene, Seattle
WWeek 2015