The origin story of Great Notion Brewing sounds like the premise for a running bit on Portlandia. Three middle-aged family men who all live on the same block in suburban Portland, Oregon, get a little tipsy on homebrew in one of the guy’s garages one night and decide to start a brewery together.
On the show they’re likely still sitting in the garage, their schemes getting progressively more elaborate as their opinion of the beer gets progressively better. But in real life, the guys behind Great Notion not only follow through with their plans; they have also pioneered turbid New England–style IPAs in Portland; were named the number four best new brewer in the world at the 2017 RateBeer Best festival; won a silver medal at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival in the American-style sour ale category; and are nearing completion on a new 20,000-square-foot brewery, restaurant, and taproom.
“It’s been a pretty amazing first year,” says Great Notion Brewer and Cofounder James Dugan, with just a touch of understatement.