Second Profession Brewing Opens a New Taproom in Portland’s Eliot Neighborhood

Charlie Goman is living what, for many, is the dream: He quit his job to brew beer. The former copier salesman started homebrewing around 2007, but five years ago, he took his hobby and transformed it into a career. The fruits of that labor yielded Second Profession Brewing; the name is a nod to the company’s beginnings.

In 2017, Second Profession occupied the former BTU Brasserie space on Northeast Sandy Boulevard, but Goman found the restaurant side of the business too challenging. Two years later, he decided to shut down the restaurant and focus on full-time production. Now, Second Profession is taking a second shot at running a taproom with a setup better suited to the business — the brewery has taken over the former Labrewatory space, which has built-in food partners Tamale Boy and Smokin’ Fire Fish. Second Profession opened on October 8, nearly five years to the day that the brewery first launched.

“I’m still a homebrewer at heart and I have a lot of projects and things I’d like to try out,” Goman says. “The space we’re in now is perfect for that.”

Second Profession’s experimentation with a wide range of styles stems from Goman’s beginnings as a homebrewer. “As a homebrewer, the philosophy is always, ‘Do whatever you want, give it a try, and see if it works,’” Goman says. “I brought that forward with me into the early part of my professional career.” Since then, Goman has refined Second Profession’s focus so that the brewery feels more approachable for customers — fruity sours and IPAs, like the Space Flamingo Hazy IPA.

At the new taproom, diners can expect four to five mainstay beers, plus lesser-known styles. For example, the brewery recently put out a Belgian-style Grand Cru, an “old classic style that is highly drinkable,” which Goman acknowledges necessitated some customer education. A fruited sour will always be available as part of the permanent lineup, but flavors will vary as Goman switches up the type of fruit, hops, or herbs and other additions for a sense of seasonality.

The brewery has been quick to integrate itself into its new neighborhood. Second Profession’s beers will be poured at nearby venue the North Warehouse, and the brewery has even dubbed its West Coast IPA “The Warehouse IPA.” Another collaborative beer is in the works with neighboring shop Bernstein’s Bagels. In their shared building, Goman has also been passing pitchers of dark beer to the chefs at Tamale Boy, who incorporate it into moles and other sauces, and working on some Hawaiian-themed beers with Chris Cha of Smokin Fire Fish.

The structure of the taproom remains much the same as it did during Labrewatory’s tenure, but Goman has personalized the space with touches specific to Second Profession’s nature vibe. Colors from the brewery’s logo have been splashed on different walls, sun-bleached petrified tree branches hang from the ceiling, and a DIY Starry Night-esque preserved moss wall by Goman’s fiancee now hangs in a front nook. Diners will still be able to order food from Tamale Boy and Smokin Fire Fish — either at their counters or online — and have it delivered to their table in the taproom.

Second Profession is now open at 670 N Russell Street.