Portal Brewing Company

Homwbrewing a Successful Medford Business

Mike Dimon started homebrewing beer with his grandfather in Oakland, California, just after it was legalized in the late 1970s.

Nearly 40 years later, Mike and his wife, Theresa Delaney, decided to make a business out of brewing beer. In 2012, they went to the Southern Oregon University SBDC, where they had help writing a business plan for Portal Brewing Company. They took the plan to a bank and were granted a small business loan.

In March 2013, they opened their pub in Medford.

“It’s so neat, when you start writing your ideas and later you look back and all this stuff you fabricated became real,” Theresa said. “And that wouldn’t have happened without SBDC.”

Mike and Theresa brew the beer in their garden and transport it to the pub in kegs. They’ve made almost 100 different beer styles, from a coconut buckwheat blonde to a peanut porter.

The pub is characterized by recycled furniture, artwork from local artists and a wholesome fresh menu featuring gyros and shawarma, Theresa said.