Labyrinth Forge Brewing Company

About

A Double-Headed Inspiration Labyrinths have been found near many ancient civilizations with the legendary Cretan labyrinth at Knossos providing the term. Even Pliny the Elder mentions the “four labyrinths of antiquity” in his book called “Natural History”, these being the Cretan, Egyptian, Lemnian and Italian. The word is based on the root “Labrys” which is a double headed axe (Go Timbers!) which is made in a forge. Dylan started drawing mazes when he was bored in high school. He was always fascinated with the lines and pathways. He was interested in Celtic knotwork and the artwork associated with it. After awhile, he thought that he could start an art business with them. So the name Labyrinth Forge was born. It is a place where mazes and labyrinths are made. Years later, he became interested in brewing and opening a brewery. Names are hard so he came up with a list of 50 or more and asked for help from friends. They all voted on the names listed and, surprisingly, Labyrinth Forge was the winner! The Epic Journey to a New Vision The concept of opening a brewery came to Dylan in early 2012. He never brewed anything before but enjoyed many of the craft beers found in Portland. He decided to go for it. At a fundraiser for a local Montessori school, Dylan bid on and won a brew day with a local homebrewer. This gave him the opportunity to see the process first hand. It didn’t look that hard, even HE could do it. He scavenged some equipment off Craigslist, and joined the Oregon Brew Crew (OBC) based on a suggestion from Mike Wright from The Commons. After a year or so, Dylan became Treasurer, brewed as much as he could, went to seminars and toured breweries. He entered some competitions, took a BJCP class and became a beer judge. In early 2016, the Green Dragon Brewers offered him a position on the team. This gave him an opportunity to brew commercially and gave him access to the wealth of knowledge in the other members. This also gave him a behind the scenes view of Rogue. Dylan’s life partner Stephanie offered up her shed as a nano-brewery when it needed to be replaced. This is now the ½ barrel pilot brewery that forges our new recipes.