New Additions Bolster Milwaukie’s Craft Beverage Scene

By Guest Author: Matt Wastradowski

I first visited 1847 Food Park, Milwaukie’s newest food cart pod, at a sneak-peek event in February 2026 — the night before it officially opened to the public. There, I ran into a friend and colleague before ordering my first beer, and we spent the better part of an hour patrolling the food cart pod and admiring the work that had been done to get it ready for prime time.

As exciting as all that was, our conversation kept coming back to what awaited after the pod opened to the public. We pictured summer sunset views from the second-floor patio, imagined catching up over local craft beer around one of several firepits and resolved to return to try the globetrotting menus that 1847’s food carts were about to dish.

Unlike us, you don’t have to wait. The new food cart pod is now open at the northern edge of downtown Milwaukie — and is the latest addition to a growing craft-beverage scene that includes a new tasting room from one of Oregon’s best breweries and a community-driven lounge focused on whiskeys from around the world.

If you’re interested in seeing what’s new and exciting around town, here’s a guide to Milwaukie’s growing craft beverage scene.

When developers decided to build a food cart pod on the site of a former funeral home in downtown Milwaukie, they knew it had to be more than a dirt lot and a few tents. Eric Saunders, one of the project's developers, says the goal was to create something for the community that was just as fun in February as in July. “The whole point was to make it year-round and useful for everybody," he says.

It's safe to say that Saunders succeeded with the 1847 Food Park, which opened in early 2026. Named for the year Milwaukie was founded, the food cart pod brings together local craft beverages, cuisines from around the world and plenty of outdoor space with amenities to keep warm in any weather.

The multi-level pod is anchored by a three-story building that houses a taproom serving beer, cocktails, mocktails and more on the first floor. The bar is operated by Portland-based Migration Brewing and includes a handful of the brewery's beers, as well as another two-dozen or so ales and lagers from some of the Pacific Northwest's top producers. The second floor is home to a mezzanine with roll-up garage doors and views of downtown Milwaukie. The third (and top) floor, meanwhile, is dubbed the Sky Bar — and will be rented out for private events. Eventually, a semi-hidden speakeasy-style bar will pour whiskey and a few taps of beer below the taproom; in a cheeky nod to the property's longtime tenant, it will be dubbed Six Feet Under.

For most food cart pods, that might be enough of a draw. But 1847 Food Park is a multi-level space with sun-kissed seating, partially shaded tables and chairs, a large fireplace, firepits and heaters suited to whatever Mother Nature might have in mind. As the food park grows, Saunders hopes to host up to 17 food carts dishing gyros, sushi, burgers, boba tea and other cuisines from around the world.

When a friend and I stopped by the Milwaukie Tasting Room from pFriem Family Brewers, he remarked, "I've been here before."

I assumed he’d been there to imbibe, but no: He'd actually interviewed for a position back when the building had been Milwaukie's city hall — a role it served from 1938 to 2023.

Today, the historic building in downtown Milwaukie has been refurbished and is home to the Hood River-based brewery's second outpost. pFriem Family Brewers opened its Milwaukie pub in early 2025 and has since earned acclaim for a worldly pub food menu that may include pork pozole, fish-and-chips, Czech pork shoulder and the brewery's classic pimento cheeseburger — topped with housemade pimento cheese.

It all pairs well with pFriem's lineup of well-balanced beers, which range from crisp lagers to heavier Belgian-inspired offerings and barrel-aged stouts and krieks. More than 20 taps are available at three bars throughout the space; pFriem also mixes craft cocktails and pours regional cider. On our visit, the brewery's Belgian Strong Dark ale, one of its longest-running, best-loved ales, was rich, chocolaty and refreshingly sweet — everything I could want from a beer in the heart of winter.

Often, what surrounds the food and drink is just as enchanting. pFriem has turned its taproom and restaurant into a community hub, routinely hosting makers' markets, live music and other fun events. An outdoor patio, partially covered by a pergola, occupies what was once the city's fire department.

The seating area at Freeman Barrelhouse is stylish and cozy.

When Julie Molsom decided to open Freeman BarrelHouse in August 2023, she'd been ready for a change for quite some time. At the time, she owned another bar in Milwaukie — one that doubled as a coffee house — and the long days were taking their toll.

With Freeman BarrelHouse, she saw the chance to start fresh. That meant dreaming up a cozy cocktail lounge that catered to the after-work crowd while fostering a friendly community. “This neighborhood needed something close by that was convenient, nice and welcoming," she says.

After more than two years, Molsom has developed that community in a variety of fun ways — such as hosting meetings and educational events with the Portland chapter of the Women Who Whiskey organization. That reflects Molsom's own love of whiskeys; she routinely stocks more than 80 whiskeys from around the world at any given time. “Whiskey is a slow drink to drink,” she says of the spirit. “You're going to drink it slower, you're going to sit and you're going to relax. You're going to talk amongst people.”

The creative menu doesn't end there. Molsom tries stocking locally sourced spirits and craft beverages whenever possible; nearly every gin on hand comes from Oregon or the broader Pacific Northwest, and Molsom points out that Hood River Distillers' Timberline Vodka is crafted with regional apples and uses glacier water from Mt. Hood. In addition, she pours roughly 10 regional craft beers at any given time, with at least one dark beer on tap at all times — another point of pride for the black ale- and dark lager-loving Molsom.

Of course, she hasn't forgotten about her love of coffee. Freeman BarrelHouse may not open at 7 a.m. every day, but Molsom tries to keep that spirit alive by incorporating coffee into a few cocktails on the menu. She even has an on-site espresso machine to ensure the cocktails are as fresh and flavorful as possible.