When the gnomes speak, it’s best to listen. Since he started brewing under the fitting name Brewed By Gnomes nearly a decade ago, Shay Hosseinion has listened to what the gnomes tell him to do. Now, those gnomes have guided him to take his nano, somewhat nomadic brewing operation to the next level with the newly opened Gnome & Faerie on Portland’s bustling Hawthorne Boulevard. Described by the gnome-obsessed brewer (more on that later) as an old World Restaurant and Botanical Taproom, the gorgeous old Victorian home that previously housed Tarboush Lebanese Bistro is an ideal space for Hosseinion to showcase his elixir-inspired beers, cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages alongside a menu of drinking snacks that fuses his Persian heritage with wife Eva’s Czech roots and the culinary prowess of chef José Sabas.
Gnome & Faerie held its soft opening in April of this year and has since been operating on a somewhat low-key basis as Hosseinion gets his brewing operation dialed in and chef Sabas refines the menu. Visitors during the last few months may have found one or two Brewed By Gnomes beers available alongside several guest taps. On Saturday, July 11th, the business will hold its grand opening party, complete with a new beer release and a costume party. And yes, dressing as a gnome or a fairy is highly recommended.
For roughly 15 years, Hosseinion has been brewing his own beer and kombucha. Sometimes he has done this with others, including putting in time as an intern at the Commons Brewery working under people like Sean Burke. This was where he fell in love with saison and farmhouse beers, and may have discovered what became both a passion and a career in working with plants.
“Even though I did the traditional [brewing] training, whenever I made beer for myself, it always had herbs in it. There was a beer called Fleur de Fern [at the Commons]. It was a dark farmhouse ale, and it had lavender in it [with hibiscus and chamomile]. They were doing their own botanical experiments even though their flagship was just the urban farmhouse ale. As a homage to them, I’m using that yeast in my first beer,” says Hosseinion, who managed to hold onto the Commons yeast and is brewing his own dark farmhouse ale with it.
He put in time brewing at Max’s Fano Creek Brew Pub (now Cooper Mountain Ale Works) and devoted himself to studying the craft. Starting his own project known as Brewed By Gnomes over a decade ago allowed him to combine his creative approach and obsessive focus on plants and herbs with brewing while also leaning into his lifelong love of gnomes. His “gnome ales” continued to evolve as he brewed beers like a honeysuckle hazy IPA and a linden flower unfiltered lager…