Gigantic Brewing

Gigantic Brewing opened its doors on May 9, 2012, founded by Ben Love and Van Havig, who between them brought experience from two of Portland's established breweries: Love had been the first employee and head brewer at Hopworks Urban Brewery starting in 2007, while Havig spent sixteen years at Rock Bottom Brewery before leaving over disagreements about the company's direction. They built out their own brewery and brewpub at the corner of SE 26th Avenue and SE Steele Street, in Portland's Reed neighborhood in southeast Portland. The founders describe their approach with the phrase "never give an inch," prioritizing what they call exceptional beer over high output, a philosophy reflected in the brewery's own name, which plays on the contrast between its small size and its ambitions. Gigantic releases an annual beer called "Massive!" and has brewed novelty batches referencing Portland civic landmarks, including "Mill Ends Red," named for Mill Ends Park, a small city park. The brewery has since grown to operate multiple taproom locations around Portland.