Community Spotlight: Ratchet Brewery in Salem marks the Marine Corps' 251st birthday (Nov. 10)
Quick Read
Ratchet Brewery, at 2475 25th St. SE in Salem, opened in 2017 and sits in a commercial and industrial area of southeast Salem.
The Marine Corps was founded Nov. 10, 1775. Tuesday is its 251st birthday. The PNW Marines Association is holding a celebration at the brewery, according to an Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs listing, with doors at 5 p.m. and a ceremony at 7 p.m.
A memorial table at the brewery Tuesday evening was marked "In Honor of Our Fallen Marines," and dress uniforms with printed cards were displayed in front of the brewery's kegs.
The brewery pours staple beers, offers light snacks and sometimes a food truck, and taps a firkin each Friday, according to its website. Hours listed on the brewery's site: closed Monday; 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday.
SALEM, Ore. - Tuesday is the Marine Corps' 251st birthday, and one of the mid-valley's gatherings is at a southeast Salem brewery whose taproom still looks a lot like a garage.
The PNW Marines Association is holding a 251st Marine Corps Birthday Celebration at Ratchet Brewery on Tuesday evening, according to an Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs events listing. The listing says doors opened at 5 p.m. and the ceremony is set for 7 p.m., with speeches, auction items and a traditional Marine Corps cake cutting. The Corps was founded Nov. 10, 1775.
Inside the taproom Tuesday evening, a memorial table was covered by a signed U.S. Marine Corps flag and marked "In Honor of Our Fallen Marines." A folded American flag sat in a display case, surrounded by framed photographs. Dress uniforms, including Marine Corps dress blues, an Army khaki uniform and a red and gold robe, were displayed on mannequins in front of the brewery's kegs, each with a printed card. Willamette News is not naming the people on those cards.
A southeast Salem taproom
Ratchet Brewery is at 2475 25th St. SE, set back in a commercial and industrial area. Childhood friends Dan Miletta, the head brewer, and William Mary opened it in 2017, first in a smaller space off 22nd Street SE, according to contemporary accounts in the Statesman Journal and the beer blog Pints and Steins. The brewery later moved to its current taproom. Willamette Week identified Miletta and Mary as co-owners in 2023, when they closed a second location in Silverton and sold that building to Silverton Area Community Aid.
The brewery has an auto shop and motorsports theme. On Tuesday evening, picnic tables sat under string lights beside an open roll-up garage door, with a red door marked with the brewery's logo. In a 2023 interview, Miletta told What Now Portland the bar is made from glider wings.
The brewery's website says visitors will find staple beers, light snacks and the occasional food truck, and it points people to the brewery's Salem Facebook page for the firkin tapped each Friday and for other specials. Willamette News is not listing a current tap list or regular pint prices; those change.
If you go
Ratchet Brewery, 2475 25th St. SE, Salem, OR 97302. Hours on the brewery's website: closed Monday; 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday. Travel Oregon and Celebrate Oregon Beer list the phone as (503) 385-8722.
Phil Harpster. Edited by Channing Webb.
Sources
Ratchet Brewery: About the Salem taproom, staple beers, light snacks, food trucks and Friday firkins
Ratchet Brewery: Hours and address, 2475 25th St. SE, Salem, OR 97302
Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs: 251st Marine Corps Birthday Celebration at Ratchet Brewery, Nov. 10, 2026
Statesman Journal: Ratchet Brewery opens in Salem's industrial district (Dec. 15, 2017)
Pints and Steins: Salem welcomes Ratchet Brewery (Dec. 6, 2017)
Willamette Week: Ratchet Brewery Is Closing Its Silverton Location (Jan. 30, 2023)
What Now Portland: Ratchet Brewery Will Soon Open Another Location in Gervais (Aug. 15, 2023)
Travel Oregon: Ratchet Brewery listing (phone)
Celebrate Oregon Beer: Ratchet Brewery directory listing (phone and hours)
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