BDSM Brewing, Hillsboro’s boldest bar, straps in for new location
Published 10:00 am Friday, May 2, 2025
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Hillsboro’s only gay-owned — and most suggestively named — bar is tightening the straps on a new space to throw back beer, come together and loosen up.
BDSM Brewing, long known as a local beer haunt run out of its owners’ home, is just about ready to swing open the doors to a 7,000-square-foot commercial location on the outskirts of downtown at 516 S. First Ave.
The journey started in 2014 when co-owner and brewmaster Billy Wing found himself in the classic homebrewer’s conundrum: thinking he’d save money by making beer at home, only to discover that’s never the case — especially when you end up being good at it.
“You buy more and more equipment until you end up brewing so much beer that the police are knocking on your door — which is what happened to us,” Wing said.
Billy and his husband, Matt Wing, weren’t selling the beer — just giving it away. But after a neighbor called 911 about a house party and officers found a garage stacked with kegs and seven taps pouring freely, the couple decided it was time to get licensed by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission.
Coming up with a name for the brewery, the couple leaned into how they met — through a form of BDSM play. But when federal paperwork came knocking, the Wings offered a more palatable acronym: “Billy’s Damn Straight Mash.”
“The only damn straight thing about it is the mash,” Wing quipped. “But it’s damn straight.”
From garage to grand opening
Operating out of their home on a cul-de-sac on Southeast Oak Crest Drive took some getting used to for the neighbors.
“We were trying to convince them we weren’t opening a gay dance hall,” Billy Wing said.
Eventually, the skepticism died down, and the house-pub became a neighborhood watering hole.
“Now, a good 80% of our clientele at the house brewery are just locals — blocks away. They walk in. It’s a true public house, which is exactly what we were hoping for,” Billy Wing said.
But even the most forgiving cul-de-sac has its limits.
“We can’t grow. There’s nowhere to go,” Billy Wing said. “I’m allowed 10 cars a day, maximum. The cul-de-sac is at its patience’s end with me getting bigger. They won’t tolerate any more than what I’m doing.”
That’s when fellow brewer Tom Kramer called with an offer that changed everything: Did the couple want to inherit a five-year-old brewery?
After purchasing the brewery’s tanks in 2024, the couple began hunting for a space and officially started their commercial build-out — fermentation room, bar, decor and all. A year later, the space is nearly ready.
Flavors that tease
When it’s up and running, BDSM Brewing plans to pour from 25 to 30 taps — offering drinks with names that don’t exactly whisper, like the “Ball Gag IPA,” “Safe Word Stout,” and “Nut Buster Brown Ale.”
“Even the seltzer line,” Billy Wing said. “I mean, sure it sounds innocuous — the Sea Spray Seltzer — until you realize that’s a big old oyster on the front of the can with a little pearl on top of it.”
True to its name, the brewery isn’t afraid to push boundaries. It’s all about knowing the rules — and then breaking them just right.
That means West Coast IPAs with classic malt structure and dry-hopped lagers spiked with Mandarina Bavaria hops for a fresh citrus nose.
“We want to know the rules before we break them, so we’re breaking them effectively,” Billy Wing said.
And what pairs better with beer than meat? The Wings also run Butt Hut Bar-B-Que, a food truck serving the lovechild of Texas-style BBQ and Montreal smoked meats.
“I first learned how to tend fire in Ontario, Canada, as a kid,” Billy Wing said. “And yeah, you know, fighting all the way down the East Coast and over into Texas before I made my way back up here — I learned a lot about barbecue.”
Following the gospel of low and slow, the truck serves brisket, ribs, pork and the occasional chicken.
An open tap and door
While the new space promises beer and BBQ, it’s also meant to go a little deeper than that — a place where people from all walks of life can share a laugh and a drink.
“The reason it’s a gay bar is because gay people are running it,” Billy Wing said. “It’s an inclusive space… Straight people can be comfortable here; gay people can be comfortable here. The people that don’t ascribe to anything can be comfortable here.”
“The rule is, just like Wil Wheaton said: ‘Don’t be a dick,’” added Matt Wing.
And with 7,000 square feet to play with, they’ve got room for more than just beer. Expect dancing, rock concerts and drag shows in a safe space to submit to a good time.
The couple are wrapping up final improvements, and their latest update hints that they’re in the final stretch with the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. Once approved, BDSM Brewing plans to lock in opening hours and begin welcoming the public for “the beating your mouth deserves.”
