Heck Brewing: Andy McMillan
Andy McMillan, Duane Sorensen (founder of Stumptown and Puff Coffee) and Justin Miller
From Northern Ireland to Portland's vibrant craft beverage scene, Andy McMillan's journey embodies the spirit of community-driven entrepreneurship. Growing up as part of the first generation after "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland, Andy developed a unique perspective on building bridges through shared experiences.
Andy was born to be a creator. His first career path led him to channel his creative energy into freelance design, audio engineering, and radio production. His passion for community building led him to create the Build conference in Belfast (2009–2013) and later the XOXO festival in Portland, which celebrated novel creative careers until 2024.
Andy's path to founding Heck, one of the regions first dedicated non-alcoholic breweries,began unexpectedly at his own XOXO festival in 2014, when he realized the non-alcoholic beverage options available were severely lacking. Determined to offer better choices, he created a dedicated NA bar at the 2015 festival that quickly became a popular gathering spot. This experience inspired him to open Suckerpunch, a pop-up zero-proof cocktail bar, in January 2020 – timing that couldn't have been more challenging.
While running the bar, Andy noticed a significant gap in local non-alcoholic craft beer. After approaching several local breweries and asking them to create a collaboration NA beer for the pop-up without success, he connected with Justin Miller, former head brewer at Hopworks who shared his vision. Together, they pivoted from bar ownership to creating Portland's premier non-alcoholic craft beer.
Starting with just a four-case batch brewed at Sasquatch Brewing, Heck received an enthusiastic response from Portlanders who embraced having a quality local NA beer option. While initially envisioning an e-commerce business, he discovered the regulatory complexities of shipping beer (even non-alcoholic) and found greater success through retail partnerships with New Seasons, Market of Choice, John's Marketplace, and now well over 100 bars, restaurants, bottle shops, and stores all throughout Portland.
Andy found Built Oregon's community at a crucial moment when what he needed most – beyond funding and staff – was connection with others familiar with the founder journey. Through Built, he discovered a community of like-minded entrepreneurs who "just get it" – people who care deeply about their craft and strive for excellence. The empathy, advice, and friendship he's found through Built has been invaluable, reinforcing that he's not alone in the challenging but rewarding path of building a purpose-driven brand.
You can find more about Heck here: https://heckbrewing.com/
And follow them on Instagram here.