Brewing in Oregon

In 2008 Oregon ranked 3rd nationally in craft breweries per capita.^[1]

The U.S. state of Oregon is home to more than 200 breweries and brew pubs that produce a large variety of beer.

History

• 1852 - Henry Saxer established the Liberty Brewery in Portland.
• 1862 - After working at and later owning several smaller breweries, Henry Weinhard purchased and expanded Liberty Brewery which was later renamed City Brewery.^[2]
• 1914 - Five years before national prohibition was established, the voters of Oregon approved a statewide ban on the manufacture, sale or advertisement of intoxicating liquor.^[3]
• 1933 - Oregon and the nation ratified the 21st Amendment.
• 1985 - Oregon Legislature legalized brewpubs.

As of July 2015, Oregon was home to 234 brewing facilities operated by 194 brewing companies.^[4] There are also many nanobreweries in Oregon. Many breweries have won nationwide and international acclaim.

Breweries

The following are some Oregon-based breweries and microbreweries. The larger volume breweries and microbreweries in the list include the number of barrels sold using information from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), 2004. Caldera Brewing Company of Ashland, Oregon (3,300 barrels brewed in 2009), Barley Brown Brewery, Bend Brewing, Deschutes, Full Sail and Widmer Brothers won gold in 2010 at the World Beer Cup. In the same competition, Upright Brewing and Hop Valley Brewing won Bronze; while Pelican Pub & Brewery, Hopworks Urban Brewery, and Rogue Ales won Silver.^[5]

Large producers

The largest beer producers in Oregon, all of which are high-volume American breweries, are:

• Widmer Brothers Brewery, Portland 450,000 barrels (2011 info)
• Deschutes Brewery, Bend, 346,689 barrels
• Full Sail Brewing Company, Hood River, 115,450 barrels
• Rogue Ales, Newport, 105,961 barrels
• Ninkasi Brewing Company, Eugene, 100,849 barrels
• BridgePort Brewing Company, Portland, 100,000+ barrels (2007 info)

Information in the above list is per the Brewers Association's 2015 production quantity unless otherwise noted. Henry Weinhard's, formerly of Portland, is now owned and brewed by SABMiller, although some beers are brewed under contract by Full Sail Brewing Company.

Notable brewpubs

• Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, Portland. ^[6]
• The McMenamins brewpub chain, with locations scattered throughout Oregon and Washington, produced 17,896 barrels in 2004.

Festivals

The Oregon Brewers Festival the largest gathering of independent craft brewers in the United States.^[7]

The Gold Beach Brew & Art Festival is always held the Saturday after Labor Day. It is the oldest brew festival in southern Oregon and on the Oregon Coast.^[8]

See also

• Alcohol in Oregon
• Beer in the United States
• Controlled substances in Oregon
• List of breweries in the United States
• List of companies based in Oregon
• Lists of Oregon-related topics
• List of microbreweries
• Oregon wine

References

1. Craft Brewing Industry Statistics Archived October 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
2. Oregon Historical Society (2002). "Henry Weinhard (1830-1904)" The Oregon History Project.
3. Oregon State Archives
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
6. Beer Geeks
7. "Hip Hops in Oregon", VIA Magazine, July 2002
8. "Gold Beach Brewfest", 'Gold Beach Brew & Art Festival, May 2013

External links

• Metro US article on Portland breweries
• Labels from pre-prohibition breweries, from Oregon State Archives
• Oregon Brewers Guild
• Video on the history of Oregon Brewing from Oregon Public Broadcasting