RIP 21 Oregon Breweries and Taprooms that Closed in 2020
Thirsty Monk PDX (formerly Bazi Bierbrasserie)
Every year we undertake the grim but important task of remembering the breweries, taprooms and bottle shops that closed up shop. 2020 will go down as one of the worst years in history, and while it’s been horrible for all involved the projected craft beer bloodbath has not been as bad as we all feared. So while we look back at some of the most important closures of the year, we can atleast have some optimism for the future.
Allegory Brewing - McMinnville, OR
Though they never officially announced their closure, McMinnville, Oregon’s acclaimed Allegory Brewing made their last beers before the initial shutdown. Named one of the most underrated breweries of 2019, Allegory Brewing ran the clock down on their in-house brewed beers and began showcasing more of their friends and neighbors beers like Heater Allen before coming to a quiet end in late September. In fact it wasn’t obvious that Allegory Brewing had closed at all until it was quietly revealed that the new ForeLand Beer project from Sean Burke is based out of the same space.
Geist Beerworks - Redmond, OR
Apparently Hookers & Blow (the beer) were not enough to keep this central Oregon brewery from closing up after just 2 years. Keeping things quiet, Geist announced the last day to purchase beers like Hookers & Blow before the new year was December 30th, and on a parting shot announced they were permanently closed on December 31st. In a story by the Bend Bulletin, Geist owner Greg Wales said he would be dumping $24K worth of beer down the drain. Redmond’s mayor reportedly attended the pubs last day in business on Wednesday without wearing a mask in the midst of planned protests of the Governor’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Ross Island Brewing - Portland, OR
Though they had more lives than a cat, Ross Island Brewing brewed and filled their last kegs in early 2020 and quietly closed up production. Sold to Chefstable Group in 2018, the brewery at 730 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR 97202. developed by the short-lived Dirty Pretty Beer and more recently the beers for KEX Brewing and hostel. Founder/brewer Carston Haney had revived the Ross Island Brewing brand while also collaborating with the Iceland based KEX group before ongoing pressures and the disappearance of draft sales put the final nail in the coffin. Last we heard as of the fall the Ross Island brewhouse and their smallish taproom is still sitting unused and available turnkey for the right entrepreneur.
Bailey’s Taproom - Portland, OR
If being open in the middle of a pandemic wasn’t enough, having a small footprint for spacing and being in downtown Portland’s business district during the protests surely was too much. In a period where few people are going in to the offices, Bailey’s relied on workers going out for a pint after work and for people hitting the downtown nightlife. Since none of that is happening right now, and ongoing protests sometimes marked by violence and vandalism have also made the area less appealing, it makes sense that Bailey’s called “uncle.” BUT, hope remains that Bailey’s and their upstairs speakeasy style The Upper Lip bar will be revived when things get better. Owner Geoff Phillips seems to be doing ok with his other business Level Beer, and also reportedly owns the Bailey’s building so hopefully they are better positioned to weather this storm.
The Ram - Clackamas, OR
It wasn’t the most lamented brewery closing by a long shot, but the regular beer loving shoppers at Clackamas Town Center certainly are shedding a tear for the closure of The Ram Restaurant & Brewery in Clackamas. It was always a consistently solid pint, and an absolutely terrific place to catch some sports ball games, had one of the best happy hour menus around, and was an absolutely essential break from the mall. Yes they even brewed beer there from a space on the southwest corner of the mall, and made some award winning ales and lagers at that.
Grixsen Brewing - Portland, OR
Formed in 2016, the inner southeast Portland brewery and taproom struggled to standout with more well known popular beer spots The Beermongers, Apex and Baerlic Brewing all within a few blocks. Their final closure on August 23rd was brought about by the pandemic, but seemed like it had been coming for awhile. Owner Scott Petersen told us at the time that they hoped to revive the Grixsen Brewing brand somewhere else, if not the taproom itself. It’s now available as a turnkey brewery with production space, taproom and offices and we hope someone jumps on it.
Salem Ale Works (SAW) - Salem, OR
SAW is a small brewing operation that had a solid 7 year run in Salem, Oregon. Their Hootenany Honey Basil won a gold medal at the 2019 Oregon Beer Awards and was a master class in balancing zesty flavors into a light bodied beer. Firefighters turned brewery owners Justin Ego and Jake Bonham had opened SAW as a nano operation in 2013 and more then quadrupled their space in 2017 with an expansion. The taproom's last day of business is Saturday, August 29th.
Back Pedal Brewing - Portland, OR
One of the Portland pearl district’s hidden gems, Back Pedal Brewing announced they were indefinitely pausing operations until the pandemic subsided and when construction on a nearby bridge is finished. Back Pedal is part of the Brewcycle group of bicycle beer tours, another business hit hard by the pandemic. Both businesses are holding out some hope to reopen in 2021, the chances of that happening remain to be seen. Read our full story with more info from brewer/partner Greg Passmore.
Base Camp Brewing - Portland, OR
Arguably the most high profile brewery closure of the year looked to be a long time coming. One of the most impressive new operations when it debuted in the height of the craft brewery boom in 2012, Base Camp established themselves under an outdoor adventure identity and unique bottle shaped cans. Their IPA’s, lagers and stouts were popular, and people loved visiting their inner southeast Portland patio for beers and the on-site food trucks. But ever since their wholesaler General Distributors sold to Columbia Distributing in January of 2018 the brand fell on hard times. We can speculate that it was partially the increasing competition, constantly shifting trends, and getting lost in a massive beer distributors book.
Flat Tail Brewing - Corvallis, OR
One of the most popular college bars in Corvallis, and an influential brewery that educated many a brewer and fledgling beer geek. Flat Tail Brewing was thrown into turmoil along with Base Camp Brewing when their wholesaler General Distributors sold to Columbia Distributing. Flat Tail was forced to choose between entering into distribution with major wholesaler Columbia Distributing, buying their distribution brand rights back, or not distributing altogether. They chose the latter. Pulling back, Flat Tail had stopped packaging and was selling only draft beer locally rather than competing in the larger metro areas with bottles. But that wasn’t what did them in, based in bad faith arrangements with a new building owner they were forced to abruptly shut down their pub and production operations without a new home. One bright spot of this otherwise sad situation, is the hope of a restart of owner/brewer Dave Marliave’s brewery in a new location with a reimagined brand. Read our full interview with Dave on the state of Flat Tail Brewing.
Hawthorne Hophouse - Portland, OR
The first location of the family-friendly, local centric taproom closed up for good less than 2 years after new owners took control and the second 15th Ave. Hophouse location was closed. Rumors have persisted the space, which had 30 taps, a full kitchen and small patio, will come under new ownership. But with the pandemic, their closing in late February may have been timely
Untapped - Portland, OR
N. Portland taproom and bottle shop Untapped has become a popular beer spot for the overlook neighborhood but decided to move on to new opportunities last fall. Operating throughout the pandemic, Untapped never stopped doing to-go sales and online community events. And even though they are now closed, they still host weekly trivia nights that are raising thousands of dollars for local charities.
Platypus Pub - Bend, OR
A long-running beer geek and homebrewer hangout spot in Bend, Oregon closed in early March just in time to beat the pandemic. This two level Homebrew shop and it’s basement pub in an old Nazarene church has held a special importance for the Central Oregon beer community since 2011. Before many other pubs, beer bars or homebrew shops were there the Platypus Pub was. Now it’s being replaced by a new business plaza housing a Starbucks. It’s become an uncomfortable reminder of changing demographics and the shift towards newer and trendier large business interests.
Ochoco Brewing - Prineville, OR
One of the first stories that the New School reported on in 2010 was an upcoming Portland startup called Solstice Brewing. Homebrewers and friends Joseph Barker and Tim Czuk were never able to lockin a location in PDX but Barker went on to find a space in Prineville, Oregon and open it under the name Ochoco Brewing. As of this past October, Barker threw in the towel due to COVID telling us then that because their business was setup as a primarily draft-based and indoor service operation, they just couldnt make the numbers work.
“We have been the beneficiary of grants and the federal PPP loans that are available. We had hoped those would be enough to get us through to economic recovery but it is not,” said Barker.
One ray of light is interest by outside parties in taking over the brewpub as a turnkey operation, it could make for a great new startup or satellite pub for an existing brewing company. Full story here.
3 Sheets Brewery - Albany, OR
The Albany, OR neighborhood brewpub announced they would close their taproom for good by September 1st, 2020. Owners Beth and Klint Sheets lamented the loss of their life savings and tireless work building up a community space and made clear their reasoning, writing "Covid has killed yet another small Oregon business. 3 Sheets opened their taproom in 2018, but according to a post on facebook they hoped to continue brewing and distributing beer in their area. However their last post to their social media accounts was in August and said in part “In closing, we'd love to see everyone one last time!”
Growlers Taproom - Portland, OR
After changing ownership from a Dollar Store to become a to-go only growler fill station called Growler’s Hawthorne that operated for over a year. The business was sold again and tweaked to become more of a taproom with their parking lot converted into a small beer garden and food truck pod under the name Growler’s Taproom. That business model seemed successful enough, and they opened a second location on 82nd blvd. But in early 2020 after pressure from their landlords and an incident involving a MAGA hat sporting couple, the taproom abruptly closed up shop.
The Thirsty Monk - Portland, OR
It was particularly bittersweet to see the Thirsty Monk never reopen after the initial shutdown in March because they had only just completed a remodel and moved in new kitchen partners Tight Tacos. The Belgian-style beer bar featured their own beers brewed out of Denver, and owner Barry Bialik had wanted to put in a brewery in PDX since they took over the space from Bazi Bierbrasserie and reopened it 2018. Due to cost of building renovation and leasing negotiations, Thirsty Monk was never able to secure a brewing space nor a large enough following for their under-the-radar good Belgian pub grub and beers. Bialik shared the news with the New School in July that Thirsty Monk was cutting their losses in Portland and may shutter their Denver pub for good as well. Full story here.
Hopworks BikeBar aka North Williams Pub - Portland, OR
The satellite location of Hopworks Urban Brewery was a hugely popular spot on the busy N. Williams bike corridor but the combination of ongoing construction, the pandemic and competition made it unsustainable even in an eco friendly zero energy building. Though it had a great hidden back patio, huge variety of ales and lagers and family friendly setup inside, ultimately distribution seems to be the model going forward. The New School broke the news of the closure in early October with HUB owner Christian Ettinger filling in the details.
Rogue Ales Pearl - Portland, OR
The 20-year old Portland location of Rogue Ales & Spirits announced they would close for good on September 20th. The story is not surprising, with rising costs of doing business both as a brewery and as a tenant in the pricey Pearl District soared and the pandemic raged it just wasn’t sustainable. Rogue Pearl didnt have a beer garden, and only streetside seating was available outdoors nearby the busy NW 14th Ave. and a freeway off-ramp. Rogue Hall next to PSU in SW Portland has also been closed since mid November but their SE Portland and Newport locations remain open.
Big Horse Brew Pub - Hood River, OR
A classic Hood River destination pub, the Big Horse has sat atop of downtown Hood River for 32 years, 23 of them as a brewery. Known for their stunning views, if inconsistent quality of beer, Big Horse nonetheless helped cultivate a generation of beer drinkers as well as young brewers who would go on to successful careers. In May 2019 a kitchen fire forced their closure, but it wasn’t until October that they threw in the towel after over a year of wrangling with their insurance company. The plan always was to reopen better than ever, they had even announced a beer garden and BBQ pop-up that was to take place last summer but never got off the ground. The Hood River paper Columbia Gorge News reported that the ownership had come to a settlement with the insurance company to close down and sell the building. Full story here.
The Toffee Club - Portland, OR
The British soccer pub that gave birth to Away Days Brewing tentatively closed for good in August. One of the few good spots in town to get some classic English-stye pub grub and beers while watching all of the soccer games, it’s closure was a major blow to the European expats in Portland. Some of the traditions of Toffee Club live on in it’s sister pub Away Days Brewing next door, and there is even some hope that someday Toffee Club could gain a new lease on life, but that very much remains to be seen.
The industry is hanging on by a thread, but despite all of the bad news craft beer and it’s fans have proved to be more resilient than many thought. There was a lot in Oregon beer to be proud of in 2020 too.