Mt. Hood Brewing suspends operations at Government Camp

Oregon legacy brewery Mt. Hood Brewing Co. has suspended operations at their primary Government Camp brewpub. The destination spot has for nearly 30 years been a popular attraction for those coming up and down from the mountain and the brewery’s flagship Ice Axe IPA was once a mainstay on taps around the state.

In an announcement, R.L.K. and Company, who owns and runs Mt. Hood Brewing as well as Timberline Lodge and it’s affiliates say the closure is due to lack of staffing. For anyone who has been paying attention lately the shortage of labor - especially in the service industry - has been a big deal. It has not been uncommon to see breweries, bars and restaurants closing early or not opening at all on slow days, but closing completely is a new level.

Mount Hood Brewing Company only produces about 1200 barrels per year, a number that was set to exponentially grow in 2020 before the pandemic hit. In January of 2020 the company announced the construction of a new production brewery adjacent to the brewpub in Government Camp that would double production with two new larger fermentation tanks, new bright beer tanks, dry and cold storage. The expansion was set to make room for more barrel-aged beers, add a canning line, and make it easier to package more Mt. Hood Brewing specialty and seasonal beers for consumers.

The expansion project was nearly complete in early 2020, scheduled to open in the spring right as COVID-19 shut the economy down. While the new brewery space was nearly complete, the final work on the project came to a stop. Additional infrastructure like piping, plumbing, cold storage is scheduled to resume later this summer or fall, but the actual equipment of tanks and more have not yet been purchased. This leaves the production in stasis, but with their own outlets to sell the beer through.

Mt. Hood Brewing Co. opened an under the radar taproom in inner southeast Portland called the Mt. Hood Brewing Tilikum Station that features dining in an old rail car. In addition to Tilikum Station now under zero covid restrictions as of today, the company continues to sell the beer through their resort related bars and restaurants.

“We look forward to reopening as soon as possible, which will be when we have sufficient staffing levels to fully operate Timberline’s restaurant outlets as well as the MHBC brewpub. Timberline and Mt. Hood Brewing Co. share the same ownership and many of the same resources. MHBC brewpub employees have all been offered positions at Timberline’s restaurants.” said Mt. Hood Brewing marketing spokesperson Emily Stoller Smith.

Mt. Hood Brewing Co. was established in 1991 in the alpine village of Government Camp, OR, at the base of Mt. Hood. In October 1992, the newly constructed ten-barrel brewery rolled out its first barrel. Since then, MHBC’s distinctive ales have been produced by the union of pure Mt. Hood glacial water, Northwest barley and hops, and the inspiration of its brewers. R.L.K. and Company, operators of Mt. Hood Brewing Co. and Timberline Lodge, appointed Bryan Borgmeier as Head Brewer in fall 2016.