Oregon Breweries & Taprooms that Closed in 2022
It’s been a rough few years for craft beer, Oregon’s infamous rain falls on the new and old breweries alike. Today we look back and say goodbye to the Oregon and SW Washington breweries and taprooms that closed in 2022.
New School Beer has always focused on the new, from new brewery and taproom openings, to new beers, trends, and people, but it’s also part of the job to chronicle where things end as well as their beginnings. 2022 brought a wave of brewery and beer bar closures both big and small, some were big announcements and others that slid under the radar.
Cascade Brewing Raccoon Lodge
Portland/Beaverton, OR
Cascade Brewing was founded in 1998 at the Racoon Lodge at 7424 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy, straddling Portland and Beaverton in the heart of Raleigh Hills. The popular multi-level brewpub that helped launch the American Sour category of beers is now for sale after closing for renovations. Cascade Brewing founder Art Larrance transferred “The Lodge” to executive chef Alfredo Godinez in 2020 shortly before the pandemic as he stepped aside into partial retirement while still managing the Oregon Brewers Festival. A few months later, the entire Cascade Brewing operation was sold to a new ownership group made up of Mark & Kristi Becker, Ramie Mount, Brian Kovach and Greg Laird. The brewery moved forward with Cascade’s The Lodge aka Cascade Westside and the Cascade Barrel House on SE Belmont, until the pandemic put ice on the operation just as it did everyone else.
Sometime last Fall, Cascade Brewing closed The Lodge for a remodel, intending to rebrand, refresh and reopen. But things changed. “The past couple of years presented many hurdles that continued throughout 2022, culminating in the extremely difficult decision to sell the building, consolidate our focus, and enter 2023 anew,” says Cascade co-owner Ramie Mount.
Cascade Brewing lives on as the brewing and wort production will still take place in the Lodge building without the brewpub itself, barrel-aging and blending had moved off-site years before, and the barrel house on SE Belmont has become the flagship location for fans. The high traffic area and impressive layered space at the original, as well as on-site brewing equipment, may be picked up by a new owner in the near future.
Fearless Brewing
Estacada, OR
In their heyday Fearless Brewing was one of the most well known attractions of Estacada, Oregon and owner Ken Johnson was a hero to homebrewers everywhere who came up with the Oregon Brew Crew. To others his reputation as a belligerent and threatening presence to anyone that was on the wrong side of his beers or lack of political correctness took on a life of its own. Ken Johnson went as far as to author his own books ripping off The Walking Dead with himself as the hero of a zombie overrun Estacada. During the pandemic he flaunted regulations, and got into shouting matches with neighbors. So the closure wasn’t so much a surprise as an inevitability.
Bend, OR
Bend, Oregon’s purveyors of smoothie fruit IPA’s and sours, once had a big following for their tropical and ganja themed beers, but got into trouble with suggestive names and labels. In early 2022 they quietly closed up permanently without making a peep about it. The good news? Fellow Bend brewer, Boss Rambler Beer Club, snapped up their production space to make their own (previously contracted) brews, and produce more of them.
Migration Brewing Rooftop at the Canvas
Portland, OR
One of the best brewery patios and rooftop bars in the city was a pandemic opening by Migration Brewing. The rooftop bar on the 9th floor of the newly completed Canvas building was conveniently located next to a MAX lightrail stop and overlooking Providence Park, home to the Portland Timbers and Thorns soccer clubs. The seasonally weather dependent taproom was a big hit and sometimes had a wait list on game nights, but only had a small indoor area and no capacity to tent the outdoors due to high winds. Rather than opt into a more permanent setup that would have required Migration Brewing to open a taproom on the ground level, they decided to not return to the Canvas for the time being after the fall season in 2022.
Portland, OR
A pandemic era opening for Eugene’s first new brewery in many years spelled trouble at the outset. Community Fermentation Union was a great concept that featured housemade/fermented just about everything from pickles and kombucha to pizza dough and beer. The small brewpub only announced their closure on December 29th, the same day this story was first published. BeerStone.com reports that the business has been sold, so maybe we will get a new brewpub in its place?
Smockville Brewhouse
Sherwood, OR
The section of Old Sherwood, right across the street from Cannery Square got their first and only brewery in 2017 since Two Kilts Brewing shuttered. The name came from Sherwood’s original town name, coming from its founder James Smock. The town put itself on the map by producing many of the bricks that would be used to built up Portland. Smockville was opened as a partnership between local chef Shannon Johnson, who also owns Tree's Restaurant and Catering, and husband and wife Keith Laber and Erin Koenig. While Shannon brought her experience to curating a menu, Keith put his 16 years of homebrewing experience towards the beer. The owners stated that their closure in August was not because of their business, but because they could not come to a lease agreement with the city of Sherwood.
Toffee Club
Portland, OR
More of an British pub experience and soccer bar than a beer bar, nonetheless Toffee Club was a destination for beer fans as one of the few authentic English experiences and connection to sister business Away Days Brewing. Toffee Club was the first to open, and always carried some classic English beers on draft that were hard to find elsewhere, along with traditional food and some of the best fish & chips in town, stylish British decor, and welcome events. Owners Niki Diamond and Pete Hoppins have decided to close Toffee Club when the lease runs out at the end of the year.
Niki Diamond says, “The decision was a difficult one to make emotionally, because the pub is such a huge part of our lives and so many others', but on paper the facts were clear: business and revenue were down dramatically, our area of SE Portland never came back to life after the Pandemic shut down, costs were rising in every aspect of the business and staffing was incredibly challenging. Then you take into consideration five break-ins in as many months, and there wasn't really another option. “
The Toffee Club and it’s brand is up for sale, but barring them finding a new owner the plan is to continue the brand with viewing parties at Away Days, event pop-ups (like the large USA vs England World Cup viewing party they hosted at the Redd), and keeping Toffee Club FC football teams alive and some version of their Toffee League next summer.
Salem & Portland, OR
Salem, Oregon founded Vagabond Brewing promised to bring new life to the capital city when they opened in 2014 by three ex-Marine buddies. The taproom had a spacious and fun game room, clubhouse vibe that was perfect for events and casual hangs. The brand relatively quickly expanded with Vagabond Outpost opening in Albany, and the sister bar Victory Club in downtown Salem. In 2019 they opened another Vagabond Brewing in Portland in their most ambitious project yet, the space at 2715 SE 8th Ave., Suite 175 featured a 1958 cessna plane in the rafters, a full liquor cocktail bar, and an elevated menu from a former Olympia Provisions chef. Demonstrating their commitment to expand, the Portland location promised a new 10bbl brewery to expand production and have locally made brews, but that brewhouse never came to fruition. Victory Club and Vagabond Outpost closed in the early days of the pandemic, the Portland and Salem locations had extended hiatus closures but did reopen only to both permanently close with no announcements made in July.
Portland, OR
The legendary Hair of the Dog Brewing called it quits this year, owner/brewer Alan Sprints goes out on his own terms in a semi-retirement that will likely see him still popping up for collabs and events from time-to-time. The Portland brewery became famous when microbreweries were still a tiny niche and considered a silly trivial project, until people like Alan Sprints showed them what rich, historical, and complex beer could be. All the way up until their closing, HOTD pushed the boundaries of traditional beer flavors with their boozy, barrel-aged, food-inspired, and playful vegetable and fruit based brews.
Flood Valley Brewing Warrenton Tap House
Warrenton, OR
The Chehalis, Washington founded Flood Valley Brewing opened a satellite brewpub in the Astoria, Oregon suburb of Warrenton in November 2021. The diner and bar style pub specialized in smoked meats, burgers and greasy spoon breakfast with a built-in audience from the Shilo Inn motel they shared parking with. Yet only 7 months after opening they shut down, reportedly from a lease dispute. Owner Chris Rohr blamed “many challenges from covid, coastal flooding, snow storms, supply chain issues, and lack of staff.” And just 5 months later the flagship Flood Valley Brewing in Chehalis and the entire operation completely shuttered, though promising this was not the end.
Corvallis, OR
One of the best known and oldest homebrew supply shops in Oregon, and arguably the only independent bottle shop in Corvallis, closed up in May but did cellar sales through the summer. Corvallis Brewing Supply is credited with shepherding the budding homebrew and probrew community of the valley, and has a long legacy that has not been lost on the industry. Without Corvallis Brewing Supply, we might not have the OSU school of fermentation, or breweries like Block 15 who shared their own tributes to the store and owner Joel Rhea in our article from last Spring.
Modern Times Beer Belmont Fermentorium
Portland, OR
The spectacular downfall of Modern Times began with the closure of their Portland, Oakland, LA and Santa Barbara locations. It’s hard to believe that happened just this year, and it’s already Living Haus Beer. Modern Times problems began with allegations of toxic workplace culture, CEO Jacob McKean’s own admitted missteps including taking on way too much debt to fuel rapid expansion, and trouble paying the rent right here in Oregon. There is a lot more to be said, check out our full story from when it happened, and the more recent news of Maui Brewing’s acquisition of their assets under a new family brand.
Tigard, OR
The Tigard taproom Fido’s had a large selection of 40 beers, ciders on draft, and a partnership with North 45 Pizza, but was primarily known for being a dog bar. What does that mean? They called themselves the world’s first dog taphouse. It’s a place to celebrate craft beer and “man’s best friend” with an outdoor patio, photo booth, indoor cornholde, and big screen TV’s. In partnership with ‘Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals’ they hosted dogs up for adoption for a time, but in recent years the events and extra activities fell off and the owners decided to retire. Putting the business up for sale earlier this year, it’s unclear if they found a buyer, but have announced their closure on January 14th.
Lucky Labrador Brew Pub Killingsworth
Portland, OR
Lucky Lab is quietly one of the longest running and most successful breweries in the state, let alone Portland. Out of 4 different Lucky Lab locations in the Portland metro-area they closed the first one ever last week with the shutter of the Killingsworth satellite pub. Sadly, it wasn’t surprising, as all Lucky Lab’s that rely on an on-premise pub experience had slowed in business over the past decade of increased competition, and especially because of the pandemic. Lucky Lab Killingsworth had always been the slowest location, owing to a less walking trafficked area of town and a smaller space without a beer garden as their other locations have. The loss of one location sucks, but the Lucky Lab brewpub family is still staying strong and it hasn’t affected their beers or experience at the other 3 locations.
Black Squid Beerhouse
Lincoln City, OR
The Oregon coast is hit and miss for craft beer, Lincoln City in particular is one of the largest towns and yet has one of the most lacking beer scenes. So it was a welcome surprise when Black Squid Beerhouse opened and became a favorite beer bar and bottleshop for locals and tourists spending a weekend away at the coast. From the space, to the customer service, down to the cool logo and graphics, Black Squid seemed destined to become a well known stop on the coast that would last for ages. It’s still unclear why they closed, but in an announcement last spring they wrote: “we were lucky enough to be welcomed with open arms. It’s been quite a ride, to say the least. It was bittersweet to do so, but we have made the difficult decision not to renew the lease on our building, which means we will be closing the business when the beer is gone.”
Ashland, OR
One of Ashland, Oregon’s only two breweries called it quits in May. Standing Stone Brewing had a really cool space with an elevated brewery in the rafters and the potential for a killer rooftop beer garden. They had a good run, nearly 26 years, and a great location in Ashland’s downtown area which is prime for both tourists and locals looking to go out for food, drinks and shopping. The brewery and its entire building which includes two retail spaces, a full restaurant, and the brewhouse, is still up for sale and seems like a great opportunity for this city which has a large population that could really support a denser craft beer scene.
Barlow’s Brewery and Public House
Vancouver, WA
Vancouver, Washington’s beer scene has been getting deeper and groovier for years, and Barlow’s Brewing aimed to make a splash as the first new brewery in a few years. With former Fat Head’s/Von Ebert head brewers at the helm and owners with experience in food and drink the company launched with a destination restaurant/taproom on Vancouver’s new waterfront esplanade, and a brewery and tasting room in east Vancouver. Both locations started out with some buzz, but began to fizzle out due to a variety of factors from service and consistency to a rapid changing of the guard in the brewery and a fractious brand and styles. Barlow’s Public House on the waterfront closed in February, and the actual brewery and brand shut down a few months later. Swooping in to add something fresh, Vice Beer quickly took over and has launched a sexy retro brand in the same space.
Vancouver, WA
This Vancouver based brewery is technically out of the bounds of Oregon, but still falls into the Portland-metro area. Trusty Brewing had prime retail/hospitality space in downtown Vancouver and a decent space with a view to the lower level brewhouse. But undersized brewing equipment and lack of downtown traffic or buzz for their beers meant Trusty Brewing was always scraping by.
Portland, OR
Yakima, Washington based Hop Capital Brewing was a surprise new entry to the Portland beer scene when they opened a taproom and restaurant in the SW John’s Landing neighborhood. Hop Capital (previously called Yakima Craft Brewing) was purchased by Johnathon Thomas, a Portland resident who wanted a neighborhood outpost for the brand. Teaming up with chefs/owners from the previous restaurant that occupied the space, Hop Capital Brewing opened as a taproom and kitchen during the sketchy days of COVID-19. The pub opened with a solid start from neighbors happy to have the space back open, and beer fans who were curious about their selection of smoothie sours and hazy IPA’s. After a year in business Hop Capital didn’t so much close as transform into Ridgewalker Craft Culture Marketplace under a new merger with Ridgewalker Brewing.
Ridgewalker Craft Culture Marketplace
Portland, OR
Forest Grove based Ridgewalker Brewing is a successful borderline nano brewery and taproom that made big moves in 2022, swallowing up Hop Capital Brewing in a surprising merger. Both brands still exist on their own terms, both breweries' original locations in Forest Grove and Yakima, WA still exist, but the Hop Capital Brewing PDX location became the testing ground for a new concept. Ridgewalker Craft Culture Marketplace replaced the Hop Capital location in SW Portland that had only been open about a year, the idea was to turn it into a showcase for Ridgewalker and Hop Capital beers, and also a La Dolce Vita winery that they also had acquired. The space was bare, food options were not great, and the location was sleepy. Ridgewalker Craft Culture only lasted about 7 months before it closed in November.
Blind Ox Taphouse
Portland, OR
When Blind Ox first opened on NE Fremont it had some early buzz owing to it being the first business in the former Alameda Brewing space and the component of boozy ice cream along with the beers. Blind Ox was a new project from Mix N’ Match Creamery who specialized in alcohol infused ice creams from a truck, the taproom was their first foray into a brick-and-mortar. The space didn’t work out for long, and soon they relocated to the former Untapped beer bar/bottleshop space on N. Interstate and abandoned the ice cream concept. That location made it about a year and a half before they recently decided to not reopen after a christmas break.
Klamath Falls, OR
Once a microbrew staple, the almost 20 year-old Klamath Basin Brewing could be widely found in Portland before craft beer was found far and wide. The brewpub in Klamath, Oregon was a popular destination, the brewery was growing before the craft beer revolution and the massive glut of new breweries put growth at a standstill due to increased competition. The Klamath Basin pub technically closed in late November 2021, but was staying open to sell beer to-go into 2022 so warrants inclusion into this year’s closures. Last we heard, Klamath Basin Brewing was selling their inventory but looking for new owners to take over the entire building, brewery, and restaurant rather than a wholesale auction of the assets. We are crossing our fingers that someone will revive the brewery if not the brand itself.
McMinnville, OR
Inquiries to McMinnville, Oregon’s Evasion Brewing have not been returned, but the brewery announced in September that they were up for sale and would close soon if they didn’t find a buyer. The family run operation is going their separate ways not because of any conflict, but simple private life changes that make the award-winning gluten-free brewery untenable. Oregon is already the unofficial capital of gluten-free breweries thanks to Ground Breaker, Mutantis, Moonshrimp, and Bierly Brewing, but this one hurts.
Portland, OR
One of the more publicized closings of 2022 was the 4-year-old Portland, OR brewery West Coast Grocery which shut down at the end of August to make way for the exciting Grand Fir Brewing. Much digital ink has already been spilled about WCG’s rise out of a family grocery operation to become one of the hotter breweries that opened in 2018 only for them to be engulfed in sexual harassment allegations involving the head brewer to a bartender. Despite awards and solid taproom, WCG was never able to regain their footing.
Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom - Alberta
Portland, OR
A great taproom and bottle shop closed in March when Imperial decided to focus on their original SE Division location (which is still going strong.) Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom on NE Alberta was more spacious, arguably more stylish, and on a great stretch of Alberta without many craft beer destinations. The closure was an after effect of COVID-19 and one of the owners battles with cancer (which she has won!). Imperial Division hosted many great events and people, perhaps most notably GluBar, a pandemic pivot idea of serving a menu of warm/hot beer, cider, wine with fun flavorings or mulled ingredients all delivered streetside with heaters and little fire pits. The location made it 5 years until the lease ran out and they decided not to renew, a solid run, and many of the best parts are still alive at the original SE Division location of Imperial.
Portland, OR
First started as a restaurant and nano brewery in SW Portland’s Hillsdale area, Sasquatch Brewing expanded to a production facility in industrial NW Portland in 2017. Sasquatch started their own hard cider brand, New West, and made a name with hazy IPA’s. But the NW industrial area never took off, and was hit even harder during the pandemic. With their production site shuttered, Sasquatch Brewing is keeping their original pub alive for now, sans the brewery portion of the business. The Sasquatch Brewing was put up for sale as a turnkey business before they made the decision to close but it appears they found no buyers, because the equipment is now up on the auction block.