Claim 52 Brewing Sold, with new team taking over Eugene favorite
Claim 52 Brewing is under new ownership with a fresh team joining the 12-year old Eugene, Oregon brewery.
It’s a time of transitions in the central Willamette Valley with last year’s closures of Ninkasi Brewing’s Better Living Room, Alesong’s 5th Street Market Tasting Room, and Falling Sky Brewing’s Pour House Delicatessen. There are signs positive signs as well; less than a year-old Arable Brewing is already a locals favorite, Sixteen Tons bottleshop/taproom is under new ownership that have freshened up the space and selection, Beergarden veteran and food truck owner Holly Emery-Walen Muckerman has opened PLAY taphouse and fun center, Silver Falls Brewery has opened their second location in Eugene, and just this week Ninkasi announced the reopening of their original tasting room.
Claim 52 Brewing has went through it’s fair share of transitions over the years. Opened by co-owners Mercy McDonald and brewer Trevor Ross in 2012 as a nano brewery running three single-barrel homebrew systems in tandem, and in turns, to fill a ten barrel tank. Their initial beers were European with flagships like Kolsch and year-round staples centered around classic Belgian styles. The Claim 52 refers to the donation land claim settled by pioneer William Luckey, where owner Trevor Ross first started homebrewing. In 2014 Claim 52 opened a taproom in Springfield called “The Abbey” at the Sprout! Regional Food Hub. In 2018 the Abbey closed and the Springfield building became what is now one of the states best beer and food halls called the PublicHouse. That same year, the brewery made a smooth transition into opening the Claim 52 Kitchen in downtown Eugene at 1203 Willamette St. For the last 6 years the Claim 52 Kitchen has been the centerpiece of the brand.
Claim 52 Brewing’s new owner Jeremiah Marsden
Claim 52’s new owner is Jeremiah Marsden, a PhD Chemist from University of Oregon, who is the former owner of a local chemistry and pharmaceutical manafacturing company, and a home-brewer and craft beer lover for over 25 years. The brewery leadership team consists of new general manager Jeremy Zollman, Claim 52 Kitchen chef Gelacio Cruz-Alvarado, new sales manager Eddie Conway, and new assistant brewer Aaron Brussat who many will know as a former and longtime New School Beer editor and author. With 7 years experience at Claim 52 Brewing, Willie Gonia has succeeded previous director of brewery operations Bryce Fisher in the role of head brewer.
left to right: Jeremy Zollman, Willie Gonia, Jeremiah Marsden (up top), Aaron Brussat, Eddie Conway.
The brewery will focus on three tiers of beer categories: The fruited smoothie and sour beers that Claim 52 has become closely associated with. The Hazy IPA "Fluffy" which is one of the first Oregon brewed hazy IPAs and one that they now plan to offer year round along w. And then the more classical Kolsch and Admiral Red that make up the core lineup. At the same time, the brewery will still make 10 bbl or larger batches of European lagers, Belgian styles, and barrel aged big beers, including some of new owner Marsden’s award-winning homebrew recipes now scaled up.
Claim 52 plans to expand the PNW distribution especially along the coast, eastern OR, and greater Seattle area, and will continue to self-distribute their beers in Eugene, Portland, Seattle, Southern Oregon, and the Willamette Valley plus a handful of small accounts in various states.
