Oregon Breweries Among Top 50 Fastest Growing U.S. Craft Breweries

Three Oregon breweries are among the 50 fastest growing U.S. craft breweries, according to a new announcement from the Brewers Association. Shattered Oak Brewing of Oregon City was #6, Werner Brewing of Tillamook was #30, and Silver Falls Brewery of Silverton was #32. The Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade group representing small and independent craft brewers. "From 2017 to now we have more than doubled standard production," says Brandon Neldner, co-owner of Shattered Oak Brewing. "Most of this due to the introduction of our taproom. And our customers going to other venues and asking for shattered oak beer. I lay no other claim besides a great team, and smart decisions."Shattered Oak Brewing opened The Hive Taphouse in 2017. It serves Shattered Oak beer and Batch One Meads, both of which are made in-house, though for a time Shattered Oak was making beers at fellow OC brewer Feckin Brewery."Without actually opening my notes of production, 2017 was about 85bbls to 2018 being well over 200bbls," says Neldner. Werner Brewing Company is a tiny off-shoot of Werner Gourmet Meat Snacks in Tillamook, Oregon. Twin brothers and sons of the Werner Meat Snacks founder, Daniel and George Werner started the small brewery in 2017 and serve most of their beers at a small deli at the main Werner facility and around Netarts. A spokesman for Werner Brewing says that the company produced just 31 barrels in 2017, but more than doubled that in 2018 to 63.29, according to OLCC taxable barrel reports.“We had no idea it was a possibility for us to be included on the list,” said George Werner, Co-Founder, Werner Brewing Company. “It’s pretty awesome to think about where we started and how far we have in just a couple years; basically, we went from 2 miles per hour to 100 in 28 feet.”  Silver Falls Brewery was opened in 2015 by Eric Druliner and Andrew Fox. The brewery has a taproom and restaurant in downtown Silverton, but operates a brewery off-site across town. In 2017, Silver Falls Brewery produced 79 barrels of beer and more than doubled that to 194 in 2018. That's just the beginning of Silver Falls' success; in 2019 the company plans to increase production another 50% by building a new production facility at the alehouse downtown, with a new 10bbl production system to replace their current 2bbl brewhouse. Co-owner Eric Druliner tells The New School that the brewery is now looking to make more than 800 barrels in 2020.More from a press release:Representing 27 states across the U.S., these small and independent breweries experienced a median growth of 163 percent with the median size being 1,350 barrels of in-house production in 2018. Breweries on the list range from 50 barrels to more than 40,000, and grew from less than 70,000 barrels collectively in 2017 to more than 170,000 barrels in 2018.  As a group, these brewing companies represent approximately 10 percent of total craft growth by volume for the year, and include 13 brewpubs, 35 microbreweries and two regional craft breweries."Even as market competition continues to increase, these small and independent breweries and brewpubs demonstrate there are still growth opportunities across a diverse set of regions and business models," said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association.

View & Download Map of Top 50 Fastest Craft Brewing Companies

Methodology: The list presented includes only small and independent breweries. Growth is measured based on production at their own facilities. Breweries must have opened by December 31, 2016 or earlier to be considered. It only includes breweries that reported 2018 production to the Brewers Association’s annual Beer Industry Production Survey; breweries with staff estimates or data from state excise tax reports were not considered. Breweries also needed a validated production figure for 2017, either via the production survey, or state excise tax data.

A comprehensive State of the Industry report will be delivered during the 2019 Craft Brewers Conference® & BrewExpo America®, held from April 8-11 in Denver, Colorado. The association’s full 2018 industry analysis, which shows regional trends and sales by individual breweries, will be published in the May/June issue of The New Brewer, available in May 2019. ¹ An American craft brewer is a small and independent brewer. Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Independent: Less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. Brewer: Has a TTB Brewer’s Notice and makes beer.About the Brewers AssociationThe Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The BA represents 4,800-plus U.S. breweries. The BA’s independent craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers by small and independent craft brewers. The BA organizes events including the World Beer Cup®, Great American Beer Festival®, Craft Brewers Conference® & BrewExpo America®,SAVOR™: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, Homebrew Con™, and National Homebrew Competition. The BA publishes The New Brewer® magazine and Brewers Publications® is the leading publisher of brewing literature in the U.S. Beer lovers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com® and about homebrewing via the BA’s American Homebrewers Association® and the free Brew Guru® mobile app. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.