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Celebrating Oregon Beer
Your fortnightly round-up of all the beer and hop news from the Beaver State.
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Oregon is gearing up for one of the biggest weekends of the year: Zwickelmania (see below). This is a fantastic opportunity to get out of the house and see how your favorite local brewery makes all that great beer you love. If you're feeling adventuresome, you can even make a day of it and travel to a different part of the state--breweries all over will be participating.
If you are looking for more news and conversation between these emails, visit our feeds at Instagram, Facebook, or Bluesky.
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News
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Skagit Malt Returns
After closing in 2023, Skagit Valley Malting has been purchased and will re-open this spring, with a focus on clients in Oregon and Washington.
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Tariffs Coming (?)
President Trump announced the US would place a global 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum on March 12th. If this really happens, it will have a big effect on breweries.
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Beer's Large Impact
Oxford Economics calculated the value of brewing to national GDP: $182 billion in total revenue, 1.2 million workers, and $39 billion in taxes.
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New Taprooms
The New School rounds up all the new taprooms--including a converted Elks Lodge in Madras, a grower's showcase in hop country, and a new food hall in Phoenix, site of the Alameda fire.
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Assembly on KOIN
Finally, Assembly's George Johnson, a Michigan native, gets a segment on Portland's KOIN TV about his brewery and Detroit-style pizza.
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Zwickelmania 2025
Saturday, February 22, statewide
Zwickelmania, the annual statewide open house, is just two days away. “We created it to give consumers a peek behind the scenes," Oregon Brewers Guild President Sam Pecoraro said. "It gives them access to something they haven’t seen before." The Guild has a full listing of all fifty participating breweries (some with multiple locations). You'll find brewery tours, special beer releases, the master brewers themselves, food, special events, and more. Check out what's happening at a brewery near you at the link below, or read more about Zwickelmania's background and goals here.
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Upcoming Events
Please send us all your upcoming event information at the following email so we can include them in our weekly roundups: events@celebrateoregonbeer.com
SheBrew!
One of the most "Oregon" events of the year is coming up fast: SheBrew, now in its tenth year, scheduled for March 8th. It's no secret that Portland has been ground zero for women entering the brewing industry. The Pink Boots Society was a big part of this, but SheBrew, a celebration of women in craft beer and the cider industry, has been instrumental in making the work of these incredible women visible to the public. Being able to sample beer made by women, at a festival attended by women brewers, has been an incredible showcase for their talents. The fest itself is unlike many others in that it attracts a more diverse audience and offers a collegial, celebratory vibe.
From the organizers: "The festival, held in Portland, features a nationwide homebrewers competition and showcases the talents of female brewers and cider makers. Join us for a day filled with great drinks, family fun, and community support."
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Migration Turns 15
The party starts Friday (2/21) at the Williams pub from 4 pm until closing, with new beers, specialty food menu and live music. On 2/22 the Glisan pub becomes the site of a dual Zwickelmania/ birthday party.
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Barleywine Fest
On February 28th and March 1st, the Horse Brass Pub will host the inaugural Old Tavern Rat Barleywine Fest, featuring vintage and classic barley wines. No advance tickets required.
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Suttle Lodge Fest
The 5th annual Suttle Lodge Winter Beer Festival is this weekend, Feb 21-23 Three days of woodsy, beer-filled fun with 25+ craft breweries, food + snacks, live music and cozy winter lodge vibes.
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New on the Website
Region 2: Portland - How Stumptown Became Beervana
Portland, a city founded in 1845, can’t quite boast the long brewing history of an Albany, NY or Milwaukee, WI. Yet the first brewery arrived just seven years after the city was founded in 1845 and has been a major force for the seventeen-odd decades since. That’s not all: one of the nation’s first craft breweries arrived there in 1979, and by 1986 four were turning out beer. Portland quickly became a leader in what we now call craft brewing, and has led the nation for more than forty years. Below is a condensed history of a city so soaked in suds, locals dubbed it “Beervana.”
A Brewing City (1852 – 1978)
Portland’s location on the Willamette River, just south of its confluence with the mighty Columbia, seemed like a better location for ship access than earlier colonial settlements further south, giving it a strategic advantage it would soon exploit. It was just a clearing by a river to begin with, and barely more than that in 1852, when German-born Henry Saxer founded the first brewery there. Saxer oversaw his Liberty Brewery for a decade before selling it to another German-born brewer, Henry Weinhard, in 1862. The latter Henry had been brewing in the area for a few years, and had a stake in a brewery across the river in Fort Vancouver, Washington. This was common for pioneer towns in the west in this era, and breweries would open and close regularly in the coming decades. Weinhard’s acquisition of the Liberty Brewery, however, proved to be a pivotal moment for the young town.
Keeping Up
For everything Oregon, please visit the Celebrate Oregon website.If you think someone you know might like this newsletter, have them sign up here.
Celebrate Oregon Beer is supported by the Oregon Brewers Guild and Oregon Hop Commission.
Excellent journalism is of the many ways Oregon is so special. In between newsletters, be sure to check out these sites for the latest happenings:
See you again in two weeks!
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