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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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As we enter the warmer months, more and more events are starting to appear on the calendar--fun stuff you won't want to miss. We have two exciting new-brewery openings coming up, two beer weeks, and two festivals. And of course, our own Oregon Homegrown collaboration, which touches down in Hood River and Bend this weekend. Finally, read to the end to hear from a new report about how important the beer industry is to Oregon's economy.
If you are looking for more news and conversation between these emails, visit our feed on Instagram. And please share this email with fans of Oregon beer!
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News
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Oregon's Big Five
The Portland Business Journal reported on the five largest breweries in Oregon. They are Deschutes (232k barrels), Deschutes-owned Boneyard (49k), pFriem (40k), Pelican (38k), and Rogue (36k).
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Claim 52 Has Moved
Claim 52 has moved to its new location in Eugene's Whiteaker neighborhood. It features the main taproom, mezzanine, spacious patio, and back warehouse area with games, a kid's play area, and a stage for live music.
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UPP Open in Bend
Tomorrow, UPP Liquids, the new project from Tonya Cornett and former 10 Barrel brewers, opens tomorrow at the former Immersion site in Bend.
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This is the final week to try all the Oregon Homegrown beers in a concentrated setting. If you haven't been following this project, nine Oregon hop farms have teamed up with 24 breweries to create a wide range of beer styles all featuring Strata hops. The new cultivar, developed by Indie Hops and released in 2018, is a versatile hop that can add light citrus and bright strawberry notes, or more savory cannabis-like notes.
You can find these beers, and maybe even see some of the brewers or brewery reps, at the following locations this weekend (our director, Jeff Alworth, will be in Hood River). These are pretty amazing beers, and you'll thank yourself for experiencing them side-by-side at these locations:
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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
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ZooBrew
ZooBrew returns June 6 and 7! This 21+ festival features more than 50 breweries and cideries, along with food carts, lawn games and live music. Enjoy "keeper chats" and an after-hours look at the zoo’s amazing wildlife.
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Eugene Beer Week
Eugene Beer Week arrives June 9-15th. Tastings, beer dinners, bottle releases, and more, all culminating with the Sasquatch Brewers Fest.
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Portland Beer Week
Beervana is throwing a ten-day celebration from June 13 to 22nd. This flavor and experience odyssey comprises dozens and dozens of events at locations city-wide.
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Tiny Giants Grand Opening
Portland's newest brewery launches on June 14! The celebration features a DJ and barbecue and runs from noon to 9pm at 2705 SE Ankeny. Beers $5!
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Spile and Spigot
Spile and Spigot is the annual festival showcasing beers from 18 breweries practicing the art of traditional British-style cask beer. June 14th at Steeplejack (NE Broadway, PDX).
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Edgefield Brewfest
The 7th Annual Edgefield Brewfest is back for a full day of sunshine, sips, and sounds on the iconic Edgefield lawn on Saturday, June 21st. Enjoy over 100 craft brews and ciders from the PNW!
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Spotlight:
Beer's Economic Impact
Two industry groups, the Beer Institute and National Beer Wholesalers Association, recently released numbers for the economic impact of beer on the US as well as on individual state economies. The beer industry is much larger than the people who work in brewing, distribution, and retail; many adjacent industries exist to support the beer industry, like hop and barley growers, malt houses, yeast labs, brewhouse fabricators, box- and can-makers and so on. Put together, they create sizable economic impact for communities.
The groups that sponsored the research are trade associations promoting and lobbying on behalf the beer industry, but their regular reports are followed closely by the industry and lawmakers. The production, delivery, and sale of beer is by any measure a massive endeavor--and Oregon, no surprise, punches above its weight.
Let's jump into the numbers.
Nationwide
According to the report's calculations, the beer industry contributes $471 billion in economic output and supports more than 2.42 million jobs--about 1.5% of the US labor force. That figure means beer contributes 1.6% to America's GDP. Roughly 350,000 of those people are employed directly in making and moving beer (breweries, distribution, agriculture, and manufacturing), and another 950,000 work in retail.
Oregon
In Oregon, the numbers are even larger. The beer industry contributes $8.9 billion in economic output and supports nearly 47,000 jobs--2.1% of the state's total. A bit more than 8,000 of the jobs are located directly in the beer industry, while another 16,000 work in retail. The industry generates $700 million in taxes and $2.8 billion in wages and benefits. Beer is a bigger part of Oregon's economy, contributing 2.7% to our coffers.
Other Measures
These aren't the only way to slice and dice the impact of Oregon's beer industry. According to the Brewers Association, which excludes large breweries from its dataset (Anheuser-Busch, Molson Coors, etc.), Oregon is a national leader in brewing. The state produced 1.1 million barrels of beer last year (274 million pints!) That makes Oregon, with just 4.2 million people, the 7th largest producer of craft beer in the US. It also accounts for 5% of US production. In terms of per capita production, the state is second--that's because we send a lot of our beer to other states.
Oregon doesn't have a large national or multinational brewing plant--all the beer made in the state comes from smaller breweries founded since 1984. The state's long brewing tradition and deep roots are evident in these numbers, however, which show just how important beer is to Oregon's bottom line.
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