End of the Road for Portland Brewing

In the olden days of craft beer, one of the first beers that interested me was Bert Grant's Scottish Ale. It was available in Pullman, where I was in graduate school, and also one of the few craft beers you could get in a bottle at the time. There weren't that many around and most were draft only.

Of course, that Scottish Ale was one of the beers Portland Brewing began producing for the Portland market when it opened in March 1986. Contract brewing the Bert Grant beers helped get Portland Brewing off the ground. It gave them a reliable cash flow and, just as important, allowed them to tap into Grant's brewing expertise. 

When Grant increased the size of his brewery in Yakima, Portland Brewing lost the contract to brew his beers for this market. But the Grant beers lived on under different names with slightly tweaked recipes (note that Grant wasn't so sure about the tweaking). The Scottish Ale later morphed into McTarnahan's (the original spelling) Amber Ale, the brewery's most popular beer. 

If you're keeping track, Portland Brewing was the last of Portland's founding breweries to open. It was preceded by the short-lived Cartwright, Bridgeport, McMenamins and Widmer. Of those, only McMenamin's survives in more or less its original form. Cartwright lasted two years, Bridgeport closed in 2019 and Widmer (part of the Craft Brew Alliance) recently sold to Anheuser-Busch. 

We learned last week that Portland Brewing will cease operations in early February. The reasons apparently have nothing to do with the raging pandemic, which has caused widespread disaster in craft beer. That makes sense. Portland Brewing closed its pub two years ago and they were strictly production brewing here since. So its demise has more to do with the state of the industry than the pandemic.

High school buddies Art Larrance, Fred Bowman and Jim Goodwin founded Portland Brewing  The original pub on Northwest Flanders (most recently occupied by the now defunct Rogue) instantly became a popular watering hole and night spot. The space was too small virtually from the start and the brewery eventually moved to industrial Northwest in 1993. The problems began there. 

To finance the significantly larger pub and brewery, the founders sold common stock, They had done that since virtually the beginning and there were many smalltime investors who enjoyed owning part of something exciting. Benefits included a free daily pint. But not all investors were small. Local legend Mac MacTarnahan was a major investor. He gained majority ownership soon after the brewery opened in the new place. By 1998, the MacTarnahan name was used on all branding. 

A few years later, Mac was in failing health and so was the company. The MacTarnahan family, tired of pumping cash into a sinking proposition, sold Portland Brewing to Seattle-based Pyramid in 2004. Minority shareholders, including the founders, were shocked and disgruntled when they received pennies on the dollar for their shares while the MacTarnahan family sucked up the bulk of the proceeds. All's fair in war and business.

The real fun started in 2008, when Pyramid was acquired by Magic Hat. Magic Hat itself was acquired by North American Breweries in 2010. Then Costa Rica-based Florida Ice and Farm (FIFCO) bought North American Breweries in 2012. Sensing the error of the MacTarnahan's branding, the parent company changed the name back to Portland Brewing in 2013.

I always assumed the ownership changes and remoteness led to a muddled strategic vision. That judgment may have been incorrect. It's apparent looking at Oregon numbers (graph courtesy of Jeff Alworth) that Portland/Pyramid was growing its business in the immediate aftermath of the ownership turmoil. During a time when the craft brewery count was escalating rapidly and smaller breweries were beginning to lead the industry, Portland/Pyramid was apparently doing just fine.

The size of the brewery likely made that possible. When the founders moved to industrial Northwest, they installed a 130-barrel brewery. It was a costly leap of faith. They thought they would be brewing large batches of standards like MacTarnahan's for the pub and for distribution. The brewery could efficiently produce a variety of different beers in large quantities. Indeed, the size of the brewery is likely what attracted Pyramid and the other buyers. 

As the brewery count exploded and small batch, experimental beers captured the hearts and minds of craft drinkers in more recent times, Portland Brewing's large brewery became an anchor, not an asset. If they wanted to brew something, they had to make a lot of it. I'm guessing that's why they never really competed for drinkers looking for small batch beers. Instead, they relied on beers that sold well in grocery and c-stores, often at sub premium prices.   

Even though things were going relatively well in 2015, North American Breweries wanted more...or possibly realized what was coming. They hired Robert Rentsch as general manager of Portland Brewing/Pyramid. It was a newly created role and Rentsch seemed like a good fit. He had a solid brand building background at the Craft Brew Alliance, where he worked on the national expansion of Kona and helped launch Omission. 

I talked to Rentsch at the pub one afternoon over a beer. He hadn't been on the job long and wasn't sure or wouldn't say how he was going to attack it. The press release announcing his hiring was vague. It talked about creating a localized, community-based approach and building on the heritage of Portland Brewing and Pyramid. But that kind of approach wasn't really in Rentsch's wheelhouse. He had been successful expanding the reach of brands regionally and nationally. 

But I figured he was a smart guy and he'd find a way to make things work. Things clearly didn't go as he hoped. The brewery saw a decline in barrelage each year after 2014, until it finally hit the skids completely in 2020. When I visited the pub for a corporate event in the summer of 2017, I could tell that things were not going well. It was no surprise when the pub closed in late 2018. 

The impending closure of the brewery evidently means Portland Brewing's brands will soon be history. Production of FIFCO brands will move to New York and shipping beers from there to Oregon probably isn't in the cards. I suspect only MacTarnahan's would have any commercial value and perhaps someone here will gobble it up if and when the trademark lapses. That's what happened when Portland Brewing let the Portland Ale trademark lapse. Art Larrance snapped it up and started brewing it at Cascade. Could that happen with MacTarnahan's? Time will tell.

The demise of Portland Brewing effectively closes the book on the early craft brewing days here. For sure, McMenamin's carries on. But McMenamin's is known more for its grandiose properties and the events it hosts than it is for its beer. It's somehow fascinating to me that the big three will all have vanished on about the same 35-year timeline. Bridgeport, 1984-2019; Widmer, 1985-2019; Portland Brewing, 1986-2021. 

My memories of Portland Brewing, outside MacTarnahan's, are vague. I visited the original pub on Flanders only a handful of times after I arrived here in 1989. I spent far more time at Bridgeport during that era. My fondest memories of Portland Brewing include an Octoberfest celebration held in the area around the pub circa 1995-96 and also of going there for lunches and dinners in the 2000s. 

Besides being on the ground floor of the craft beer movement in Portland and Oregon, the most significant contribution of Portland Brewing and the other founding breweries is that they were a learning and proving ground for brewers and others who subsequently contributed to the industry's development in a variety of ways. 

So long, Portland Brewing. Thanks for the memories.

Larrance Sells Cascade; Will Carry on with OBF

The sale of Cascade Brewing to a group of local investors, announced by press release last week, is one of the bigger beer stories of the pandemic. It puts an end to a part of Art Larrance's beer legacy in Oregon. He received a lifetime achievement award from the Oregon Brewers Guild in February, but his final legacy is yet to be written because he'll continue to be part of the industry for now. 

In fact, the terms of the deal, described as a "phased transition sale," will require Larrance to remain involved in Cascade's business in an advisory capacity pending regulatory review, and to provide assistance to the incoming ownership. I'm not sure if there's a contractual time limit or if it depends on how long it takes to jump through regulatory hoops. Anyway, it ought to be an interesting arrangement.

The sale did not come as a much of a surprise to many who follow the industry. Cascade has been slipping for several years. A Brewbound story reported that annual barrelage declined 21 percent 2017-2018. Those are the most recent Brewers Association numbers. If you look at Oregon stats, the output of Cascade's blending house, where the lucrative sour beers are produced, was down 27 percent 2018-2019. Even more depressing.

Why would the business be tanking? Maybe because the market for specialty sour beers has become increasingly crowded and competitive. When Cascade launched its sour project in 2002-03, the resulting beers were a novelty. Today, sour beers are widely available. It may be that Cascade didn't keep up with the curve of what others were doing. I don't know if that's an accurate point. I do know my geek friends who currently chase sours have a lot of choices and most prefer beers from breweries other than Cascade. 

Cascade's trajectory is the key to understanding why Larrance decided to sell, though the pandemic may have made the sale more urgent. The curious thing to me, when I read the press release, is how the new owners intend to restore Cascade's status in a crowded market. The incoming team has experience in brewery, restaurant and taproom management, but does not appear to have knowledge of the niche industry Cascade is part of. That makes the sale intriguing.

When I spoke to Larrance on the phone, he told me it was time for him to step aside and let new owners write the next chapter in the Cascade story. "I'm getting old," he said. "I need to retire and let younger folks take on the challenges of today's industry." That's a pretty standard response in situations like this. If he were a politician, he would have said he wanted to spend more time with family. The deal had evidently been in the works for a while and now was a good time to finalize it. 

With Brian Yaeger at the Barrel House, 2013

The seeds of Cascade's story go back to Larrance's days at Portland Brewing. Recall that he and high school buddies Fred Bowman and Jim Goodwin co-founded Portland Brewing in 1986. They and the other founding brewers were instrumental in getting Oregon's Brewpub legislation passed in 1985. The Brewpub Bill (aka SB 813)  allowed breweries to sell their beer directly to consumers and essentially launched the craft beer revolution here.

Portland Brewing was highly successful in its original location on Northwest Flanders. It later moved to a much larger facility in industrial Northwest Portland. Soon thereafter, Larrance was tossed to the curb when the founders lost control of the company, a story detailed in Portland Beer. Being forced out unceremoniously provided the motivation that resulted in the founding of Cascade Brewing and, eventually, the opening of the Raccoon Lodge in 1998. 

The Raccoon Lodge has always been an enigma. It failed to ever build much of a following. The beers, which were always branded as Raccoon Lodge products, were serviceable, if not exciting. But the location in Raleigh Hills was problematic from the start. The reason is that beer fans from Beaverton and the westside have no problem traveling to the city core, where the craft beer scene has always been centered. But folks from the core rarely return the favor by traveling to the westside. So the Lodge was not a winner. 

Larrance built the Lodge with help from associate Ron Gansberg, who left Cascade suddenly a couple of years back. Gansberg alone brewed the Raccoon beers for many years. From the start, he and Larrance were determined to come up with what they referred to as a "magic elixir." They did not want to be part of what they called the "hops arms race" that was then underway. That didn't seem like a viable business strategy. Instead, they wanted to develop a product that could be produced on a small scale and sold at a premium price. 

People forget, but the sour program they landed on did not come about by way of an established concept. It was the result of creative experimentation. They saw people like Alan Sprints producing small batch specialty beers. They saw brewers playing around with barrel aging. Gansberg's initial experiments involved putting an English-style IPA in wine barrels. They then tapped a barrel every month over a four month period to see how the beer had evolved next to the same beer from stainless. 

Those experiments fueled their interest in the idea of barrel aging and bacteria. In the end, they chose to produce Northwest style sour beers featuring Oregon fruit, a style that didn't exist previously. They chose lactobacillus for fermentation because they felt it was a unique option. It took some trial and error to get the beers where they wanted them to be, but eventually Cascade was winning medals in competitions and praise from a variety of publications. Larrance has always claimed that he provided Gansberg with the tools needed to build a successful program and otherwise stayed out of the way. 

The Barrel House in 2011

Of course, medals and national recognition failed to solve the Raccoon Lodge problem. They needed a location in the city core. Larrance finally found the space on Southeast Belmont, where Cascade Brewing's Barrel House opened in 2010. The area around the pub has morphed considerably since then, with trendy shopping and residential spaces. But the Barrel House was a gigantic hit from the start. It made Cascade beers readily accessible to the crowd that wanted them and would likely not travel to the westside. It also allowed for easy tourist access and the Barrel House in its heyday always attracted visitors from afar.

The success of the beers created a new problem: they did not have enough production space. That's what led to the opening of the Blending House off Highway 217 several years ago. The climate-controlled space quadrupled the available room for blending and aging from 5,000 to over 22,000 square feet. That facility is pretty amazing to behold. Larrance spent a bundle. 

In the face of declining business, Cascade did not stand still. They rebranded several years ago, introducing refined labeling appropriate for beer that sells at wine prices. They also moved away from the large format bottles to smaller ones. More recently, the Raccoon Lodge was rebranded as The Lodge at Cascade Brewing, an overdue ploy to leverage the Cascade name. It will be interesting to see what the new ownership group does to reverse the downward momentum, given what has already been done. 

Art Larrance, who turned 76 in February, will carry on as director of the Oregon Brewers Festival. an event he helped found in 1988. Once the premier beer event of the year in Portland, OBF has seen declining attendance in recent years. It now runs three days in late July, down from five a few years ago. The coronavirus pandemic may force its cancellation this year. Organizers will make a decision on that in early May, Larrance told me. Industry friends tell me OBF is for sale, has been for a while. 

I met Art Larrance a quarter century ago when I started volunteering at OBF. Our relationship was cordial, but remote until 2010 or so. That's when I first started talking to him about the book I hoped to write on Portland's beer history. He provided gracious assistance, connecting me with people from the old days and sharing his collection of historical materials. The book could not have been written without his help. 

What does the future hold for Art Larrance? I last saw him last summer at the Lodge, where we had arranged to meet to talk about something. I wound up riding along as he delivered a keg to a pub in Hillsboro. Yup, one of the founders of Oregon's craft beer movement was selling and delivering Cascade beer. Retirement, whether full or partial, won't change him that much. He knows a lot of people and likes to jabber about the business. He'll be around.

OBF Rolls With the Changes in 2018

Thirty years after it helped launch a revolution, the Oregon Brewers Festival returns to Portland's Waterfront Park next week, opening on Thursday, July 26th. This will be the 31st rendition and organizers are rolling with the punches of an increasingly competitive market.

It's not really a secret that OBF has navigated shark-infested waters of late. With so many competing events jamming the calendar, beer fans have a lot of choices. OBF attendance has suffered a bit in that scenario. As a result, the event will shift from five to four days this year.

"Attendance peaked a few years ago," OBF director, Art Larrance, told me. "So we're going back to four days, which makes economic sense. We expect about 70,000 visitors this year, which is about what we had over five days last year. We'll see how it goes."

One of the perplexing anomalies facing the event is local indifference. Yup. Stats collected last year indicate out-of-towners accounted for nearly half of OBF attendance. That's been an emerging trend in recent years, I think. It may be that out-of-towners see the festival as a destination, while locals see it as one of many competing events.

"We'd certainly like to see better in-town attendance," Larrance said. "But we obviously know there are a number of beer-related events to choose from. There's nothing we can do about that. We just need to do the best we can at competing for the folks who do enjoy these festivals."

To quench the thirst of beer fans this year, they'll feature 80 beers from independent breweries in 10 states, The Netherlands and Mexico. As was the case last year, the Baby Buds (10-Weiser, Gooseweiser, etc) are banned. Don't feel sorry for them...they'll be fine.

The press materials say more than two dozen beer styles will be represented. Right, but a little checking reveals that 24 of the 80 beers (30 percent) will be IPAs. That's not surprising given the ongoing, mainstream demand for those beers. Also, 55 of the 80 (68 percent) are from Oregon and 23 (29 percent) are from Portland. Washington is the closest state representative with 8 entries.

This year's festival theme is, "With Beer Brings Friendship.” The "friends" this year are five breweries from Baja, California, whose beers will be pouring. This represents the rebirth of the practice of bringing in foreign brewers, launched by Larrance several years ago and abandoned last year due to logistical and cost concerns.

"We tasted these beers and met three of the five brewers at a festival in San Diego last October," Larrance said. "These are great beers and I think people will be pleasantly surprised. The guys are really excited to present their beers here."

For the first time ever, they'll be offering wines (four) and ciders (two) at the event. They've had requests for many years, Larrance acknowledged. The difference now, it seems, is organizers are actively courting folks who aren't necessarily beer fans. That's a smart business move, something you should do when attendance starts to lag.

Glass and mug styles have jumped around in recent years. This year, they're returning to the mug style they used in 2016. As always, a current year mug is required to drink. That'll cost you $7. Tokens are $1. You'll pay four tokens for a full mug (12 ounces), one token for a 3 oz taste of beer or cider. Wine will be five tokens for a 5 oz pour and tasters won't be available.

2016 mug

A twist for 2018 involves the program, which they've been printing and handing out for years. (I have a morgue at home to prove it.) Not this year. Patrons will be able to pick up a sheet that lists the beers and which trailers they're on. But the printed program is being discontinued and effectively replaced by a mobile app, which can be downloaded via the App Store or Google Play.

"We think a lot of people will like the app," said Larrance. "Regardless, we've been dumping thousands of printed programs every year for the last few years...it just didn't make sense. We hope the printed list will satisfy those who don't want to bother with the app, and there's a sortable, printable list posted on the OBF website for hardcore fans."

Last year's Specialty Tent, which replaced the International Tent, which had replaced the Buzz Tent, is going away this year. The area that tent occupied is shaded and ideal for chill seating. Given the issues they're having with attendance, it apparently seemed wise to fill that area up with tables and chairs for patron seating.

Organizers are advising festival attendees to walk, bike or take public transit to the event. That's sound advice considering possible bridge closures, parking issues and impaired driving concerns. Regardless of how you get to the park, the Safe Ride Home program is once again in play. It offers reduced-cost rides with the goal of getting people home safely.

Go to the OBF website for information on event hours, Safe Ride Home, what you can and can't bring into the park and a whole lot more. This event may have lost a bit of momentum in recent years, but it remains the granddaddy of beer festivals in Oregon.

See you Thursday.

Oregon Beer Awards, Version 2018

The 2018 Oregon Beer Awards ceremony took place at Revolution Hall on Wednesday evening. It was a packed house of mostly industry-connected folks. There may have been some independents who attended because they thought it might fun...and they were rewarded.

Organizers have fixed a lot of the issues that made this event less than perfect in the past. Getting into the building was a problem in each of the last two years. I didn't see much of that this year, maybe because I was in the building early. Things seemed to have a better flow.

The two MCs did a good job keeping the awards on schedule. Presenters got onstage and mostly focused on the award they were handing out. There wasn't as much in-between fluff as what I recall from past years. Yet the ceremony still lasted nearly three hours.

This is the third year in which the award winning beers were selected by way of objective judging. I was part of that again. Judging (with the exception of the fresh hop beers) happened in late January at Maletis Distributing headquarters on Swan Island. Very nice facility there.

Judging was done over two days. We tasted a gazillion beers in 24 style categories. The Oregon Beer Awards are establishing themselves as our own version of the Great American Beer Festival, but the number of categories is a far cry from the 90+ judged in Denver. That's good and bad.

I was on the panel that selected winners in Classic UK Styles. That category included English-style IPAs, porters and the gold medal winner, a barleywine (Femur) from Boneyard. Having all these sub-styles in the same category was, like a friend of mine, a little awkward. My understanding from competition director, Ben Edmunds, is they hope to adjust for that next year. That would be good.

This year's actual judging was nicely arranged. The space at Maletis was an improvement on what we had in previous years. Then there were the countless behind-the-scenes people who volunteered their time to pour and schlep samples around. Big thanks to those folks. In contrast, those of us who judge are on easy street. Honest.

No need for me to dwell on the winners. Ezra posted a recap within hours of the event winding up. He's a co-founder of the competition and director of the awards ceremony. Unlike the rest of us schmucks, he surely had the results in hand prior to the time winners were announced on stage. Regardless, you can read his article here.

One of the complaints I've heard several times around town is that the OBA is the Breakside show. That's due to the fact that Breakside has been pretty dominant since judging began in 2016 and that Ben Edmunds, Breakside brewmaster, has somehow fixed the competition.

That's a pretty outrageous suggestion, right? And it's all the more outrageous if you know Ben, who is one of the most honest and genuine people you'll meet in this business. Breakside was tied with 10 Barrel for the most medals this year with five each. Maybe Edmunds was a little off his fixing game this year. Maybe.

Another part of the OBA schtick is an academy that votes on a bunch of things, like Best New Brewery, Best Brewpub Experience, etc. I plead guilty to being part of that academy and I voted for  the winners, for better or worse, in most categories (the results are part of Ezra's piece).

One area where my vote differed from the academy was the Hall of Fame choice. John Harris was inducted and he is certainly deserving of the honor. Harris started his career at McMenamin's and became an icon at Deschutes and Full Sail before launching Ecliptic several years ago. He's a great fit for the Hall of Fame.

My vote went to Art Larrance, one of the founding fathers here with Portland Brewing. Art has been director of the Oregon Brewers Festival since the beginning and, of course, founded Cascade Brewing in 1998. Along with the Widmers, the Ponzis and the McMenamins, Art was instrumental in getting the Brewpub Bill, passed in 1985. These folks should all be in the Hall of Fame ahead of brewers who benefited from their efforts. My opinions on this issue are informed mostly by history. Thus, I hope all of the founding brewers are inducted before they're gone.

As has been the case for the past several years, the Oregon Beer Awards coincided with release of Willamette Week's 2018 Beer Guide. I wrote some snippets and a short article for the Guide again this year. The 2018 focus is a little different, as we switched from covering breweries within 50 miles of Portland to covering the Top 100 Oregon breweries. That actually aligns with the OBA judging. Copies are available around town and there will be an online version soon.

There's no particular need to review the Guide here. It is what it is. One thing I do want to mention is the list of Top 10 beers. That's a highly subjective list, compiled by WW staffers and beer freelancers during a December bottleshare. The top beer listed is Upright's Pathways, a unanimous choice. Coincidentally, Pathways won a gold medal in objective judging. Hmmm.

So that's about it. As in past years, thanks to Willamette Week for sponsoring the competition and to Ben Edmunds for running it. Finally, special thanks to Martin Cizmar, WW arts and culture editor, who drove the editorial portion of the Beer Guide and invited me to participate several years ago. Martin is moving on to new digs at RawStory. Good luck, man.

Novelty and (Brief) Ecstasy

When Art Larrance opened the Raccoon Lodge in 1998, his top priority was finding what he now refers to as a "magic elixir." In short, he and his minions, principally Ron Gansberg and Preston Weesner, wanted to invent a unique beer that would define them.

You know the story. After messing with barrels as part of an IPA aging experiment, they more or less stumbled on sour beer. The concept didn't catch on right away, but they had their "magic elixir." Cascade Brewing, Larrance's corporate name since day one, has ridden sour beer to great fame and fortune.

Keep in mind that Larrance was one of Portland's founding brewers at Portland Brewing. He was quick to understand that standard, everyday beers weren't going be enough to keep a brewery viable. He figured he had to have something special to rise and stay above the crowd.

That philosophy was not generally embraced by craft brewers prior to the spike in brewery count that started to happen about 10 years ago. Breweries went about their business with standard lineups and the occasional seasonal, in draft and occasionally packaged form.

As Jeff Alworth pointed out in a recent post, the accelerating brewery count has altered strategies dramatically. Since 2007, the number of breweries in this country has quadrupled. We now have more than 6,000 operating breweries. You need to do something to attract attention in that environment.

The consequence of this reality is that virtually all craft breweries are rapidly pushing out experimental beers hoping to land on something that will attract the momentary interest of consumers who have very short attention spans. Even the beers tend to come and go quickly.

I don't use Untappd or any other app that might help me track my beer consumption. But I'm guessing I drank or sampled nearly 1,000 beers last year. Most of those beers I drank once. Many of them I saw once, as they vanished from sight after a brief period. But never mind.

Let's face it. The push for novelty has resulted in a lot of sketchy beer. We're currently stuck in a hazy rut. Breweries are nervously throwing everything but the kitchen sink at hazy beers, hoping to create something that produces ecstasy in the minds and mouths of consumers, if only briefly.

You must have a hazy, preferably several, to be relevant in today's marketplace. Within the last 24 hours, I've received several press releases and seen numerous social media posts announcing the release of hazy beers in cans and on draft. It makes my head spin.

Frankly speaking, it is no longer possible to keep track of all the new and soon-to-be expired brands. The notion that a beer isn't relevant unless it's new and trendy is creating a high level of insanity and insecurity in craft beer. The mass urge to discover new and unique beers got us here.

I have no idea how we get out.

OBF Grapples with Attendance Drop, Uncertainty

One of the bigger surprises on last week's beer news radar screen was news that attendance at the Oregon Brewers Festival declined dramatically in 2017. I guess a lot of us probably assumed attendance was declining for the last few years. But the actual number shocked me.

For many years, OBF organizers have been saying the event attracts 80,000 fans to Waterfront Park. That claim was repeated in the promotional materials for this year's event. Then we learned that 2017 attendance was 49,000, an astonishing number.

That information came to light at a Tuesday night briefing at Cascade Barrel House. Jeff Dense, professor of political science and craft beer studies at Eastern Oregon University, gave his annual talk on the OBF's economic impact and other findings.

In case you're wondering and unaware, Dense has been studying the economic impact of OBF since 2011. He and a team of students completed more than 900 on-site interviews this year. As in past years, he used that information, along with data provided by event organizers, to build conclusions.

Some of the findings are intriguing. Nearly half of attendees were from out-of-town this year. Almost the same percentage were attending for the first time. Women accounted for 44 percent of festival attendance. But the drop in attendance is a sore spot, in part because it contributed to an 18 percent decline in economic impact, according to Dense.

Art Larrance, co-founder and director of OBF, stepped forward and said hot weather may have hurt attendance. He also said the sheer number of summer festivals is creating serious competition for the event that launched the festival concept in Oregon 30 years ago. When it started, OBF was the only show in town. Now, beer festivals are an everyday thing, he said.

In response to declining attendance, Larrance said they will eliminate the Wednesday session and reduce the total number of beers to about 80. They also expect to fold up the Specialty Tent, occasionally known as the Buzz Tent or International Tent, and go to a smaller 12 oz mug (four tokens) and 3 oz taster (one token). Oh, and they'll offer cider and wine for the first time ever.

There's a lot going on here, so let me dive into the detail. I spoke to Larrance by phone to get additional perspective on some of these issues.

Attendance is a complicated issue, Larrance said. Even he doesn't fully understand the 49,000 estimate. It's a bit of a mess, actually. The 80,000 attendees organizers have been touting was based on wristbands. But one wristband isn't the same as one attendee because some people visit the festival multiple times. They handed out 70,000 wristbands this year. The 49,000 is an estimate of "unique visitors" based on information collected in the surveys and an equation.

In fact, the attendance numbers aren't as shocking as they first appear. Look at the graphic below, provided by OBF. Of the three years shown, only 2016 exceeded the standard estimate. This year was definitely the low ebb, but it isn't as if they're in multi-year freefall if we go by wristbands. And that's what we have to look at if we want to make a fair comparison.

Hot weather and beer event saturation. Sure it was hot. But we've had heat at this event many times and never heard about draconian attendance declines. Event saturation is certainly an issue. There are beer events happening year-round in this city. The pace intensifies during the summer. I suspect the combination of heat and event fatigue probably kept some locals away. Still, the dropoff isn't a disaster if you look at year-to-year wristbands.

It's something no one wants to talk about in detail, but declining revenue, not attendance, is the true reason behind the panic and push for change. They're selling fewer tokens and less beer, while expenses are staying the same or rising. Larrance talked about the need to cut expenses, which are substantial when you factor in park rental, security, police, etc.

Some of the revenue loss is their own fault. The 2017 glass had a 4 oz taste line, reportedly a mistake. It had been a 3 oz line in recent years. A 2017 taste, for one token, was a great deal for attendees and probably discouraged folks from laying out five tokens on a full mug, 14 ounces this year. In recent years, when tastes were smaller, there was more incentive for folks to fill their 12 oz mugs for four tokens, a boon for organizers. As noted, they'll go back to the smaller glass and taster size next year, thus encouraging more people to pony up four tokens for full glasses of beer. Shazam!

Kicking Wednesday to the curb is an odd idea. Look at the graphic again. Wednesday attendance, which funnels out of the brunch, has been pretty steady. Sunday, on the other hand, is a consistent loser. It looks like Sunday is the day that needs to go. There must be more at work. Perhaps Wednesday, which is heavy on industry and media attendance, is a money pit. Of course.

The Specialty Tent is an easy out. It's mainly an attraction for geeks and it occupied a shady area that might be better-used for seating in hot weather. Since it was comfortable, Larrance said traffic was static and people who hung out there didn't buy all that much beer. Which means it was part of the revenue hit. Losing it isn't a huge deal, except to the geek crowd.

They've offered more than 90 beers under the big tents in recent years. Cutting it to 80 sounds worse than it likely is. Contrary to some claims, OBF organizers actually spend considerable time curating the list of what pours. They actually turn a lot of applications down. If there's a flaw in that process, it may be that they're too loyal to longstanding friends and supporters.

Larrance told me they get frequent requests for gluten-free items. Since there's a lot of good cider and wine in Oregon, he thinks it's reasonable to provide some options outside beer. Bringing in wine and cider will make a few people happy. Will those folks outnumber those who are unhappy about losing the Specialty Tent and Wednesday session? Seems unlikely.

As we talked, Larrance offered up that maybe the OBF has seen its best days. "All events run their course," he said. "With so many choices out there, we can't blame folks who choose to attend other events around town. We're trying to come up with ways to evolve with the times to make this a viable event going forward. It isn't easy."

Indeed, it isn't. The entire face of craft beer has changed since the first OBF in 1988. As I've discussed here before, events and event marketing are driving a lot of what happens in today's industry. I believe an increasing number of modern craft beer fans are looking for a more intimate and personal experience than the OBF provides.

This is much less about the beer than the experience. People enjoy going to smaller events where they can mingle with brewers, brewery owners and others connected to the industry. Check your social media feed for upcoming release parties and tap takeovers. Look how many of those events feature the opportunity to talk with folks who have something to do with the beer.

By comparison, the OBF is impersonal and not at all intimate. The volunteers pouring beer typically know nothing about it and there's rarely anyone around who does. The OBF can and should commit to offering the best possible beer list. But that won't remove the stigma of it being a huge, impersonal drunkfest at a time when more and more folks are looking for something more.

Larrance is thinking outside the box in response to the challenges. He's toying with the idea of bringing in a group of brewers from outside the US and essentially building a mini-fest around them. That's something he tried with brewers from the Netherlands and Japan in recent years, but it sounds like this will be a more serious effort, if it happens. Give him credit for creativity.

I honestly wonder if we're not entering a difficult period for larger, older beer festivals. When I was at GABF in early October, it became clear to me that some of the best action was outside the Convention Center at smaller events. Maybe that's going to happen with OBF. Maybe it will morph into a cluster of smaller events at parks, breweries and pubs around the city.

Craft beer's future is full of intriguing possibilities.

OBF to Feature Specialty Tent, Larger Sample Pour

The Oregon Brewers Festival, our longest running and biggest beer party, returns to Tom McCall Waterfront Park next week. Roughly 80,000 expected attendees will be treated to some new and old wrinkles at the 30th annual event, which runs July 26-30.

They'll pour beer from 91 independent craft breweries this year. That's up from 88 in 2016. Progress, I suppose. Yeah, the focus on "independent" means the baby Buds are locked out, so you won't see anything from 10 Barrel, Elysian, Goose Island, etc. Poor pumpkins.

Styles are all over the place. The media materials claim more than two dozen styles will be represented at the event. I can't vouch for the accuracy of that claim. But we aren't talking about an IPA-dominated fest this year. There are plenty of choices. The main festival list is here.

 A new twist this year is the so-called Specialty Tent, where they will feature more than 90 rare and experimental beers. This used to be called the Buzz Tent. Beers are going to cost more here, double or triple tokens, and quality is going to be hit and miss. Trust me on that point.

The Specialty Tent is replacing the International Tent, which organizers launched three years ago. I spent time in that tent in each of the last three years, with mixed results. The cost of bringing the beers and brewers in for the event apparently got to be too much.

"We'll bring the international beers back when we can figure out how to get them here fresher and more economically," Art Larrance told me. "The combined cost of the beer and shipping was difficult to recoup through sales. The cost became unmanageable."

Another change this year is the mug. No, they aren't going back to glass. This year's plastic mug (I haven't seen the real thing or a photo) apparently holds 14 ounces. Recent mugs evidently held 12 ounces. The larger size means a full mug of beer will set you back five tokens this year. It had been four tokens for quite a while.

"Due to the larger mug and increased keg prices, we feel justified in the first price increase in many, many years," Larrance said. "There's still no cost to attend the festival and no minimum purchase package, such as we see with many events."

There's a bigger surprise lurking.

Several years ago, the OBF went to a 3 oz sample. Yeah, that mark on your glass or mug has been 3 ounces since 2013, in case you didn't know. Larrance tells me this year's sample size is 4 ounces. What? And it will still cost a single token! Huh? If you think that's a surprise, you aren't alone.

Forget the mug price. Full pours aren't that common at this event. Samples are the rage. But every time they pour a sample this year, it'll be an ounce more than it's been in recent years. And they're worried about increasing keg prices? Strange, eh?

One thing the 4 ounce sample will do, assuming it's legit, is it will encourage attendees to get that size. It's too good a deal to pass up. Well, too good until the evening brofest lines reach the point where a full beer is required. Then you're going to suck it up and plop down five tokens. Admit it.

If you're wondering where OBF pours have been over the years, I did some research using my mug collection back in 2013, when they first went to the 3 oz sample. If you're so inclined, the link to that story is here.

It's almost hard to fathom, but the OBF isn't just about beer. The event also features live music, food vendors, craft booths, homebrew demonstrations and souvenir sales. It has evolved into a sort of mini-trade show surrounded by beer. Not a horrible idea.

When the first Oregon Brewers Festival materialized in 1988, there was nothing like it in the country. Organizers wanted a way to showcase Oregon craft beer, which was in its infancy, in a pleasant, outdoor setting. The idea caught on and evolved into something really no one anticipated.

Looking ahead to next week, I see a calendar full of smaller beer events around town. These events ride the wave of craft beer's popularity, a wave the OBF was instrumental in creating. They now compete with the OBF for patrons. If you don't see the irony, it might be time to stop drinking.

There's a ton of information on the event site here. Definitely give it a look before you head to the park. It looks like the weather is going to cooperate nicely. I'll return to this space next Thursday or Friday with a report on the actual event. Happy festing! 🍻

Note: This post has been edited to reflect what Chris says in the comments below. The smallest pour the OBF has offered is 3 ounces, which has been the case since 2013. I incorrectly said it was a 2 oz pour in recent years. I trusted my memory when I should have looked at my own research. 

Gracefully Aging OBF Returns for 28th Year

Once upon a time, young Americans grew up dreaming they might be president someday. Later, those same kiddos dreamed of being rock stars. More recently, they dream of becoming a craft brewer. Or of organizing a beer festival. That's where we are, for better or worse.

As we prepare for the 28th rendition of the Oregon Brewers Festival next week, I can assure you that none of the event's founders had any deep, long-held fantasies about organizing such an event. The reality is, they needed a vehicle to promote their beers in 1988. The OBF provided it.

It's hard to fathom in our present circumstance, but Portland hasn't always been a craft beer-crazed town. There haven't always been daily beer events to distract us from the traditional duties of citizenship. Craft beer would come to rule the hearts of minds of Portlanders. But that didn't happen overnight.

For many years, the OBF was the only significant promotional event on the craft beer calendar. When it finished its annual run, I can remember commiserating with others over the wait to the following year. Today, we just pull out our phones and check social media for the next worthwhile thing.

The truth is, the OBF has aged gracefully. Organizers have faced a barrage of challenges over the years. Ever-increasing attendance is surely the biggest issue. They've addressed it by adding days and spreading things out in the park. Entry has been streamlined and finding the beers you want to try is easier due to improved signage and a better event program, which is free to everyone.

Thank the city for a major improvement this year, which involves closing the northbound lane of traffic on SW Naito Parkway next to Waterfront Park. The vacated lane will provide added space for the public to walk and bike safely for the duration of the event. The gate on that side is typically the busiest and providing additional space there is a positive thing.

There's also the festival's effort to develop a cultural exchange between Oregon and international brewers. This year, the OBF welcomes brewers from New Zealand and the return of some who came last year from The Netherlands. These folks will be hanging out in the International Tent talking beer and other things. They are guests of Art Larrance and the OBF, which paid to get them here so they can see what we have and share what they're up to. Good vibes.

Of course, there's the beer...lots of it. Volunteers will be pouring 90 beers in the main tents and another 15 in the International Tent. The press release says there are 47 styles represented. I'll have to take their word for it because I haven't yet gone over the beer list in detail. Here's a link to the list if you want to take a look.

Prices at the OBF have remained stable in recent years. Oh sure, they went to a 3 oz taste two years ago. Others quickly followed suit. You won't pay a cent to enter Waterfront Park. If you want to drink beer, a festival glass will run you $7 and tokens are $1. Most beers in the main tents will cost a token for a taste, four tokens for a full glass.

It may not be worth reporting here, but the glass glass used the past two years is history. There were some problems with people doing dumb things with the glasses in the downtown area after exiting the park. Portland Police asked organizers to switch to something less breakable. The new glass looks similar to the ones used the last two years, but it's made of polycarbonate plastic.

Expect excellent weather. Last year was the first year the OBF experienced dreadful weather. It was cold and wet the first day before gradually warming for the weekend. I had never seen anything like that in 25 years of attendance. It probably won't happen again for a long time, certainly not in the hot and dry conditions of this year.

Like a lot of people, I'll be posting some thoughts on beers after attending on opening day. Stop back by if you're looking for that information. Otherwise, there's a ton of info on the festival site here. Event dates are July 22-26.

Cascade Builds on Success of its NW Sour Beers

Big things are happening at Cascade Brewing. The purveyors of Northwest-style sour beers have been growing like crazy since opening the "House of Sour" Barrel House on Southeast Belmont. Today, they are building on that success.

Plans for the immediate future include moving production to a significantly larger, climate-controlled facility in Beaverton. Most blending and aging will happen there. Meanwhile, the Barrel House, freed of production demands, will be transformed with additional seating and a substantially expanded kitchen.

A little background. Before Larrance opened the Barrel House in 2010, Cascade's sour beers, which had won GABF medals, were sequestered at the Raccoon Lodge on Portland's westside. The Lodge never attracted much of a following, victimized by the fact that people from the city's core generally don't go west for beer.

In fact, Larrance had coveted a spot in Southeast Portland for many years. It turned out the feeling was mutual on the part of core residents. Almost as soon as the Barrel House opened, it was pretty clear that the space was too small. Of the 7,000 sq ft of space there, 5,000 was dedicated to production...much of it barrels. That meant limited seating and a tiny kitchen
.

Blending house

"Opening of the Barrel House built on our success in a big way," Larrance recently told me. "People who were curious came in to taste the beers. Many liked them. The Barrel House exceeded expectations. The renovation will make the place more user-friendly. We've needed more seating and a fully functional kitchen since the beginning and now we'll have the space to do that."

Of course, the ability to do these things is fueled by the success of Cascade's sour beers. They did not invent sour beers. What they did do is take the sour concept and develop a unique approach to it by leaning on Northwest produce, typically added during the aging process.

Gansberg speaks

Cascades's sour program is largely the creation of Ron Gansberg, who worked at Bridgeport and Portland Brewing before joining forces with Larrance during construction of the Raccoon Lodge in 1997-98. He was then tasked with finding a "magic elixir."

Larrance and Gansberg knew they would not survive selling a commodity product. They had no intention of competing with the likes of Widmer and Deschutes. Instead, they wanted a specialty product, a "magic elixir," that would be produced in limited quantities and sold at a premium price. Sour beers are the result and the solution to that challenge.

There's more than just expansion going on at Cascade. Larrance is working on several pieces of legislation that will enhance Cascade's ability to produce and sell its beer. Gansberg is actively working on building relationships, determined to be as sharing and collaborative as possible.

"Because of the success we've had with these beers, I find myself in a unique position," Gansberg says. "I have an opportunity to work with others and share the expertise and experience I've acquired. That's a big priority within our organization, but I'm also developing collaborative relationships with brewers outside Cascade and Portland."

You look at what these guys have done and you have to be impressed. When they started Cascade Brewing, they had an outline of where they wanted to go and how they hoped to get there, but it was rough. Their success is largely the result of determination and creativity. Now they get to to enjoy the accolades and share what they know. Good times.

In case you're wondering, Cascade will be hosting a a series of events in conjunction with the upcoming Craft Brewers Conference, April 14-17. They expect to feature a hoard of sour and wild beers at two bars. It's going to be packed much of the time. Watch their social media feed for details.

Update: I just found out my article on Cascade Brewing is featured on the cover of BeerAdvocate's April issue. I can't provide a link because there's no online version as of today.

Legislature Considers Lifting Self-Distribution Limit

As many who stop by here know, there is pending legal and legislative action related to craft beer in a number of states. Some of these efforts involve antiquated growler policies or inept selling restrictions. And let's not forget the efforts to slow Anheuser-Busch in Kentucky and Idaho.

Here in Oregon there are two pieces of legislation in the pipeline. There hasn't been any significant reporting on these proposed measures that I'm aware of. That's largely because the current session of the Legislature only convened on Feb. 2. Everything is pretty new.

Senate Bill 138
The first and most significant bill is SB 138, which would remove the current self-distribution limit imposed on brewpubs. Today, the limit is 5,000 barrels/year, which means brewpubs can sell direct to wholesale accounts up to that number. The limit was 10,000 barrels in the original Brewpub Bill, passed in 1985, and it has bounced around over the years.

If passed, SB 138 would essentially rewrite a portion of the existing brewpub law (ORS.471.200). The principal sponsors are Art Larrance (Cascade Brewing), Rogue Brewing and McMenamins. If you dial up the working text of the bill, you'll see the sponsors have simply italicized that portion of the existing law that they want changed. They have not entered a new suggested limit.

In fact, these guys would like to see the self-distribution cap removed entirely. That's the way it works if you have a brewery license in Oregon. You can brew and self-distribute all you want. SB 138 would give brewpubs the same privilege if the cap is removed. By the way, it's the brewery law has allowed Anheuser-Busch to buy and operate distributors here. Food for thought.

I've been copied on a few of the emails that are circulating leading up to a hearing scheduled for this Wednesday in Salem. There will be quite a few hearings, I suspect. Besides upping the barrel limit, the sponsors hope to get some additional stipulations built into the language of the law.

First, they want the eventual barrel limit (assuming it isn't unlimited) to apply only to beer sold to customers outside their own systems. For example, McMenamins could brew all or most of its beer in one gigantic brewery and distribute as much as it wants to its own pubs. But it could only sell up to the statutory limit to outside establishments. Second, only barrels sold in Oregon would count against the limit. Beer self-distributed elsewhere wouldn't count.

The motive behind the legislation is sketchy. OLCC stats (through November) show that an overwhelming majority of Oregon brewpubs will sell less than 5K barrels in the state for 2014. Only the top 20 or so will exceed the cap. Rogue and McMenamins, which have a lot of pubs, might benefit via a higher cap. Cascade (Barrel House and Raccoon Lodge) is well down the list and doesn't appear to be in a position to benefit. Unless there's something we don't know.

Removing the barrel limit or making it very high could lead to the creation of a network or networks of tied-houses around the state. Large brewers could own pubs where only their brands would be sold...a lot like the good old days before Prohibition. That kind of arrangement is precisely what the three-tier system was designed to prevent. But some brewers don't like distributors and wish to clip their wings. That appears to be the main thrust of this bill.

I'm not sure attention spans allow for it, but everyone needs to understand what's going on here. Since 1985, brewpubs have been able to operate outside the three-tier system by self-distributing to build their brand. Once they exceed the barrel cap, they're required to sign with a distributor and rejoin the three-tier system. The intent of SB 138 is to alter the conditions under which that happens.

Oregon's Beer and Wine Distributors haven't yet weighed in. My guess is they'll put up a pretty good stink when they do. Why? Because SB 138, particularly if the eventual cap were unlimited or very high, might threaten their business. The state's larger brewpubs could decide to brew and self-distribute massive quantities of beer, taking distributors out of the profit loop.

As for brewers, the Oregon Brewers Guild is staying neutral on this bill. Why? Because they typically support legislation only when they think it will benefit all members. When they aren't sure or if they know a bill will benefit only some of their members, they stay neutral. Clearly, they know the score with SB 138: it will benefit only the few.

Will the barrel limit be removed? Probably not. The beer distributors have the power to block that. Will it be raised? Quite possibly. Even though the current limit only impacts the state's largest brewpubs, raising it to the original 10K barrels could happen. It might even go higher. The politicians and lobbyists have some serious negotiating to do.

In the next day or so, I'll get to the second piece of proposed legislation.

Oregon's Biggest Craft Beer Party Returns

Next week's renewal of the Oregon Brewers Festival is arguably the highlight of beer year here. The beer scene has spawned a flood of smaller events through the year, but the OBF is the oldest and biggest. Most of those other events wouldn't even exist without the blueprint of the OBF.

So I'm always somewhat amused when I hear some of my beer geek friends beating on the OBF. Gripes take many forms. Some don't like the crowds or the atmosphere. Others aren't impressed with the beer list. Still others think the event has become too commercialized.

Look, I've been happy to complain about some of the shortcomings at the OBF. I wish they could do something about the lines. I questioned the move to a 3 oz taste last year. I frankly don't like the frat-like drinking atmosphere that descends Friday and Saturday night. I digress.

As with any large event, you have to take the good with the bad. Things are always going to be crazy when you get a lot of people together. Add excessive beer drinking and you've got a recipe for potential chaos. But I've had far more good times than bad ones at the OBF over the years.

The first OBF was held 26 years ago this month, July 1988. That makes this year's event the 27th actual festival. We've come a long way in the intervening years. As the inaugural poster below shows, that first OBF was a two-day affair. Later, they added a third day, which prompted a lot of Friday afternoons off around town. Then they went to four days, prompting full days off. Last year they added Wednesday in an effort to spread the crowds out over more days.

It isn't mentioned very often, but there has also been an evolutionary shift in what the OBF is all about. During the early years, it was mostly a chance for craft brewers to show off beers that differed from macro sludge. Today, the event is much more about beers that are unique or special even within craft beer. Many of the beers poured are brewed for the event.

Want a great example? Last year, Heathen Brewing brewed Transgression IPA specifically for the OBF. This beer requires a special dry-hopping treatment. The effort paid off in a big way, as the beer was a huge hit and won the people's choice award. It also put Heathen, which operates out of a residential garage in Vancouver, on the map. That's the power of the OBF.

There's also the economic impact. In the early years, the OBF was a far more modest affair than it is today. Announced attendance last year was 85,000. The financial benefit to the local economy is enormous, estimated at $31 million by a group that surveys attendees and analyzes the collected data. This is to say nothing of the countless spin-off festivals and events that boost Portland's bottom line.

If you need one more indicator of how popular and mainstream the OBF has become, look no further than the annual Get My Perks promotion. The special offer went live the other morning and they sold the 300 available packages in less than 10 minutes. That's a package every two seconds. Ye gods!

OBF 2014
Organizers will pour 88 beers in 30 styles from the taps near the main tents. Don't get too caught up in the style guidelines. As in recent years, there are a lot of IPAs. But fruit beers have a solid presence and some of the IPAs actually double as fruit beers. There's something for everyone. You can review the beer list here and create your own pre-fest cheat sheet.

It's worth mentioning that the Buzz Tent, which features rare and often barrel-aged beers, returns after taking last year off. They're now calling it the Specialty Tent. Expect to find some great, albeit costly beers in there. They plan to roll through more than 100 specialty beers during the course of the event. This is where you'll find the beer geek crowd.

An added attraction will be some brewers visiting from Utrecht in the Netherlands, which has a Friendship City relationship with Portland. OBF co-founder Art Larrance traveled there last year and discovered a thriving craft beer scene that reminded him of the Northwest in the 1980s. He invited a group of brewers over and several Dutch beers will be poured in the Specialty Tent. There will also be daily meet the brewer sessions. It's all part of giving the OBF more of an international flavor.

Last year's switch from the traditional plastic mug to a glass was well-received and continues. The glass is a far better tasting vessel and, coincidentally, helped obscure last year's other big change...the advent of the 3 oz pour. Three ounces in the old plastic mug would have raised some eyebrows. Three ounces in the bottom of a nicely tapered glass didn't cause much concern. Smart move.

It's the same old story with tokens and glasses. The glass will set you back $7 and tokens are $1. There are a few places selling glasses and tokens in advance: Belmont Station, Cascade Barrel House, the Raccoon Lodge, Deschutes in the Pearl, the Green Dragon and Rogue Public House. You won't save any money, but you may save time in line at the festival.

Even if some of my beer geek friends aren't especially keen on the OBF, I still think of it as the marquee craft beer event of the summer and year. There isn't a single event on the calendar that has close to the influence of the OBF. I look forward to it every year. If you're keeping track, I'll be attending Wednesday and will post findings and favorites on Thursday or Friday.

See you under the tents.

Art Larrance at 70: Still Going Strong

In much the same way that you don't know what you're going to get in the NFL draft, we didn't know what we had when Art Larrance co-founded Portland Brewing in 1986. Nearly three decades later, his place in Oregon brewing history is more or less assured. He turns 70 today. Yet he carries on with gusto.

Larrance's was a player even before the advent of Portland Brewing via the Brewpub Bill. The bill, officially SB 813, was passed in 1985 and brought the emerging craft movement out of the shadows. Brewpubs were crucial because they provided a great place for early craft breweries to display their wares.

All of the founding brewers pushed for the Brewpub legislation, but it was Larrance (as legend has it) who introduced the idea to Rep. Tom Mason in the shower at Multnomah Athletic Club. Mason, a Portland Democrat, introduced the bill in the Oregon House and helped get it passed.

Then came the Oregon Brewers Festival. Larrance got involved when Portland Brewing was asked to provide beer for a blues festival in Waterfront Park in 1987. The success of that outing led to the inaugural OBF in 1988, supported by all of the four founding craft breweries. A few years later, Larrance assumed full control of the event.

The story might well have ended there had fate not intervened. Needing to expand their operation, Portland Brewing raised capital through the sale of common stock. As a result of those sales, they lost control of the business. This happened around the time they moved to the Northwest industrial area in 1993. Larrance was soon shown the door.

Never underestimate the power of, "I'll show you." Larrance soon incorporated as Cascade Brewing. He opened the Raccoon Lodge in 1998, one of the first breweries on Portland's underserved westside. While the Raccoon Lodge provided an option for craft beer fans "over there," it was slow to attract beer fans from the east side of the river. An Eastside location was needed.

After a long search, Larrance found the space on Southeast Belmont that today houses the Cascade Brewing Barrel House. The Barrel House, which opened in 2010, features blended sour beers pioneered by Larrance and collaborators Ron Gansberg and Preston Weesner as an alternative to the "hops arms race." The beers have been wildly successful.

As Larrance celebrates seven decades, the Tart Fruit Fest is happening at the Barrel House this week. It's just a coincidence, I'm told. The event runs through Sunday and features some of the beers Cascade has become famous for: Figaro, Blueberry, Bourbonic Plague, Kriek, Strawberry and more. Non-sour fans will have options, too, including Portland Ale and Cascade IPA.

With all he has going on, you might expect Larrance to relax and take it somewhat easy. Hardly. At a birthday gathering the other day, he told me he's letting some of his collectible beer memorabilia go at long last. His collection of labels, signs and related materials dating back more than 100 years is substantial. But he has other things on his mind these days.

Most prominently, he is building on the success of the sour movement with an expanded production facility off Highway 217. The climate-controlled space will quadruple the available room for blending and aging, from 5,000 to over 22,000 square feet. There will be no pub at the production facility. However, the Barrel House will eventually be renovated and expanded into a much larger pub.

Happy 70th, Art! Keep the new chapters coming.