Craft beer sales fall for most top Oregon breweries
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Six of the 10 biggest craft breweries in Oregon saw sales decline in 2024, many of them with double-digit drops from the previous year, per data from the Brewers Association.
Why it matters: Oregon's vaunted craft beer industry is now feeling the same pain as breweries nationwide.
By the numbers: Times were tough for craft brewers around the state.
- Buoy Beer Company, based in Astoria, saw a 10% decline.
- Newport's Rogue Ales saw sales drop by 18%.
- Sales at Full Sail Brewing Co., in Hood River, fell by nearly a third.
Yes, but: pFriem Family Brewers saw a big jump, with sales increasing by 22%.
- Fort George Brewery saw an increase of 9%, as did Deschutes Brewery, by far the state's largest, with sales of more than 248,000 barrels last year.
Between the lines: The dip in sales is just another signal that the market for craft beer is flagging.
- Oregon has lost nearly 75 breweries, taprooms or brewpubs since the pandemic, with 35 of those coming in just the last year.
- The downturn has largely been driven by inflation, supply chain issues, labor shortages and a downward trend in drinking overall.
What they're saying: Sam Pecoraro, president of the Oregon Brewers Guild and brewmaster of Von Ebert Brewing, acknowledged the downward trends hitting the industry.
- "Oregon breweries are facing major challenges with slumping sales and record closures," Pecoraro said in a written statement, noting brewers see a big boost in sales around the Fourth of July.
The bottom line: "We need your support to survive and rely on summer sales to help us get through leaner months," Pecoraro said.