The U.S. state of Oregon is home to more than 200 breweries and brew pubs that produce a large variety of beer.
1852 - Henry Saxer established the Liberty Brewery in Portland.
1862 - After working at and later owning several smaller breweries, Henry Weinhard purchased and expanded Liberty Brewery which was later renamed City Brewery.
1914 - Five years before national prohibition was established, the voters of Oregon approved a statewide ban on the manufacture, sale or advertisement of intoxicating liquor.
1933 - Oregon and the nation ratified the 21st Amendment.
1985 - Oregon Legislature legalized brewpubs.
According to a 2014 report by the Beer Institute, Oregon had 208 breweries, a number exceeded by only three states – California (with 509 breweries), Washington (251), and Colorado (217). As of July 2015, Oregon was home to 234 brewing facilities operated by 194 brewing companies. There are also many nanobreweries in Oregon. Many breweries have won nationwide and international acclaim.
The following are some Oregon-based breweries and microbreweries. The larger volume breweries and microbreweries in the list include the number of barrels sold using information from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), 2004. Caldera Brewing Company of Ashland, Oregon (3,300 barrels brewed in 2009), Barley Brown Brewery, Bend Brewing, Deschutes, Full Sail and Widmer Brothers won gold in 2010 at the World Beer Cup. In the same competition, Upright Brewing and Hop Valley Brewing won Bronze; while Pelican Pub & Brewery, Hopworks Urban Brewery, and Rogue Ales won Silver.
The largest beer producers in Oregon, all of which are high-volume American breweries, are:
BridgePort Brewing Company, Portland, 100,000+ barrels (2007 info)
Deschutes Brewery, Bend, 346,689 barrels
Full Sail Brewing Company, Hood River, 115,450 barrels
Ninkasi Brewing Company, Eugene, 100,849 barrels
Rogue Ales, Newport, 105,961 barrels
Widmer Brothers Brewery, Portland 450,000 barrels (2011 info)
Information in the above list is per the Brewers Association's 2015 production quantity unless otherwise noted. Henry Weinhard's, formerly of Portland, is now owned and brewed by SABMiller, although some beers are brewed under contract by Full Sail Brewing Company.
Oregon has many mid-size and small breweries. Most of them produce kegs of beer to be served on draft at taverns and restaurants. Many of them also package their beer in bottles or cans. Some production breweries have taprooms where patrons can drink the beer that is produced onsite. And some breweries are brewpubs – full-service restaurants that brew their own beer.
This is a partial list of some of the state's smaller breweries:
10 Barrel Brewing Company – bottles, cans, and brewpub locations in Bend and Portland, as well as Boise, Denver, and San Diego; founded in 2006.
Alameda Brewing Company – Portland; bottles, cans, brewpub; founded in 1996
Boneyard Beer – Bend; tasting room; opened in 2010
Buoy Beer Company – Astoria; bottles, brewpub; opened in 2014
Cascade Brewing – bottles; two brewpubs in Portland; founded in 1998
Cascade Lakes Brewing Company – bottles; brewpubs in Redmond and Bend; founded in 1994
De Garde Brewing – Tillamook; bottles, taproom; opened in 2013
Double Mountain Brewery – bottles; taprooms in Hood River and Portland; founded in 2007
Fort George Brewery – Astoria; cans, brewpub; opened in 2007
Gilgamesh Brewing – Salem; bottles, brewpub; opened in 2009
Great Notion Brewing – Portland brewpub, opened in 2016
Hair of the Dog Brewing Company – Portland; bottles, brewpub; founded in 1993
Laurelwood Pub and Brewery – brewpub with several locations in Portland; founded in 2001
Logsdon Farmhouse Ales – Hood River; bottles, taproom; founded in 2011
McMenamins – a brewpub chain with locations scattered throughout Oregon and Washington; founded in 1983
Old Town Brewing – Portland; bottles and pizzeria brewpub; original restaurant opened in 1974, brewpub opened in 2012
Pelican Brewing Company – bottles; brewpubs in Pacific City and Cannon Beach, taproom in Tillamook; founded in 1996
Portland Brewing Company – Portland; bottles, brewpub; founded in 1986
Tugboat Brewing Company – Portland brewpub, opened in 1996
Worthy Brewing – Bend; cans, brewpub; founded in 2013
Weinhard's Brewery – Portland
The Oregon Brewers Festival the largest gathering of independent craft brewers in the United States.
The Gold Beach Brew & Art Festival is always held the Saturday after Labor Day. It is the oldest brew festival in southern Oregon and on the Oregon Coast.
