Central Oregon breweries compete in the big leagues

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Six Central Oregon breweries will be on hand when the doors open Thursday at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

10 Barrel Brewing Co., Bend Brewing Co., Boneyard Beer, Deschutes Brewery, Deschutes Brewery & Public House, Sunriver Brewing and Worthy Brewing Co. all have booths at the Denver Convention Center, along with another 44 Oregon breweries and more than 700 other breweries from around the nation. More than 3,800 different beers will be available for sampling.

Its sponsor, the Brewers Association, of Boulder, Colorado, bills the three-day event as the largest domestic-beer festival in the U.S. About 60,000 attendees are expected this year. Tickets sold out in 1½ hours, said Barbara Fusco, the association marketing director.

“First and foremost the Great American Beer Festival is a celebration of beer culture in the United States,” she said, “and all that brewers and their crews have to offer.”

The festival makes room for all comers, from big multi-national brewers down to neighborhood microbrewers, Fusco said. A win for a brewer in any of the 92 categories at the festival comes with more than bragging rights; it affords an opportunity to market a winner’s cachet.

“A (Great American Beer Festival) medal on the packaging or in the taproom means this beer is designated by the highest-level beer judges in the country, in the world,” she said, “as an example of the highest-level beer in the world.”

Packy Deenihan, new owner of Bend Brewing Co., said the effect is real. Last year, the brewery brought home a silver medal for its Volkssekt Berliner Weisse and a bronze for its Black Diamond Dark Lager. Both are entered again this year, along with Bend Brewing’s Salmonberry Sour, Big Bad Russian Imperial Stout and Wicked Medicine Belgian strong ale. Awards enhance both the brewery’s reputation and its sales, he said.

“After the World Beer Cup (in May), we did see a little bump,” Deenihan said Tuesday. “But we see it pretty consistently throughout the year, that the beer connoisseurs are seeking out Bend Brewing because we consistently medal at the most prestigious beer events.”

Returning for the third year, Sunriver Brewing is entering five beers, including its Fuzztail Hefeweizen, for which it won gold at the World Beer Cup. Sunriver has yet to win a Great American medal. Head Brewer Brett Thomas said he’s eager to compete.

“It’s always great to have the recognition from your peers that you made a beer that is truly world class. It’s huge to brewers,” he said Monday. “And, generally speaking, on the flip side, you have the ability to promote that win and that promotion generally promotes increased sales.”

This year’s beer festival takes place as growth in craft beer sales continues to grow, although at a slower pace, 8 percent, than it did in 2015, when sales of craft beer in barrels increased by 13 percent, said Bart Watson, Brewers Association chief economist.

Brewpub on-premise sales are increasing, as well as sales by craft breweries bought by bigger companies like Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors. Both giants have acquired Oregon craft breweries in the past two years.

Talk in beer circles of a bubble in craft brewing is misplaced, Watson said. Bubbles originate when continuing investment exceeds demand for a product. Real demand, measured in sales, shows continued growth in craft beer, he said.

“What it means to be a brewery is really shifting. Most craft breweries are small and locally focused, they look like neighborhood restaurants or neighborhood bars,” Watson said. “There is ample opportunity to grow.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7815, jditzler@bendbulletin.com