About a year after acquiring Bend’s 10 Barrel Brewing, Tilray Brands, a New York-based lifestyle and cannabis company, has laid off employees in the brewing, sales and pub teams, according to a company spokesman.

Innovative brewmaster’s unique flavor profiles put Bend’s 10 Barrel in the limelight

More coverage

Innovative brewmaster’s unique flavor profiles put Bend’s 10 Barrel in the limelight

Tilray did not detail how many employees were let go on Thursday. But among those laid off was Tonya Cornett, a master brewer who was recognized by peers recently at the national Brewers Association conference in April for innovation. She received the Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing for 2024, an honor that only three women nationwide have held. She’s the fifth Oregonian to be a recipient.

“There have been layoffs across the company,” said Michael Misselwitz, a spokesman for the company.”

The company said that it laid off staff in areas where duplication of work occurred in the Tilray organization, a decision that was not taken lightly, the company said in a statement. Details on the layoffs were not available.

The craft beer industry in Oregon has seen closures and consolidation in the past year, a reflection of changing consumer tastes and rising costs, said Sonia Marie Leikam, vice president of the Oregon Brewers Guild and co-owner of Leikam Brewing in Portland.

“The cost of doing business has risen and the margins are pretty thin,” Leikam said. “There’s an idea that beer is glamorous, but when you think about all the things that went into making that beer, your bottom line is very small.

“The trend in declining draft sales is really impacting the bottom line. We’re in a pretty precarious time.”

In 2023, an estimated 30 Oregon brewpubs and breweries closed, and so far this year about a dozen have been closed, sold or consolidated.

More coverage

Cannabis company completes purchase of 10 Barrel Brewing

10 Barrel has a brewpub on NW Galveston Avenue in Bend. It also has a brewpub on the city’s east side, near its headquarters and brewery, along with brewpubs in Portland and Boise, Idaho.

In addition to 10 Barrel, Tilray purchased from Anheuser-Busch such labels as, Shock Top, Breckenridge Brewery, Blue Point Brewing Co., Redhook Brewery, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Square Mile Cider Co., and HiBall Energy.

Tilray Brands was in cannabis sales prior to entering into the craft brewing market. The New York City-based company also owns SweetWater Brewing Co., Montauk Brewing Co., Alpine Beer Co., and Green Flash Brewing Co.

A longtime local favorite, 10 Barrel was founded by twin brothers, Chris and Jeremy Cox in 2003. Its acquisition by Tilray highlighted the tensions in the beer industry, which came to a head in Bend after 10 Barrel was acquired by Anheuser-Busch in 2014.