Local breweries are true success stories

The Pacific Northwest Brew Cup 2014 in late September and The Daily Astorian’s accompanying Craft Beer Guide are a testimonial to a sensational trend: The surge in local specialty, artisan and gourmet microbrews.

Although it can seem slightly daunting to keep up with the proliferation of small- to mid-sized breweries in the Pacific Northwest — at last count there were 214 such brewing facilities in Oregon alone — the fact that consumers support these entrepreneurs is an amazingly positive commentary on the strength of private enterprise.

This incredible explosion in diversity and investment comes at a time when the corporate beer industry is being increasingly concentrated under the control of fewer and fewer boardrooms, mainly in foreign countries. “The biggest beer brands in the United States — think Budweiser, Miller and Coors — are now owned, respectively, by people in Belgium, England and Canada. The nation’s two most popular American-owned beer brands? Corona and Modelo. Both are brewed in Mexico,” the Washington Post reported last month.

This weakening in American identification for famous American brands came home for Pacific Northwest residents with news that Pabst Brewing is being bought by “the biggest independent brewer in Russia.” It was weird enough to when Los Angeles-based Pabst bought out Northwest favorites Rainier and Olympia, but to have them now owned by a Russian-dominated conglomerate? Such is the march of globalization.

Before Prohibition, every city and quite a few small towns in America each had their own individual brewery. Astoria’s was North Pacific Brewing Co. (See www.brewerygems.com/histories.htm for a fascinating compilation of western U.S. brewery history.) After Prohibition, competition began to be winnowed away. Now, as corporate beer giants try their best to guzzle one another down, there is a real risk of higher prices and fewer choices, in the words of a New York Times editorial on Oct. 7.

This might not seem to be a direct concern to the Lower Columbia’s growing cadre of craft brewers, except that consolidation is increasingly extending to distributors. “The Brewers Association, which represents craft beer businesses, says the number of distributors has declined steadily in the last 10 years, making it harder for smaller companies to get their products into retail stores, at restaurants and bars,” the Times observes.

Eighteen percent of the beer drank in Oregon is made in the state, with craft breweries here having an amazingly loyal following. These homegrown brewing firms employ more than 6,500 people, according to the Oregon Craft Beer website.

Clatsop County can be very proud of our local breweries and the part they play in keeping beer-making a craft rather than just an anonymous corporate profit center. Our coastal breweries are one of the true success stories of the early 21st century. Congratulations are in order, too, to the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association for another delicious Brew Cup.