From the Oregon Brewers Guild…

Guild members double the national growth average

Oregon Brewers Guild members beer production grew at a rate of nearly 24 percent in the first half of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005.

“Oregon’s craft brewers are growing faster than the exceptional growth rate of the craft beer industry as a whole,” said Brian Butenschoen, Executive Director of the Oregon Brewers Guild. “In 2006 Oregon brewers are projected to double the national craft beer growth rate.” The Brewers Association has reported that the volume of craft beer sold in the first half of 2006 rose 11 percent compared to the same period in 2005.

This will be the third consecutive year that Oregon’s brewers have shown production growth in the double digits. Oregon’s craft brewers production grew 16 percent in 2005 and 11 percent in 2004. In 2005, craft beer production in the United States (U.S.) grew 9 percent and in 2004 it rose by 7 percent.

“The strong performance by established craft breweries and brewpubs and the increased diversity of packaged beer brands has driven the double digit increase in growth.” said Brian Butenschoen. “Oregon is the second largest producer of craft beer in the U.S., four of the top 10 craft brewing companies make beer here and five of the 50 largest brewing companies in the U.S. are based in Oregon.”

The volume of beer sold in Oregon was up 3% the first half of 2006. In 2005, the volume of beer sold increased less than one percent. In 2004, the volume of beer sold increased 3%.

The Portland metro area is the largest craft brewing market in the U.S. It is the only area to sell more than 1,000,000 cases of craft brewed beer in 2005 according to Information Resources Inc. Portland, Oregon has 30 microbreweries within its city limits which is more than any other city in the world. Oregon is home to 79 breweries.