Weeks after the death of founder Art Larrance, Portland, Oregon-based Cascade Brewing ceased operations on Monday, the Oregonian reported.
Alissa Larrance, Art’s daughter, told the Oregonian that she delivered final paychecks to brewery staff Tuesday, though the brewery’s website says it is “temporarily closed.”
Art Larrance suffered a heart attack at age 80 on May 26, according to New School Beer.
Art Larrance founded Cascade in 1998 and sold it to an investor group in April 2020, but the deal never closed, leaving Larrance with a controlling share in the business at the time of his death, Alissa Larrance told the Oregonian. The Larrance family was unaware its patriarch still owned the brewery, and the family’s trust is unable to sustain Cascade financially, she said.
“This has all been a big shock during an already stressful time,” Alissa Larrance told the Oregonian.
The liquor licenses for both Cascade Blending House in Beaverton and Cascade Barrel House in Portland were in Art Larrance’s name and expired 10 days after his death, Alissa Larrance confirmed with Brewbound.
The investor group that was announced as Cascade’s new owners four years ago was “on a payment plan that would eventually result in full ownership,” according to New School Beer, citing Art Larrance. The group includes Mark Becker, Ramie Mount, Brian Kovach and Greg Laird; at the time of the announcement, they were all involved in Oregon breweries FlyBoy Brewery and Parallel 45 Brewing.
Mount, whose LinkedIn profile identifies him as manager at Cascade, told New School Beer he is “not formally a co-owner of Cascade Brewing on paper at this time.” He did not return Brewbound’s request for comment.
Cascade’s output has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride in recent years. It began a steady decline from its 2017 peak of 2,392 barrels with a +14% rebound, to 1,405 barrels in 2021, only to dip again in 2022 to 1,151 barrels, according to data from the Brewers Association (BA). Last year, Cascade reported production increased +58.3%, to 1,822 barrels.
Cascade remembered Art Larrance in an Instagram post three weeks ago:
“To say we are heartbroken doesn’t do it justice. Art was founder, innovator, advisor, inspiration, champion and most importantly a friend to us all. Not only here at Cascade, but to craft beer fans and producers all around the world.
“He liked to say his favorite beer was the one in his hand, and it showed in his desire to promote new and diverse styles, much like the Northwest Sour Ale. He had a passion for things that brought people together, to toast in friendship.”
At Cascade, Art Larrance and brewmaster Ron Gansberg pioneered sour beers, which helped the brewery establish itself among a sea of West Coast IPAs.
Cascade was only one chapter in Art Larrance’s impact on Oregon’s craft beer industry.
An early craft trailblazer, he co-founded Portland Brewing in 1986 with Fred Bowman and Jim Goodwin, one year after helping to lobby for the creation of Oregon’s first brewpub license.
With 381 craft breweries in operation in 2023, Oregon ranked 8th nationwide in craft breweries per capita and 12th in number of craft breweries overall in 2023, according to the BA. Those breweries produced 895,741 barrels of beer last year and generated $1.816 billion in economic impact in 2022.
Portland Brewing was part of the Class of 1986 of craft breweries, which included Harpoon Brewery, Alaskan Brewing, Summit Brewing, Abita Brewing, D.L. Geary Brewing, Sprecher Brewing and Wasatch Brewing.
Portland Brewing was sold to Pyramid in 2004, and was named MacTarnahan’s Brewing Company from 2004 to 2013. Magic Hat acquired it four years later.
In October 2012, North American Brewers – the rollup of Pyramid, Magic Hat and Portland – was sold to FIFCO subsidiary Cerveceria Costa Rica for $388 million. FIFCO USA shuttered Portland Brewing in 2021.
In addition to founding two noteworthy breweries, Art Larrance created the Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF) in 1988, which grew to become one of the country’s largest craft beer festivals and generated $20 million in economic impact annually, according to its website.
The OBF began to reinvent itself in 2018 amid declining attendance. It took pandemic-driven breaks in 2020 and 2021, returned in 2022, and was canceled as a stand-alone in 2023, when it became part of the Portland Rose Festival CityFair, a format that returned in 2024.
Art Larrance’s death happened on the third day of the Celebration of Oregon Brewers Festival, which was part of all three weekends of CityFair. Festival organizers hosted a memorial celebration on June 1.
“Art dedicated his life to elevating craft beer in Oregon, co-founding Portland Brewing Company and Cascade Brewing, and helping to pass Oregon’s brewpub law,” OBF wrote on Instagram. “His legacy lives on in every brewpub, and every bottle and can and pint of Oregon beer.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 12:40 p.m. ET on June 20 to clarify a discrepancy around the OLCC’s licensing database and the expiration of the licenses.