FIFCO USA will cease production of Portland Brewing Company beers and permanently close the brewery after 34 years, effective on February 5.
FIFCO USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Costa Rica-headquartered Florida Ice and Farm Company, will also transfer production of Pyramid Brewing offerings, which had been brewed in Portland, to the Genesee production facility in Rochester, New York.
As part of the closure, 27 employees will be laid off and receive severance packages from the brewery.
“We are focusing our resources behind our brands, innovation and categories that are growing and strong,” FIFCO USA CEO Rich Andrews said in a press release. “It just no longer made sense to sustain the operation given the brand footprint, competitive craft beer landscape, and capital investments needed to update the brewery.
“We appreciate the hard work and determination of our Portland staff who made good efforts to gain momentum behind our craft beer brands,” he added. “We wish them the very best.”
Portland Brewing announced its end in a post to social media Friday:
“It has been an amazing journey helping to shape the Portland craft beer scene! Over 34 years, we have made lots of interesting and creative beers that showcase the heart and soul of our brewers. We have had the privilege to work with many great people … and we’ve served plenty of thirsty and loyal beer drinkers. So, it is with a heavy heart that we will permanently close our Portland brewery doors in early February. Thank you to all those who have supported Portland Brewing Co. and been with us for so long.”
The company also alerted consumers to the shift in Pyramid’s production via its social channels:
“We will continue to brew up delicious Pyramid brews in our parent company’s Rochester brewery to keep the legacy alive. While it is not ideal to close the brewery, it sustains Pyramid’s presence in the Pac NW beer scene. Thank you to all those who have supported Pyramid Brewing Co. and we hope that you will continue to drink Pyramid beer.”
Ceasing production of the Portland Brewing brand comes after FIFCO shuttered the Portland Brewing taproom in November 2019.
In Oregon, the closing of a legacy brewery is a bit of deja vu for craft beer drinkers. Shiner-maker the Gambrinus Company permanently closed Bridgeport Brewing in 2019, and Craft Brew Alliance, which was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2020, closed its Widmer Brothers pub after 22 years in January 2019, though the company still brews and sells Widmer products.
At the end of April 2020, FIFCO permanently closed the Pyramid Alehouse in Seattle and moved production of the Washington craft brewery’s beer to Portland. In July 2020, the company shuttered Magic Hat’s brewery and performance center in South Burlington, Vermont, and transferred production of iconic No. 9 — the last Magic Hat beer in production — to Genesee.
FIFCO USA did not report portfolio-wide beer production in 2019, the most recent year in which data was available, according to production data for 2019 in the Brewers Association’s (BA) New Brewer publication. However, the BA reported a 19% decline in Pyramid’s volume, to 44,000 barrels, in 2019. Magic Hat’s last year of reported production was 2017, when the company produced 75,000 barrels, a decline of 29%. Production volumes for Portland Brewing have not been recorded by the BA for several years.
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 founded by Fred Bowman, Art Larrance and Jim Goodwin. The company 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.
The closures of FIFCO’s craft brewery outposts will leave the company with two New York-based, consumer-facing operations: the Genesee Brew House in Rochester and the Labatt Brew House in Buffalo.
Andrews, who took over as CEO of FIFCO USA on January 15, 2020, has made several moves to reshape the company’s U.S. business, including personnel changes, promoting Piotr Jurjewicz to the role of Chief Marketing Officer in March 2020 and parting ways with chief sales officer Josh Halpern last week.
Overall, FIFCO shipments increased 5.4%, while depletions grew 4.5% in 2020 behind the Seagram’s FMB brand, as well as Labatt and Genesee in their home territories, FIFCO USA VP fo corporate and brand communications Mary Beth Popp told Brewbound.
Portfolio-wide FIFCO USA dollar sales in off-premise retailers increased 14.5% in 2020 (through December 26), according to market research firm Nielsen.
According to market research firm IRI, FIFCO USA was the ninth best-selling beer category vendor in 2020, growing off-premise dollar sales 14%, to more than $430 million. The Seagram’s Escapes variety pack increased sales 50.4%, to more than $100.5 million.
FIFCO USA’s portfolio of brands includes Canadian import brand Labatt. In 2020, Labatt Blue (+4%, to $70.3 million) and Labatt Blue Light (+10.3%, to $66 million) both increased off-premise dollar sales, according to IRI.