Cascade Brewing, a Portland, Oregon-based brewpub known for its sour and barrel-aged beers, has been sold to a group of four local investors who each have ownership stakes in other Oregon breweries.
Cascade founder Art Larrance will remain in an advisory role as ownership transitions to Mark Becker, Ramie Mount, Brian Kovach and Greg Laird. Financial details of the sale were not made available. Arlington Capital Advisors advised Cascade on the transaction.
“It’s time for me to retire and pass the brewery on to a team that’s fresh and full of energy and ideas,” Larrance said in a press release “I trust this group will do Cascade Brewing proud.”
Larrance founded Cascade in 1998. He also co-founded Portland Brewing in 1986 and started the Oregon Brewers Festival in 1987. For his influence in the Oregon craft beer industry, the Oregon Brewers Guild honored Larrance with a lifetime achievement award in February.
In 2018, the most recent year for which Brewers Association data is available, Cascade produced 1,927 barrels, a 21% decline from 2017.
Cascade operates two taprooms, a production brewery and a barrel-aging warehouse. The company’s staff will remain in place, and its locations will remain open, according to the release.
Cascade Brew House, the company’s production facility, has a 10-barrel brewhouse and an annual capacity of 5,000 barrels, according to the company’s website. Cascade Blending House, its barrel-aging warehouse, is 23,000 sq. ft. and home to nine oak foudres and 1,300 other barrels. The Lodge at Cascade Brewing, the taproom at the brewery, has a full-service restaurant. The Cascade Brewing Barrel House is the company’s 2,100 sq. ft. taproom in Portland’s Eastside neighborhood. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, both locations are closed for on-premise drinking and dining, but are offering takeout food and beer.
In addition to its own locations, Cascade’s beer is available in 37 states, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, according to distributor listings on its website.
The group that is purchasing Cascade all “have diverse experience involving brewery ownership restaurant operation and taproom management,” according to the release.
Becker and his wife, Kristi Becker, co-founded FlyBoy Brewery in Lake Oswego, Oregon, in 2014. Mount and Kovach are co-owners of FlyBoy’s Lake Oswego location. Laird co-founded Parallel 45 Brewing in Independence, Oregon, last year.
“Art is a legend, and we deeply respect what he and his team have built at Cascade,” Mount said in the release. “Our mission is to expand upon their vision, and we are incredibly excited for the opportunity to continue the legacy that Cascade started with its sour beer program in 2006. Art is irreplaceable, and we are thrilled he recognized enough competence in our combined experience to continue Cascade Brewing’s stellar reputation.”