Mashing-In News: Steve Allen Dies, 2025 in Oregon Beer
GOOD MORNING, SOUTH PUGET SOUND!
Monday, Jan. 5, 2026 — Robert Duvall turns 95 today!
Monday’s craft beer news lands at the crossroads of reflection and resolve, pairing hard-earned lessons from Oregon’s recalibrating beer scene and the passing of a true coastal pioneer with forward-looking conversations about sustainability, supply shifts, community-building, and what it will actually take to thrive in 2026—less about chasing trends, more about proving value, deepening roots, and adapting with intention in a tighter, more demanding era for beer.
2025 in Oregon Beer: Fewer Brewery Closures, Tough Lessons Remain
A year-end industry roundup shows that while more than 29 Oregon breweries, taprooms, bottleshops, and cideries closed in 2025, the number of actual brewery closures declined from recent years, reflecting a painful but stabilizing recalibration shaped by rising costs, shifting consumer habits, real estate pressures, and long-overdue market correction rather than a total collapse of Oregon craft beer. (The New School)
Astoria Craft Beer Pioneer Steve Allen Dies at 73
Steve Allen, co-founder of Astoria Brewing Company and the Wet Dog Cafe, passed away at 73, leaving behind a profound legacy as a visionary entrepreneur whose breweries, restaurants, and revitalized historic properties helped shape Astoria’s cultural and craft beer identity for three decades. (The New School)
Craft Beer’s 2026 Reality: Higher Expectations, Tighter Margins, No Going Back
An industry-wide outlook for 2026 suggests craft breweries must adapt to permanently higher consumer expectations by proving value beyond price through stronger taproom experiences, sharper storytelling, disciplined portfolios, selective tech adoption, and deeper direct connections with drinkers rather than relying on old distribution-era assumptions. (Brewer Magazine)
Firestone Walker Installs CO₂ Recovery System to Cut Emissions
Firestone Walker has taken a major step toward carbon neutrality by installing a new CO₂ recovery system at its Paso Robles brewery that captures and reuses fermentation emissions, cutting an estimated four million pounds of carbon dioxide each year as part of its broader Brewing for Tomorrow sustainability program. (Brewers Journal)
Obec Brewing Hosts One Night Choir to Turn Beer Hall Into a Community Sing-Along
Obec Brewing is turning its Ballard taproom into a community destination with a low-pressure One Night Choir event on January 15, inviting anyone with a voice to gather, sing Miley Cyrus together, and build connection beyond the beer. (Washington Beer Blog)
Oregon’s Oldest Breweries Show How Craft Beer Endures Beyond Trends
A deep dive into Oregon’s brewing history traces how 13 breweries have survived and evolved for more than three decades, showing how legacy, adaptability, and community roots—not just novelty—have shaped the state’s reputation as a global craft beer powerhouse. (The New School)
Global Hop Harvest Falls in 2025 as Acreage Cuts Reshape Supply
Global hop production declined in 2025 as reduced acreage and lower yields in major producers like Germany and the United States outweighed gains in the Czech Republic and Slovenia, resulting in a 4.8 percent drop in total harvest and a 4.1 percent decline in alpha acids worldwide, according to Barth Haas and industry reports. (Brewers Journal)
Brewer to Brewer: Colby Chandler Reflects on Four Decades in Beer
In a new Brewer to Brewer podcast episode, Pizza Port co-founder Vince Marsaglia sits down with San Diego beer veteran Colby Chandler to trace nearly four decades of brewing, collaborations, beer dinners, and his latest work spanning San Diego Brewing Co. and the agave-focused project All Things Agave. (San Diego Beer News)
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
