BY WILLIAM DEAN
There won’t be a Pacific Northwest Brew Cup in Astoria this year.
For a variety of reasons, the host organization has canceled the two-day craft beer festival slated for September.
The move was approved by the governing board of the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association after months of painful debate.
Brew Cup’s exit is a blow to craft beer fans, but with attendance flagging and festival-related costs rising, the event simply wasn’t penciling out as a fundraiser, organizers and sponsors said.
ADHDA board member Zack O’Connor said it was a “difficult and complex” decision, but in the end there were too many hurdles to overcome.
“It’s definitely sad,” he said. “Everyone loves Brew Cup.”
O’Connor, senior vice president at Fort George Brewery, knows quite a bit about beer festivals and the logistics required to stage them successfully.
The Festival of Dark Arts and Lupulin Ecstasy IPA showcase are challenging events to put on, but the brewery has a large paid staff to draw on.
Brew Cup, meanwhile, relied almost exclusively on volunteers and donations.
“It’s been something the board’s been grappling with,” O’Connor said. “It’s wild how much time and energy and resources it demands to be put on.”
Major staffing changes at the downtown association also made it more difficult to plan and present the Brew Cup this year.
Colleen Holdar, the events and marketing manager, started her job just weeks ago. Executive Director Quinn Haase took over last fall.
On another front, the loss of Brew Cup reflects declining brewery participation in festivals nationwide as the industry tightens its belt due to flattening sales and narrowing profit margins.
One of the key sponsors of the festival, Dwayne Smallwood of Bridge & Tunnel bottleshop/taproom in downtown Astoria, was saddened by the news.
Smallwood loves beer festivals and the community joy they bring, and doesn’t want them to disappear. But early this year it became clear that efforts to secure sponsors and line up breweries were seriously lagging, he said.
He’s now serving draft beer in the surplus commemorative glasses he purchased for last year’s festival, which underscores the problem: Attendance wasn’t as robust as hoped.
“It’s supposed to be a fundraiser for the downtown association, and hundreds and hundreds of hours of volunteer time go into it, but we didn’t have the turnout that we need to keep it going,” he said.
O’Connor didn’t have a breakdown on tasting ticket sales, but he confirmed that overall revenue generated from the event was declining.
Brew Cup started in 2002, hosted by the owners of Astoria’s Baked Alaska restaurant. Years later, they passed the reins to the ADHDA, which turned the event into a fundraiser.
Like most major public events, the festival was put on hold during the pandemic. After a three-year absence, Brew Cup triumphantly returned in 2023 to the Heritage Square area used by the Sunday Market.
Last year’s family-friendly event featured an array of craft beers from about 20 breweries and performances by a half-dozen bands. Hundreds of people attended each day.
Is a Brew Cup revival possible for 2026?
Craft beer devotees need only look down the North Coast to be hopeful.
The long-playing Pouring at the Coast spring beer fest in Seaside was foundering a couple of years ago, suffering from declining attendance.
Seaside-based Sisu Brewing took over hosting duties from the city and implemented major changes, including moving the festivities from the convention center to an outdoor, riverside location.
By most accounts, the moves have been successful.
O’Connor refuses to rule out a Brew Cup comeback, insisting it’s still possible – with an infusion of energy, the right organizing team and a few more big donors.
“It could totally come back in the future,” he said.
