USA, OR: Burnside Brewing Company closes for good

Burnside Brewing Company abruptly hit the dust on February 5, closing operations and laying off all its employees, The Portland Mercury reported.

The brewpub, located at 701 E Burnside, Portland opened in 2010 and was initially noted for the unorthodox ingredients in its beers, such as their Oatmeal Pale Ale and Lime Kölsch. Over the years, it became known for its successful IPA and a ubiquitous canned lager, Couch Select Lager.

An internal memo, presumably to employees, was posted to the internet on February 4. "Effective Tuesday February 5th, Burnside Brewing is no longer operational. It is not certain that we will be able to make payroll this Friday, wages WILL BE PAID AS SOON AS POSSIBLE," the message read. "Please move forward with filing unemployment claims, we will be in touch with paycheck information as soon as we are able. If you have any personal belongings in the building, contact [redacted] or [redacted]. Sincerest of thank you [sic] for your character, time and efforts."

Burnside Brewing said on social media on February 4 that they would be closed on February 5 due to snowy weather, which, if anything, is quite a coincidence. A letter, also dated Monday, February 4, was posted to the brewpub's door, stating that the landlord had changed the locks on the doors due to nonpayment for rent. The letter included a juicy parenthetical aside: "(as you know, no payments have been made to Landlord in months)."

While this letter suggests longterm mismanagement, the authoritative Portland beer blog New School Beer claims that the brewery is "a victim of Portland redevelopment." New School Beer writer Samurai Artist goes on to say, "The reality is that the owner can get much more money to turn it into a new condo building. With leases running out the owner decided to terminate the lease on Burnside Brewing in a move that no one saw coming as fast as it happened. There are still many legal wranglings going on behind-the-scenes with leases and ownership so the full story may not be told for a while but we may see some Burnside Brewing in the future."

However, from this particular vantage point—considering that employees are potentially going unpaid and the property has been seized due to failure to make rent—this appears to be an irrevocable end for the brewery.

07 February, 2019