OREGON BREWSHEDS | OR Brewshed Alliance

What is a brewshed®?

The term “brewshed®” refers to the watersheds where brewers and breweries source their water to brew craft beer. Beer is over 90% water, so the quality of this essential ingredient is paramount to the quality of the microbrew. Our purest, best-tasting water comes from rivers and streams flowing through unspoiled public forestlands. By protecting and restoring these forest watersheds, we’re protecting the source of Oregon craft beer.

The forest-water connection

The water drawn from the taps of two-thirds of Oregonians comes from our state’s rivers, streams and lakes. The source of many public drinking water supplies are forested watersheds. If these forests are intact, they play the role of natural reservoirs, absorbing, storing, filtering, and gradually releasing water to forest streams. This protects the purity of the water and consistency of its flows.

Logging, roadbuilding, and other development damages the forest’s ability to produce clean water. In heavily logged forests, water runs off more quickly carrying with it soil and debris that can foul water filtration systems further downstream. The volume of runoff also increases, reducing the amount of water available during the dry summer months when water demand is higher and supplies are lower. Cutting trees also reduces the amount of water that an old-growth conifer forest gathers from fog. This source is significant–accounting for as much as one-third of all precipitation in Portland’s Bull Run watershed. Extensive logging is also a bad deal for consumers. Not only is the quality of the municipal water worse, but added treatment and filtration is required, increasing the costs.

Oregon Brewsheds®

Bear Creek/Nicolai-Wickiup Watershed

Located in Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River, Fort George Brewery draws its water from Bear Creek inside the greater Nicolai-Wickiup watershed. The City of Astoria recently decided to cut back on timber harvests surrounding Bear Creek, not just for clean water, but to offset carbon emissions. Smart move! Letting trees grow older, and cutting fewer of them down, are part of how forests can be a great natural climate solution.

Around Astoria, most forests are privately owned, or managed by the State or local governments. They are subject to the Oregon Forest Practices Act, which allows clearcut logging and other damaging practices that can harm watersheds. New rules that Oregon Wild worked hard to enact will better protect streams and steep slopes from logging, so that we have better water quality and habitat for fish. That’s a huge benefit for water and beer-drinkers alike in the northern Oregon Coast Range!

Included breweries

Fort George

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Bull Run/Little Sandy Watershed

Portland has bragging rights to some of the best drinking water in the country thanks to the Bull Run/Little Sandy watershed, but that delicious H2O and the plethora of Portland breweries that rely on it wouldn’t be if not for the decades of work to keep the watershed pristine.

Closed to human entry since 1895, the Bull Run Reserve collects its water from rain, fog drip, and snowfall in the forested wildlands west of Mount Hood. In the 1990s, when storm runoff and erosion from reckless logging projects on federal land threatened to foul Bull Run’s water, Oregon Wild pushed the city of Portland to take a stand and help Oregon Wild in stopping these destructive projects, eventually protecting the 95,000 acres of forestland surrounding the Bull Run/Little Sandy watersheds.

But it didn’t end there – in 2009 when the clean, natural waters were at risk of chemical treatment, Widmer Brothers and Oregon Wild teamed up to safeguard Portland’s water supply. This was how the Oregon Brewshed® Alliance concept was born! So as you sip that refreshing Widmer Hefe in the summer heat, enjoy an Ex Novo Mexican Lager, or drink a Hopworks Abominable Winter Ale on the slopes of Mount Hood, remember the wild

protected in every pint!

Included breweries

Breakside
Ecliptic
Ex Novo
Grand Fir Brewing
Hopworks
Leikam
Portland Cider
Widmer

*Little Beast Brewing draws its water from the Clackamas watershed, to the south of the Sandy/Bull Run. Much of the Clackamas and some of its forks are designated Wild & Scenic Rivers, adding protections for these gorgeous waters.

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McKenzie River Watershed

The McKenzie River Watershed is the source of drinking water for nearly 200,000 people in the Eugene metropolitan area, and a key part of the recipe in the craft brews of Eugene-area brewshed partners.

Long recognized for its high quality, the waters of the McKenzie originate in the Cascade Mountains near Clear Lake. The main stem is about 90 miles long, and some sections of the river are designated with federal “Wild and Scenic” and “Oregon Scenic Waterway” protections that ensure it runs wild and free and home to threatened salmon populations.

But integral to the McKenzie watershed’s drinking water purity is our protected public lands. Ground waters that accumulate in the McKenzie River originate in tributaries in the Willamette National Forest, including the protected Mount Washington Wilderness and Three Sisters Wilderness areas. Thousands of acres of mature and old-growth forests still capture, cool, and filter these waters, including along many miles of streams proposed for Wild & Scenic River protections in the River Democracy Act.

However, without more protections, these forests and some of the McKenzie’s tributaries are still at risk from proposed logging operations. Anyone who enjoys a refreshing pint of Eugene-made beer should raise a glass and toast to Wilderness, and raise their voice to protect more Wild & Scenic Rivers and old forests! (Take action link)

Included breweries

Claim 52
Coldfire
Falling Sky
Hop Valley
Ninkasi
Oakshire

*Alesong Brewing and Blending makes its brews southwest of Eugene, in the Upper Siuslaw River watershed. Largely rural and agricultural, the waters of the Upper Siuslaw are important for conservation efforts in the rest of the watershed.

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Upper Deschutes Watershed

If you’ve ever visited the area, you know Central Oregon residents are fortunate to have great scenery, clean water, and high-quality beer (there’s even a Bend Ale Trail!), so it’s no surprise that Bend-area breweries work to combine those elements into their beer. Bend breweries draw their water from the Tumalo Creek watershed, of which a vast majority lies within the public lands of the Deschutes National Forest. This water originates in the cool, clear springs in the Happy Valley area and snow melt from iconic Broken Top Mountain in the Three Sisters Wilderness, and travels through some of the most celebrated outdoor recreation areas in the state. Tumalo Creek is proposed for protections under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act - a well-deserved addition to other protected rivers like the headwaters of Wychus Creek and the upper Deschutes. Preserving these wildlands and rivers is not only important for local brews, but it’s key to Central Oregon’s economy as a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts.

Whether you’re cracking open a can of a Brewshed partner brew after a day of hiking, fishing, or mountain biking through Central Oregon, you’re basically enjoying our public lands twice: a day out on the trail and wildlands-filtered beer!

Included breweries

Worthy Brewing
Cascade Lakes Brewing
Sunriver Brewing

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Hood River Watershed

While the town of Hood River sits along the banks of the mighty Columbia river, the source of its drinking (and brewing) water are springs between two branches of the town’s namesake Hood River - miles to the southwest. The spring’s water bubbles up from the protected wildlands on the slopes of Mount Hood, and the pristine waters of the Hood River branches are proposed for protection under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. Breweries in Hood River thrive in part because of this great water, but also because of the protected public lands that draw people from all over to hike in ancient forests, enjoy wild glacier-fed streams, and take in the views of Oregon’s highest peak.

Included breweries

pFreim Family Brewers

Applegate & Ashland Creek Watershed

Breweries and cider makers in the southwest Oregon communities of Grants Pass, Medford, and Ashland depend on the Applegate River and Ashland Creek watersheds for the water they need to brew and to grow fruit. The Applegate River and its tributaries flow north off of the Siskiyou Crest - the divide between Oregon and California, to the Rogue River. In addition to the pear and other fruit trees cider-makers grow with water from the Applegate, native salmon and steelhead runs depend on the many upstream tributaries such as the Little Applegate, Star Gulch, Mule Creek, and Palmer Creek - many proposed as Wild & Scenic Rivers under the River Democracy Act.

In Ashland, the municipal watershed that provides high quality water from the forested slopes of Mount Ashland in the Siskiyou National Forest also offers recreation in all seasons.

The area draws tourists to experience the stellar local agricultural and brewed products, while surrounding forest lands offer a scenic backdrop. As important as the public lands here are for providing clean, cool water, protected forests and streams are not the rule. Lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management are mixed with the farms and vineyards and water sources of the region, but protections for wild streams, ancient forests, and large undeveloped wild areas where so many streams originate are weaker than they should be.

Included breweries

Blossom Barn Cidery

Mid-Willamette River Watershed

The streams that flow east out of the Coast Range foothills meander through rural communities and farmland of the Willamette Valley on their way to feed the Willamette River. From Corvallis to the Newberg area, headwater streams feed bigger ones like the Marys, Luckiamute, and Yamhill Rivers. Hop-growing brewshed partners in the Willamette Valley rely on groundwater, so they work to use water sustainably as it runs towards the Willamette River and north. Hop-farming practices that reduce water use and chemical inputs benefit the downstream part of this major watershed.

In Corvallis, Rock Creek flows from the forested slopes of Marys Peak into the Marys River and provides water for the city and its breweries - like Block 15 and Mazama. The forest of the municipal watershed is managed by the city to provide timber and protect water quality, and up slope on the peak, the US Forest Service protects and restores ancient forests and meadows. From the top of Marys Peak (maybe with a cold brew in hand) one can look out over the Willamette Valley and the brewshed.

Included breweries

Block 15
Mazama
Coleman Ag
Crosby Hops

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Central Coast Watershed

Water used by coastal communities - and brewers - can take diverse pathways to the tap. Where forests cover the Coast Range hillsides, rain and fog is captured and filtered into steep canyon streams, as well as lazy ones that meander through sand dunes. The intensive logging that characterized this region over the last century didn’t spare many watersheds along the central coast, but some of the small watersheds in the region are remarkably intact. In fact, part of the Yachats River is proposed for Wild & Scenic River protections, and the Cummins Creek and Rock Creek watersheds are protected as Wilderness within the Siuslaw National Forest. Further south, the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness and Elliott State Forest straddle the Umpqua River - both with tremendous forests that filter water, provide habitat for threatened species, and store massive amounts of carbon.

Unfortunately, there are also vast swaths of private industrial forest lands that have been clearcut multiple times - damaging forest ecosystems and watersheds. In fact, Yachats’ brewshed® was negligently clearcut a decade ago, leading to water quality issues. The brewery there is committed to protecting and restoring as much of the brewshed as possible as it recovers. New rules governing private forests, that Oregon Wild worked hard to enact, will better protect streams and steep slopes from logging in the future, so that we have better water quality and habitat for fish.

Included breweries

Yachats Brewing (Salmon Creek-Yachats River)
7 Devils (Pony Creek)

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