(Courtesy Cascade Brewing)

Art Larrance was a brewing legend in the Pacific Northwest. On May 26 he died from a heart attack and now Cascade Brewing, which he founded in 1998, has also come to an end.

Cascade Brewing was a leader in the sour ale movement with a national reputation that extended well beyond, it’s Portland, Oregon location.

“Like most brewpubs, Cascade started out making pub ales, according to the Oregon Live, “ but with competition ramping up even back then, Art Larrance and brewmaster Ron Gansberg, decided in 2006 to swerve onto a path less traveled: sour beers. The about-face would change everything.”

And almost overnight Cascade Brewing became the center of the Northwest sour ale movement and a mecca for professional brewers and beer tourists from around the world. American Craft Beer made the pilgrimage  to Cascade Barrel House  while we were in town for the Craft Brewers Conference in 2015. It was our first encounter Northwest-style sours and the beers we enjoyed that night remain some of the most memorable we’ve ever had.

Art in 1987 – Courtesy Oregon Hops and Brewing Archive

In April, 2020, Larrance sold the brewery to an investor group, but unbeknownst to the Lawrence family that deal never closed. “This has all been a big shock during an already stressful time,” Alissa Larrance told the Oregonian.

“Cascade’s output has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride in recent years,” reports Brewbound. “It began a steady decline from its 2017 peak of 2,392 barrels with a +14% rebound, to 1,405 barrels in 2021, only to dip again in 2022 to 1,151 barrels, according to data from the Brewers Association. Last year, Cascade reported production increased +58.3%, to 1,822 barrels.”

Larrance also will be remembered as the co-founder of the Oregon Brewers Festival, playfully referred to as simply the OBF in the Pacific Northwest . Launched in 1988 in the midst of the craft beer boom, in it quickly became the largest beer festival in the country, drawing up to 50k visitors annually and adding tens of millions to Portland’s economy according to New School Beer, who also published a beautiful retrospect of his career.

“Art dedicated his life to elevating craft beer in Oregon, co-founding Portland Brewing Company and Cascade Brewing, and helping to pass Oregon’s brewpub law,” OBF wrote on Instagram. “His legacy lives on in every brewpub, and every bottle and can and pint of Oregon beer.”

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