(Courtesy Crux Fermentation Project)

The beer biz never sleeps at American Craft Beer. And here’s just some of what’s been happening in the beer world while you were enjoying the weekend.

Crux Fermentation Project Sold to Oregon Beverage Collective

After more than a decade in an American craft beer mecca, Crux Fermentation Project has officially been sold to Oregon Beverage Collective.

For a brewery that helped define modern-era craft beer in Bend, the sale feels significant—but not entirely surprising. The craft beer landscape isn’t what it was in 2012, when Crux first opened its doors.

Founded by Paul Evers and former Deschutes brewmaster Larry Sidor, Crux built its reputation on experimentation. The name itself telegraphed the mission: beer as a point of transformation. The brewery’s tasting room became more than a taproom—it became a magnet for beer lovers from all over the Pacific Northwest.

But like many mid-sized craft breweries, Crux has been navigating a tougher market in recent years. Growth has flattened across the category. Consumer tastes continue to fragment. In that context, the move to join Oregon Beverage Collective looks less like an exit and more like a strategic pivot.

The Oregon Beverage Collective (OBC) is now a collaboration between five iconic Central Oregon brands –  Crux Fermentation Project, Silver Moon Brewing, Cascade Lakes Brewing Co., GoodLife Brewing, and Tumalo Cider Co.  According to the New School, “the strategic partnership is more than a business decision; it’s a shared commitment to preserving local legacy brands, investing in community, and building a sustainable future for regional beverage.”

For Crux, this acquisition could mean stronger distribution muscle, improved back-end support, and the kind of scale that’s become increasingly necessary to compete.

Early messaging suggests that Crux’s brand identity and Bend operations will remain intact. Production will continue at the existing facility, and the taproom—arguably one of the best brewery experiences in Central Oregon—will stay open.

And If Oregon Beverage Collective can preserve what made Crux special—the experimentation, the community vibe, the feeling that you’re drinking something accomplished—then this sale may feel less like an ending and more like the next fermentation stage.

Words to Drink By

“When I look back at my life, I feel pain not because of suffering, but because of wasted time.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian philosopher, novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist.

Economic Impact of Asahi Brewery Cyberattack Linger

Asahi Breweries is continuing to feel the economic impact of a cyberattack that struck its systems last September. While the company moved quickly to contain the breach, lingering supply chain and distribution issues have continued to impact beer sales volume domestically in 2026.

According to the company, the attack disrupted parts of its order and logistics network, creating bottlenecks that have proven difficult to fully unwind. In Japan’s highly competitive beer market—where shelf space is tight and timing is everything—even minor interruptions can result in lost sales that are hard to recover.

In a brief February 12 filing, Asahi said sales of “beer-type beverages” from its Asahi Breweries unit in Japan fell 11% year-on-year in January. .

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