Gorges Beer Co. has laid off brewmaster/co-owner Bryan Keilty
Gorges Beer Co. original founders Travis Preece, Bryan Keilty, Willis Boyer, and Steven Denio
Portland and Cascade Locks, Oregon brewery Gorges Beer Co. has atleast temporarily ceased brewing operations and laid off co-founder/head brewer Bryan Keilty, who was left out of the decision making process. The 2020 opened Gorges Beer Co. was one of the most highly anticipated new breweries of that year, thanks to their ambitious plans and veteran ownership group who purchased and replaced the cult favorite Coalition Brewing in southeast Portland.
Conceptual rendering of Gorges Beer Co. in Cascade Locks, only part of which has been realized in the 2+ years since this location opened
Gorges Beer Co. caught early buzz in part because of the involvement of veteran award-winning brewer Bryan Keilty, who was with Lompoc Brewing for 12 years and the brewmaster for most of them, he was the StarChefs rising artisan star of 2011, and won multiple Great American Beer Festival medals including a Gold for Porter. Along with majority owner Travis Preece of Tap & Table beer bar/pub, experienced beer sales director Steven Denio, and general contractor and architect Willis Boyer, the startup seemed to have a bright future with an epic goal to make Cascade Locks a Columbia River Gorge destination with their own 3-floor restaurant, barrel and blending room, with dog park and guest rooms as an anchor.
Unfortunately due to no fault of their own the timing couldn’t have been much worse. Gorges Beer Co. opened their tiny Portland Trailhead taproom on March 6th, just 10 days before Oregon began shutting down to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. But that was just the beginning of their problems, as sources at the company point to a host of ongoing issues from absentee ownership to inconsistent service and an ambivalence to the minority backers that helped get the project off the ground to begin with.
Images below from the Ankeny Promenade “Rainbow Road” that separates Gorges Beer Trailhead Taproom and Tap & Table in SE Portland
In their defense, Gorges Beer Co. initially had one of the best pandemic pivots in Portland. With help from the city, Gorges Beer and their sister pub Tap & Table were able to close the only thing separating them - Ankeny Street. The bicycle thoroughfare got a colorful paint job and a full patio beer garden, often with special vendors like an ice cream truck, and for awhile piloted the Porter app to allow patrons to order from multiple businesses direct to their table at once. Bike Portland called it “Portland’s best distanced-dining street plaza,” the Oregon Beer Awards named it the co-winner for “Best Patio or Beer Garden” and even the New School named it the “Best Covid Safe Patio” of 2020. At the time, Gorges Beer co-owner Travis Preece said the promenade led to an 800% increase in business.
“The plan was to brew beer for the flagship location in Cascade Locks and have multiple taprooms stretching from Portland into the Gorge. The Covid shutdown went into place 10 days after we opened our first location, the Portland brewery/taproom. This definitely put a wrench into our plans,” says Bryan Keilty. “We went from selling pints to a full taproom of people to sourcing aluminum cans, filling cans on a crowler machine and selling them out the door. When we did reopen for outdoor seating we were able to take advantage of the street closure in front of the brewery on SE Ankeny which helped tremendously. I think initially we did a pretty good job of pivoting.”
Gorges broke ground in May 2020 on a completely undeveloped 2-acre parcel of land at 390 Wa Na Pa St, the main drag going through Cascade Locks in the Columbia River Gorge, it was only a few months behind schedule, which was good considering the strains of the pandemic. But it was still a big blow to the business, says Keilty, “we broke ground later than planned which meant opening in mid July 2021 instead of Spring giving us only half of what should have been a busy Summer. Building material pricing also soared causing us to go over budget.”
After numerous delays, including completely repainting the exterior of the building to meet a Cascade Locks approved color scheme, Gorges Beer opened their flagship location with a bright, lively space, and an ambitious fresh menu featuring seasonal veggies and fruit, local meats, fresh fish, and ambitions to compete as one of the top elevated brewpub menus in Oregon. The three level facility features an upstairs roof-level bar, and a ground floor level bar flanked by blending tanks for Bryan Keilty’s longer term barrel-aged projects. But as we learned, those tanks have never been use and glycol was never plumbed, their use simply a nod to a dream that never came to fruition.
Since 2022 Gorges Beer Co. has been noticeably quiet, the brewery continued to brew and release beers, and the taproom remained open. But the business appeared to be cash strapped with a lack of events, and inability to keep all the gears of a successful business properly running. From a rotating cast of chefs in Cascade Locks, to constantly having no staff to keep the downstairs main entrance bar open, to an ever changing contact-free QR code ordering system that overstayed its welcome and to this day is used in lieu of in-person staff. On a recent visit, more than half of the food menu was unavailable and customers had to find their way up two flights of stairs to the roof level before finding any service.
Last month Gorges Beer Co. finally completed the second phase of their Cascade Locks buildout with an upper level outdoor/music wedding venue. It too, missed completion in time for the busy summer season. When the project was announced, Gorges sought investment backers via a MainVest.com campaign, touting a venue capable of holding up to 300 guests, with 20+ rooms and green elements, such as native trees, EV charging, and solar panels. The green area that was to potentially have glamping and a dog park, and the boutique hotel part of the business plan that was originally announced and bought into by investors, shows no signs of progress.
Images below are uncompleted plans for Gorges Beer Co. Cascade Locks from Scott Edwards Architectural
Numerous sources confirm there was strife within the company, largely based on disagreements on how things were run. But what came next was an unexpected decision by Travis Preece that everyone I spoke to - including key players - was completely unaware of in advance.
“I was informed in September that Gorges would no longer be brewing beer,” says head brewer/co-owner Bryan Keilty. “This was not my decision and I was not consulted. At that time I still had beer in tank so I would be kept on to see those batches through but after that I would be laid off.”
Also according to Keilty, the original agreement he made for financially investing in the launch of the company was to increase annually every year for ten years along with his sweat equity as the sole brewer and director of sales at the brewery. His commitments to the brand were significant, Keilty moved to Cascade Locks so he could be at the brewpub within minutes if needed.
“Unless there are dividends or the company is sold I doubt that I'll see any return,” says Keilty.
Left to right: Travis Preece, Bryan Keilty, and Willis Boyer
After being informed that he wouldn’t be needed in the brewery any longer, Keilty was asked to brew one last beer to use up ingredients and help the bars keep the in-house beer flowing atleast into winter. Keilty clocked out on his last day at the brewery on Tuesday, October 10th, he emptied and cleaned the tanks, fulfilling his final duties by getting the equipment ready for whatever comes next in it’s uncertain future.
“I have asked what the plan is and haven't been given any concrete answer,” adds Keilty. “As of right now there's a 10bbl brewhouse that isn't being used. Both locations are open and the walk-ins are full of fresh beer. I am still a shareholder in the company and hope for it's success.”
Emailed questions sent to Gorges Beer majority owner Travis Preece have not been answered by time of publication, Preece however did respond by text: “I’m still figuring out next steps but we’re still brewing and planning to remain a brewery. Just exploring options that are more sustainable for a smaller business.” Follow-up texts to Preece regarding who and where the beer would be brewed were not returned. Co-owner Willis Boyer also has not responded to emailed questions by time of publication, but did confirm receipt of them by text.
In a post to backers on their Main Vest campaign page dated April 7 2023, Travis Preece reported that the company was under capital, but that the wedding venue portion of the business was where he was investing 50% of his time learning the ropes. And info shared in that update he reported Gorges Beer Q1 Company wide Revenues:
2022 - $122,900
2023 - $149,949
$27,049 growth, 22% growth
Portland grew $ 1,700
Cascade Locks grew $ 6,000
C.L. Events grew $ 19,000
