Archives West Finding Aid

The Portland Brewing Company was incorporated by Fred Bowman and Art Larrance in 1983; it opened in 1986. Hart Brewing was founded by Beth Hartwell and Tom Baune in Kalama, Washington in 1984; the name was changed to Pyramid Breweries in 1996. The Portland brewery facility closed in 2021. At various points, these companies merged and purchased by other companies.

Portland Brewing Company

The Portland Brewing Company was incorporated by Fred Bowman and Art Larrance in 1983. Bert Grant, owner of Yakima Brewing Company, was hired in 1985 as a technical consultant to assist in designing the brewhouse. The company was initially funded by a small public offering in 1985 that raised $125,000.

In 1986, the brewpub opened at 1339 NW Flanders Street in an old creamery building in Northwest Portland; they only produced draft beer. In 1988, they began bottling their flagship Portland Ale in 32-ounce package and in 1989 began bottling it as a 12-ounce 6-pack. In 1991, Tony Adams and Mac and Scott MacTarnahan invested capital in the brewery, and that same year the company embarked on an ambitious financial plan to build a new brewery. In 1992, they expanded their distribution network to the seven western states and won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival with MacTarnahan’s Ale.

With a growing market and need for increased production, in 1992, they purchased brewing equipment from Sixenbräu in Nördlingen, Germany, including copper brewing vessels, and began production of a new brewery at 2730 NW 31st Avenue with an expected 65,000-barrel annual capacity, which was more than double the production at the Flanders facility. The new brewery met its full production level in 1993. In spring of 1995, Portland Brewing purchased and installed a new state of the art bottling line from Krones Inc., which could rinse, fill, cap, and label up to 250 bottles a minute, roughly twice the amount of the old line. With the addition of equipment and increased tank space, by 1995 the brewing capacity was 100,000 barrels annually and by 1996 was 135,000 barrels.

The company embarked on several campaigns to raise money for expansion and renovation projects. In 1992, the company offered 100,000 shares of common stock to Oregon residents (which sold in 32 days); the next year, they offered an additional 100,000 shares to Oregon and Washington residents (which sold in 60 days). These two offerings raised $1 million. In 1994, they offered an additional 490,000 shares to finance increased production capabilities, marketing efforts, and German style beer hall and restaurant; they raised $2.8 million. In 1995, they raised $2.9 million, which brought the total number of shareholders to approximately 5,500, number of outstanding shares to 2.1 million, and the total dollars raised by investors to almost $7 million. The NW Flanders Street facility was remodeled in summer 1996 and a new kitchen was added.

By 1998 the company was in financial trouble and MacTarnahan bought $3.5 million in debt in exchange for stock; as a result, Portland Brewing began using MacTarnahan labeling. Portland Brewing Company merged with Saxer Brewing Company of Lake Oswego in 2000.

Hart Brewing and Pyramid Breweries

Hart Brewing was founded by Beth Hartwell and Tom Baune in Kalama, Washington in 1984; the name of the brewery was a contraction of Hartwell. Five investors from Seattle acquired Hart Brewing in 1989 and then purchased Thomas Kemper Brewing Company from Poulsbo, Washington in 1992. They also moved to a new, larger facility in 1992 and by 1994, Hart Brewing was the fourth largest craft brewery in the United States. In 1995, Hart Brewing opened a new brewery in Seattle, known as the Seattle Alehouse (closed in 2020). Also in 1995, the company became a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ exchange, issuing 2.6 million shares. The name was changed to Pyramid Breweries in 1996. In 1997, Pyramid Brewery opened a brewing facility and restaurant in Berkeley, California (closed in 2015).

Hart Brewing’s first beer was Pyramid Pale ale, and it was followed in 1985 by Pyramid Wheaten Ale, the first year-round wheat beer made in America since Prohibition. Pyramid Snow Cap Ale was released in 1986. They began making a Hefeweizen in 1993 and an Apricot Ale in 1994.

Portland Brewing and Pyramid Breweries

In 2004, MacTarnahan, then 88 years old, sold the Portland Brewing Company to Pyramid Breweries of Seattle. The Portland Brewing facility was renamed “MacTarnahan's Brewing Company.” MacTarnahan died later that year.

In 2008, Pyramid Breweries was acquired by Magic Hat Brewing Company, which was subsequently bought by North American Breweries of Rochester, New York in 2010. In 2012, the company was purchased by the Costa Rican company Florida Ice & Farm Co. In 2013, the brewery announced it would return to the Portland Brewing Company name.

After declining revenue, the company closed the Portland taproom and restaurant in 2018 and ceased production entirely in 2021.