MEDFORD, Ore -- Breweries and taphouses are popping up across southern Oregon. The Oregon Brewers Guild has the numbers to prove it. The non-profit organization says a few years ago, Oregon had 100 breweries. Now, there are 166.
"We're adding ten to 20 breweries a year," said Brian Butenschoen who is the executive director of the guild. The organization was started in 1992 to protect and promote Oregon's breweries. According to the guild, the Portland-Metro area has 66 breweries and taphouses. In and around Eugene there are about 10. Central Oregon has 18 and in southern Oregon, there are 15 breweries and taphouses, with six more in planning. Butenschoen says, "
"I think it's almost like brewing sleeper cells. We had a pretty lively homebrew community in this area... and now, we're seeing a lot of people stepping out on their own to create their own beer. It's been almost a beer renaissance in the last two years," said Chris Dennett, owner of Beerworks in downtown Medford.
The brewers guild wants Oregon cities to start paying attention to the untapped link between craft beer and tourism.
Butenschoen says in 2009, the city of Bend started its "Ale Trail," a tour for beer fans. Research shows 40% of the people traveling to Bend go there to visit a brewery, or do the Ale Trail. Two years ago, that number was 26%.
Oregon was the first state in the country to hold a beer week and the first to have an entire month. July is Oregon Craft Beer Month.
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