New Owner Plans to Stop Making Oregon’s Full Sail Beer After Hood River Brewpub Closes

HOOD RIVER, Ore. — Full Sail Brewing Co., one of Oregon’s pioneering craft breweries, is facing the end of its nearly 40-year beer-making history after Kentucky-based spirits company Sazerac acquired the business.

Sazerac plans to use the brewery’s production facilities to expand its manufacturing capacity. A company spokesperson told Food Dive that Full Sail beer would not be part of its production or distribution lineup in the long term.

Hood River Brewpub Closes as Full Sail Beer Faces Phaseout

Full Sail’s Hood River brewpub at 506 Columbia Street closed on November 2.

Sazerac, whose brands include Fireball, confirmed that the acquisition includes substantially all of Full Sail’s assets, including its production equipment, manufacturing capabilities, and intellectual property.

Brewpub employees were informed of layoffs this week, according to Bart Prouty, who identified himself as the brewery’s weekend brewing lead.

He noted that former Full Sail brewers had gone on to establish Columbia River Gorge breweries including Double Mountain, pFriem, and Everybody’s Brewing, helping shape the region’s brewing industry.

Nearly Four Decades of Oregon Brewing History

Founded in Hood River in 1987, Full Sail was among Oregon’s earliest craft breweries.

Originally known as Hood River Brewing Company, it began bottling Full Sail Golden Ale in 1988 using a repurposed Italian wine-bottling machine.

The brewery grew substantially over the following decades, producing approximately 120,000 barrels annually at its height in 2007 and distributing its beers across 28 states in that period.

Full Sail became employee-owned in 1999 before being acquired in 2015 by the Oregon Craft Brewers Company, an investment group that included Encore Consumer Capital.

But reported beer production had fallen by roughly 90% to about 12,800 barrels by 2025, illustrating the challenges facing the once-booming craft-beer business.