Flat beer sales impact Sisters

Drinking trends, especially among younger consumers, have flattened more than 30 Oregon craft brewers in the last two years. The latest in the toll is Sisters' Three Creeks Brewing. The owners have sold the namesake restaurant located on the FivePine Campus and have closed the doors on the brewing operation on East Barclay Drive.

In a portion of an announcement on its Facebook page, founder Wade Underwood told fans: "It is with great joy that after 16 years, Three Creeks Brewing Co. (the pub) has been sold to a new owner, Jacob Whitney, who will take over operations later this month. Pub staff will be retained.

"Unfortunately, it is also with great sadness that our production facility is no longer a tenable endeavor. The production\retail beer industry has been ravaged by challenges the last few years with rising costs, increased competition on multiple fronts, wholesaler consolidations, supply chain challenges, and economic strains which all brands are facing."

Underwood did not respond to The Nugget's attempts to contact him for further comment.

Over the past few decades, beer's share of total beverage alcohol volume in the U.S. has fallen from 87 percent in 1990 to under 70 percent in 2023, according to IWSR data. Among competing factors which explain this decline, the most significant has been the sheer number of beverage alcohol products brought to market.

The craft beer industry saw negative production for the second straight year in 2023, continuing a downward trend for independent, small brewers. While alcoholic beer sales are essentially on a straight line, non-alcoholic beer sales are on the rise in the U.S., according to NIQ, which tracks buying behavior.

While every adult age bracket enjoys beer, it's consumers under 30 who drink the most per capita, and those are the same drinkers leading the trend away from beer, particularly craft beer, generally higher in alcohol and calorie content.

A beneficiary of the changing trend is also in Sisters - Wild Roots Spirits who distill flavored gin and vodka in Sun Ranch Business Park and operate a tasting room on Cascade Avenue. Their sales growth has been spectacular, its owners say. They have been awarded dozens of industry honors and their brands are marketed across multiple states and growing.

Their newest entry perfectly mirrors the change in drinking habits. It's a canned raspberry vodka and soda drink.

The movement is being called "mindful drinking." It all began experts say with the pandemic when bars and restaurants were hard hit by mandates to close or limit their operations.

The rise of mindful drinking is driven mostly by younger generations, with youth drinking in decline across most high-income countries. Gen-Z drink 20 percent less on average than millennials, who also drink less than the previous generation, mainly because of an increased awareness of the dangers and effects of alcohol and the rise of health-consciousness as a lifestyle.

Patrick Sullivan, a 26-year-old tech worker in Sisters, has changed his drinking habits as have his cycling buddies.

"We just don't drink as much as we did a few years ago, or as our older siblings and parents. It's mostly unconscious. I just feel better drinking kombucha," he said.

According to Grandview Research the global kombucha market size was valued at $2.64 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 15.6 percent from 2022 to 2030. Consumers have significantly shifted toward proactively tackling their health and well-being, and have dedicated themselves to improving their overall longevity, which has led to higher product acceptance.

Some craft brewers have shifted to kombucha, also a brewed product.

Kombucha is widely available at Sisters watering holes, as are a host of non-alcoholic or flavored alcohol offerings.

And while Sisters, with its Old West image, may like to consider itself a beer and whiskey town, bartenders are having to learn the art of mocktails. A mocktail is a non-alcoholic mixed drink that's meant to mimic the complexity and presentation of craft cocktails.

Bartenders use the same tools and mixology techniques as they would for regular mixed drinks, but without the alcohol. Mocktails are often made with juices, sodas, herbs, and syrups, and can be iced. Some mocktails may also include non-alcoholic spirits for added flavor and complexity.

Mocktails and other alcohol alternatives are more than a passing fad. The sector is expected to grow to $30 billion in 2025, according to Global Market Insights.

On TikTok, the hashtag #mocktails has over 1 billion views.

Up the road in Bend, Crater Lake Distillery is cashing in on the shifting habits with a line of flavored gins and vodkas with labels like Northwest Berry Vodka and Hazelnut Espresso Vodka.

Also in Bend, the annual Brewfest has cancelled its 2024 event after a 20-year run; organizers have not been specific about the reason for the cancellation.