After 21 years, Eugene’s KLCC radio station will no longer host its annual Brewfest. The station made the announcement this weekend. Beerstone contacted station manager Jim Rondeau, who cited rising costs and lower turnout as the main reasons for discontinuing its biggest public fundraiser.

“Unfortunately, 2023 continued a multi-year trend of rising production costs and declining revenue,” says Rondeau. “Rather than dramatically raise prices or scale down the event in ’24, we determined it would be best to look for options that would not sacrifice the spirit of Brewfest and, ultimately, disappoint our guests.”

The KLCC Brewfest was the biggest annual beer event in Lane County by both attendance (typically, several thousand over two days) and number of beers (80+). It also hosted a popular used record and CD sale (except for 2023), live music, and had a side-channel of donations from a homebrew competition run by the Cascade Brewers Society and others in the homebrew community.

Breweries in Lane County took the yearly opportunity to educate and inform beer drinkers about different styles, brewing regions, and ways of enjoying beer through a themed collaboration booth. The event as a whole was a connecting point for brewers, reps, and other industry members, and it will be missed for that reason as well.

The Brewfest was a herculean effort to organize. Rondeau explained, “Every year, Brewfest requires months of dedicated staff work, hundreds of great volunteers and the generosity of dozens of brewers to pull off. It’s a very large undertaking for an organization the size of KLCC and we are very proud of everyone involved with it.”

The loss of this fest is indicative of the beating the beer industry is taking right now. As one Eugene brewer put it, “It’s fucking rough. There is no doubt about it. Not everyone sees the writing on the wall of the industry dynamic right now… it is definitely hard to stomach.”

The McKenzie Craft Cider & Beer Fest, hosted by the Springfield Rotary Club and held at the Bob Keefer (formerly Willamalane) Center in Springfield, has not happened since 2019.

Rondeau has not closed the door completely on the fest, however. “Consumer trends may make the return of Brewfest possible in future years. We’re keeping our ears open for
possibilities.”