Coronavirus Diaries at Five: Alesong Brewing and Blending

Five years ago, during the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, I collected reports from several Oregon breweries as they struggled to navigate the crisis. This week I will have some follow-ups from the same breweries on what has happened since. We’re starting with Alesong because it’s a happy story.

We’re going to start with Matt Van Wyk, on if the three founders of Alesong Brewing and Blending. Alesong is located in the lush fields near Eugene, and was founded to make thoughtful ales aged in oak. Since Covid, they’ve started making wines as well. It’s one of Oregon’s most-lauded breweries and last year earned brewery of the year honors from the GABF. I was interested to hear from a range of breweries for this series, and Alesong offers a perspective into the world of higher-end brewing for a smaller audience.

By Matt Van Wyk

For me, it is hard to pin causality onto what we are living with now. For us, the reasons for differences is because we are operating as a brewery very differently now than where we were in the last few months of 2019 through the entirety of the pandemic. I guess you could say some of the changes we made are the result of Covid. And while we have seen positive changes, it certainly didn't blossom out of positivity.

You see, from late 2019 to early 2022, the bulk of C-times, the entirety of our wholesale sales (that is all but our tasting room) was sold via a partnership through Ninkasi Brewing and their distribution network. We did not have to sell beer beyond our four walls other than to sell it to one customer and support it how we could. Well, this did not last, mainly due to what was going on in the world, and today, I am the acting sales manager, self-distribution sales rep, and chief delivery driver. Is that good? Despite many of our wholesale customers closing up shop, we seem to be selling more beer to more corners of Oregon and we're keeping the wholesale margin. On top of that, we are sold in about 10 states and 5-6 countries and I manage that distribution. We work harder, and employ more people, but it has been a positive change, for sure.

The second difference in how we operate in 2025 is that we are running our own restaurant. We built out a food cart at our wine-country tasting room property, hired a kitchen team, and have an elevated menu to match our beers. From the beginning and through Covid, we just had Charcuterie and other snacks. Today, our customers can visit for a full dinner and often stay longer because of it. Direct to Consumer (DTC) sales are up, but it's because there is more reason to come to our tasting room. This project got started in 2023 and was possible because we had some money left over from 2022 to invest in the project. It's hard to think that we had money for capital projects coming out of Covid, but I think some things went our way during that time, and we are reaping the benefits now.

Finally, we chose to operate a second “urban” tasting room in Eugene from late 2020 until the end of 2023, again the bulk of C-times. Now we are focused on one location, have a smaller, better-connected staff, and can provide a move comprehensive experience for our guests. This has been better for the DTC channel, which of course is the highest margin of our business.

I would say any slowdown in sales for us is not so much Covid hangover, but just a reflection of the economy and what people feel they can spend on luxury items. Craft beer, and especially our niche craft beer, is a luxury for some, and many have had to cut it out of their routine. This led to a decrease in club membership, as did the closure of the second tasting room, but we're seeing those numbers plateau and we're finding our groove both in our club model and in running a restaurant.

As we get farther and farther from that moment in time that started five years ago, we are seeing people get back to the desire for events, gathering, and living life as normally as possible. Let's just hope we don't have to relive it anytime soon. But in the event we do, I think we'll be ready to shift gears and make the most of it. Do we really have a choice?