Just stunned and saddened that the local brewing community can no longer support this iconic shop.
Seems more like a combination of retail slump, plus their building getting bought by a developer who wants to pave paradise and put up an apartment block
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That leaves my LHBS, Home Fermenter, as the only real homebrew shop in the state.
I got my start at the Home Fermenter Center in Eugene back in 1991, glad to see they’re still there.
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Just by a thread. Jason, the owner, took a job in NV because he couldn’t live on what he made from the shop.which by the way is large and wel stocked. He hired 2 guys to run the store til his lease runs out. Who knows after that.
This market and economy is hard on specialty shops in general. When I was a callow youth, it was normal for any decent population center to have a hobby shop, a sewing store, etc. Now it’s all online.
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I hadn’t really thought about it until you mentioned it, but yeah… there are no hobby shops that I’m aware of near me. And nothing dedicated to sewing.
digressing a bit - but i think more crucially it has made unusual meeting venues, ie. alternative music, non-mainstream interests meeting places disappear from my city. rent is really high, everything is highly regulated ie. hours, number of staff, safety, food/drink, etc, both of these things are easier for corporations to absorb and handle. so compared to 20 years ago way way more things are either super safe and boring or franchised/corporate. there are no dedicated venues for the music i like, and the few places that sort of touch on some of them, are way more regulated and many times more expensive than what i experienced even 15 years ago. oh well, if i went it would just be 50 hands up in the air holding a cellphone motionlessly pointing at the stage anyway.
everything comes in waves, im sure something will reverse all this, but its sad right now.
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In my humble (liberal) opinion (IMHLO???), until this nation supports the middle class (and below) in ways that we have the power to, most folks will be forced to continue to use price as their primary metric for purchasing decisions. Lift folks up to where they can support their neighbors and buying local will be a sustainable option with regard to family finances.
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As far as I can tell, there’s more to it than lagging sales. Real estate prices also seem to have played a major role.
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There are no other retailers of any kind near them. It’s a very densely populated city neighborhood. I would not be surprised to see some of what my Portland resident kids call “Cool Tax” apartments there in the next couple of year.
The source is Reddit; so take it with the RDA of sodium, but maybe not closing … ?
They also posted on their socials: https://www.facebook.com/fhsteinbart/posts/pfbid0sCMLEupmS34o4Kczy6k9mXA4gV5v8cbLASk1FQYhDFfKkwNd6yfVPFSt5W9CFPAwl
I’ve heard some interesting chatter in the community that there may be an interested party that could carry on the legacy, in some form. Reason for hope.
And this is an email they sent out last Friday, 12/12/25.
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We’re Open — and Grateful for Your Support
Many of you reached out after our recent announcement, and we can’t thank you enough for the kindness, memories, and support you’ve shown our team and this iconic store.
While we had originally planned to wind things down, the owners of our building and business are now exploring new possibilities for F.H. Steinbart’s future. As those conversations take place, our doors remain open and our shelves stocked.
Come grab your favorite brewing and draft items.
We’re back with updated store hours and standard pricing, with fresh ingredients, gas fills, and all your draft equipment needs ready to go.
Whether you’re brewing, building a new system, or just stopping by to say hello — we’re here, and we’d love to see you.
Thank you for helping us keep this Portland institution alive. We’re still doing what we do best — keeping Portland beered since 1918.
234 SE 12th Ave, Portland, OR
Mon–Sat, 8 AM – 5:30 PM
F.H. Steinbart Co. | 234 SE 12th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
503-232-8793
Great, unexpected news.
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Sound Homebrew in Seattle is closing as well, in April. At that time, there will be no homebrew shops left within the city limits of Seattle.
We need the AHA to start talking about advocacy and designing alternatives, thinking about what homebrew shops of the future look like. Do they still stock both hard and soft goods? Are they co-located in breweries? Are they no-frills grain rooms that stock and sell basically nothing else? Of all the things I’m most concerned about, it’s ready access to a healthy variety of grain and (to a lesser extent) liquid yeast.
Could you explain what you mean by “We need the AHA to start talking about advocacy and designing alternatives”?
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Sure!
It’s no secret that homebrew shops are closing. The AHA should be actively looking into the reasons for that and understanding the impact to the hobby, obviously.
But a huge thing the AHA can also do is to think about practical alternatives in the future where the myriad reasons that shops-as-we-know-them are closing can be mitigated, and then publish and advocate for those models. Try and find ways to get enterprising folks thinking about whether they could (and then how to approach it) to execute it. The AHA does plenty of thinking about the beer consumer, but should give much more thought to our supply chain.
Our club has kicked around some ideas: how might a brewing-supply model work that worked directly with local breweries? The AHA would be a helpful organization to have behind approaches like that, both in name and in organizational capacity: “Official supply partner of the AHA” or whatnot. Help to grease the wheels with the various suppliers that might be wondering “what this commercial brewery wants what”? and so on.
@lawn.chairs, perhaps this is something you may want to volunteer to help with. Look at the following page for volunteer opportunities:
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