PORTLAND, Ore. — Tuesday Sept. 28 is National Drink Beer Day. There are about 70 breweries in the Portland, according to Travel Portland.
In recent months, larger breweries like Portland Brewing and Coalition Brewing have gone out of business but others have managed to hang on.
Great Notion Brewing has five locations, three in Portland and two in Seattle. During the pandemic, the owners came up with a creative way to generate business. They built the Great Notion App, which allows people to purchase their beer in twelve different states, along with the Portland and Seattle areas.
Great Notion does not distribute their beer, so you won't find it in the store. Vice President of Sales and Marketing Danielle Gabriel said the app launched right as the pandemic started. She said over 75,000 people have downloaded it so far and 25% are active users.
Most of the revenue transitioned from in-house sales to app sales, she said. Despite this success, Great Notion was not completely spared from the pandemic.
"We've had to lay off our staff, we had to furlough them, and we are a family company and our staff is incredibly important to us," Gabriel added.
Great Notion has over 300 types of beer, including a Boo Berry Muffin flavor for Halloween. New beers drop three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The business also has a partnership with the Blazers and people will soon be able to get their beer at the Moda Center. Great Notion is looking to expand soon by adding locations in California.