Gritty McDuff’s | 7
control over the majority of the whole-
salers, so that created a struggle for any
other smaller entities to get established.”
And though the historical schematic
was drawn without them in mind, the
small-brewer framework did begin to take
a tangible shape as more and more local
operations sprung up.
From there, it was simple geometry,
Stebbins says.
“There are 53 brewers in Portland, Ore.
You go to another small town like Bend,
which has about 80,000 people, and there
are another 30 brewers. There are pock-
ets of quality all across the country,” he
says. “What we’ve reached now is a stage
where we’re connecting the dots. It’s not
just northern New England and the Pacific
Northwest. You can get a quality-brewed
craft beer pretty much anywhere.”
Both Pfeffer and Stebbins concede they
were too immersed in day-to-day opera-
Hearty pub fare at the Portland location
