One of Bend’s best-known breweries is changing hands, but not its name. Crux Fermentation Project has been sold and is set to join a newly formed regional partnership called the Oregon Beverage Collective, industry officials announced Friday. The deal shifts Crux’s operating control to the family behind Cascade Lakes Brewing and will route production for several Central Oregon brands through Crux’s brewing facility. Co‑founders Paul Evers and Larry Sidor are stepping back as the new coalition comes together.
The sale was first reported by the Portland Business Journal, which said the Rhine family bought Crux from Evers and Sidor for an undisclosed sum and that Crux will be a founding member of the Oregon Beverage Collective. According to that report, the collective is designed to pool distribution, packaging and other back‑office functions to help regional brands push back against rising costs.
Five Brands, One Production Hub
The Oregon Beverage Collective brings together Crux, Silver Moon Brewing, Cascade Lakes Brewing Co., GoodLife Brewing and Tumalo Cider, with plans to consolidate most canning and brewing at Crux’s facility, according to a news release reported by KTVZ. In a Q&A with organizers, KTVZ reported that each brand will keep its own recipes and taproom identity while sharing purchasing and logistics behind the scenes.
Why Brewers Say They Teamed Up
Organizers told the Portland Business Journal that the move is primarily about economies of scale, with larger shared orders for cans, labels and hops, along with centralized distribution, rather than about erasing local brands. Cascade Lakes’ owners said the collective is intended to make independent breweries more resilient as raw‑material and labor costs climb.
Staff, Taprooms and Identities
Leaders of the new collective say they expect to keep as many employees as possible and do not plan to close the neighborhood pubs, according to reporting by KTVZ. The news release states that Steve Augustyn will serve as chief executive officer and Andy Rhine will take the role of president of the Oregon Beverage Collective.
Context: Crux’s Recent Business Moves
Crux has already been reshaping its business. It sold its Bend tasting‑room property in 2025 and entered a leaseback arrangement to free up capital, the Bend Source reported. That piece also noted that Crux closed its Portland pub in March 2025 as it focused brewing at its production site in northeast Bend.
The sale price for the brewery has not been disclosed, and organizers say they will roll out the new production and distribution plan over the coming months. For local beer drinkers, the promise is that the same brand names will stay on tap, even as more of those cans and kegs are quietly filled at Crux’s Bend facility while the Oregon Beverage Collective scales up.
