In an indicator of the challenges in Oregon’s craft beverage industry, a brewery and a cider bar in Astoria are ceasing operations.

Reach Break Brewing’s Josh Allison announced on Friday via social media that the local taproom and brewery on Duane Street would be closing.

A day before, Jeremy Towsey-French, the founder of cider bar Fortune & Glory on Exchange Street, posted a statement on the company’s website announcing that “Fortune & Glory’s final chapter has been written.”

“As many of my colleagues have shared, recent years have been especially hard on our industry,” the statement said. “As a testament to the challenge, Fortune & Glory owns fermentation tanks used by two (now shuttered) cideries that came before us. It has never been easy but the past few years delivered some resounding blows.”

Reach Break, launched by brothers Josh and Jared Allison and their friend Finn Parker, began as an idea the trio had when living in Sweet Home. They made their way to Astoria after winning an award at Seaside’s Pouring at the Coast beer craft festival.

“After a lot of thought, we have decided to close Reach Break Brewing,” Josh Allison said in a video posted to Facebook and on the company’s website. “Now, this decision doesn’t come lightly, but it is the decision we’ve made and the path forward for us.

“Thank you for allowing us to build a little corner of our community. We’ll always be grateful, and we love you for that. Cheers, Astoria.”

Reach Break Brewing recently expanded its taproom and notched a solid sales year in 2023. The problem, according to Allison, was in what lies ahead.

Projections were gloomy, with profits dwindling due to rising costs and a nationwide decline in craft beer drinking. For Allison, it became clear that it was best to close on a high note rather than risk a slow, painful death.

“We gave it a good run,” he said in an interview. “I’m proud of what we did, for sure.”

Allison said health concerns also had something to do with the closure. He’s long suffered from a neurological condition that led to the amputation of a leg and the rigors of brewery work were taking a toll.

“It’s a tough gig out there, running a small business,” he said. “In the best of days, it was difficult. We fed off our passion.”

Fortune & Glory was originally named Reveille Ciderworks when it joined Astoria’s craft beverage hub as the city’s first local hard cider manufacturer. Towsey-French said in the statement that although the cidery is shutting its doors, Fortune & Glory cider may remain in downtown at an arcade and taphouse on Ninth Street.

“With the cidery now closed, we’re ready to move on to writing a new story. The memories we’ve made will last a lifetime, even if we won’t be able to raise another glass with our loyal customers (though you might still be able to grab a Fortune & Glory cider at Galactix) … In short, the cidery is gone, but the spirit lives on.”

Both Reach Break Brewing and Fortune & Glory opened in 2017. The two companies were situated within a block of each other, and in his statement Towsey-French expressed his appreciation for Reach Break’s continuous support through the years.

According to New School Beer + Cider, a webmag that tracks industry trends, more than 30 breweries, cideries and taprooms closed in Oregon in 2023.