Astoria, Oregon-based Buoy Beer remained closed this week after a partial roof collapse resulted in “significant damage” to part of its facility, the company said.
“The most important thing is that no one was injured or around the area that was affected,” Buoy president David Kroening said in a statement.
The collapse happened around 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday in the brewery’s original building in its campus along the Columbia River. The affected building houses Buoy’s restaurant, pilot brewhouse, brite tanks, lager tanks and canning line.
“The entire original Buoy building is closed to everyone until further notice,” Kroening wrote. “We have secured the area with fencing so that no one can enter.”
The cause of the collapse is not yet known, and Buoy is coordinating with city officials as they investigate. Members of the Astoria Fire Department received reports about a potential gas leak and water leak at the building and shut off connections to both when they arrived at the scene, Fox 12 KPTV reported. Fire officials ruled out an explosion, gas leak or water break as the cause of the collapse, Fox said.
Buoy’s main production facility was not affected, nor were the company’s offshoots, Pilot House Distilling or River Barrel Distribution.
“We are working on plans to keep our entire team working and figure out ways to get back to brewing,” Kroening said.
This week’s collapse is not the first time the brewery has dealt with structural issues to its buildings. Last September, Buoy was forced to close its kitchen while it made repairs to the 100-year-old dock and pilings beneath its restaurants, according to the Daily Astorian.
Buoy was founded in 2013 by Kroening, Dan Hamilton, Luke Colvin, Jerry Kasinger and Andrew Bornstein, according to the company’s website. In 2021, the brewery’s output increased +2%, to a record-high 20,000 barrels, according to the Brewers Association’s May/June edition of the New Brewer.