Oregon Breweries History: Portland Brewing Company Founded in 1986, Portland Brewing Company is a pioneer in the craft brewing movement. Portland Brewing started as a 1,000 barrel-a-year brewpub, and has grown to a beautiful 3-acre facility (which can handle well over 100,000 barrels). Portland brewery has old-world brewing vessels and an state-of-the-art bottling facility. As of 2003 Portland Brewing had 60-plus employees and more than 5,700 shareholders throughout the nation.