SBA 7(a) Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in Oregon

Oregon makers of beer, wine and spirits

Oregon's cell for makers of beer, wine and spirits holds 102 loans from the FY2017 to FY2026 approval window, for gross dollars of $56.1 million, all under SBA 7(a). Counting loans, Oregon is 11 among states, and within Oregon the class is 8 of 39, a notable local weight. The median loan of $210,250 is 0.84x the nationwide ratio, and the interquartile span reaches from $50,000 to $864,125. No loan carries a franchise. Nothing in the Oregon numbers sets it apart from its parent records by our margin, so the Oregon story is the one told by its lenders, counties and years, not by loan size.

Columbia Bank and the Willamette Valley counties

Columbia Bank is the largest holder SBA reports, with 27 loans and $6.9 million, a small average that suggests many modest working-capital and equipment loans. Live Oak Banking Company holds 7 loans for $9.5 million, Wells Fargo Bank National Association 7 for $1.5 million, First Interstate Bank 6 for $3.8 million, and Banner Bank 6 for $733,700. Multnomah County has 28 loans, Clackamas 12, Yamhill 11, Lane 7, and Deschutes and Washington 6 each. Activity was heaviest early in the window, with 17 loans and $8.4 million in FY2017 and 15 in FY2018, and has not returned to that pace: FY2025 had 6 loans and $1.7 million, and FY2026 had 7 loans and $7.0 million.

Oregon loans approved across FY2017 through FY2024 lost at least 12.4% before they ever funded, rising to 13.5% if undisbursed loans are treated as lost. Of the 52 loans funded between FY2017 and FY2021, none has been written off yet, so the two write-off measures stand at 0.00%. Treat each as a minimum.

Testing an Oregon producer request

The industry code identifies a borrower who makes the product, so tasting rooms and event revenue are not visible, and wineries are included by our scoping decision. An Oregon study should split the business into production and visitor lines and test each. Production calls for capacity, equipment, raw material supply and licensing; the visitor line calls for a location worth a drive, season-by-season traffic and staffing. Because growing and harvest seasons set cash timing, payments should be tested through the slowest months, with a case in which distribution contracts are delayed. Equipment is specialised, so the appraisal should say what a different operator would pay for the plant, separate from the brand.