Central Oregonians are a thirsty group who love their alcoholic beverages in all their tantalizing tastes, styles and recipes, and with 26 or more micro-breweries and cider houses to choose from, chances are there’s a pint for every parched person. The market for custom ales, lagers and ciders is bursting at the barrels and the High Desert is a ripe refinery for the best beers one can pour into a clean glass.
As the world’s passion for hand-crafted drinks continues to expand, it’s time to check in with some of the bravest of the bunch to see what’s on the horizon for area brewmeisters and master mixologists. From prosperous establishments like Sunriver Brewing Company, Crux Fermentation Project and Good Life Brewing Company, to McMenamins Old St. Francis School and Deschutes Brewery, all are dedicated to the legacy and traditions of bringing artisan-crafted brews into the 21st century and beyond.
With tasty offerings like Knotty Blonde and Hoodoo Voodoo IPA, the lone kid on the block in Sisters, Wade Underwood’s Three Creeks Brewing celebrated its fifth anniversary in July, creating incredible beers since 2008 and with a new brewing facility about to break ground in 2014, the future looks bubbly.
“We have 13 taps on at the pub at any given time and we may roll through 25-30 one-off beers a year,” said Underwood.
“We opened Three Creeks in the heat of the storm but we’ve managed to grow a little bit each year despite the economic challenges. We’ve reached capacity at our current facility and are working toward a new production facility right here in our hometown of Sisters. It will go in stages but it will triple our capacity out of the gate and let us grow exponentially as the market will bear. We have intentions of building 8,000 square-feet in the first stage and we could expand as large as 30,000 but we’ll take it one responsible step at a time. We were the eighth brewery in Central Oregon so it’s an exciting time to be in the beer business.”
Established in 2006, 10 Barrel Brewery Company in Bend is a hot destination on the west side, with customers gathering around the bonfire and packing inside benches on a daily basis. Partner Garrett Wales loves the enthusiasm for their product and having the best job in the world.
“Chris and Jeremy started the company and I came in a few months later,” he said. “We brew 40 different beers right now and they’re always rotating, so we’ve brewed hundreds of beers in the last six years. Our Boise location opened in April of this year and it’s going great. We’ve had an amazing reception over there.”
For Wales, the industry is strong and he feels the media is embracing the burgeoning craft beer culture.
“As far as oversaturation goes, I think we’re a long way away from that. The vast majority of the market is still in macro and domestic beers so we have a lot to do to educate consumers and get them over to drinking craft beers. Even on the worst day, at the end of it all we’re still making and selling beer for a living in a great place and it’s as simple as that. It’s about being proud of the product and being able to enjoy that.”
Redmond’s Smith Rock Brewing Company is one of the newest micro-breweries, opening their taps in 2011 and has beers available exclusively in their restaurant pub right now, but that’s all about to change next year when they venture into the retail marketplace.
Co-owners Don Fredrickson and Natalie Patterson and Kevin and Danielle Stewart recently celebrated their one-year anniversary of the restaurant and are looking forward to a prosperous new year.
“We’re getting ready to expand into a new industrial space so we’re excited about that,” said Natalie. “It lets us increase the number of beers we have at the pub and will be available for sale to the public at growler stations and restaurants. Right now we brew 17 different styles but only have one at a time on tap due to the size of our brew system on site. Right now we’re brewing a barrel a week and try to keep attention to detail and quality high.”
Smith Rock won the People’s Choice Award with their Tumalo Fresh Hop IPA and Oatmeal Pale at this year’s Fresh Hop Festival in Sisters.
“We purchased a new three-barrel system for our next stage in our development and a lot depends on how sales go but so far the demand has been great so I think we’ll do well. The best part of the process is the mix of creativity and science associated with hand-crafting. Because we’re small, it gives us room to be creative and play around with different styles and hops and experiment.”
Smith Rock Brewing Company is located at 546 NW 7th Street in Redmond. For hours, menu and more info call 541-279-7005.
Another tart and tasty beverage being conjured up in Central Oregon is cider, and along with the meteoric rise of Atlas Cider in Bend, Red Tank Cider Company has been flowing with oceans of fresh-pressed hard cider lovingly created with ripe local fruit. Owners Drew Wilson, Aaron Cousins and Brandon Reese started fermenting batches in April and it’s been raining apples ever since.
“I think it took a while to catch on here because we used to drink so much more cider as a nation but it disappeared with the advent of beers and spirits,” said Wilson. “John Adams started every day with a mug of cider.
“It’s a reaction to the micro-beer dominated beer culture that tends to be bitter and this is kind of a counterbalance to all that. Plus it’s gluten free so that doesn’t hurt its popularity. All the pubs and bars are putting a cider tap in to get that gluten free option.
“Being here in the Northwest we have such great apples so of course we use fresh juice and not sugars and concentrates like most nationally advertised ciders. Our theory was to take over the Bend market and move out from there. Now we’re in Portland, Eugene and all over the state. As of next week we’ll be in Washington.”
Red Tank started at 20 barrels of cider the first month and right now they’re rolling along at 80 per month.
“Our Happy Cider is our only packaged product and those come in 16-ounce cans, everything else is a draft. We have two apple ciders we do all the time, the Happy Cider and our Roughneck, which is a drier, not as fruit-forward a profile with 6.5 percent alcohol. Most people compare it to champagne. There’s a great community here in Central Oregon and all the other breweries have been supportive and helpful to us. Bend is a fun place and people want to be here.They go out and exercise hard, then want to come in for a refreshing adult beverage. It’s a great recreational lifestyle.”
Three Creeks Brewing Company
721 S. Desperado Court, Sisters
541-549-1963.
10 Barrel Brewery
1135 NW Galveston Ave
541- 678-5228
Redmond’s Smith Rock Brewing Company
546 NW 7th St, Redmond
541-279-7005
Red Tank Cider Company
Tasting room open Fridays 6:30pm or by appointment only.
840 SE Woodland, Suite 185
541-420-0109.
