Deschutes Brewery today announced that it has finalized plans to expand its brewery headquarters in Bend, Oregon. Due to customers’ continued consumption of the brewery’s damn tasty beers, Deschutes plans to add 6,750 square feet to its production facility, which will include five new shiny fermentation tanks and a fresh remodel of the tasting room and gift shop.
“Demand is rising in our local market and among our loyal fans in the states where we sell our beer,” said Gary Fish, president and founder of Deschutes Brewery. “This expansion is an investment in our future to make sure that we are ready for the increased demand.”
Specifically, this project will create a new building to house the fermentation tanks, a new two-story building to house future processing equipment, an electrical control room and new restrooms and showers for the staff. The expansion will allow Deschutes Brewery to brew an additional 105,000 barrels per year, along with enhanced processes to continue ensuring beer quality and consistency. This will be the first phase in a two-phase expansion. The second phase will take place in several years and include five more fermentation tanks.
Water and energy efficiencies are built in to the new design, including the installation of a continuous use cleaning system and the addition of a water re-use tank which will save thousands of gallons of water and energy per year. Additional sustainability features include a heated warm rinse tank, which will save hot water and steam for tempering tanks between cycles. The brewery will continue with designs to capture CO2 from the fermenting process and decrease waste to the City sewer system.
Local firms BBT Architects and R&H Construction are designing and building the project, and Walker Structural Engineering is completing the structural design. Construction on the space is slated to begin mid-May 2011 when engineering is complete, and will be finished in mid-2012. Visitors will still be able to easily access the brewery for tours, tastings and merchandise during the construction process.
I’m a huge fan of Deschutes Brewery from Bend, Oregon and as a craft beer addict, I am thankful for having always had a plentiful supply of their spectacular brews since I was of legal drinking age. I’ve also been fortunate enough to meet the extraordinary people behind their award winning brews and it’s a simple case of great people making great beer. As mentioned, they are from Oregon and one of the really cool things I continually see with Deschutes is their connection with Oregon and it’s more than just the place they are from. You can see Oregon in the names of their beers, in their labels, in the inspiration of each of their unique and exciting beers.
Below is a video for Deschutes that was created by their advertising agency that I really liked and I wanted to share with you. I must point out, however, that there is a very brief moment (one second) of partial female nudity around 3:15, so please be mindful of that. I think it’s a very cool video that captures a lot of the soul that is Deschutes and it also shows some of the inspirations behind their very cool labels. With that said, enjoy.
The moment that many beer lovers in the Pacific Northwest have been waiting for is finally here. Drum roll please … The Cascade Brewing Barrel House is officially open!
For those that don’t know Cascade Brewing, you are truly missing out. From the people that brought you great Lactobacillus-fueled beers such a Cascade Apricot, Vlad the Imp Aler, Bourbonic Plague, and Nightfall Blackberry, inside their new Barrel House you will find 18 beers on tap, a dozen of which are dedicated to their award-winning sour beers, with two other taps that will be reserved for sour beers from barrels tapped directly through the cooler wall. I don’t think it gets any cooler than that. The remaining give taps will pour Cascade’s mainstream beers. Continue Reading »
Foodportunity, it’s pretty much what it sounds like! An event aimed at bringing local food and beverage peeps together to exchange info and ideas and just plain have a good time. Featuring a host of local food exhibitors sampling attendees with their delights, it is held only a few times a year, with one coming up on Monday, August 2nd in Seattle. Continue Reading »
Portland has a KILLER scene for craft brews. I had the pleasure of judging a food and beer pairing event for Deschutes last night at the Deschutes Public House and spent the day prior aimlessly wandering from craft brewery to craft brewery. Look for coverage of the Deschutes event in the March issue of Mutineer. Here are a couple shots from Sunday’s adventures: Continue Reading »
Powell’s Books is the largest independent bookstore in the world, and as such, has become my ultimate destination for wine books. Powell’s is more than a book store though, it is a “City of Books” (really, it’s so ridiculously big that they had to color code the different sections of the store). Continue Reading »
