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more photosBrewer Dave Fleming, 41, of Bend, climbs up to check on a batch of Stonefly Rye beer during the brewing process at Three Creeks Brewing Co. in Sisters on Thursday morning. The cracked grains are steeped in hot water, starting the process of converting starches into sugars, a step in the fermentation process that eventually results in beer.
Photos by Andy Tullis / The Bulletin
A new brew
Three Creeks Brewing Co. is the seventh beer maker to establish itself in Central Oregon, but it’s the first to call Sisters home
By Jeff McDonald / The Bulletin
Published: August 18. 2008 4:00AM PSTSISTERS — Central Oregon’s reputation as a mecca for craft beer lovers grew last month when Three Creeks Brewing Co. opened its doors on the east edge of Sisters.
The new restaurant and brewery, which opened July 19 in the FivePine campus development, will have seven beers on tap by Wednesday and plans to add three more by the end of September.
“Bend is full, Redmond may have some room for expansion, but Sisters really needed one,” said Wade Underwood, a partner in Three Creeks and its president.
Three Creeks is brewery No. 7 in Central Oregon. It joins Bend Brewing Co., Cascade Lakes Brewing Co., Deschutes Brewery, McMenamins, Silver Moon Brewing Co. and Wildfire Brewing Co. All are based in Bend except Cascade Lakes, which is based in Redmond.
“Northwesterners like and expect good beer,” said Underwood, 36. “We have to make edgy craft beers that really are palatable to make us unique.”
Appealing to the tastes of craft beer drinkers — typically between 25 and 45, and predominantly male — means introducing new, extreme beers with extra hops that haven’t been tried before, Underwood said.
More hops give the beers more flavor and aroma, he said.
That’s the attraction of producing craft beer, according to Underwood.
“It’s more like cooking at home,” he said. “Every batch is unique.”
The brewery uses a 10-barrel system that will allow it to produce up to 31,000 gallons, or 1,000 barrels, of beer annually, he said.
That’s too small to mass-produce and sell the beer outside the region, he said.
At this point, the beer is only available at the brewery, but by Sept. 1, Underwood said he will begin selling the beer to other restaurants and bars.
The 6,000-square-foot facility, which includes a full restaurant and bar, sells 22-ounce bottles and 64-ounce growlers to go. Kegs also will be available for sale Sept. 1, he said.
To succeed, the new brewery will need to create “name-making” beers that will attract craft beer lovers, Underwood said.
“We’re still trying to figure out what beers are going to be most popular,” he said. “Deschutes Brewery had Black Butte Porter. Nobody else had it.”
Black Butte Porter opened up markets for dark beer that previously were not believed to have existed, Gary Fish, president of Deschutes Brewery, has previously told The Bulletin.
Twenty years later, beer making has grown to a $500 million-a-year industry in Central, Southern and Eastern Oregon, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Beer Institute. It provides more than $151 million in wages and 5,029 jobs.
The porter is what made Deschutes Brewery unique, Fish said.
Three Creeks hopes to find similar success with the 8 Second IBA, one of six staple beers on tap. The beer has the bitter taste of an India Pale Ale and the dark look of a porter, Underwood said.
“It’s a bold beer — nobody else is making it,” he said.
Another staple beer, the Knotty Blonde, appeals to the larger population that wants a lighter taste, he said.
“It’s fabulous for anybody that likes Coors or Budweiser,” he said. “Anyone who likes those beers is going to think this is a fantastic alternative.”
Despite challenges in the economy, conditions are right for a brewery to succeed in Sisters, said Alana Audette, president and CEO of the Central Oregon Visitors Association.
The brewery will become a stop along the Central Oregon tour for craft brew lovers that previously took them only to Bend and Redmond, Audette said.
“Clearly, Central Oregon is becoming known as the microbrew epicenter of the state,” Audette said. “It’s great for us because culinary tourism continues to grow nationally and statewide.”
The new brewery is one of the final additions in the FivePine campus development, which includes a spa, athletic club, movie theater and another restaurant, said Bill Willitts, the project’s developer.
Pleiades at FivePine, which features Pacific Northwest cuisine, opened in March.
“We’re our own little universe now,” Willitts said. “Having the dining establishments really rounds us off. Even in larger hotels, I don’t think they can offer the programs and amenities that we offer now.”
Jeff McDonald can be reached at 541-383-0323 or at jmcdonald@bendbulletin.com.
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