Hundreds celebrate grand opening

The grand opening celebration for Three Creeks Brewing Co., located in the industrial park of Sisters, kicked off at 5 p.m. on Friday evening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at their new 9,000-square-foot, 30-barrel production facility.

While company partners Victoria Graves and Rob Durand held the ribbon taut, owner Wade Underwood cut the ribbon, and head brewer Zach Beckwith cheered them on.

Beckwith has been with Three Creeks for almost three years.

"I've been over here brewing since late December and I oversee all the operations in the brewery and the pub as well. We coordinate a lot between both," Beckwith said. "We will be having a tasting room right here in the lobby where you walk in, hopefully by July."

The new industrial park facility significantly expands Three Creeks Brewing Co.'s capacity.

"This facility has a 30-barrel system compared to our brew pub, which is a 10-barrel. And each barrel is 31 gallons, and we are making about 300 gallons per batch at our brew pub and here we make about 930," Underwood explained during a tour of the production facility.

"Right now we distribute all over Oregon, and we have expanded to Vancouver and Southwest Washington as well. We have 45 employees including the brew pub, and jobs at the production facility are expected to triple over the next two years.

"This facility allows us to experiment more at the pub, so you'll be seeing a lot more creativity, and we'll have more ability to brew different beers at the pub," added Underwood.

The new Three Creeks Brewing facility will be brewing their three biggest craft beers for distribution: Knotty Blonde, Hoodoo Voodoo and the Chocolate Porter.

"We want to reach as broad a market and territory as we can support. I'd like to see us make 10,000 barrels within the next two years," Underwood said.

Three Creeks Brewing showcased 12 oz. cans of Knotty Blonde, Hoodoo Voodoo IPA, and FivePine Chocolate Porter, along with two offerings from their limited release Desperado Series.

Indoors, folks stood on line for tasty appetizers, while others enjoyed the brewery tour and tastings. Outdoors, in between raindrops, many folks mingled among friends while listening to music provided by singer/songwriter Greg Botsford.

Company partner Victoria Graves was on hand to answer any questions for anyone out of the hundreds of patrons that attended.

"It's been a fun adventure!" she said. "Just being appreciated and supported by the community has made all the difference. To be able to expand and stay in Sisters has been phenomenal."

Sisters resident Andy Daggatt was enjoying his appetizers indoors talking to friends.

"I am a fan of Three Creeks Brewing; it was one of the first places my wife and I discovered when we moved to Sisters. It pretty much remains our go-to spot, especially when our son, Peter, is in town. When I do my daily run I pass by this facility and have watched it being built from the ground up. So I was hoping that they would have a grand opening and I'm really happy to be on the inside today," Daggatt said.