Redmond’s newest brewery open for business

Seventeen miles up the road from Bend — or, as some might say, the heart of High Desert microbrewing — a new brewery cracked open its doors Thursday. It’s one of the few found in Redmond (so far).

“They’ve got their share,” Juniper Brewing co-owner Scott Lesmeister said of Bend. “Redmond needs some.”

Bend has over 20 breweries.

“This is a Mecca for beers,” said said co-owner Curt Endicott.

There are so many that some think Bend can’t sustain any more. That may or may not be true ,so why limit beer to Bend? It seems like all of Central Oregon is ready to tap the keg.

“Yeah, and Redmond is ripe for more breweries,” Endicott said.

Juniper Brewing, located at 1950 SW Badger Avenue, is hopping on the opportunity, becoming the fifth brewery to open in Redmond.

It all started on the kitchen stove in 2006.

“There was a little over flow you know it happens,” Endicott said.

Their home brew was kicked from the kitchen to the garage to a workshop. They kept brewing larger batches, and friends and family started wanting to buy their product.

“It was just a dream, you know?” Endicott said.

It’s a common dream in Central Oregon. With another brewery on the scene, we’ll have to wait and see if the economy can sustain the product.

“Beer’s the new wine,” Endicott said.

And Central Oregon is possibly becoming the Napa of beer, as breweries creep from the epicenter outward.

“There’s room for more,” Lesmeister said. “You can never have too much beer.”