East Coast cities wooing what Deschutes is brewing

Shipping costs and business growth have been the deciding factors in Deschutes Brewery’s expansion to the East Coast.

And some of the cities in the running for the new brewery aren’t just putting out the welcome mat – they are in the midst of full-fledged social media campaigns.

“It’s a long way to ship beer all the way to the East Coast, and beer is heavy and bulky and relatively inexpensive. Therefore, the transportation costs are a major factor,” Deschutes Brewery founder and CEO Gary Fish said this week.

Right now, five cities are in the running for Deschutes’ next location — not just of a pub, but a brewery.

“We want a place that’s beautiful — great people, good recreation opportunities,” Fish said. “And all the places that we have on the short list are very high in that regard.”

Roanoke, Virginia, and Asheville, North Carolina are two cities on that short list that have received a lot of attention.

“It’s a very outdoor type of culture that we’ve transitioned into — something that would be very familiar, and we are centrally located on the East Coast,” said Michael Galliher, campaign organizer for “Deschutes 2 Roanoke.”

“We have major highways and interstates and we have the train line. So there’s easy ways of transporting and our quality of water is the best in Virginia,” Galliher said.

But Ashville is not backing down.

“I think it would be a great fit,” said Tony Kiss, beer reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. “Everyone here would love to have Deschutes come and be a part of our scene.”

“If you go into an area that doesn’t have the same history and tradition of craft brewing, you might have to explain. But you don’t have to do that in Asheville. It’s already well established what craft brewing can do for a community,” s

Deschutes Brewery plans on hopefully making a decision by March. We’ll keep you posted.