Beer Barrel Busted in Novel Groundbreaking
It was an exciting day for 10 Barrel Brewing Co. on Wednesday. Employees started their morning with a beer, to celebrate the groundbreaking of their newest production facility.
Huddled around, waiting for the start, staff took a very unique approach to the groundbreaking. Instead of traditional golden shovels to dig into the dirt, they busted open a barrel of beer with a sledgehammer.
“So we started in 2006, thinking we were just going to be this small brewery and sell beer to our friends who own restaurants and bars in town,” said 10 Barrel Brewing partner Chris Cox. “Things kind of took off at a lot faster pace than we thought.”
The brewers chose one of their finest beers to open up, the Precursor, a strong Northwest red ale set to come out in the fall.
Owners say letting the beer soak into the ground should hopefully bring some good luck and they even plan to bury the barrel on site, to keep their success going strong.
“We’ve seen over 100 percent growth in our company, and we’re just really excited to be in the position we’re in, ” Cox said.
The new spot will hold a 50-barrel brew house, just down the street from their other production building off Empire Avenue in northeast Bend. Cox said this gives them the chance to increase their production and get creative with experiments and try making some brand-new tasty brews.
