It’s big Bend beer news: Deschutes Brewery acquires the Boneyard Beer brand

Boneyard founder to get equity in Deschutes as part of the deal

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- In Bend, beer is big business, which is why a new business partnership announced Wednesday between Deschutes Brewery and Boneyard Beer is big news.

Deschutes Brewery President Michael LaLonde told NewsChannel 21, "What's happening is that Deschutes is taking over the brand of Boneyard and all of their beer brands, their recipes, the location that they have over at Lake, which is the original Boneyard pub and tasting room"

Boneyard co-founder Tony Lawrence is getting equity in the deal.

"Tony actually gets ownership in Deschutes Brewery," LaLonde said. "So it's really Deschutes is going to have their brand, supported by everybody at the company. Tony is going to have the freedom to pursue his brand."

Lawrence says he's excited for the potential this deal has for his long-passionate brand.

"When I travel outside the region and I see the feedback from the customers or their interest, or their own curiosity," Lawrence said. "Now we get to put that to work and see where the Boneyard brand lies in history, up and down the West Coast, and where our IPAs and liquids that we produce really fall."

Deschutes founder Gary Fish says the announcement quickly became big news in the beer and craft brewing world.

"Since we made the announcement at 10 o'clock this morning, we've fielded call from all across the country about this deal and about being able to get the Boneyard brand," Fish said

Asked whether Boneyard will begin mass distribution, like Deschutes Brewery, LaLonde says they have big plans -- but that they will be done in baby steps.

"Right now, we have a lot of big plans for Boneyard, but we want make sure that it's successful," he said. "That will be baby steps. Right now, they have Oregon distribution, a little bit in Washington, a little bit in Northern California. That's where we're going to focus, and once we fill out that footprint, that's when we'll think about other geographies."