Three Creeks Brewery: Getting Out of the Gate

When Three Creeks Brewery opened in July 2008, they didn’t know what kind of response they would get from the locals.  But they knew what kind of beer they would get.  The Sisters, Oregon establishment sits in the heart of the Eastern Cascades about twenty miles from Bend and is surrounded by scenic mountains and ponderosa pine forests.  Head brewer Dave “Flem” Fleming left his brewing post at Portland’s Lucky Lab for the quiet life of Sisters where he rivals even the best brewers down the road in Bend.  The modest brewer claims the brewery is “just trying to fit our niche here, and convert some of the cowboys from Coors light to Knotty Blonde.”  The blonde is a light colored beer with honey malt and “a kiss of hops” and is a popular selection at Three Creeks.  With five other mainstay beers on the menu, the brewery offers delicious hand crafted dishes made with Three Sisters ales by lead chef Aron Ferarra.  A halibut fish and chips battered in tempura made with the Blonde Ale, A beer cheese soup, and a dessert brownie Sunday with caramelized wort of the brewery’s Oatmeal Porter are among many of the favorites.  The classy roadhouse cuisine also features its own barbecue sauce employing the8 Second IBA, a black India Pale Ale.  Here’s a look at some of the beers currently offered at Three Creeks:

Knotty Blonde:  A Sassy, Light colored beer with a unique flavor combination of Honey Malt and a “Kiss” of Hops.

OG=1.039  FG=1.008  ABV=4.0%  IBU=18

 

 

Anvil Amber:  THis beer is Malty and Rich with a deep chestnut hue.  It has undertones of both chocolate and toffee, and finishes smooth and balanced like the tool itself.

OG=1.050  FG=1.013  ABV=5.0%  IBU=32

 

 

Stonefly Rye:  A Classic Unfiltered Rye Beer with 5 Domestic Malts and 2 NW Hop varieties.  This is a full bodied light beer even the most “Finicky” of Fish can’t refuse.

OG=1.046  FG=1.010  ABV=4.6%  IBU=28

 

 

Firestorm Red:  This Full bodied Beer is blended with 7 Malts and 4 Hops to create an aromatic Red beer in Honor of our “Soot-Blackened Heroes.”

OG=1.058  FG=1.012  ABV=5.8%  IBU-65

 

 

Old Prospector Pale:  An English style Pale blending American Malts with UK 2-row Floor Malting and a “Hammering” of NW Hops.

OG=1.053  FG=1.012  ABV=5.3%  IBU=48

 

 

8 Second IBA:  Flem originally started with a “Big” IPA then darkened up the Malt package and added more than 2 lbs of Hops per barrel creating this “Bullish” Black Ale.

OG=1.062  FG=1.011  ABV=6.6%  IBU=85+

 

 

Two seasonal offerings were on tap when I visited Three Creeks-a rich creamy Oatmeal Porter and a boisterously hopped Organic Golden (aka OSG).  Flem let me try a few tweaked batches of the Stonefly Rye and the Anvil Amber, both simply delicous.  He even let me sneak a taste of the forthcoming Holiday Ale Fest brew, called Rudolph’s Imperial Red from the bright tank.  This beer is jacked-up to 8.6% ABV with specialty malts and makes use of 22 pounds of hops in 10 barrels.  That’s a whopping 2.2 pounds per barrel!  Two batches of Rudolph are being brewed and Flem will use a mobile bottler to put one barrel’s worth into handsome 22-ouncers.

“I was telling my friend Paul from Wildfire Brewing in Bend” says Flem, “I get all kinds of people rolling through…people from Deschutes, Bend Brewing, McMenamins…there’s a great disk golf course (in Sisters) and since they took down the old course in Bend, this is a great stop to have some fun and drink good beer.”

I am now seriously considering moving to Sisters.

For more information on Three Creeks, go to their website http://www.threecreeksbrewing.com

To hear an exclusive interview with Flem, go to: http://bierbeerpiwo.mypodcast.com/2008/09/Three_Creeks_Brewings_Dave_Fleming-146128.html