Deschutes Brewery To Open An East Coast Brewery In Roanoke, Virginia

We learned last night that Deschutes Brewery had finally selected a new brewery location that will become its first location outside of the state of Oregon. The official announcement came at 11:00am PST today from Charter Hall in the Roanoke City Market Building in Roanoke, Virginia. The new Deschutes Brewery, coined Brew 4, will be located on the eastern edge of Roanoke.

Many Deschutes employees from the Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House gathered to listen to the live announcement that was streaming via Periscope and Livestream. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe shared the stage with Gary Fish, CEO and founder of the Deschutes Brewery at the announcement. Gov. McAuliffe stated during the announcement that the new brewery will create up to 108 jobs while spending $85 million on the project.

Fish had been researching potential sites on the East Coast since 2012. The final choices came down to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The new brewery will not be built overnight as the folks in Roanoke will have to wait a few years before the construction begins. The groundbreaking is anticipated to begin in 2019 with the brewery fully operating in 2021. Deschutes will mark the 48th craft brewery in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Deschutes will join Stone Brewing that is also opening a location in Virginia in the city of Richmond.

Here’s more info from the brewery’s press release.

Deschutes Brewery announced its much anticipated decision on an east coast location today at an event in downtown Roanoke, Virginia. The growing brewery, which was founded in Oregon in 1988 by Gary Fish, has explored hundreds of potential locations in the region over the last two years. The company selected Roanoke based on several criteria including a culture and community that fit well with Deschutes’ decades-deep roots.

“We started Deschutes Brewery when craft beer wasn’t burgeoning and led with a beer style that wasn’t popular at the time – Black Butte Porter,” said Gary Fish, CEO and founder of the brewery. “This pioneering approach was a key driver behind our decision to go with Roanoke, as that same spirit exists in this community and its fast-growing beer culture.”

The future Roanoke facility has been lovingly dubbed “Brew 4” as it takes its place in line after the original Bend, Oregon public house (Brew 1), the brewery’s production facility in Bend (Brew 2) and the Portland, Oregon public house (Brew 3). Brew 4 will be located at the eastern edge of Roanoke with construction on the site beginning in 2019. Eventually, a little over 100 new jobs will be created for the region, and the new brewery will produce approximately 150,000 barrels to start, with a design to increase capacity as needed. Deschutes expects to start shipping beer from the Roanoke location in about five years.

“Roanoke is honored to be chosen as Deschutes Brewery’s East Coast location after a very thorough review of several communities in the Southeast,” said Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrill.  “It is a company with a strong culture of community engagement, recognized for its craftsmanship and will be a perfect fit for Roanoke’s vibrant outdoor lifestyle.  We are thrilled to welcome Deschutes as we continue to build a diverse, resilient economy.”

Deschutes Brewery chose to add an east coast location after the company’s distribution footprint (which currently includes 28 states and the District of Columbia) reached the east coast. By having a production facility on the eastern seaboard, the brewery will be able to deliver beers – such as its flagship Black Butte Porter – to states east of the Mississippi quickly and more sustainably.

Michael LaLonde, president of Deschutes Brewery, who was an integral part of the east coast location selection team, said, “Although it was a tough decision – we loved so many of the communities that we visited over the past two years – we are very excited to be heading to Roanoke. We love the region and everyone we’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with during this process has been incredible. We have absolutely been blown away with how the community rallied around bringing us here and has given us such a warm welcome. #Deschutes2Rke we’re on our way and proud to be able to now call Roanoke our second home.”

For more information on Deschutes Brewery in Roanoke, please visit: www.deschutesbrewery.com/roanoke

(Ryan Spencer contributed to this article.)