Photo Courtesy of Will Vanlue
In late May, representatives from the Bend, Oregon-based Deschutes Brewery will visit Asheville, North Carolina for the second time. The purpose of the trip will be to determine wether or not Asheville will become the site of a new East Coast distribution hub for Deschutes, one of the nation’s largest craft breweries.
Despite Deschute’s size and national popularity—famous for brews like the Black Butte Porter and the Mirror Pond Pale Ale—it does not currently distribute to much of the Southeast.
According to a report published by the Asheville Citizen-Times, the new brewery could have an annual output as high as 200,000 barrels and employ upwards of 200 individuals year-round.
While Asheville is high on the brewery’s list of potential sites, it is not the only location being considered.
“We’re looking at a number of locations in a number of states,” Deschutes owner Micheal LaLonde told the Citizen-Times. “We’re looking in North Carolina, we’ve looked in Virginia, we’ve looked in Tennessee, as well as South Carolina.”
LaLonde says brewery officials have visited both Charleston and Greenville, South Carolina.
Like many other craft breweries around the country, Deschutes places a high emphasis on the outdoor lifestyle. Their original Bend brewery overlooks the wild and scenic Deschutes River and is accesible by way of the Deschutes River Trail.
“We’re looking for great culture, a lot of outdoor activities — a place where employees who live here in Bend would love to go and move to an East Coast location,” LaLonde told the Citzen-Times. “We think that’s really important so we can continue to develop a culture similar to the one in Bend, with the same values and mission.”
