DRINK
Based in Bend, Oregon, Deschutes Brewery sells more than 225,000 barrels a year and is available in 33 states with the addition of Delaware this month. Photo provided.
Delaware Debut Bend, Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery begins distribution in the First State this month
L
ike most professional brewers, Ben Kehs started out as an amateur with a home- brewing kit. It didn’t take him long to realize he had an unexpected passion for creating beer, and eventually he turned his hobby into a career. Kehs, who went to Penn State to earn a degree as an information technician, started following that less-followed road from his home outside of Philadelphia to Massachusetts to his current home in Bend, Oregon, where he is a brewer and barrel master for Deschutes Brewery, one of the oldest and most successful breweries in the Northwest. Deschutes Brewery — named after the Deschutes River, which runs through Bend — was founded in 1988 by Gary Fish, who initially opened a small brew pub and, as his creations became more and more popular in the Northwest, eventually built a separate brewing facility to handle the growing demand, as well as another pub in Portland. In its first year, Deschutes Public House sold 310 barrels of beer. Today, Deschutes Brewery sells more than 225,000 barrels a year and entering March was available in 32 states. This month, Delaware makes it 33 as distribution has begun throughout the state via Standard Distributing. ►
By Kevin Noonan
APRIL 2021
| OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM
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