A new brewery opening in Bend isn’t exactly news these days. But, a brewery that brews its own beer and helps you brew your own beer is certainly newsworthy. Immersion Brewing is banking on the new twist by combining craft beer and home brewing with a goal of opening by the end of the year.
“Bend’s brew scene is huge,” says co-owner Rachael Plattner-Weisgerber. “We are all passionate about what we are doing and believe the is something unique for our town.”
Immersion Brewing is the brainchild of Sean Lampe, who will oversee the brew-it-yourself side, Amanda Plattner, who will guide the restaurant, and Plattner-Weisgerber, who is working on the marketing and will help with the restaurant
as well. The trio, all avid home brewers, choose a 7,300 square foot warehouse location next to Atlas Cider in the Old Mill Marketplace on SW Industrial Way.
“We needed a big space,” explains Plattner-Weisgerber. “The size drew us in, but the location is great.”
The crew at Immersion Brewing have enlisted Bend-based SunWest Builders to complete the transformation of the warehouse space. To date, the demolition work has been completed and they are awaiting final approval from the City of Bend to begin construction of the brewery. They anticipate it will be a four month construction process once SunWest begins.
Once open, Immersion Brewing will feature a 10-barrel brewing system offering traditional craft beers and rotating seasonal brews. A full pub-style kitchen will serve seasonal plates meant to be paired with their beer.
The most interesting part of the soon-to-open brewery is the brew-it-yourself part of the pub. The two hour brew experience allows patrons to brew from one of Immersion’s 30 house recipes, using their equipment, while being guided by an experienced brewer. The process will cost $150 to $200 and include the use of a kettle, 48 bottles of beer, instruction, and the clean-up. The brewing process take about two hours.
Then, the fermentation happens in their climate controlled fermentation room, where the Immersion Brewing staff monitors it. The home brewer then comes back two weeks later to spend 45 minutes bottling their beer and they are done. The BIY model was patterned after Hopsters in
Boston, Massachusetts.
To complete the funding for Immersion Brewing, the trio have started a Kickstarter campaign to raise the final $20,000 needed. The money raised on the crowd source website will go towards purchasing a copper-clad serving vessel.
“We have all used Kickstarter before, supporting other businesses,” says Plattner-Weisgerber. “It not only helps use raise the final needed funds, but it helps with marketing as well.”
Immersion Brewing
550 SW Industrial Way, Ste. 185, Bend, OR 97701
www.imbrewing.com
CEO: Sean Lampe, Rachel Plattner-Weisgerber, Amanda Plattner
No. Employees: Currently 3 partners, adding soon a head brewer, then a full restaurant staff.
Year Established: 2015
Product/Service: Full brewery, restaurant, plus brew-it-yourself
Hot News: A new brewery with an interesting brew-it-yourself concept looks to add to Bend’s beer scene.
Outlook for Growth: As Bend’s beer mecca status has been thoroughly established and the home brewing culture continues to grow, Immersion Brewing seeks to combine the two.
(Photo above: (L-R) Immersion Brewing co-owners Amanda Plattner, Sean Lampe and Rachael Plattner | Photo Courtesy of Immersion Brewing)
