Sunriver Brewing Company Brewery Expansion, Idaho Launch Release & Four Medals at North American Beer Awards

(Photo above courtesy of Sunriver Brewing Co.)

Sunriver Brewing Company is just finishing up their brewery’s biggest expansion to date. The project that broke ground in December 2016 will increase brewing capacity from 6,000 barrels to almost 13,000 barrels per year.

The expansion included doubling the size of the cellar, bringing in a new canning line and upgrading the brewhouse. The new brewhouse is a 15 barrel, four vessel, semi-automated system from JV Northwest. This upgrade will allow Sunriver Brewing to produce twice as much volume as their previous brewhouse in close to the same time.

“We are very excited to include construction of a lab to aid in our QC processes along with a substantial upgrade to our brewery wastewater processing equipment,” says Brett Thomas, head brewer. “One of the most exciting areas of the expansion was a build out of a dedicated farmhouse ale and sour barrel production room that is climate controlled and completely isolated from the rest of the facility.”

To coincide with the expansion, in June Sunriver Brewing will be launching distribution in Idaho. The brewery has partnered with the much respected CSB Beverage for distribution. Below is a list of a few launch events going on during this first week of Sunriver Brewing beer in Idaho.

June 13: Bier:Thirty Bottle & Bistro, Boise ID ~ 6pm-9pm
June 14: Bittercreek Alehouse, Boise ID ~ 6pm-9pm
June 15: Anchor Bistro, Twin Falls ID ~ 6pm-9pm

As coincidence would have it, last weekend Sunriver Brewing came home with four medals at the North American Beer Awards. This, just in the same timing that the finalized expansion and Idaho launch are taking place. Here are the awards that Sunriver Brewing Company won.

GOLD – Electric Avenue Session IPA (category: Session Beer IPA)
GOLD – Mexican Lager (category: Latin American or Tropical-Style Lager or Ale) BRONZE – Cocoa Cow Chocolate Milk Stout (category: Chocolate Cocoa Beers)
BRONZE – Big Willie Belgian Strong Pale Ale (Belgian-Style Pale/Golden Strong Ale)

Sunriver Brewing Company
Sunriver Brewing Company’s pub in the Village at Sunriver opened in the summer of 2012. Recognizing that the original pub would not accommodate demand, a 13,000-square foot building was purchased in the Business Park at Sunriver where in 2014, the company sold 926 barrels. Since then, the brewery has expanded several times and sold almost 5,000 barrels in 2016. Head brewer Brett Thomas prides himself on making the highest quality beer. Since 2014, Sunriver Brewing Company has garnered 9 national/international awards including three gold, three silver and one bronze at the North American Beer Awards (NABA), a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and a gold medal at the World Beer Cup.

In February of 2016, Sunriver opened its second pub location on Galveston Avenue in Bend Oregon.