OCTOBER 2007, AROUND THE STATE
Barley’s brews of Baker City beat out beer’s big
boys
Tyler
Brown
PHOTO BY BRYAN
BLOEBAUM
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BAKER CITY Once
the work of an after-hours home-brew hobbyist, Tyler
Brown’s beers are now winning national honors. At this
year’s North American Beer Awards, Barley Brown’s
Brew Pub pulled in five medals, three gold and two silver. Up
against more than 1,000 entries from industry powerhouses, the
tiny Baker City brewery was one of only five to take home three
gold medals.
Ten years ago, it was just an idea. In 1997 when Brown’s
parents were considering whether to remodel the family
restaurant or sell off the building, Brown thought,
“Shoot, I seek out brew pubs when I travel; we could use
one in town.” At first there wasn’t a lot of
support for the project. Equipment manufacturers questioned the
size of Baker City’s market, and some wouldn’t even
give Brown a quote. Undeterred, he found a company to build a
small four-barrel brewery, spent five months remodeling and
opened in the summer of 1998.
Despite the popularity of microbreweries in the western part
of the state, there wasn’t much interest in Barley
Brown’s when it first opened. To survive, the brewpub
also served hard alcohol, wine and domestic beers such as Bud
Lite and Miller. Free samples to customers who ordered more
familiar drinks helped cultivate an appreciation and appetite
for Brown’s original brews.
The perseverance paid off. In addition to the national
attention, Barley Brown’s is now a local favorite. So
popular, in fact, that Brown can barely produce enough beer to
keep up with demand and is looking for an additional brewing
site.
Beer competition medals are nice, says Brown, but he’s
more enthusiastic about giving Baker something to brag about.
“People who live here love to say, ‘Our brewery is
better than the ones in Portland.’”
BROOKE MATSCHEK
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