There’s another craft brewer launching into the beer-swilling Central Oregon market.
There’s another craft brewer launching into the beer-swilling Central Oregon market. Wildfire Brewing, the area’s sixth brewer, has begun producing lagers and pale ales at a small brewery in north Bend and will be distributing them to restaurants around town. Brothers Chris and Jeremy Cox, who own local watering hole JC’s Bar and Grill, and Paul Cook, a former Deschutes Brewery head brewer, are behind the venture. Chris Cox says Wildfire will produce about 750-1,000 barrels this year, testing as they go with JC’s customers. By comparison, Deschutes Brewery produces about 145,000 barrels a year. “There are quite a few breweries in town — but we’re looking to pull market share from the big domestics, which still own about 95% of the market,” Cox says.
