This article on Silver Moon Brewing appeared in today’s Bend Bulletin (our local newspaper), detailing the new tasting room opening the end of November. That’s pretty cool, I know Tyler and he’s done really good work with the brew shop and his brewery.

What will be different at the new space on Greenwood?

I’ll have new tanks. It’s like the car you’ve always dreamed of. The main focus of the brewery will be distribution. We make about 200 barrels a year now. One barrel is 31 gallons. The new system’s capacity is 1,500 barrels a year. We are at maximum capacity here.

This is 1,300 square feet with 700 square feet for brewing. The new place is 6,400 square feet and half of that will be for brewing.

The tasting room here has seating for nine and on Greenwood it will have seating for 12-plus.

What is the relationship among the microbreweries in Bend?

It’s kind of like we’re on an island here. There are four of us: Bend Brewing Company, Cascade Lakes Brewery, Deschutes Brewery and us and McMenamins will be the fifth. No one hesitates to call each other for help. Craft brewing represents 3 percent of U.S. beer sales so the competition isn’t against each other. The competition is against the big companies and they don’t care about us.

Gary Fish (founder of Deschutes Brewery) paved the way here. He got people used to the taste of microbrew beer. It doesn’t have to be translucent. It can have flavor and variety.

November is shaping up to be a big month for beer in Bend, what with this and McMenamins opening the Old St. Francis School on the 18th. Can’t wait!