I first heard about this a few weeks ago, but did not know when the official news was coming out: Cam O’Connor, formerly brewmaster at Deschutes Brewery, joins Bend’s Crux Fermentation Project. Pretty interesting news for Bend! Here’s the official press release from Crux:

Crux Fermentation Project announced this week that Cam O’Connor joined the team as its Head Brewer. Bringing with him more than a decade of high-end craft brewing experience, Cam significantly expands the talent bandwidth allowing Crux to focus more time, imagination and energy on high-touch experimental brews such as their [BANISHED] Series of barrel-aged beers.

Cam will work closely with Crux Founder and Brewmaster, Larry Sidor, with whom he also worked with at Deschutes Brewery for eight years. “Cam is extremely creative and entrepreneurial,” according to Larry, “And has the vision and the talent to help take Crux to the next level.”

Cam began his brewing career at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California, after completing the Master Brewer Program at University of California–Davis. He then spent the next ten years brewing for Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon, where one of his most notable accomplishments was developing their Fresh Squeezed IPA, Hop In The Dark Cascadian Dark Ale and opening their PDX Pub.

“I really enjoy all the beers Crux is making—their mainline beers, their barrel-aged beers, their Brewdeck Release beers,” Cam said, adding that [BANISHED] Better Off Red Flanders Red Ale is his current favorite Crux beer. “Crux is already pushing boundaries and I can’t wait to push them further with stuff like wild yeast and bacteria.”

Cam began work at the brewery on Tuesday, December 2, 2014.

Cam is a great guy and a great brewer, and this is a great addition to the Crux team.