USA, OR: Wild Ride Brewing working on expansion in Prineville

The brainchild of a group of lifelong friends to create a production brewery came alive in 2014, when Wild Ride Brewing opened in Redmond, the Portland Tribune reported on April 19.

The brewery and tap room, which are located at 332 SW Fifth St., in Redmond, have been brewing award-winning beers since the beginning and continue to craft innovative styles. They are now open seven days per week, with food options available from the food cart community located on their patio. The family-friendly tap room has indoor and outdoor seating to fit the Central Oregon lifestyle.Â

Towards the end of last year, Wild Ride Brewing made the decision to expand to Prineville, and plans began to renovate the area by Sunrise Pool and Spa, 1500 NE Third St. There will be a brewhouse, tap room, four food trucks and multiple fire pits on the recently completed patio. As with their Redmond venue, it was a priority to find the perfect location.

"We will have a 5BBL two-vessel brewhouse, with four 5BBL fermentation vessels and two 5BBL brite tanks," said co-owner of Wild Ride Brewery, Brian Mitchell. "The small batch brewhouse (compared to our 20BBL production brewhouse in Redmond) will allow us the opportunity to brew unique styles of beer, experiment with ingredients and recipes, fine tune beers, etc."

Mitchell pointed out that they expect their core beers to be on tap at both their Redmond tap room and Prineville tap room, and while many of their seasonal beers will be on tap at both locations as well, there will be beers that are only on tap at one or the other location.

"We'll have some newer beers available as they are brewed on our Prineville brewhouse, but you can expect to see beers such as our Cole's Light Lager, Whoopty Whoop Hefeweizen, Juicy Gorilla Snax IPA, 3 Sisters American Red Ale, Nut Crusher Peanut Butter Porter and many more," Mitchell elaborated.

He added that they will have four food trucks operating on a full-time basis once the Prineville tap room opens.

"We're finalizing the list of food trucks at this time, but we are expecting a mix of tacos, hamburgers, pizza, fish and chips, buffalo wings, burritos, bowls, shrimp, fries, shakes and more," Mitchell added. "It is expected that our tap room will be open every day of the week, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. We also expect the food trucks at Wild Ride will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on a full-time basis, with a rotating day off."

There will be both indoor and outdoor seating at the Prineville tap room. The interior of the tap room is slightly larger than the Redmond location, and the patio is just as large and expansive, with multiple fire pits and room for games, etc.

Mitchell noted that they recently hosted a "pint night" at their Redmond tap room to raise money for the Heart Space Horse Sanctuary. It was a one-night event, and they were able to raise a few hundred dollars to donate to the sanctuary. He noted that these types of "pint nights" will be hosted in Prineville as well, as they schedule with nonprofit organizations throughout the communities they work in.

"In addition to hosting 'pint nights' in the tap room from time to time, we expect we will take a similar approach to special events as we do in Redmond," added Mitchell. "We plan on being engaged with the community, hosting fundraiser event, and hopefully plan some live music parties and special events especially during the warmer weather months."

The tap rooms in Redmond and Prineville will be very similar to each other.

"Our model will be the same in the sense that we'll be a family-friendly tap room, where customers order at the bar and sit where they'd like," concluded Mitchell. "We will have our beers, cider, seltzer, wine, champagne and non-alcoholic beverages available to order, and the four food trucks to order from and enjoy. We will have music playing and a fun, casual environment for our customers to enjoy."

At this point, Mitchell said that they do not have a definite date to open, but it will be sometime later this spring.

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