Ryan Brennecke / The Bulletin Mark and Tonya Cornett opened The Mountain Jug Beer Shop in Sunriver in March.

Mark and Tonya Cornett are going all in with the microbrewing movement.

Last March, the Central Oregon couple opened The Mountain Jug Beer Shop in Sunriver, a growler-fill station and bottle shop with a record player, a collection of vinyl records and a sweet arcade cocktail table that is destined to suck hours from your life.

“We’ve lived out here since 2002 and always felt like (a beer shop) would be a good fit here,” said Mark, whose shop has 12 different beers on tap and around 150 different bottles to choose from. “We’d been floating the idea out there for a couple of years. When the (Sunriver Homeowners Aquatic & Recreation Center) went in down here, I finally walked away from my commercial construction job. We got the financing and went for it.”

Of course, the Cornetts are hardly strangers to the craft brew scene. Tonya Cornett, the Research and Development Brewmaster at Bend’s 10 Barrel Brewing Co., is one of the industry’s most accomplished brewers; in 2008, she was the first female ever to win the best brewmaster award at the World Beer Cup. She helped put Bend Brewing Co. on the map as its head brewmaster before moving to 10 Barrel, where she has created local favorites such as Swill and Suede, a collaboration with Stone and Bluejacket breweries.

“We always thought this would (be) a perfect community for a beer shop, even before the growler craze took off,” Tonya said. “People are finding their way to us.”

The Mountain Jug has attracted a mix of locals, tourists and part-time residents in its first nine months of operation, the couple says. Mark carries only Central Oregon beers on his 12 taps — “When people come to Central Oregon, they want to drink those Bend beers. It’s such a part of the culture,” he said — while the shop’s bottle selection comes from all over the globe.

“We’re rotating stuff all the time on tap,” Mark said. “Sticking with just local breweries, we’ve already had 85 different beers on tap, which is pretty amazing.”

While many growler-fill stations have embraced the get-your-beer-and-go model, The Mountain Jug has evolved into more of a community hub. With an ever-growing collection of records and retro “Pac-Man” and “Donkey Kong” games practically begging you to kill a couple of minutes, there’s really no good reason to go rushing out of The Mountain Jug.

“We’re not really a bar or a restaurant,” Tonya said. “People start playing music or ‘Donkey Kong’ and after a few minutes you see people pushing tables together to chat. It’s really become a meeting place.”

Part of the allure of The Mountain Jug is its small-shop operation. Mark’s only employee at the shop is himself. (Tonya helps out some on weekends but is more involved with the gear and merchandising aspect of the business.) If you want to know more about a certain beer or brewery, Mark’s almost always there to chat. And there’s a good chance he has spent some quality time with the brewer who dreamed up your new favorite beer.

“Yeah, we’re usually more well-informed than your average growler-fill station,” Mark said. “I’m trying to sell the culture more than the beer. That’s what I’ve always been around and been interested in. I know most of the brewers personally, so a lot of times it’s like I’m just selling my friends’ beers.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0305, beastes@bendbulletin.com