10 Barrel Brewing Co. is planning a nearly 10,000-square-foot expansion that will double the northeast Bend brewery’s capacity and increase employment.

“We’ve been prepping for months,” said partner Chris Cox. “It’s a pretty big expansion.”

The additional square footage will be added to the east side of the 15,000-square-foot brewery on Northeast 18th Street.

Cox said the project will be divided into two phases. First, he said, additional fermentation tanks will be moved in. Extending the building will be the second phase.

“We’ve been expanding since we opened,” Cox said.

10 Barrel, originally named Wildfire Brewing Co., opened in 2007 on High Desert Lane. In March 2012, the owners opened a new production brewery on Northeast 18th Street.

They opened a Bend brewpub in 2010 on Northwest Galveston Avenue, and in April, a second pub began operating in Boise, Idaho. 10 Barrel beer is available in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

10 Barrel ranked seventh in the state last year in production, which totaled 16,100 barrels, according to Oregon Liquor Control Commission figures.

But with the expansion, said Cox and partner Garrett Wales, 10 Barrel’s focus will be creating more small batches of new, experimental beers, not increasing overall production.

“It’s where we turn the brewers loose and let them use their creativity to do what they do best,” Wales said.

Wales said all of the brewery’s seasonal beers have started as part of the small-tank series. On average, the brewers produce about one new beer a week.

“This year we will be rolling out a line of 22-ouce bottles for the small-tank series,” he said.

Cox said the brewery plans to add four new 40-barrel tanks to make more of the small-tank series, such as Raspberry Crush, as well as three 400-barrel tanks to produce higher-volume bottled beer like Apocalypse IPA. The growth will also allow the brewery to sell its only canned beer — Pub Beer — in grocery and convenience stores, said partner Jeremy Cox. Now, it can only be purchased in their brewpubs.

Wales said he expects the expansion, the cost of which has not been finalized, will create an additional 15 to 20 jobs. Currently, the two brewpubs and brewery employ 205 people total.

—Reporter: 541-617-7818,

rrees@bendbulletin.com