I recently visited Three Creeks Brewing Company in Sisters for a pint of this year’s edition of Firestorm Red Ale, a perennial locals’ favorite that was just released. It’s one of the brewery’s original beers, first brewed shortly after the brewpub opened in 2008, crafted in honor of the firefighters who put their lives on the line fighting wildfires every year.

Little did I know upon that visit, however, that some bigger news was about to drop.

Three Creeks subsequently announced the sale of the brewpub to a new owner, who is taking over operations this month. The new owner is Jacob Whitney, who also operates several other restaurants in the Gresham and Troutdale area, including Bar 33 and The Low Road Bar & Grill.

“Under Jake’s leadership, we are confident that TCBC’s brewpub will continue to provide world class beer and amazing food for our community of fans that we appreciate (so) much,” Three Creeks founder Wade Underwood wrote on Facebook.

Sisters’ first brewery

Underwood opened the brewery in 2008 as one of the anchor businesses of the then-new FivePine development. Three Creeks stood out not only as Sisters’ first brewery, but also for a solid lineup of beers, many of which went on to win a number of awards over the years.

A production facility opened in 2015, with a 30-barrel brewhouse to brew and package the beers for retail. Unfortunately, with the sale of the business, this facility is no longer tenable for the company.

“We are simply not able to sustain the production brewing operations to provide beer at retail in our current form,” wrote Underwood.

In the meantime, operations at the brewpub remain intact, with the new owner retaining the pub’s staff, and brewing operations will continue on the 10-barrel system that the company started on.

Meaning, it’s a good time to visit Sisters for food and a pint. My suggestion? Get the Firestorm Red Ale while it’s available on draft.

Brewing a red ale

The red or amber ale style has a long history in American craft brewing, designed as something of a “gateway” style balanced between hoppy pale ales and malty brown ales. Early versions often tended toward more maltiness, while modern examples often emphasize hops, but in all cases it should be a relatively balanced, drinkable beer.

I reached out to Three Creeks head brewer Jeff Cornett with a few questions about how he approaches the style.

“The recipe essentially stayed the same until around 2019,” he said via email. The original recipe he’s referring to was a bit lower in alcohol, with more emphasis on malt.

“I spent a couple of years tweaking it to dial back the malt presence to get a better balance with the hops. Firestorm was always a hoppy red, but I felt it was a little too sweet. I think the changes let the hops shine a bit more while maintaining the solid malt backbone.”

The grain bill is a blend of six different malts, prominently featuring Munich, crystal and four specialty kilned malts that emphasize caramel, toffee, dark fruit, and light roasted character. It features a classic American hop lineup of Cluster, Amarillo, and Chinook hops, which generally contribute pine, citrus, fruity and herbal notes to the finished beer.

Firestorm Red is 6.5% ABV with 65 IBUs.

Tasting a red ale

It’s an attractive pint, a deep copper-amber color with a creamy light tan head. The aroma is malt-driven with toasted notes bolstered by classic American hop character featuring grapefruit, light pine and forest floor.

A solid resinous bitterness drives the first sip, with pine, bitter grapefruit, and herbal character over flavorful malts that include burnt toast, bread crust, raisin, brown sugar, and a light char or roast—perhaps a touch of coffee. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied and it finishes slightly roasty and dry, with earthy-herbal hops lingering into the finish.

It’s a drinkable, well-balanced brew that keeps you sipping.

Firestorm is only available on draft this year; I confirmed with Cornett that it’s not available in cans, as it has been in past years. “Unfortunately, not available in cans this time,” he said. “We brew Firestorm a couple of times a year to appease our regulars who look forward to it every year, honor our history and heritage, and of course, bring awareness to our Fire Crews that work so hard each year.”

I don’t know if this is directly related to the brewery sale and production facility closing, but it’s an opportunity to visit Sisters to try a pint and explore what else Three Creeks has to offer.