Two friends, Trever Hawman and Rod Kramer, decided to turn in their carpenters belts and follow their passion by starting a small batch brewery using eco-friendly methods and the freshest, local ingredients.
What started out as a hobby, quickly grew into a full-blown obsession for crafting fresh, "more drinkable" microbeer. The positive response and overwhelming demand for their brews pushed them to expand into their new facility and tasting room at 63063 Layton Avenue, Bend, Oregon.
Keeping it local, staying humble and using sustainable practices to create the best tasting beer are the priorities at Bridge 99 Brewery. It starts with using fresh, local hops from Tumalo Hop Company in Central Oregon.
After the brewing process, spent grain, hops and yeast are sent to a local ostrich rancher rather than going into the landfill. Also, rather than sending grain wastewater down the drain and into our rivers, it is collected in large totes and used as nutrient-rich fertilizer on a local farm.
Where did the name Bridge 99 Brewery come from? Wanting to build a brand around something unique to the region, along with "99 bottles of beer on the wall" singing in their heads, the two set out to find a name.
The search was over almost as quickly as it began when they remembered a local US Forest Service landmark, Lower Bridge - also referred to as "Bridge 99" - that crosses the Metolius River near Camp Sherman, Oregon.