A4 The SpokeSman • TueSday, ocTober 11, 2022
YourBusiness
Cascade Lake s pledge s to donate net
profits to Central Oregon charitie s
BY SUZANNE ROIG
CO Media Group
C
raft beer makers already brew
beer for a purpose, but Cas-
cade Lakes Brewing Co. is
taking that up a notch by pledging
to donate all its net profits to Central
Oregon charities.
The brewery, which is among the
oldest in Bend and has one of its larg-
est production facilities in Redmond,
is also stepping up its efforts to pay its
workers above the industry standard
wages, health insurance and a 401(k)
retirement savings plan, as part of the
announcement Tuesday.
“When my family and I bought into
Cascade Lakes, we didn’t do it for the
financial gain,” said Andy Rhine, com-
pany general manager. “We did it to
move our family back to Central Ore-
gon. It’s been our goal since day one.
“We have been blessed and fortunate
enough that we have done well enough
in others areas to make this step.”
Craft brewing is a collaborative in-
dustry, said Christina LeRue, Oregon
Brewers Guild executive director. Of-
ten brewers will collaborate on a beer,
sell time on a brewing system to other
brewers and donate to charities. Cas-
cade Lakes this week announced that it
would donate all of its net profits going
forward.
“The craft brewing industry is very
much tied to its communities,” LaRue
said. “You can find examples of this
nationwide. Beer has been a facet for
bringing folks together and our indus-
try would not exist without our com-
munities and their support.
“Giving back is just ingrained in who
brewers are.”
Craft beer also is a big industry in
the United States, contributing about
$76 billion to the U.S. economy, ac-
cording to the Brewers Association, a
trade group for craft brewers. In Ore-
gon, there were an estimated 310 craft
breweries in 2021, generating $1.8 mil-
lion in economic impact, according to
ryan brennecke/The bulletin
Joel Boswell stacks a pallet of product while working at the Cascade Lakes Brewing production facility in Redmond on Wednesday.
Andy Rhine, front
row, and his sister
Esme Rhine stand
with fellow Cas-
cade Lakes Brew-
ing employees
Karl Biedritzky,
back row from
left, Jeff Kelly,
Ryan Schmiege
and Camille Risdal
at the company’s
brewing facility
in Redmond on
Wednesday.
ryan brennecke/
The bulletinw
the Brewers Association.
While not as big a step as Patago-
nia’s move to put the $3 billion com-
pany in a special trust and a nonprofit
organization, Cascade Lakes Brewing
Co. has been donating funds and put-
ting charities in the public eye with
specialty brews for several years. The
company will donate to nonprofits that
focus on stewardship, conservation and
animal welfare, Rhine said.
“These are areas that are close to our
hearts,” said Rhine. “We’ll donate what-
ever net profit we have from all the
sales and do it annually to charities.”
At the brewery, it will all be about
beer for a purpose, he said.
Past collaborations for a cause in-
clude, Pawsitive Pale Ale, with pictures
of cats and dogs to benefit BrightSide
Animal Shelter in Redmond, and Street
Dog IPA to support Street Dog Hero,
a foster-based pet rescue. A third spe-
cialty beer, Elk Camp IPA, benefited
the Oregon Hunters Association.
Cascade Lakes donated a $1 from
every six pack sale to BrightSide and $1
a pint sold to Street Dog Hero, too. At
the Sept. 25 5k fun run, Cascade Lakes
was the beer sponsor for Street Dog
Hero’s third annual event, Rhine said.
“We’re very dependent upon corpo-
rate donations,” said Diana Fischetti,
Street Dog Hero executive director.
“Most of our revenues come from do-
nations. Corporations have a higher
capacity to give than individuals. We
would not be able to do the work we do
without corporate donors like Cascade
Lakes.”
Patricia Bowling, BrightSide execu-
tive director, said the shelter relies on
donations to meet its mandate. From
weekly bingo games to brewing up spe-
cial IPAs, every time Cascade Lakes
helps out and mentions BrightSide, it’s
that much more exposure, Bowling
said.
“Cascade Lakes has been supporting
us for years,” Bowling said. “Cascade
Lakes is the largest company that sup-
ports us continually. Keeping our name
in the public’s eye has a huge benefit
for us in generating support and vol-
unteers.”
The brewery was founded in 1994.
Last year it produced 7,000 barrels of
beer and it is distributed in six states. It
operates two brew pubs and will open
a third on Reed Market Road in 2023,
Rhine said. The Rhine family pur-
chased the brewery in 2018 from pre-
vious owners Chris Justema, Rick Ora-
zetti and Doug and Ron Kutella.
When the Rhines purchased the
brewery they had no experience with
beer making, but had business experi-
ence. The family hired Ryan Schmiege,
who had worked at Deschutes Brewery
as an assistant brewmaster.
“I was green when we bought into
the business, now I’ve worked dozens
of events and seeing the impact we can
have through our product in the com-
munity has been rewarding,” Rhine
said. “It’s made us go more aggressive.
It’s more valuable than any monetary
gain. I am fortunate to have the flexibil-
ity to make this move.”