(Bend, OR) – Here are several updates on the Deschutes Brewery front.

What I learned from Digital Marketing Manager, Jason Randles, yesterday…

General Brewery Updates:

• Just posted a brewery-prepared Q&A with Deschutes Brewmaster, Larry Sidor, who will leave at the end of the year to start his own venture, 856 Brewing Company.

• Deschutes began construction this month on an expansion that will help the brewery to meet growing demand. I wasn’t able to get hard numbers on what capacity will be but was told that the project will be completed next year.

• Production is expected to come in at around 225k-230k barrels this year which would be a double-digit increase from 2010.

• Expansion of distribution to Missouri (and presumably Kansas) is on hold for the time being. Randles said that there is no solid plan yet for when beers will hit the Show Me State but that Deschutes will do its best to get product out there by fall after the summer season winds down. This is due to challenges in meeting demand in current markets.

Specialty Beer Releases:

• Deschutes Black Butte XXIII, a Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter, is set for June 25th release (Update: They originally said 6/25 but pulled a fast one and just released it at the brewery yesterday on tap and in bottles).

• White IPA, a collaboration with Boulevard Brewing that will kick off the new Conflux Series, is scheduled to head out the door the week of July 18th. The hope was to get both versions (one produced at each brewery) in both breweries’ distribution networks so that drinkers could do a side-by-side but that is up in the air at this point.

• The Stoic – Tentatively scheduled for release by Labor Day

• Fresh Hop Mirror Pond (22 oz. and draft, Bond Street Series) – October to December – “We love fresh Willamette Valley hops so much that we decided to go the extra mile for this beauty.  Goschie Farms is growing an acre of heirloom Cascade hops just us so we can release this fresh hop version of our Mirror Pond Pale Ale. Base Camp for beer fanatics just got a little more interesting.”

• Hop Trip Fresh Hop Pale Ale (6-packs and draft, Bond Street Series) – October to December – “Each year around Labor Day, Deschutes brewers high-tail it over the pass to Doug Weather’s hop fields near Salem for the harvest. After bagging these aromatic jewels, we hustle back and toss them into the brew kettles within four hours of picking. Our reward: a pale ale with a uniquely bright citrus punch and fall spice. It’s something only Deschutes would take past the idle-talk stage.”

• Hair of the Dog collaboration brew – Still slowly working its magic though it may not be released until next year