Beer Valley’s Extreme Brewing is More Than Words

By Angelo De Ieso II

Oregon’s easternmost brewery is Beer Valley Brewing Company located just west of the Idaho border in the small town of Ontario. Head brewer Pete Rick’s developed his model for Beer Valley while living and brewing in the Southwestern United States. His design grew out of his work as a Southwest correspondent for Celebrator Beer News and his partnership with Santa Fe Brewing in New Mexico.

A self-proclaimed extreme brewer, Ricks brewed his first four batches of a mammoth imperial stout called Black Stout at Santa Fe. The eleven-percent brew began with distribution in New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern California before making its way to Oregon. Employing eight different malt varieties and four different hops while boasting over 100 IBU, the brew remains abysmally dark and recklessly bitter. “Most people don’t like dark beer, and most people don’t like really bitter beer” says Ricks. “What I intended to do with that beer was make it the darkest, bitterest beer you could pretty much buy everywhere.” When Ricks made the move to Oregon in the summer of 2007, he had a relatively wide distribution base already in tact. He sought the input of former Stone Brewing brewmaster Lee Chase. “(Chase) helped me in Ontario when we were first planning and formulating Black Flag” explains Ricks. “He looked at my recipe for Black Flag and said ‘Are you sure you want to put that much hops in your beer?’ Hearing that from the former brewmaster at Stone, I though ‘Alright, now we’re on the right track!”



Ricks has been making extreme beer from day one and claims he is surprised by the response from the get-go. “The response has been great. Not just in our local market, but everywhere.”

Other beers in Beer Valley’s repertoire include: the Pig Skin Pale Ale—a strong American pale that Ricks wanted to be as robust as any IPA.



Owyhee Amber Ale—perhaps the only session beer on the menu at Beer Valley, at 5.5% ABV, this is as easy drinking as they come.



Highway to Ale Barleywine Ale—a year-round barleywine with a potent hop kick as well as a strapping dose of malts. At over 10% ABV, this beer this is another testament to Ricks passion for extreme brewing.



Leafer Madness Imperial Pale Ale—the latest brand added to the list, this maddeningly hopped beer scoffs at the idea of a hop shortage with a balmy 100+ IBUs and over 9% ABV. When asked about the difficulty of incorporating this bold new beer to the line-up considering the shortage, Ricks admits to feeling lucky about locking in a contract. “Dr. Bill Pengelly of Brewers Supply Group kind of saved our ass this year. It’s been kind of a tough year to start a brewery. Barley prices have doubled. Hop prices are anywhere from triple to tenfold where they were a year ago. Some breweries weren’t able to get hops this year, so we feel very fortunate.”



So what is on the horizon for Beer Valley Brewing? Ricks divulges his plans to release the Double Flag, a souped-up version of the already colossal stout. “A lot of people find it hard to believe, but it’s true. The Double Flag will not only be stronger, but will have more hops.”

So what do the locals in Ontario and Eastern Oregon think of Rick’s craft brews? “It’s obviously a whole different demographic (than Portland). There’s more farmer and rancher types (in Eastern Oregon). But we’ve been surprised that we’ve sold as much of our beer out there in Eastern Oregon as we have. It just goes to show you that there are people who enjoy craft beer in just about every part of this country. Maybe not so much as Portland, but every area you go to, there’s a good feeling about it.”