BEND, Ore. — Deschutes Brewery announces that Karl Ockert, director of brewery operations, will be leaving the Bend-based organization at the end of March to return to his former role consulting to the craft beer industry.
Ockert, a 35-year industry veteran and one of the early founders of the craft beer movement in Oregon, has spent the past three years at Deschutes. With his expertise in brewing and operations, he led the company to new portfolio creations as well as the new pilot brewhouse and the installation of a new canning line at the company’s Bend facility. He also has been instrumental in the design and planning for the brewery’s new production facility in Roanoke, Virginia.
“Karl has added so much value to the company, not only in his knowledge of beer, the craft industry and brewing operations but in his humble, personable style and sharp wit,” said Michael LaLonde, president and CEO. “Karl has helped shape the culture of this company and has left an indelible mark on all of us. I know he will be successful in his new venture, and we all wish him well.”
Prior to Deschutes, Ockert began his career as the founding brewmaster of BridgePort Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon, which he helped build in 1983 and operated for over 20 years. Since then, his career has covered the spectrum of brewing from brewpubs to regional craft brew houses to the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Newark, New Jersey. He has taught courses in beer operations and has written for beer industry journals. He will return to his consulting practice, Karl Ockert Brewing Services, LLC, in the fall of 2018.
“Over the last three years It’s been my privilege to work with and become part of the Deschutes family,” said Ockert. ”It’s difficult to describe how much I have enjoyed working with the talented people here who value quality, teamwork and community above all else.”
Archivists at Oregon State University recently captured Ockert’s personal and industry contributions as part of a project to document the history of the craft beer industry in Oregon. The full video is located here.
About Deschutes Brewery
Family and employee-owned since 1988, Deschutes Brewery – Bend’s original brewpub – has become the cornerstone of Central Oregon’s flourishing craft brew culture. Known for its generous use of whole hops in its defining beers such as Black Butte Porter, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, and Fresh Squeezed IPA, the brewery also keeps fans on the edge of their bar stools with the release of small-batch experimental beers each season. Now available in 29 states and Washington D.C., Deschutes’ flagship brewpub has been joined by a main brewing facility overlooking the Deschutes River in Bend, a pub in Portland, and coming in 2021, a new east coast brewery in Roanoke, Virginia. www.deschutesbrewery.com