Just north of the California border, nestled in the Rogue Valley, surrounded by a backdrop of mountains lies the city of Ashland, Ore. If you’re ever in Ashland, you’ll want to stop by Standing Stone Brewing Co. to enjoy their terrific beer in the airy and industrial taproom.
Originally the brainchild of the Amarotico brothers, Standing Stone opened in 1997 in a historic building in downtown Ashland. Their location was once home to the Whittle Garage, which was built in the 1920s. The Standing Stone team spent a full year retrofitting and creating a brewpub from scratch, all while maintaining much of the original structure.
There is no shortage of great beers coming out of this historic building, here are few of their most popular offerings:
- I Heart Oregon Ale: brewed with Oregon-grown barley and Cascade hops from both the Willamette and Rogue Valleys.
- Twin Plunge Double IPA: dry hopped twice with Cascade and Centennial hops.
- Steel-Cut Stout: brewed with a 100 pounds of oats for a nice smooth mouthfeel.
- Noble Stout: brewed with a healthy dose of Mokha Java cold brew concentrate from Noble Coffee. Be sure to try their Noble Stout float!
Standing Stone Farm & Sustainability
A really impressive aspect of Standing Stone is their focus on sustainability. This brewery’s efforts to use organic and locally sourced ingredients is beyond commendable—they even have their own farm!
Standing Stone leases a 265-acre pasture of land about a mile away from the brewery and raises cows, chickens, lambs and bees. The farm also allows the brewery and restaurant to compost all of their food waste. Utilizing a rotational, multi-species grazing system, they try to best benefit the land and animals, as well as bring spent grain and vegetable matter in as supplemental feed. In return, they get fresh and quality meat, eggs and honey for their customers.
Even though they serve around 800 people everyday, due to their waste management program (incorporating reductions, recycling and composting), the brewpub generates the same amount of waste in one week as the average American family of four. They just have one residential trash bin that goes to the curb for pick-up every week, how’s that for efficiency?
RPM Bike Commuting Program
Standing Stone also has an in-house bike program, in which employees who have worked 1,000 hours are eligible to receive a Standing Stone commuter bike for getting to-and-from work. Employees promise to ride their bike 45 times a year, and at the end of the year, their deposit is returned and they can keep the bike.
Standing Stone is a great example of what a company can do to lead a more ecologically-sound business. The craft beer industry as a whole has a great sense of respect for where beer comes from and takes great strides to ensure great craft beer will be enjoyed and brewed for generations.
Drinking a Standing Stone beer generates demand for organic and local brewing ingredients and helps support the 70 employees and their families who make up the Standing Stone team.
Allan Wolfe is a craft beer brewer, reviewer and whisky connoisseur and is the Online Content Manager for Chilled Magazine. You’ll generally find him smoking a cigar while enjoying his favorite pint or dram. He’s always open to answering questions, talking beer or teaching anyone who is willing to listen about distilling!
CraftBeer.com is fully dedicated to small and independent U.S. breweries. We are published by the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group dedicated to promoting and protecting America’s small and independent craft brewers. Stories and opinions shared on CraftBeer.com do not imply endorsement by or positions taken by the Brewers Association or its members.
Share Post