Ask Levi & Strauss: It wasn't necessarily the gold seekers who struck it rich, but the entrepreneurs providing ancillary services, like blue jeans, who made the really steady income. Of course, for the current craft-beer rush that analogy is a bit off, as breweries are making good money, but last September, longtime friends Jason Rickley and Justin Renoud started the first mobile bottling company in Central Oregon.
When Rickley and Renoud stopped by the Source, they were returning from an afternoon at Sunriver Brewing Company, where they had bottled some 14 barrels worth of beer; currently, with their aptly-named Mobile Bottling Solutions, Rickley and Renoud bottle exclusively in 22-ounce bottles, but are considering to move into canning as well.
Their services allow smaller and growing breweries to externalize some of their manufacturing costs. The equipment fits in the back of a pickup truck, and includes pressure sealed labeling. The business is only six months old, but already they are bottling for some of the more recognizable names in the region—Silver Moon, Atlas and Sunriver.
"It helps smaller businesses get a foot in the door," says Rickley. (PB)
