Ryan McVay has been making beer longer than most people realize. The brewmaster for Three Creeks Brewing Company in Sisters got his start homebrewing with his mom at age 16, studied fermentation in Germany, worked in a Bavarian monastery brewery, and has spent the last several years quietly stacking awards in one of Central Oregon’s most beloved pub towns. We sat down with him over a glass of Stonefly Session Ale to find out what makes Sisters’ beer different — and why he’s not standing around staring at a pint all day.
the Source: You started homebrewing at 16 with your mom. What got you hooked?
Ryan McVay: She was a cheesemaker who wanted to try a different fermentation project. I thought it was really cool as a 16-year-old to make beer. The beer that first caught my attention was Henry Weinhard’s Blue Boar Pale Ale — a craft-style pale ale out of Portland with a big following in the Pacific Northwest. I’d love to re-create some variant of it someday.
I’ve been homebrewing for 20 years and brewing professionally for 13. After my undergrad at OSU studying Fermentation Science, I enrolled in a language immersion program in Cologne, Germany, then studied for six months at Weihenstephan in Northern Munich — it’s the world’s oldest brewery. I also worked at Andechs Monastery, southwest of Munich, which is one of Germany’s last genuine monastery breweries run by an active Benedictine order. Famous for its centuries-old tradition and high-tech brewing and features a panoramic beer garden. It was formative for me.
tS: What makes a Sisters’ beer different from what’s coming out of larger Bend operations?
RM: I brew in small batches, which gives me real freedom. I’m not restricted to what’s in the silo — I can be flexible with my base malts and creative with my recipes. I also know my crowd well enough to know what they want.
Our award-winning beers tend to be malt-forward — porters, Scottish ales, and our Stonefly Session Ale. We’re not a hop bomb brewery. We’re balanced. That may set us apart in a market full of aggressively hop-forward or Belgian-style beers, but it’s what we do well.
tS: Does brewing at Sisters’ elevation actually change anything?
RM: More than people think. The higher the elevation, the lower water’s boiling point — which means less hop extraction in the kettle and a different evaporation rate. Even your CO2 and nitrogen blend behaves differently at 3,000 feet versus sea level. One of the first things I did when new ownership came in was get a custom gas blender to dial that in properly.
tS: How has your process changed since you joined Three Creeks?
RM: I’ve had to become completely self-sufficient. When the production brewery shut down a couple of years ago, I went from having a full team to flying solo. Honestly, I’ve enjoyed it — I brew everything myself now, which means I have more control. But it’s a lot of hands-on, physical work. People romanticize craft brewing. It’s blue-collar. You’ve got to get your hands dirty — and understand the science behind what you’re doing. I’m not just standing around on the deck staring at a pint of beer.
tS: How do you stay relevant without chasing trends?
RM: It’s a double-edged sword. You have to be realistic about what you can actually execute. Sometimes a trend fills a genuine gap in your lineup, and if I’m inspired by it, I’ll go with it. But I don’t feel pressure to chase anything. Trying to be everything to everyone is a recipe for being nothing to nobody.
tS: If someone has never been to Three Creeks, what beer should they order first?
RM: Our Five Pine Porter. It’s our most award-winning beer — named for the campus we’re on — and it’s what put us on the map. I use two pounds of the finest Belgian dark chocolate per barrel, which creates a slightly roasty brew with a chocolaty, satin finish.
tS: What are you most proud of?
RM: My Oktoberfest and my McKay’s Scottish Ale — I came to Three Creeks specifically to bring back the Oktoberfest. It’s one of my passion projects, and it’s become very popular. McKay’s Scottish Ale is my annual tribute to lovable local Don McKay. It’s brewed with loads of caramel, Munich, and Scottish base malts with a touch of smoked malt. A two-hour boil deepens the caramel richness while a hint of smoke might just inspire you to throw on your kilt, fire up the bagpipes, and have a pint or two.
tS: Does Sisters’ creative culture — the music, the arts scene — influence your brewing?
RM: Absolutely. This is a town of artists — painters, musicians, woodworkers, craftspeople of all kinds. A small craft brewpub fits that artisanal spirit perfectly. We belong here.
tS: What’s next for Three Creeks?
RM: We’re expanding to a second pub location in Sandy, Oregon, which puts us at the edge of the Portland market. We’re also relaunching self-distribution — draft only. Packaged beer is a tough market right now, and honestly, getting back to direct-to-consumer draft is how this industry started. The craft beer drinker wins when the pub is the focus. We’re bringing fresh back.
If you have a local taphouse and you want to see Three Creeks on tap, say something. Your words carry a lot more weight with buyers than you’d think.
tS: Any ambitions to go regional?
RM: We’re very much local. Sandy gets us to the edge of Portland, but I’m not even trying to penetrate that market. My bull’s-eye is Central Oregon — and there’s plenty of room to grow right here.
Three Creeks Brewing Company
Daily Noon-8pm
721 Desperado Court, Sisters
threecreeksbrewing.com
541-549-1963.
This article appears in the Source July 30, 2026.
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