Deschutes Brewery Names Veronica Vega as Brewmaster

Long-time brewer for the Bend, Oregon brewery steps into lead role July

29, 2015 – Bend, Oregon – Deschutes Brewery has promoted Veronica Vega to brewmaster. She will work as the brewery’s research and development lead, alongside brewmaster Brian Faivre who heads the technical brewing side. Vega started out at Deschutes as a tour guide in 2006, moving into the cellar before transitioning into a production brewer role. She’s been the lead brewer at the brewery’s original pub location in downtown Bend, Oregon pub for the last three and a half years.

Michael LaLonde, president of Deschutes Brewery, said, “Veronica has done a fantastic job heading up our Bend pub for the past few years, she is creative, enthusiastic and passionate about her job. Her experience with Deschutes at every level gives her a unique insight in her new role. We are very lucky to have many qualified brewers on our team, so this was a tough decision, but we’re confident it was the right one.”

Vega, who received her degree in biology from Humboldt State University, first worked as a biology field technician for the National Park Service. Even though she loved her job, she loved Bend more and decided that was where she’d like to settle. When she got the call from Deschutes Brewery, she was happy to start out in the tour department and then eventually move into a brewing role.

Vega said, “We have an extremely talented brewing department, and I look forward to working collaboratively with both our R&D and production teams to innovate on the process and experimental aspects of our brewing efforts.”