We are a small artisan brewery located in McMinnville, Oregon.  We specialize in producing distinctive all-malt lager beers.  We use only the finest, most appropriate malts, hops, water and yeast in our beers.  While our lagers are similar to those made in Europe, they are our own unique interpretation of the style. We may occasionally sell several of our beers to restaurants and a few select retailers, but most of our small hand-crafted production is sold directly through our brewery. 

Lager beers are fermented at lower temperatures than ale, using yeast that has adapted to cooler fermentations.  Low temperature fermentations create fewer “yeasty” aromas, esters, and flavors that are so common in ales.  We brew lagers because we enjoy their smooth malty and hoppy character. 

We take no short-cuts in our beer making. This means using the best possible ingredients, from German malt and hops, to McMinnville's naturally soft water. We use a German-style step-mashing process that allows us to reduce the protein content of our beer, resulting in maltier and naturally clearer beer without filtering. We lager our beers as long as it takes to achieve the clarity and flavor we desire - usually around six to ten weeks, although sometimes longer. Our beers are bottle or cask conditioned. This creates a finer 'bead' (smaller bubbles) and a smoother texture. If you don't think this makes a difference, compare real champagne to cheap sparkling wine. Finally we work hard at controlling the distribution of our beer to avoid exposing it to excess heat, light, or aging (unless, of course, the beer was meant to age). Where possible, we try to sell directly to the consumer, because this insures that our customers receive the beer in the best possible condition.

Brewer Rick Allen started making beer as a hobby 19 years ago. With encouragement from family and a number of friends, Rick founded Heater Allen Brewing in 2007.

Please browse our website to find out more about our specialty beers and our company.