Brewupcycle: The story behind our barrel furniture
When Eric Curtiss moved to Oregon from Michigan in 2015, the first things he packed in his moving truck were six whiskey barrels he intended to use for the creation of an outdoor bar at his new home. Little did he know, his future held a career in barrel woodworking.
At the time, Alesong was newly opened and still gathering items for our outdoor space. Eric was able to show examples of his barrel work to Matt Van Wyk, one of our founders, sparking a harmonious partnership. You see, there were no Adirondack chairs lining the patio in the beginning, but because of Eric and his ingenuity with creating art and function out of wooden barrels, they became the iconic seating we all know and love today.
Eric has been working to make custom barrel creations under the name Brewupcycle for a little over four years now. Last April, he decided to transition out of his job as a pharmacist and pursue his passion full-time.
One thing that keeps his business going is the barrels supplied exclusively from Alesong. When he approached Matt years ago about making furniture for the brewery, he actually provided a solution for what we did with our spent barrels.
When we make a beer using our spirits barrels, we can only use them once. “Anytime we can reduce, reuse or recycle, we want to do that,” explains Matt. “Bourbon barrels can essentially become a ‘waste stream’, and we’ve had to find ways to reuse them or sell them to others.” This worked out perfectly for Eric, who enjoys taking things that might be waste and transforming them into something unique.
Over the years, Eric has made us benches, chairs, stools, yard games, and even beer bottle displays. It’s a look that we feel resonates well with our barrel-focused, countryside brewery. “His creativity and ability to dream up uses for wood staves, barrel heads and hoops is amazing,” Matt added. “It's truly fascinating to see what he comes up with next.”
It’s a joy for us to provide the supplies used as the basis for Eric’s custom work, and incredibly heartwarming to know that his business would not exist without ours. He’s built a following because of the work he’s done for us, and we wanted to show him appreciation for all the excellent work he’s done over the years.
“Now that Eric is running Brewupcycle full-time, we’ll be able to get him a lot more of our barrels for his projects. It’s truly helpful for us and great that we can support his local business,” said Matt.
Check out more of Eric's work by visiting his website: https://www.brewupcycle.com/
He can be reached for projects at eric@brewupcycle.com if you’d like to have him create something for you. Currently, he’s offering a 15% discount to Alesong Blender’s Circle members – take him up on it!
