Brewing classic styles as well as experimental brews
Brewing beer seemed inevitable for Bryon Pyka. A high school friend’s dad was a homebrewer and, later, so was a college buddy. While going to school in Chicago in the early 2000s, specialty beer was mostly imported. Then places like Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan, started a craft brewing renaissance in the United States, inspiring him to begin home brewing a mixed-fermentation sour beer.
When Pyka moved from Chicago to Bend, Oregon, a decade ago, he knocked on brewery doors seeking a way into the industry. He landed a temp job at 10 Barrel Brewing Company. There, he met legendary brewer Tonya Cornett who, impressed by Pyka’s mixed-fermentation sour homebrew, landed him a job at 10 Barrel. There, he honed his craft. His dream to start his own brewery became a reality when he shared his ambitions with Monkless Belgian Ales owner Todd Clement who coincidentally wanted to sell his warehouse, taproom and equipment.
Pyka teamed up with craft beer friend and tax attorney Peter Brantley and Pyka’s life partner, artist Katie Dunbar, to take over the space and transform it into Terranaut. Terra means earth and naut means sailor or voyager. “Bend is a really outdoorsy place,” says Pyka, “and beer ingredients come from the land. The name has many meanings and different angles like music lyrics.”
The Terranaut team moved into the former Monkless space in April. Pyka began brewing in May. The taproom opened in October and Terranaut won a slew of awards recently at Sip’s 13th Annual Best of the Northwest Beer Awards.
Pyka will continue to make his famous mixed-fermentation sours as well as Pacific Northwest favorite IPAs, but he’s interested in using Terranaut to explore classic beer styles like lagers, English ales, and German-style beer like Oktoberfestbier.
He’s also focused on creating experimental beer like Terranaut’s Goat Beer. This cocktail-style beer was inspired by the Spaghett served at Bend’s San Simón Bar, a beer cocktail made by emptying half a bottle of Miller High Life and refilling it with Aperol and lime juice. The owner of San Simón encouraged Pyka to create a beer that mimics the flavor of this drink.
Pyka methodically broke down the ingredients in Aperol and then sought to recreate the cocktail’s citrus, candy and bitter flavors. Using Kӧlsh as a base, he added lime juice and zest, rhubarb, gentian root and lemon zest to create a beer version of the Spaghett.
Pyka is currently working on a brew inspired by Turkish coffee with cardamom as well as a Kӧlsh-based brew with orange and cinnamon. In addition to interesting beer, Terranaut offers a unique space for sipping. The owners transformed the space’s warehouse feel into something a bit more stylish by adding refinished second hand furniture and spinning their own vinyl collection. “We made a space that I’d like to hang out in,” says Pyka.
Follow their beer journey @terranautbeer.
