When the Rackhouse Pub opened its doors in 2016 as a second iteration of a beer-focused restaurant that Chris Rippe originally founded in 2009, it was designed to serve as a de facto taphouse for a brewery, a distillery and a cider house, all located together under one roof at 2875 Blake Street.
But the distillery never opened, and C Squared Ciders recently moved out in favor of a standalone property and production barn in the town of Penrose. That left just Bierstadt Lagerhaus, the highly lauded and much-loved German-style brewery founded by Bill Eye, Ashleigh Carter and Rippe.
As a result, the Rackhouse will officially change its name to Bierstadt Lagerhaus and operate as a single brewpub rather than as two different businesses — something that will be easier for customers to make sense of.
Maybe you didn't even know that the pub was called the Rackhouse. That was part of the problem, especially as Bierstadt's reputation has grown over the years, both locally, nationally and overseas.
C Squared Ciders moved out at the end of 2019, leaving Bierstadt as the only in-house supplier for the Rackhouse.
Mark Antonation
The Rackhouse originally opened in 2009 at 200 South Kalamath Street, inside the Stranahan's whiskey distillery. But it closed in 2014 after Stranahan's began growing exponentially; the company, which was purchased by Proximo Spirits, bought Rippe out so it could take over the space. The Rackhouse reopened when Rippe went into business with Eye and Carter.
Deep Roots Winery & Bistro is moving in to C Squared Ciders's old space, but it will have its own taproom with its own entrance, Rippe adds. "So the relationship has changed."
