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Chad Kennedy is building a new brewery in Bend. The very concept brings out his poetic side.

鈥淲e vow that from these volcanic depths, suds will spout,鈥� he waxes rhapsodically on Worthy Brewing’s website. 鈥淔rom this barren land, hop and herb gardens will flourish. From this pumice field, plump trees will rise up to shade a Bavarian garden, where pints of frothy artistry will clank and laughter will ring out.鈥�

All this spouting, flourishing, rising, frothing, clanking, and laughing will cost $4.1 million and cover 28,000 square feet on Northeast Bellevue Drive off U.S. Route 20 in Bend. Construction began Feb. 24, and Kennedy said he hopes it will finish in December.

Kennedy admits he is a bit nervous. He and partner Roger Worthington (formerly of Indie Hops) are spending a lot of money up front.

鈥淚t’s a risk for sure, not starting slow and growing,鈥� Kennedy said.

But he added that he really needs to focus on only one thing.

鈥淭he best thing I can do is make the best beer I can,鈥� he said, and 鈥渕aking a great beer is the least of my concerns.鈥�

Kennedy served as the brewmaster at the Laurelwood Public House & Brewery in Portland after learning his craft at the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago. However, Kennedy did not start out to be a beer maker. He first developed an interest as a graduate student in journalism at the University of Oregon in the late 1990s.

鈥淏eer was still involved in everything,鈥� he said of his journalism education.

He became involved with beer professionally by facilitating marketing and communications for a beverage company. A desk job, however, was not to his liking.

鈥淚 really missed creativity in the physical sense,鈥� Kennedy said. 鈥淭here’s a lot to be said for getting out there, using your hands and breaking a sweat.鈥�

He eventually left Portland for Bend after he discovered that the Central Oregon community has one of the nation’s highest populations of dentists per capita. Dentists, often free to live anywhere they choose, must be on to something, he figured.

Bend is also a great place for brewing, Kennedy said, with a good water supply 鈥� both from the mountains and from underground aquifers.

鈥淭here’s a lot of water in Bend,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s just sometimes 1,000 feet underground.鈥�

Between 24,000 and 25,000 of the brewery’s 28,000 square feet will be devoted to making beer. Kennedy estimated that the company will produce between 50,000 and 60,000 barrels a year. An 85-seat restaurant and tasting room will feature an outside beer garden.

鈥淚t will be a nice oasis on the east side,鈥� he said.

With so many breweries in Oregon, differentiation in the marketplace can be difficult to achieve. Aside from taking pride in the beer itself, Kennedy said he plans to put Worthy beer in cans. Few small breweries go with cans, he said, but it is a great fit for the region’s outdoor lifestyle.

“Cans are great for a place like Bend and Central Oregon,” Kennedy said. “You can’t take a glass on the golf course.”

Kennedy added that he will establish the Worthy Hop House, a tribute to legendary hop-meister Alfred Haunold. During a 30-year career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Haunold crafted more than 20 hop varieties. Worthy Brewing will open its greenhouse to Oregon State University researchers and students as a satellite hop and horticulture research facility, Kennedy said.