Also Bone-a-fide soaps available!

We had our first chance to try the Bone-A-Fide Pale Ale from Boneyard Beer at the World Beard Championship in Bend last May and we were more than pleased. We have since tried this beer a few additional times and are big fans. If you haven’t been to their tasting room, we highly recommend that you do. You can also find their beers at several local restaurants in town such as Brother Jon’s and Jacksons Corner.  It’s more than likely they will be serving this brew or the RPM IPA.

On a mission to help Boneyard break another record of growlers sold each Wednesday we headed on over to pick up a growler of Bone-a-fide. It was business as usual on Wednesday for Boneyard as they had a tent and grill set up for serving fish tacos and the ever present line to fill ‘er up! We were quickly greeted by the gang who is always friendly and ready to share their tasty treats. After a quick chat and news that a new shipment of apparel would be arriving next Wednesday we headed out knowing we would be back next week. On the way to the car one of the brewers let us know he was still working on the recipe for Bone-a-fide and hadn’t quite achieved what he was looking for. I wasted no time in letting him know that not much change was necessary. Bone-a-fide is already on it’s way to being a classic Pale Ale from Bend, Oregon.

Check out the specs:

Further Reading

http://www.boneyardbeer.com/boneyardbeer/BEERS.html

This year we had a great time celebrating the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and ‘ol Saint Patrick, while tasting beers all over Bend, Oregon. What St. Patrick’s day would be complete without the lifting of Lenten restriction? With over nine breweries Bend could possibly be the perfect town to celebrate the occasion west of the Mississippi!

We began the day’s festivities with a Deschutes Red Chair at Mt. Bachelor. There is something about being so close to the actual “Red Chair” lift that makes you crave the sweet/bitter awesomeness!  After one down we hit the lift and proceeded to have one of the best days on the hill yet! The powder was deep, and the snow kept falling.  Apparently, there were hidden pots of gold scattered across the mountain. We had no luck finding any, though.  My childhood friend, David, was visiting from South Carolina, and I couldn’t have asked for a better day to bring him up.

After a few good runs, we headed back down the mountain and straight to Boneyard Beer.  We got a hint the day before when filling a growler of Armored Fist, that they would be debuting Sug Knite in their tasting room. Sug Knite apparently has an ABV of 13% and will literally hang you over the balcony and shake your socks off! Not only was it potent, but oh so very rich and tasty! While at Boneyard we had the luck of witnessing the first growler of Sug Knite ever sold! It really was like finding a pot of gold. At first there was some debate over letting so much of the precious darkness escape to a single pair of hands, but then we heard the OK from the brewers in the back warehouse. In celebration we managed to get another taster (limited to 1) and took a picture to capture this piece of beer history.

The crew at Boneyard were great, and I highly recommend you visit the brewery on Wednesdays for $6 growlers! Plus, the atmosphere is great, and allows for a quick taste or two, or three… After the thorough beating by Sug Knite we headed home to prepare for the evening. Little did we know we would be back for one more round of Sug Knite before hitting some other spots in Bend.

After the second trip to Boneyard Beer of the day, we headed over to Brother Jon’s for dinner and good beer! Brother Jon’s is a small restaurant on the West side of Bend right across from 10 Barrel Brewing. They have some of the best ribs and wings in town which is of utmost importance to me, and the infamous Buffalo Mac & Cheese for Cali.  Also, they have a wide variety of beers on tap from Caldera, Boneyard, Hopworks, and Terminal Gravity. Wow! What a lineup of Oregon brewed beers!  We enjoyed yet another great meal at Brother Jon’s and look forward to going back… next week hopefully!

The next stop was Silver Moon Brewing, where the door man was nice enough to let us in for a few beers without paying the cover. We had plans to head out so we couldn’t stay for the live show.  I was dying to have their Hop Popotamus, but it’s not in season so we went with the Hop Knob IPA, the Irish Red, and of course, our only green beer of the night which I think may have been their Bridge Creek Pilsner… don’t quote me on that. After a few cheers and a little music we headed over to McMenamin’s.

McMenamin’s is the spot for Cajun tots, fire pits, and Hammerhead beer! Hammerhead is probably my favorite over there with the Terminator coming in second. Sweet toothers (toothes??) might dive into the Rubinator, but stout drinkers would probably stay away. After enjoying the fire pits for a few, we headed inside for one last cheers over Irish car bombs (Thanks Charlie!). Surrounded by friends, I have to say it was one of the best St. Patty’s Day celebrations ever. The only thing missing was The Movement, but only my South Carolina peeps know about that one!

Bend Brewing Company is a local favorite, and also a national award winning brewery. Overlooking Mirror Pond River in Bend, Oregon, Bend Brewing Co. offers a variety of craft beers from their Hophead Imperial IPA to the delicious Lovely Cherry Baltic Porter.

The food at BBC is just as tasty as the beer! Every Tuesday we order wings, nachos, and more wings, but any other day could include a bite of the best Fish & Chips in town!

Awards:

2010 GABF SILVER MEDAL: Cherry Baltic Porter, BRONZE MEDAL: Outback X

2010 NABAA BRONZE MEADALS: Outback X, Metolius Golden Ale & Dry Irish Stout

2010 World Beer Cup GOLD MEDAL: Outback X

2009 GABF SILVER MEDAL: Outback X

2008 World Beer Cup GOLD Medal: Outback X & Black Diamond Dark Lager

2008 World Beer Cup Small Brew-pub and Brewmaster of the Year Tonya Cornett

Brewery on site doing tours and tasters.

We had an awesome Fat Tuesday at The Summit and Common Table #inBend! Boneyard’s Black 13 and Firestone’s Velvet Merlin on tap were some highlights. So much good beer #inBend!

Testing the new WordPress 3.1 post-formats. This post is using the ‘status’ format! #WordPress #post-formats

There are many great things about living in Central Oregon. From the lakes, rivers, and mountains there are lots of opportunities to experience the outdoors. One of our favorite hobbies here in Central Oregon is snowboarding at Mt. Bachelor. Every year we look forward to making turns down his beautiful slopes, and every year we look forward to riding up the Red Chair lift together.  This year we have started a tradition that involves drinking a Red Chair beer from Deschutes Brewery on our first run.  Really there is no better way to celebrate another year on the hill.

Deschutes has made a delicious batch once more and we will definitely be putting a dent in the supply!

Check out the specs:

History (provided by Deschutes Brewery)
Red Chair NWPA is named after the oldest operating lift at Mt. Bachelor here in Central Oregon. And just as the locals line up for that fabled mountain ride, they flock to our Bend brew pub whenever it goes on tap. One thing we’ve learned, “when the brew pub talks, listen.” For the past two decades, the serious beer fanatics down there seldom miss when we’ve hit on something truly special.

What makes this copper colored beauty so wildly popular? As a debut Northwest Pale Ale, it’s an adventure all its own. It has a plush body with satiny caramel flavors derived from seven varieties of malt. Yet, despite it all, it remains a hop-forward ale with that distinctive citrusy punch. Just minus any mouth-puckering bitterness.

Related Facts
Available from January to April
192 calories per 12 oz serving

Further Reading
http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/brews/seasonal-ales/red-chair-nwpa/default.aspx
http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/blog/2009/04/06/red-chair-ipa-the-newest-edition-to-the-bond-street-series/
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/63/55564

I am not going to lie, I was a bit shocked when I first read about this news. But now that it has sunk in, I am quite excited about the changes going on with 10 Barrel. Our favorite local’s night and happy hour at Bend Brewing Company (BBC), is about to go through some major changes as well , and this was probably the most surprising part to me. 10 Barrel has hired some new Brewmasters, and one of them is Tonya Cornett, currently Head Brewmaster at BBC. This change for Tonya, will formally take place mid-summer 2011 by the sounds of it. 10 Barrel also hired longtime Deschutes brewer, Jimmy Seifert, to assume the brewmaster duties at 10 Barrel. Seifert has just started this month. So we are excited to taste some new beers from 10 Barrel and know that we will keep you updated on what we like.

To read more about these changes, visit The Source Weekly’s Article, or Hack Bend’s Blog for more information.

Congratulations to Tonya, Jimmy and to 10 Barrel Brewing!

Finally, it is time for us to post about one of the best beers I have ever tasted. In preparation for this blog I wanted to spend some time making sure this life-long relationship was real. How many times have you tried a beer a second or third time to find it doesn’t compare to your original assessment? Maybe it was the food pairing. Could have been that particular batch. Or possibly it was the not so good beer you tried right before. After almost every Tuesday for over 8 months of visiting Bend Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon I can truly say this beer is unequaled by few in the community. With a 9.2% ABV this time around Hop-Head Imperial IPA is a sweet and smooth treat with a power packed punch to the noggin’ if you’re not careful.

Hop-Head’s home, Bend Brewing Company, is a great spot to hang out and kick it after work any day of the week. The dining area is cozy and sports fans will love the TVs in view of most tables. The bar is one step above the dining area and can seat quite a few hop heads waiting for a pour of gold! In the summer time the back patio provides a great spot to chill out while viewing the Deschutes River at Mirror Pond.

Amazingly, Bend Brewing Company has occupied the same building for it’s 15 years of existence. The brewery was actually the 2nd brewery to be founded in Bend. The beers are all nurtured by their awesome brewmasters including one of a handful of female brewmasters, Tonya Cornett. Hop-Head and some of their other brews have won medals at many prestigious beer festivals around the globe. After trying any of their award winners it’s easy to see why locals night at the pub is always busy!

Tonya Cornett and the Bend Beer Bloggers!

If you are ever in Bend make sure to stop by. The wings are a great pairing for Hop-Head. If you can’t stay then make sure to grab a 22oz. of Hop-Head from the bar. They shy away from filling growlers with Hop-Head, but occasionally if you are the mayor and you make it there early on a Saturday before the Civil War game you might get lucky! No matter what you drink this liquid heaven from it will be sure to have your head hoppin’!

So here’s the run down.

Style: Imperial IPA

Happy Holidays! Grab some Hop-Head for X-mas!

Further Reading http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/361/26090 http://www.bendbrewingco.com/brews/default.aspx http://www.smartbrewer.com/recipes/recipedetails.php?id=24

http://www.brewerydb.com/beer/info/id/7298

Earlier this year, we did a trade deal with Justin Iverson, aka PB Hoss for all you twitter fans. We designed his beer cellar door and he gave us a case of his wonderful amber home brew. Thanks Justin, we enjoyed it!! And we hope to come out and brew with you some time!

Last week we tried the Southern Oregon’s Nice Rack IPA. Love the name, but are not in love with the actual beer. We have never been to the actual brewery unfortunately, but do hope to visit soon and to try some of their other beers as well.