The Bend Beer Blog

Get Irish-ish beer in Bend on St. Patrick's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 10:01:00 +0000

I was going to put together something about beer on St. Patty's Day in Bend, but luckily, Jon at The Brew Site beat me to it. And, honestly, it sounded like a lot of work, anyway, so I am happy enough to link you to Jon's research here.

And if you're looking for something to do on the cheap, McMenamin's has a free lineup of music today, including Five Pint Mary and the Moon Mountain Ramblers. More details here.

Bend is the model for liquor license in 'Cartlandia'?

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 09:43:00 +0000

A story over at Oregon Live informs us that "Cartlandia" in Portland -- the place where a bunch of food carts gather, for the uninitiated -- is getting an annual liquor license.

That's interesting enough, but more interesting to our readers in Central Oregon is that Bend, with its outdoor beer gardens at the "fill-in-the-blank" fests and other events, may have helped matters. From the story:

"In my mind, I see this like I sometimes see in downtown Bend -- a roped-off beer garden," said commission member Ron Roome, who is from Central Oregon. Roome said he felt comfortable approving the license after the owners of the property, Roger Goldingay and his wife Carol Otis, agreed to close it after 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends.

Could it possibly be long till one or more of the many food carts in Bend follow suit and apply for a license? If they do, Beau and I will have to cross off one of the items on our "list of things we think are good ideas but will never actually do (TM)". We've thought for a long time that a food cart with a liquor license would do gangbusters. We weren't sure the OLCC would go for the idea, but apparently, they did. So, here's hoping we can drink at Spork this summer.

Craft beer sales nearing $1 billion in U.S.

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:55:00 +0000

A fascinating story over at brewbound.com breaks down the crazy growth of the craft beer industry in the United States. Off the top, craft beer will likely hit $1 billion in annual sales soon.

And while that's amazing news, it probably doesn't come to a shock to those of us in Bend, as craft breweries continue to pop up and do well, with seemingly no end in sight.

Cut+paste from the story:

Craft’s dollar share in U.S. Supermarkets was up 15 percent over last year to 10.8 share, the sixth consecutive year of growth. That’s double the share it held in 2006. These numbers prove why craft beer is the number one growing beverage-alcohol segment in U.S. Supermarkets
So what products are responsible for the growth? Wandel pointed to several areas. Variety and seasonal packages, IPA’s, large-format bottle offerings, the rise of canned beer and even private label brands (see below) are the major catalysts.

No mention of Deschutes Brewery in the story, but it does note that Boston Brewing (they do Sam Adams) is still the leader in craft beer sales, ahead of Sierra Nevada and Craft Brew Alliance.

So, it appears the craft beer revolution has some staying power nationally. The question in Bend is if the bubble will ever burst locally for some of the smaller/newer brewers, and is there a tipping point at which we can't support anymore breweries? Or will we just keep drinking more and more, no matter how many breweries there are?

Easy game: Vote for beer in High Desert Madness

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:48:00 +0000

After what appears to be our third hiatus since we started this blog, I figured it's time to give it another shot. People keep following us on Twitter despite the fact that we've done absolutely nothing for four months. So, I figured we'd provide some content for those people who apparently want more information about beer in Central Oregon.

First up in our return? High Desert Madness at The Bulletin's website, which you can check out here. What is it? It's a March Madness-style bracket pick'em, in which stuff from Central Oregon goes head to head to see what thing is the best. That sounds confusing, but it's really easy when you check out the bracket.

Anyway, we're here to tell you should vote for "beer," which is a No. 1 seed. Seeing as there are approximately 5 million microbreweries in Central Oregon, this seems like it should be a walk in the park for beer. The other top seeds all have flaws. Roundabouts? The one at Reed Market and Brookswood is awful, and we really don't need another art project. Mount Bachelor? Not everyone loves snow. Bikes? C'mon, they close down streets for races all summer, and a lot of cyclists don't know how to use bike lanes.

So, there you go, "beer" should be your winner. If you don't vote for beer and you get a hangover the next time you drink, we won't feel sorry for you.

Bend Ale Trail Adds Two More Local Breweries

noreply@blogger.com (Lucas Alberg) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 01:50:00 +0000

The popular Bend Ale Trail, developed by the lovely folks over at Visit Bend, have added a pair of stops to the local brewery expedition. The Ale Trail now includes Good Life Brewing and Brew Werks, which join local brewery stalwarts Deschutes, Cascade Lakes, 10 Barrel, Bend Brewing Company, Boneyard, McMenamins, Silver Moon, and from up the road in Sisters, Three Creeks Brewing.

I just pulled out my smart phone and checked the Ale Trail app and it doesn't look like it's been updated yet, but hopefully that'll come soon. For now, users can download the existing version from visitbend.com/apps or at the iTunes store. If you prefer to shun technology and are more of a rotary kinda person (if you are, please send in a picture of it as I'm convinced they cease to exist), you can grab a Bend Discovery Map at a handful of locations. Once completed, swing on over to the Bend Visitor Center with your stamped passport and you'll get a big pat on the back (trust me, this sounds better when you've had a few pints under your belt) and your choice of a very cool commemorative Bend Silipint or Bend Brews book.

Ready to hit the trail? Yeah, me too. Looks like I have a couple more stamps to get!

Brewed Awakening Book Signing Tonight at Deschutes

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 08:50:00 +0000

A book signing tour is hitting the Deschutes Brewery pub in Bend, for "Brewed Awakening: Behind The Beers and Brewers Leading the World's Craft Brewing Revolution."

You can get the details on tonight's event, which takes place with author Joshua Bernstein from 5 to 8 p.m., here, or check out the book website here.

The recently released Abyss will be available. There will also be a tasting of a "Brewed Awakening beer" —a dry-hopped cask ale IPA.

Here's a quick rundown of what's in the book, as written by the author:

Why Brewed Awakening? Concerning beer, the last decade has witnessed more seismic changes than any time since Prohibition. There are more than 1,700 craft breweries in America, from community-based nanobreweries to the new breed of national brands such as Dogfish Head and Stone. Untethered from stodgy tradition, and driven by unbridled creativity, American and international brewers are leading a boundary-less charge into the global future of beer.

And here's a look at the book, in video form:

Free Pork Sliders at Good Life & Other Humpday Specials

noreply@blogger.com (Lucas Alberg) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:30:00 +0000

In case you're feeling a little hungry this humpday afternoon and want to wash down some quality food with a pint, Good Life Brewing is offering FREE Primal Cuts pork sliders to patrons who order a pint of beer today, starting at 4pm. According to their Facebook page, the offer is on the table until the sliders run out.

If you're not familiar with Primal Cuts Meat Market on Galveston St., they offer some pretty incredible tasting (albeit awfully pricey) meats. If I'm not mistaken, Good Life Brewing uses Primal Cuts exclusively for their meats. I've had a few of their sandwiches at the pub and I must say they're pretty darn tasty. So that being said, I'm sure the sliders will be good as well.

If you happen to get there too late for the snacks, however, and prefer to keep your midweek indulging on the cheaper side, don't forget it's $6 growler night at Boneyard Brewing off Colorado at 37 Northwest Lake Pl # B. It's also locals night at Cascade Lakes with $2.75 pints from 4-6pm - a great deal if you can make it there from work in time.

Happy humpday everyone and enjoy your Wednesday suds in Bend!

Vote for beer in Central Oregon

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:26:00 +0000

Central Oregon Magazine is taking votes for all sorts of categories for its 2012 Apex Awards. (We know, it's not 2012 for two months.)

Of course, we're interested in the beer-related categories. In case you want to just skip to those, they are "Best brewpub," "Best Brewery" and "Best Happy Hour." You can do your voting here.

Let us know who you put on your ballot, and why!

'Meet the Brewer' Night on Thursday at the Platypus Pub

noreply@blogger.com (Lucas Alberg) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:00:00 +0000

The Home Brew Shop and Platypus Pub in Bend is hosting another "Meet the Brewer" night on Thursday. Following up on the meet-n-greet with Hopworks Urban Brewery's Jaime Rodriquez last week, the newly minted basement pub will be talking with a brewer from Eugene's Oakshire Brewing this go-round.

Oakshire seems to be gaining some steam in the past 6-12 months and definitely has a presence here in Bend, both in selling bottles in stores and on tap in pubs. A quick glance online on their website shows that they are currently selling their beers at places like Whole Foods, Nature's, Brother Jon's Public House, The Blacksmith, Jackson's Corner, Newport Ave. Market and a handful of others (including the Brew Shop, of course). They were also here a couple times this summer at beer festivals if you got a chance to sample their wares at the Bend Brewfest and the Little Woody Barrel-Aged Brew Festival on Labor Day weekend. Personally, I'm more of a fan of their darker beers like the Overcast Espresso Stout and the O'Dark: 30 Cascadian Dark Ale, but they seem to do well distributing their Watershed IPA and Oakshire Amber as well.

Event starts at 7pm on Thursday at the Platypus Pub, which is located in the basement of The Home Brew Shop on the corner of 3rd and NE Lafayette Ave. in the old church. If you get there a bit early, you can still catch happy hour too (runs till 6:30pm), which features $.75 off beers and some food specials.

Beer report: GoodLife + 10 Barrel

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:03:00 +0000

Last week several Bend Beer Bloggers had a few alcoholic beverages, so we figured we would report on what we drank to enlighten you, the Bend beer drinking audience.

After taking in some free music at McMenamin's, I headed over to GoodLife to check out their Locals Night for the first time. They have $2.50 pints all day, and $7 growlers too. Anyway, our party made sure to have one of each of GoodLife's three offerings (truth be told, we tried almost everything they had on tap, as well). Right now they have a pale (Mountain Rescue), an IPA (Descender) and a wheat (Sweet as Pale). All of them were fine beers, although we all agreed that none of them truly distinguished themselves. The wheat was good, and didn't have the aftertaste that can plague some wheats. And the IPA was very hoppy (in a good way), checking in at 70 IBUs. Below, from left, is the pale, the IPA, and the wheat.

You can read more about all their beers here.

For a nightcap, we went over to 10 Barrel, pretty much to try their Ping Pong Pumpkin Ale. And it was worth the trip. It strikes the perfect note of how much pumpkin flavor you want in a beer -- earthy and a hint of sweetness. We suggest you check it out before fall is over.

Local Designer & Beer Lover Launches 'Beer Me Bend!'

noreply@blogger.com (Lucas Alberg) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:26:00 +0000

I saw a tweet come through earlier today announcing a new Bend-based website dedicated to beer. Beer Me Bend! is a very cool new site designed by local resident and graphic designer Carrrrrlos (aka Carlos Perez) that highlights craft beer in Bend.

The site drills down on each local brewery in town, as well as lists out some of the happy hour specials and locals nights throughout the week. Though it looks like no blog is attached, he does highlight some of the local beer blogs (including the good folks bringing you this news) and has some nice social interactivity with Twitter streams and Facebook updates. He also provides some nice resources for tours, homebrewing supplies and good places around Bend to buy craft beer. In the end, Beer Me Bend! looks to be a great site designed by a local Bendite who loves good beer. And for that, we say cheers!

Deschutes names two new brewmasters

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 01:45:00 +0000

Were you hoping to become the next brewer for Deschutes? Unfortunately for you, you didn't get the job.

Deschutes stayed in-house for two newly formed brewmaster positions, according to a press release on the promotions of Cam O’Connor and Brian Faivre:

The two, who have been instrumental in the development of such game-changing brews as Hop in the Dark, Red Chair NWPA, Gluten Free Ale, the soon to be released Chainbreaker White IPA, and others, were chosen for their abilities to both innovate and lead.

“Pushing boundaries and experimenting with new beers is what defines us as a company,” said Gary Fish, president and founder of Deschutes Brewery. “Brian and Cam have been instrumental in creating many of the new beers that have been brought to our fans over the last few years. The fact that we were able to promote from within the brewing department is a testament to the strong team of brewers we have here at Deschutes, and we are looking forward to seeing their creativity continue in their expanded roles as brewmasters.”

Whole thing here.

Seeing as Deschutes has a pretty good thing going, a hire outside of the company wouldn't seem to make much sense. Why look for talent elsewhere when you are already making some of the best beer on the planet? We look forward to seeing the beer coming from Deschutes moving forward.

Solstice Brewing in Prineville

noreply@blogger.com (Beau) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:11:00 +0000

Having opened its doors earlier this fall, Solstice Brewing in Prineville will be Central Oregon's 12th brewery once the good folks in Crook County receive their federal brew permit.

While it waits for federal approval to start brewing its own beer, the brewpub is serving an impressive list of Northwest micros.

As of Wednesday, Oct. 26, the pubs tap list included: Silver Moon's Snakebite Porter, Terminal Gravity's IPA, Boneyard's Black 13, Fearless Brewing Company's Loki Red Ale, Everybody's Brewing Cash Stout Oatmeal Stout, and the Bend Brewing Company's Howling Hef, to name a few.

Prices for pints range from $3.50 to $4.25 and all micos are $3.25 from 4 to 6 p.m. during Happy Hour. There's also a full food menu.

None of us at the BBB have been out there yet, but just based on the beer list it sounds like it'd be worth the drive. Just a heads up, the pub is closed on Monday and Tuesday.

If you've stopped in at Solstice, let us know what you thought.

Deschutes benefit dinner to help Bethlehem Inn

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:23:00 +0000

Deschutes Brewery is hosting an event that benefits the Bethlehem Inn in Bend.

If you don't know what the inn is, it's a homeless shelter on the north side. Any time I have warm clothes I don't need or would otherwise get rid of, I try to make sure it goes there, as I know it gets put to good use. You can learn more about the inn here.

Anyway, onto the beer part of this post. For $80, you get a five-course meal with beer pairings (only four different beers, though, it appears). Beau and I highly recommend the Afterschool Special, a chocolate milk stout. It tasted more milk-y than chocolate-y when we had it at the Bend pub, but it was still excellent. And I am sure it's awesome with dessert. You'll also get Fresh Hop Mirror Pond, The Stoic (a Belgian quad) and Conflux No. 2 (a white IPA).

More on the event here.

2011 Deschutes Abyss Release Date

noreply@blogger.com (Rae Amelia) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:25:00 +0000

I was just in Deschutes eating dinner tonight and noticed a little tidbit that I thought I would share. On November 15th at 5pm in both Bend and Portland, Deschutes will begin pouring their 2011 Abyss. This is the 6th year the deep dark Abyss has graced beer drinkers with its presence. Check http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/event/abyss-2011-release-party for more details on the release party such as times, events, and special menus.

Cheers!

Beer, coffee and soup in one magical vessel?

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:36:00 +0000

I thought I may have been in the middle of a food dream after a run when I came across this tweet:

A triple collaboration has occurred! Swing by Soupçon for their Boneyard Backbone Stout Irish Stew. Great beer, coffee and soup combined!

Photo from Backporch's Facebook site:

I can get down with beer and soup in the same bowl. And beer and coffee (Backporch and Boneyard have collaborated in the past to create and espresso stout that rocked). The only part of the triangle that gives me pause is coffee and soup. I am guessing it works all together, too, though. If you tried it, let us know. Or maybe a lunchbeercoffeesoup will be added to my agenda. Right now Soupçon appears to be next to the Blacksmith in downtown; check out the website here.

How would you rank the breweries in Bend?

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:40:00 +0000

We found this post a travel blog, and it got us to thinking -- what would we say, and what would you save, are the best breweries in Bend?

Beau and I would have a hard time quibbling with two of their choices -- Deschutes and Boneyard. Based on the quality of the beer, and nothing else, it's hard to touch Deschutes. And pretty much since they've come online a couple of years ago, Boneyard has been in the conversation for the second best brewery in Bend. That idea was further cemented by the fact that they just teamed up with swanky Pronghorn Club for a beer and small plate menu earlier this month.

After that, we could go a lot of different directions. A lot of people swear by 10 Barrel, as evidenced by the fact that they are at capacity on a lot of nights. And they have upgraded their brewers and beer quality and creativity this year. After a couple of trips to Silver Moon of late, I think they might be the most underrated brewery in town. They just won some medals at the Great American Beer Festival, and they are making some excellent beers right now. And Bend Brewing Company makes some excellent brew as well. We're not quite ready to put Good Life, a new brewery that opened on Century Drive this summer, in the conversation with the rest of these yet, like the blog post above did.

Anyway, how would you rank Bend's breweries? Comment on the blog, send us an e-mail (bendbeerblog@gmail.com), tweet us (@bendbeerblog), or just find us at a local watering hole.

Behind the scenes of this year's Jubelale art

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:15:00 +0000

If you're a Bend beer geek, you probably already know that Deschutes comes up with original artwork each year to adorn the Jubelale label and the boxes it is distributed in. If you've been on the brewery tour (at least the last time I was on it) you could see many of the past renditions.

Anyway, we came across this video on the creation of this year's artwork, and we thought we would share.

You can also check out the Central Oregon artists responsible for this year's art, Cara Thayer and Louie Van Patten, here.

It's not about feminism or equality.... It's about The Love of Beer

noreply@blogger.com (Rae Amelia) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:19:00 +0000

Being a woman interested in craft beer, I wanted to get the word out about the weekend happenings at Goodlife Brewing. GoodLife Brewing will be showing the premiere of The Love of Beer, a documentary about the women of the Northwest Craft Brewing Industry (including a few award winning Bend Brewmasters). Showings are at 6pm and 8pm on both Friday and Saturday. Looks like a great flick. You can view a preview below. Cheers!

Hop Valley going to cans

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 04:17:00 +0000

Nice article here from the Register Guard about Springfield's Hop Valley Brewing Co. going to cans. Gotta think it's just a matter of time before one of the breweries here in Bend jumps into the new and exotic world of canning.

GABF tasting at The Brew Shop/Platypus Pub

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 04:18:00 +0000

On Wednesday, The Brew Shop/Platypus Pub will hold its second annual Great American Beer Festival Tasting. The tasting consists of the beers The Brew Shop carries that medaled at this year's GABF. The brew shop/bar says they should have between 15 and 20 samples to choose from. Tastings are $1 per 4 oz. sample. From the announcement:

Please join us Wednesday, October 19th from 4:00 to 6:00 for our second annual Great American Beer Festival (GABF) Tasting. For those of you that didn't make it last year, what the tasting consists of is tasting the beers that we carry that won a medal at this years GABF. We also could be lucky enough to have the local brewers who won medals but do not bottle let us sample their winners.

Here's a link to this year's GABF winners.

Cascade Lakes isn't modest about its new beer offering

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 08:23:00 +0000

When you read a tweet like this (posted by Cascade Lakes Brewing), you have to be intrigued, right?

Just popped a Slippery Slope tasty winter ale. Maybe the best beer we have ever made. SNAP

You obviously can't break out the "best beer we have ever made" line all the time, or else you risk looking pretty silly. So we imagine Cascade Lakes isn't pulling our chain.

Here's what they have to say about Slippery Slope (6.4%, 50 IBUs):

Our full-bodied ale uses crystal malt and generous amounts of cascade hops to produce a well-balanced seasonal ale. So, whether your slippery slope is a mountain or your sidewalk, this ale makes an excellent companion.

Sounds like a trip the Lodge is in order. We'll report back when we have tried this out.

Fresh hop beers, take two

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:52:00 +0000

James Williams (writer for The Source and one of the original BBB'ers) wrote an excellent piece on fresh hop beers, what they are, what they taste like, and who makes them around here.

http://www.tsweekly.com/culture/features/fresh-hop-madness-seasonal-fresh-hop-beers-sure-are-delicious-but-what-are-they-exactly.html

According to the Deschutes Web Site, you'll actually be able to get Fresh Hop Mirror Pond all the way through December. Unless people drink it really fast. Amazingly, there are already a few dozen reviews of FHMP at Beer Advocate; it's currently graded at B+.

And a couple days ago I had Double Mountain's Fresh Hop Killer Red ... I think that was the first red fresh hop variant I had. It was good, although other than the color I would have had a hard time distinguishing as a red beer. Like most fresh hop beers, you get the aroma immediately, and while it's hoppy, it does so without being overly bitter.

Any fresh hop beers that you really like and think we should try? Let us know before Beau and I move on to dark beers for the fall/winter.

Fresh hop beer tasting from Deschutes

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 07:27:00 +0000

If you have like fresh hop beer and you have $40, an event from Deschutes Brewery looks like a no-brainer.

Held at the Mountain Room at the Deschutes facility on Simpson Ave. on Saturday, Oct. 22, the event features tapas paired with a variety of fresh hop beers.

The beers served include (all fresh hop versions) Oktoberfest, Chainbreaker White IPA, Inversion IPA, Mirror Pond, Spencer's Gold, Twilight Summer Ale, and Hop Trip. You can get more details on the event and the full menu here.

I am not a math whiz, but that's a lot of beer and food for $40.

Pumpkin beer on its way at 10 Barrel

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 06:31:00 +0000

One thing that breweries don't do enough of? Put pumpkins in beers.

We at the BBB are excited to try a new beer that's on the way at 10 Barrel. If we deciphered this Facebook post correctly, it's called "Ping Pong." Or it's called something else, and Ping Pong is a mysterious brewing term we've never heard of:

Bobby drove out to the farm this morning and picked up his Pumpkins and 100 lbs of brown sugar for the "Ping Pong" this morning!

And this one really whetted our appetite:

Had to go into the brewery yesterday to pickup some kegs and when I opened the door the whole brewery smelled like pumpkin pie..Can't wait to try the beer! Good Job boy's, proud of ya!

I like good fruity beers that aren't overpoweringly fruity (i.e. Sam Adams' Cherry Wheat; they actually make a pumpkin ale occasionally, but I've never had it.). And I love desserts with pumpkin. Here's hoping 10 Barrel's effort is a winner.