Bending an elbow in downtown Bend
BEND, OREGON >> With its mountains and rivers, Central Oregon is a popular spot with skiers, kayakers, hikers and fishermen — and beer lovers, too. With 22-plus breweries, Bend has more brewing companies per capita than any other Oregon town, with roughly one brewery for every 3,600 people.
One of Bend’s best breweries is also its oldest. Deschutes Brewery (deschutesbrewery.com) was founded in 1988 by Gary Fish, a California native who fell in love with the area and named his brewery and brewpub after Central Oregon’s biggest river.
Deschutes made a name for itself early on with its bestselling Black Butte Porter, but it’s gone on to make other great beers, from Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Obsidian Stout to the just-released Hopzeit Autumn IPA. Deschutes’ holiday Jubelale uses a different recipe each year.
The brewery has expanded several times to keep up with growing demand and it’s well worth taking a tour. Four tours are offered daily — two for walk-in guests and two that can be booked ahead online — which depart from the Deschutes tasting room. The tour includes complimentary beer samples afterward.
Of course, that’s not the only way to enjoy Deschutes’ beer when you’re in Bend. The original brewery is now the Deschutes Brewery and Public House in downtown Bend, where there is plenty to do, see and taste. The brewpub offers a full menu of delicious fare alongside Deschutes’ most popular brews, including half a dozen special releases brewed exclusively for the public house. The most popular of those pub-only beers are bottled in limited release for Deschutes’ Bond Street Series — the pub, which is open daily, is at 1044 N.W. Bond St., hence the name. Going to the brewpub gives you a chance to vote on which ones you like, and up the odds of your favorites being available to buy at home.
Just a few blocks from the Deschutes Public House, where the Deschutes River forms Mirror Pond, you’ll find the Bend Brewing Co. (bendbrewingco.com), another great brewpub with a full menu and award-winning beers. Head in the opposite direction and you’ll find Silver Moon Brewing (silvermoonbrewing.com). (It’s next to a laundromat, of all things. Having access to 16 taps of beer while we waited for our clothes to tumble dry was a pretty perfect use of our time.) And the McMenamins Old St. Francis School brewpub is also in walking distance.
This is a bustling beer town, so if you have a car, be sure to visit Boneyard Beer, 10 Barrel Brewing, GoodLife Brewing Co. and Crux Fermentation, too.