Not going to Oregon? Discover Bend’s ‘ale trail’ here at home
In a state known for great breweries, Bend has more breweries per capita than any other Oregon town — 22 at last count, which is roughly one brewery for every 3,700 people. I’ve been there several times, and I find the city very hard to leave. There’s so much to see and do there — and so much to taste.
The city has created a Bend Ale Trail, with a map and an app to help you find most of the town’s breweries. Visit 10 and get your passport stamped at each one, and there will be a prize waiting for you at the Bend Visitor Center. Of course, visiting breweries and pubs is its own prize, and I suggest you start with Bend Brewing Co., which is a great downtown brewpub, as are Silver Moon, Immersion Brewing and the Platypus Pub. For production breweries, try Boneyard Brewing or the GoodLife Brewing Company and Bierhall.
But if you can’t make it to Bend, don’t despair. Three of the best Bend breweries distribute here.
Deschutes is Bend’s oldest brewery. It was founded by California native Gary Fish in 1988, after he fell in love with the natural beauty of the Bend area. He named his brewpub after Central Oregon’s biggest river, the Deschutes. Deschutes made a splash early on with its best-selling Black Butte Porter. It’s unusual for a dark beer to be a brewery’s flagship, but it’s that good. Deschutes’ Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Obsidian Stout are also excellent. The brewery has just released its Hop Slice Summer Ale. (If you spot The Abyss or The Dissident, grab them. They’re part of the brewery’s reserve series and can be difficult to find.)
Bend’s 10 Barrel Brewing has been making great beer since it launched in 2006. The company has five locations now — including a recently opened pub in San Diego. A couple of years ago, the business sold to Anheuser-Busch InBev, which produced some backlash, but the founders are all still there, and the beer tastes every bit as good as it did before. Tonya Cornett, 10 Barrel’s R&D brewmaster and, full disclosure, a good friend of mine, made a name for herself at Bend Brewing, where she won numerous awards, including best brewery and brewmaster at the Great American Beer Festival. She was also one of the primary subjects in “The Love of Beer” documentary, which was released in 2011.
The 10 Barrel flagship is Apocalypse IPA, but Joe IPA and the highly drinkable Pub Beer are equally tasty. If you’re into sour beer, look for Cucumber Sour and Raspberry Sour, two lightly soured beers with loads of fruit flavor, and sold in cans. The company’s seasonal and specialty beers are finally starting to trickle into the Bay Area as well.
The third Bend brewery with beers popping up here is Crux Fermentation, which was founded by former Deschutes brewmaster Larry Sidor in 2012. Crux makes a wide variety of beers, all delicious. Look for them at Oakland’s The Good Hop, San Francisco’s City Beer Store and Menlo Park’s Willows Market. Not all of their beer is distributed in California, but you should be able to find Crux Pilz, Cast Out IPA, PCT Porter, Half Hitch — an Imperial Mosaic IPA — and Gimme Mo in cans.
Consider it a taste of Bend and an enticement to get up there soon and see what else awaits.