Drink: Board the Bend Brew Bus, and you can tour and sample the suds at four craft breweries.
Board the Bend Brew Bus for a tour of four breweries
BEND, OREGON » If you slipped on a banana peel in downtown Bend, chances are high that you would land smack-dab in a brewpub. With 22 breweries and counting — the highest per capita rate in Oregon — there are taphouses, brewpubs and beer gardens pretty much everywhere.
Silver Moon Brewing, just a shade away from downtown, is the third-oldest brewery here. That’s where we caught up with Erika Nuetzel from the Bend Brew Bus, which leads daily winter brew tours that take beer lovers through the offerings at four establishments. (Like many Bend-ites, Nuetzel doesn’t restrict herself to just one passion. She also leads snowshoe hikes on Mount Bachelor.)
At Silver Moon, she poured out three concoctions — a Hazy Susan IPA, Snakebite porter and a Betelgeuse — much to the delight of the enthusiastic tour group. We checked out the various rooms and equipment used in the brewing process, and had some time to inspect the branded clothing, hats, mugs and shot glasses, too.
Silver Moon prides itself on community involvement and philanthropic endeavors. Case in point: Its F* Cancer beer, whose proceeds go to the American Cancer Society and local charities. Its irreverent and touching website is worth a look. (Can’t get up to Bend? You’ll find select Silver Moon beers at locations in Marin and Sonoma counties.)
The Crux Fermentation Project
renovated an old transmission repair shop in a southwest Bend industrial park a few years back. Today, it’s an incredibly popular brewing and drinking spot, with an industrial-brewery chic with a little steampunk mixed in. Inside
the airy copper-accented pub, sunlight streams through the windows, illuminating the bar, benches and tables, and a collection of brew tanks.
You’ll find food carts, fire pits and an abundance of seating outside, where you can relax
and take in the sunset colors over the Cascade Range.
A small food menu complements the eclectic mix of brewed wonders. There are several IPAS and other ales, saison, Pilsner, porter and some stouts, but also some mysterious-tomost-people brews, including a grisette and an oud bruin with added Brettanomyces yeast. We sampled a special Lost Love Imperial Rye Stout — at 14% alcohol by volume, it will get your attention in a hurry.
Of course, you don’t have to join an organized tour to enjoy Bend’s sudsy scene. Set up your own do-it-yourself tour of Bend’s breweries by picking up a Bend Ale Trail passport and map at any of the 18 participating breweries or at the Bend Visitor Center. Get your passport stamped (no purchase necessary) at 10 of them and get a commemorative Silipint, a souvenir silicone cup.