The Pine Tavern restaurant in Bend is one of the city’s oldest continually-operating establishments, having been founded in 1936, and it has long been something of an iconic fixture of downtown Bend both for its longevity and also for the giant ponderosa pine tree growing up through the middle of the dining room. Having started in 1936 means that 2016 will be their 80th anniversary, and—in fitting Bend (or Oregon) fashion—they have decided to kick off celebrations with beer—their PT80 Beerfest Challenge.

(Quick disclosure, then the description about the event: they approached me for beer advice and to find out if I would be a judge for this challenge. Other than the chance to help judge a bunch of the region’s best IPAs, and drink a few free beers along the way, I am not receiving compensation. I am looking forward to the event however!)

This is taking place on Tuesday, September 29, starting at 2:30pm and into the evening; the gist is, they want to offer a special “PT80” beer exclusively on tap next year and have invited Central Oregon’s breweries to participate with their best IPAs. The winning IPA will get the coveted spot.

Here’s the press release:

The Pine Tavern Restaurant and Bar in Bend will host their first annual PT80 Beerfest Challenge on September 29, 2015 at 2:30 p.m. The event will launch their 80th birthday celebration with a beer garden, food, judging and a people’s choice award for the best IPA 2016. Sixteen Central Oregon breweries will be competing for the best IPA and judged by local celebrities and beer fans. The aim of the competition is to select a winning beer and brewery and celebrate and recognize the craft beer industry in Bend. In addition the Pine Tavern Restaurant and Bar will serve the award winning beer known as PT80, as its signature beer for the year 2016.

The competition will highlight the submitted beers for tasting and a panel of judges will deliver an independent, neutral and expert verdict on the craft beers. This bestows a high level of recognition upon the participation in the competition thereby giving recognition to the craft brew industry in Bend, the prize-winning product, and their producers.

In addition to the competition, the Pine Tavern will host a beer garden on the patio where the participating breweries will serve beer samples to the public. Tastings will be available for $10 which includes a souvenir pint glass and five tasting tokens. Event proceeds will benefit The Humane Society of Central Oregon. For more information and a list of participating breweries, visit pinetavern.com or https://www.facebook.com/PineTavern.

The 16 breweries involved are:

• Bend Brewing Company
• Boneyard Brewing
• Bridge 99 Brewery
• Cascade Lakes Brewing
• Deschutes Brewery
• GoodLife Brewing
• Juniper Brewing
• North Rim Brewing
• RiverBend Brewing
• Shade Tree Brewing
• Silver Moon Brewing
• Sunriver Brewing
• 10 Barrel Brewing
• Three Creeks Brewing
• Wild Ride Brewing
• Worthy Brewing

That’s a great representation of Central Oregon’s breweries and of course IPAs are always the popular beer in the bunch, so really there’s no better place anytime soon to try the majority of the local IPAs than at the Pine Tavern next Tuesday. So don’t miss out!

And, here’s the flyer as well: