The Brew Site
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 … Continue reading
What started in 2009 as a small, local beer festival with a unique angle—all wood-aged beers—is back for its seventh year, taking place in Bend September 4th and 5th—The Little Woody Barrel Aged Beer, Cider & Whiskey Fest. The name has expanded along with the festival; when it originally started, it … Continue reading
The Bend Brewfest returns again this year and for the first time adds a fourth day to its schedule. It starts this Thursday, August 13 and runs through Sunday, August 16. Here’s a quick breakdown by the numbers: 71 breweries, cideries, meaderies, and wineries listed Over 170 different libations will … Continue reading
Word of the latest brewery-in-planning to come to Bend, Oregon, has hit the streets in earnest within the past week or so: Immersion Brewing, which will combine a Brew-It-Yourself setup allowing people to come in and brew their own beer in the you-brew model along with a 10-barrel brewing system and … Continue reading
This Saturday, January 17, in Bend, Oregon is the second annual High Gravity Extravaganza hosted by McMenamins Old St. Francis School—a mini-brewfest celebration of high gravity (strong) beers, featuring 22 breweries in all—10 McMenamins breweries, and 12 Central Oregon breweries. The Extravaganza runs from 1pm until 10pm, with brewers on … Continue reading
Chalk up another mark as to why Bend and Central Oregon’s beer culture is great: the High Desert Museum has a new exhibit opening this weekend—Brewing Culture: The Craft of Beer, which will be open for 19 weeks through Memorial Day. Oregonians love their stouts, ales and IPAs, and no Oregon … Continue reading
Monday I had a chance to meet with Kirk Meckem and Todd Clement of Bend’s newest brewery, Monkless Belgian Ales, find out a bit about their plans, and taste a couple of their beers. I wrote a short introductory piece about them two weeks ago, which outlined the basics: one-barrel brew system, … Continue reading
Later this month, Bend’s newest brewery is set to start selling its beer: Monkless Belgian Ales. Founded by partners Kirk Meckem and Todd Clement, they just got their brewery licensed and plan to brew only Belgian-styled ales on a one-barrel system. Kirk Meckem reached out to me to let me know … Continue reading
I am thrilled and proud to announce that my first book, Bend Beer: A History of Brewing in Central Oregon, is officially released today! (I say officially though I know it has already been available for pre-order online—and Amazon.com had already shipped a few out.) Published by the History Press, … Continue reading
Central Oregon’s largest beer festival, the Bend Brewfest, returns this week for three full days: Thursday through Saturday, the 14th through 16th. It runs from noon to 11pm each day (the first year it does that—previous years the first day started at 3pm or so), and takes place as always … Continue reading