Bend Beer – the recap

I had been to Bend way back in college days. Back when Deschutes was probably the only game in town.

Now it is a major beer city. Warranting it’s own line in the Beer Advocate places in Oregon.

My goal was to check out Crux Fermentation and Ale Apothecary. And from there, everything else would be gravy. I got one out of two and the gravy.

Before I got to Bend, I so had to stretch my legs from the long drive from Portland, so I stopped in at the Sister’s Saloon and enjoyed a Boneyard staple, RPM IPA. It was a great start to the Bend beer overview.

First stop was Crux where I ordered up two fresh hop beers. One a pale and the other a lager. Neither struck me well though the bumping crowd with barely a seat to spare seemed to be enjoying the nice selection of beers on offer. I had better luck with their Sonoma charity IPA which had a really layered bitter flavor. The location is typical for a brewpub. Industrial area with food trucks nearby that is slowly gentrifying around it.

I sampled two beers from the Old St. Francis where I was staying. The Backyard Special Bitter and Let’s IPA. The former was the clear winner though it would probably have been better to order something on the porter/stout or rauchbier tip to pair with the fire pits in the courtyard.

I missed out on Ale Apothecary. Limited hours and nothing on Sunday meant that I was not yet in town when it was open. But happily, GoodLife is right next door and I found a pair of fun beers in my sampler tray. Tossed a British IPA was nice and balanced. I also liked the Sour IPA – Secret Stash 004. And, of course, Sweet As was just that.

Two other notable stops to relate. Sunriver Brewing has a lovely spot on Galveston near Growler Phil’s (get it?) where I had my favorite of the trip a hazy DIPA, Parkes & Wreck. The best place to drink a beer was Bend Brewing which has basically a little park overlooking Mirror Pond. An extremely peaceful spot to enjoy a beer.

As is my usual, I missed more than I tried. I didn’t visit a bottle shop or the newer breweries. But it just means that I will have to go back.