Bend Beer – the photos – Part 1
Book Review – Bend Beer: A History of Brewing in Central Oregon
I read a lot. And I read a lot of beer books. What I have come to appreciate are the histories of the craft beer movement. Be it of a style, a brewery, or going up a rung, the larger, beer scene of a region.
Bend Beer – A History of Brewing in Central Oregon slots into that last history as author Jon Abernathy starts at the beginning of beer in Central Oregon and takes us up to just about before the sale of 10 Barrel Brewing to SABInBev.
Abernathy, the blogger behind the Brewsite beer blog has a tricky territory to cover. The City of Bend plus Sisters and Redmond just don’t have a lot of meat on the bone in regards to beer history. Partly due to population and also prohibition, the heat doesn’t really rise until the first mention of Deschutes Brewing.
Once that happens you almost need a genealogical chart to map out which people left Black Butte Porter behind and what brewery they started. For the most part, Abernathy doesn’t lose you in all of what I call the “begats”, the biblical dead spots where we learn who everyone’s ma and pa is.
It is fascinating to see how each brewery got started. Though I would have liked to see more about how the city and community played a part in the brewing evolution. Was Bend amenable politically to craft beer? Did they make it easy to open up shop? What beers did the people of Bend gravitate towards? Is there a discernible Bend terroir?
Unfortunately, Abernathy has already spent 1/2 the book before even getting to Gary Fish and Deschutes. But that is also the strength of the book, I am reeled in and want to know more and more. Let’s hope an updated version is around the corner.
Crux in L.A.
I would have thought that, by now, if a Bend, Oregon brewery was appearing on shelves here in Los Angeles, that it would be 10 Barrel. What with their mad money from St. Louis via Belgium and Brazil.
But no, it is Crux Fermentation with their beautiful designed labels and intriguing Belgian/American beers that has shown up first. There are a few breweries in Oregon that I feel that I NEED to visit but are located in a part of the state that takes some traveling to get to. Ale Apothecary, Terminal Gravity and first on the list is Crux, so this distribution news makes me very happy indeed.
(I found a couple choices at Select Beer in Redondo Beach but bottles can be had at finer shoppes like Sunset Beer and Southland Beer too.)
Review – Two IPA’s from Crux Fermentation Project
When you get a WOW! beer. You just can’t get enough. I review many beers on this blog but very few make me go WOW! Off Leash from Crux Fermentation Project is such a beer.
A mega amount of Belgian Farmhouse funk is here but it doesn’t overwhelm like it can. Why? The hops are right there. Fruit and mango and pineapple in abundance. Then there is a spice note that is just as strong. And yet, it works. Despite having three major competitive forces. Which is usually a death knell for a beer.
This beer makes me want to find any other beer with a combination of Crystal, Citra and Centennial hops.
I am a cat person but the dogs and bones on this label might change me. The beer is that good.
And since, Off Leash was so good, the next night I uncapped the Outcast IPA in search of another hop experience and I got it. A notch or two below but since that is in comparison to a WOW! beer that is still pretty darn good. Lots of grape notes here. Almost Concord-y in intensity. The bitterness is a lighter shade to my overworked palate but it is still a zippy beer. The Galaxy hops come through with flavor and aroma and the bitterness doesn’t fight the malt but work as an undercurrent to it.
Both beers show a deft touch for balancing flavors and I wish I had bought more. ‘Cause I got no bottles left.
Review – Worthy Pale from Worthy Brewing
Love the neon green pull tab on the can as well as the directives, “drink”, “tote”, “share”, and “rotating around the top of the can. Crazy to think of how many breweries are in Bend along with today’s beer from Worthy Brewing. This American pale ale pours a bright orange with a thin head. At first it tastes more of the XPA mold than pale. But with the fluid (pun intended) way brewers pick styles that is not a big shock. Wheat and small citrus aroma here which follows through to the taste. As it warms though, more tangerine notes start plucking my tastebuds. There are some bread notes at the back too.
Big thanks to my mom for providing this can to me. Always good to have a source for Pacific NW beers in SoCal.
A Hitch in my Giddy Up
Hands down winner of best beer label design and also winner of (the probably) most costly label award to (for cutting out the arrows) are from Crux Fermentation Project and another cool label is ready for the Mosaic IPA (imperialized) which they describe as….”Hops climb up twine that’s just loosely tied to the trellis with a half hitch knot— and this Imperial IPA is just loosely tied to tradition. The Mosaic hop imparts surprisingly floral aromas instead of the more expected grapefruit-y notes. On the palate, complex layers of flavors might remind you of guava, mango, stone fruit and lemon, unraveling your idea of what an Imperial IPA should be.”
Video Review – Double Cross from Crux Fermentation Project
When in Portland recently, I picked up my first (well designed) bottles from Crux Fermentation in Bend, Oregon. Here, is my review of the Double Cross, a strong Belgian dark….
Here is the description from the Crux website, “Crux’s interpretation of a Strong Dark Belgian Ale is a blend of Belgium malts, Belgium dark candi sugar, Oregon Sterling hops and Yakima Delta hops for flavors that are deceptively sweet and innocent.”
Video Review – Impasse Saison from Crux Fermentation Project
When in Portland recently, I picked up my first (well designed) bottles from Crux Fermentation in Bend, Oregon. Here, is my review of the Impasse Saison….
Here is the description from the Crux website, “Saison, French for season, was traditionally brewed during the harvest season for Belgian Farm workers. With the harvest season upon us, we bring to the table our Saison, teasing with hints of citrus and spices. Hops and malt are well-balanced and layered with just a touch of sourness.”
The Growler Guys
We all know that southern California and Los Angeles in particular is a car intensive culture. We measure time and not miles. We speak fluent highway numbers. And yet, for a autopia, we have no place that combines filling stations that do both gas and beer.
That is why I fervently hope that the Growler Guys head to LA. Where are they now? Bend, Oregon.
Do you want Chimay Tripel while you fill your Camry? Good Life Sweet as Pacific Hybrid Beer while you top off your Prius? Or maybe something from Deschutes?
And if that is not enough, read on and be amazed as I was….”When you pull your vehicle up to the pump, an extremely friendly looking person in an old fashioned, white gas attendant’s uniform (hat included) comes running up to your window. All of the attendants are very polite when taking your fueling preferences; they always ask if you would like your tank topped off. While you wait for your tank to be filled, they clean your windshield and actually get every speck of debris off.”
Almost makes you want to move to Bend.