Tag: Bend

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

Crux in L.A.

Capture
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.)

Posted on

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.

IMG_3002

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.

IMG_3017

Posted on

Review – Worthy Pale from Worthy Brewing

IMG_7636

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.

IMG_7637

Big thanks to my mom for providing this can to me.  Always good to have a source for Pacific NW beers in SoCal.

Posted on

A Hitch in my Giddy Up

CRUX-HH_Label_TTB

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.”

Posted on

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.”

Posted on

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.”