Where To Get The Best Beer In Bend Oregon

If you like beer and you happen to be traveling through the Central Oregon region, you'll be astounded at how unbelievably rich the area is with places to find beer. Bend, Oregon alone has 7 - yes 7 - world-class breweries and you can make a hobby out of checking out all the local brews.

If you add in the Sisters brewery (Three Creeks Brewery), which is roughly 21 miles from Bend, you now have 8 world-class breweries. Bend Oregon is one of the best places on earth to find beer!

Starting in June of this year, there has been a little 'game' going on in Bend called the Bend Ale Trail. If you love beer and you want to participate, make sure you pick up a Bend Discovery Map which will give you your 'official' passport. Collect the stamps as you visit each of the breweries and after collecting all 7, you can turn it in and win something. That something has not been specified, however, send your completed passport to the Visit Bend Welcome Center.

All 7 of Bend's breweries are located within a 4+ mile radius. Start at any brewery if you wish to participate in the Bend Ale Trail - or just take in the breweries as your time permits when visiting in Central Oregon. You can walk the Bend Ale Trail - or you can take the Bend Brewery Tour shuttle.

Come along on a little 'virtual' tour of Bend Oregon's 7 breweries - Bend Brewing Company, Boneyard Beer Company, Cascade Lakes Brewing Company and Lodge, Deschutes Brewery, McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Silver Moon Brewing, and 10 Barrel Brewing.

Bend Brewing Company is located on the Deschutes River and the pub has a view of the Deschutes as it meanders past. They open at 11:30 daily for lunch, offer specials daily and half-price appetizers 4-6 daily and 9 to close.

Their pub fare features salads, sandwiches, pasta and steaks. It's a great place to stop in for a brew or lunch or dinner.

Bend Brewing Company is famous for these great signature beers:

• High Desert - Hefeweizen - wheat ale with a malty flavor and low in hops
• Metolius - Golden ale, almost a lager; fruity and low in hops - 2010 bronze medal
• Elk Lake IPA - more of a bitter beer with more hops - most popular beer
  
• Outback - old golden ale - malty, flavor of caramel and raisins
• Pinnacle - porter - darkest beer

Seasonal beers offered by Bend Brewing Company:

• Big Eddy - several times per year - bitter beer
• Paulina - pale summer ale
• Hop Head - Imperial India pale ale in late summer - 2008 bronze metal winner

Bend Brewing Company's awards:

* 2008 World Beer Cup Gold Medal - Outback X & Black Diamond Dark Lager

* 2008 World Beer Cup - Small Brew-pub and Brewmaster of the Year

* 2009 GABF silver medal - Outback X

* 2010 World Beer Cup gold Medal - Outback X

* 2010 NABAA bronze medals - Outback X, Metolius Golden Ale and Dry Irish Stout

Boneyard Beer Company is a relatively new brewery to the scene in Bend and is in the process of collaborating with several breweries that helped them get up and running. They actually named the brewery Boneyard because they went into business with the equipment resurrected from other breweries, although the original name was to be Brewtal.

At present, Boneyard Beer is working to introduce Central Oregon to Three Floyds Beer, which is a popular Indiana beer. They are hoping to begin distributing this popular beer from the Midwest soon.

The brewery is open to taste testing and through the Bend Ale Trail, they have been steadily building up quite a few followers. They hope to produce 1000 barrels this first year, having just opened in May. (As a comparison, Deschutes Brewery last year put out roughly 220,000 barrels.) Boneyard Beer is young and even though the market is very tight in terms of competition here in the Bend area, it looks like they will do well.

The brewery is located on Hill Street where it intersects with the Bend Parkway. There is no pub and the brewery distributes its black and white labeled beer to bars and restaurants throughout the area. So far, it's been a hit.

Growlers (US half gallon used to transport beer) are available for $6.00 and taste testers are always welcome.

Boneyard is so far known for its beer called GIRL, which is a light ale that is flavored with cherry puree. They also have an IPA, a pale ale and a bourbon barrel black 13.

Cascade Lakes Brewing Company produces many different beers that are popular on tap as well as in the bottle. They have several locations around Central Oregon to serve you.

They have many pubs as you can see from the list below and they are all excellent spots for lunch, dinner or just a beer. They are located throughout Central Oregon and check out their menus at each location. They serve the typical pub offerings although some locations serve up nightly specials such as tacos and other selected menu items.

Here's a list of their traditional beers:

• Blonde Bomb Shell - a light ale and their most popular beer - started out as a seasonal beer but was so popular it is now a standard - voted BEST BEER 2010
  
• Rooster Tail Ale - this was the flagship beer made in 1994 - a golden ale that is really popular in Central Oregon
• Monkey Face Porter - a medium porter with a hint of chocolate - full bodied beer
• Pine Marten Pale Ale - a medium bodied pale ale
  
• 20" Brown - medium bodied malt beer - named after the brown trout
• IPA - traditional American style India pale ale
• Angus MacDougals - malty amber ale

Seasonal beers:

• Skookum Creek Strong
• Paulina Lake Pilsner
• Runaway Imperial IPA
• Kolsch
• Bald Mountain Bock
• River Side Red
• Santa's Little Helper
• Waist Deep Weiss

Check out Cascade Lakes Brewing Company at the following locations throughout Central Oregon - great food and great beer!

• Red Dog Depot (Redmond, OR)
• Cascade Lakes Brewing Company and Lodge (Bend, OR)
• 7th Street Brew 7 House (Redmond, OR)
• Cascade West Grub and Ale House (Bend, OR)
• Tumalo Tavern (Tumalo, OR)
  

The Deschutes Brewery has been producing quality beers since 1988. Visit their location in Bend and also their pub in Portland, Oregon. Their menu is typical pub food, concentrating on burgers, sandwiches, salads and soups but they are masters at creating delicious food to accompany their also delicious beers!

The Deschutes Brewery is one of the most popular pubs in Bend and during the good weather, outside seating is available as well. Open 7 days per week, you can find a table from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11:00 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays, and 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Sundays.

Deschutes Brewery makes the these standard beers year round:

• Black Butte Porter - chocolate-like dark beer
  
• Mirror Pond Pale Ale - American pale ale
  
• Inversion IPA - soft caramel flavor with citrus undertones
  
• Obsidian Stout - smooth, black beer - espresso like in flavor
  
• Green Lakes Organic Ale - amber ale - 100% organic
  
• Cascade Ale - a citrus flavored light ale
  
• Bachelor ESB - English style beer, extra bitter

Try one of their extremely popular seasonal beers:

• Red Chair NWPA
• Twilight Ale
• Jubeale

Deschutes Brewery also has 3 Bond Street Series beers available at certain months of the year only at the Bond Street Pub

• Hop Henge IPA (January through April)
• Hop in the Dark (May through September)
• Hop Trip (October through December)

They also have a Reserve Series:

• Black Butte XXI - porter that is available in small quantities on tap
• The Abyss Imperial Stout
• Mirror Mirror - pale ale
• The Dissident - brown ale
  

McMenamins Old St. Francis School is a great place to visit - not only for the beer but also for the food and the entertainment! McMenamins also sports its own movie theater as well as several bars.

Since they are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, McMenamins is a great place for families. You can also rent rooms and cottages! McMenamins is the whole experience.

Their menus are enormous and offer just about everything you can imagine. You can also find many McMenamins pubs in Washington and Oregon.

In Bend, during good weather, there is ample outside seating - stop in for a burger and a brew!

Enjoy some of McMenamins famous beers:

• Black Rabbit Porter - American porter
• Hammerhead Ale - American pale ale
• India Pale Ale - American IPA
• Irish Stout - Irish dry stout
• Kris Kringle - winter beer
• Kolsch - German style beer
• Lucky Charms Irish Red - Irish red ale
• Milk Stout - sweet stout
• Nebraska Bitter - American blonde ale
• Purple Haze - boysenberry beer
• Ruby Ale - fruit and vegetable beer
• Scarecrow ESB - extra strong bitter ESB
• Sleepy Hollow Nut Brown - English brown ale
• Terminator Stout - American stout
• Workingman's Red - American amber red ale
  

Silver Moon Brewing is located on Highway 20 in downtown Bend (Greenwood Avenue).

This is a brewery that you'd almost miss if you didn't know where it was but that doesn't mean it isn't a great place to grab dinner or a brew. Hours are Monday through Saturday noon to 11:00 p.m. and Sundays noon until 8:00 p.m.

Live entertainment is held at Silver Moon Brewing 3-5 nights per week. You can also play pool and foosball for free!

The menu is mostly pizzas, sandwiches and typical pub food. All the better to go along with the delicious beers.

Silver Moon Brewing has been brewing since 2005; here are their standard beers:

• Bridge Creek Pilzner - Czech style lager
• Hounds Tooth Amber - flagship ale
• Snake Bite Porter - English style porter
• Badlands Bitter - bitter ale
• Hop Knob IPA - Northwest style IPA

For Silver Moon seasonal beers, try some of the following:

• Brown Eyes Ale (February and March) - brown ale
• Nekkid Creeper (November and December) - golden beer
• Dagger Dark Lager (January and February) - American dark lager
• Winter Moon IPA (December and January) - English darker IPA
• Dark Side Stout (November through January) - medium stout
• Hoptygon Imperial IPA (March and April) - Northwest IPA
• Epic Trail Ale (April through June) - rye-based pale ale
• Saison de Moon (April through June) - farmhouse ale
  

Silver Moon brews are available in kegs, growlers and bottles. Also served in several restaurants in Bend.

The 10 Barrel Brewing Company is another of the fine local brewing companies here in Bend, Oregon. Check out their brew pub.

The pub is open Sunday through Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11:00 a.m. to midnight.

The 10 Barrel Brewing Company arrived on the scene in 2006 and after success in the brewing arena, decided to open a brew pub. Situated on Galveston in Bend, the 10 Barrel offers a spacious patio for outdoor seating complete with a fire pit and also offers indoor pub style spacious areas of seating in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

The menu offers the usual pub grub but also has 10 pizzas on the menu as well as daily specials, ample soups and salads to choose from as well as sandwiches - even macaroni and cheese. It's a great place to stop in for lunch or dinner and enjoy their special beers.

10 Barrel makes the following beers in their 10 Series:

• 10 Barrel Summer Ale
  
• 10 Barrel Pale Ale
• S1NISTOR Black Ale
• Apocalypse IPA
• Coming soon - the Revolution Series
  

10 Barrel Brewing pictures by written permission (Chris Cox) of 10 Barrel Brewing

McMenamins Old St. Francis School picture by written permission (Liz Devine, McMenamins photographer)

In short, there is no shortage of places to find and enjoy the best beer in Bend, Oregon. I hope you have a chance to experience some of the local brews as they truly are wonderful.

Many of these brews are found in the supermarkets here in Oregon and some in other states as well.

If you get the chance, stop in for a great bite to eat and a brew and see if you don't agree - these are the best beers to be found in Bend!