Let’s face it, 12 ounce bottled beers are an antiquated pain in the ass. Who wants to be 6 miles into an overnight cross-country ski trip and have your liquid rewards shift in your pack, stabbing you in the ribs for the next two hours?! And dropping one on the ground…good luck avoiding the laceration.

At the same time, old canned beer tasted like, well, crap. The first cans of beer were made from heavy gauge steel—go poke around in the old logging areas south of town and you may find one—and required a special tool to open. And what hit your lips tasted like licking the inside of a 50-gallon barrel, not the delicious—hoppy or not, depending on personal preference—nectar Benditos are accustomed to.

Many of our local breweries have canned their retail beers for years. Ironically, our very first brewery is now on board with the aluminum revolution. Starting later this month, Deschutes Brewery is piping its Mirror Pond, Pacific Wonderland and Fresh Squeezed IPA into lightweight cans.

“I think we may be the last brewery to put beer in cans, but hey, when you’re focus is all about making the beer damn tasty, new packaging may take a little longer,” said Michael LaLonde, president and CEO of Deschutes Brewery.

Some of the big players around Bend who currently can their products are: Silver Moon, GoodLife, Worthy, Crux, 10 Barrel and Three Creeks.

Deschutes is holding a can release celebration next weekend, if you're curious about how their beer tastes from a can.

Brew Bash 5000
Sat, Feb. 17, 5-9pm
Deschutes Brewery Bend Public House
1044 NW Bond Street, Bend

Anheuser-Busch today announced it has agreed to purchase Elysian Brewing Company, based in Seattle, Washington. For nearly 20 years, Elysian has brewed an award-winning portfolio of beers, including Immortal IPA and some of the industry’s most innovative and sophisticated brands.

“For two decades, we’ve welcomed guests into our brewpubs and served them creative and impeccably crafted beers,” said Joe Bisacca, Elysian ‎CEO and co-founder, who will continue with Elysian along with his partners, Dick Cantwell and David Buhler. “After a lot of hard work, we’ve grown from one Seattle brewpub to four pub locations and a production brewery. With the support of Anheuser-Busch, we will build on past successes and share our beers with more beer lovers moving forward.”

Dick Cantwell, Elysian co-founder and Head Brewer added, “Throughout our journey we’ve been focused on brewing a portfolio of both classic and groundbreaking beers and supporting innovation and camaraderie in the beer industry through collaboration and experimentation. By joining with Anheuser-Busch we’ll be able to take the next steps to bring that energy and commitment to a larger audience.”

Elysian sold more than 50,000 barrels of beer in 2014, with Immortal IPA accounting for more than a quarter of the company’s total volume.

“Elysian’s story includes everything we look for in a partner,” said Andy Goeler, CEO, Craft, Anheuser-Busch. “The team has spent their careers brewing distinctive beers in the thriving West Coast beer community and building unique venues that celebrate beer. As the fastest growing brewer in Washington, their recipe is working. Elysian’s brands are an important addition to our high-end beer portfolio, and we look forward to working together.”

In addition to the Seattle Airport Way brewery, the acquisition includes the company’s four Seattle brewpubs, Elysian Capitol Hill, Elysian Tangletown, Elysian Fields and Elysian BAR.

Anheuser-Busch’s purchase of Elysian is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2015. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

If you didn't spend your Memorial Day Weekend prepping your palate (and testing your tolerance) for Central Oregon's Third Annual Beer Week, you may want to start now. The Ale Apothecary gets the beer literally free-flowing tomorrow night at Crow's Feet Commons with samples of its hand-crafted, open fermentation brews including La Tache, Sahali and El Cuatro.

Once again, the Source is proud to break the news that Redmond is on the rise! On my drive back from Portland, I stopped at Wild Ride, the newly opened brewery on the north reach of town.
In a word: Great.
The owners/staff were friendly. It was relatively lively, with a few dozen people (impressive for a Sunday evening). It was a young and lively group, a few couples at the bar, several tables filled with chattering parties and an outdoor fire pit with a laughing and good-natured 20-something set.
The space is wide open, 25 foot ceilings with a garage door opening to an outside patio and another garage door opening to the brewery. There are 12 styles on tap. I only had one pint—the 3 Sisters Red—but also sampled the Fly P.A. (an India Pale Ale). (Hey, I was driving. How much do you want me to drink?) Smooth and forgiving on the bitterness, the red is an easy-drinking beer.
I’m telling you: Redmond, next “it” town.