Brian Yaeger

First there was the English India Pale Ale, clocking in around 5% alcohol and boasting a hop bill only nominally bigger than a pale ale. Once discovered by American microbrewies, it still took decades to ascend as the powerhouse style of craft beer. Ever since — American IPA merely became the largest category at the […]

Far be it for me or anyone to tell you what beer to drink and when. You want a double-digit ABV double IPA? Just know that the more alcohol you consume, the greater the risk of severe dehydration and, by extension, heat stroke you assume. Which is why the first hallmark of a good float […]

Last month, the married owners of Funky Fauna Artisan Ales, Michael Frith and Danielle Burns, shared on Instagram that after four years in business, they’re having a rough go even during summer’s high season in Bend’s hospitality industry. “We’ve experienced the slowest stretch in our li’l brewery’s history, including our slowest day on record.” To […]

When people compare the Oregon Beer Awards to the Academy Awards, given that it’s a night full of talented people earning well-deserved plaudits for their body of work the past year, what they leave out is that it’s like the entire Oscars experience. The sudsy equivalent of the red carpet is part and parcel of […]

To paraphrase the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “The only thing constant in life is change.” Some 2,500 years later, his musings describe the state of beer here in Bend. It’s a city rich in craft brewing culture where Deschutes Brewery is one of the nation’s oldest and largest breweries, but beyond that monolith, everything is in […]

When Wild Ride Brewing in Redmond created the inaugural PorterMania — a celebration of dark, roasty, seasonally-appropriate ales — in 2018, Nut Crusher Peanut Butter Porter was just catching on en route to it being a flagship brand today. “The interest and hope was to put on a unique but exciting beer festival that could […]

In the aftermath of the mass shooting in Sydney, Australia’s famed Bondi Beach that claimed 15 lives and injured 40 more during a Hanukkah celebration — making it the second deadliest massacre in the country’s history — local Sunriver Brewing Company realized its popular Bondi Beach Party IPA could be associated with the slaughter because […]

There are two kinds of gifts: things and experiences. The beauty of gifting someone a mug club membership is that you’re giving them both (tangible or, rather, drinkable beer plus the mug itself and perhaps some swag, as well as the community and comradery that is baked into the membership. It was when I’d run […]

Five medals from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) were awarded to Bend’s new UPP Liquids en route to being named Best Brewery of the Year in the 251-500 barrel class. But locals are the real winners. Some 8,315 brews were submitted to GABF, America’s most auspicious beer competition, where 250 of the world’s most […]