Zwickelmania, the annual Oregon-wide celebration of its wondrous beer and brewery scene, is coming next month. Why the early notice? Because with the way the 2017 version of this celebration is set up, Bendites may want to consider organizing a weekend trip to Portland for it. An annual event since 2009, Zwickelmania is a one-day […]
Kevin Gifford
Posted inFood & Drink
Vermont: The Beer Mountain State
Where Boneyard rubs shoulders with Hill and Heady
On a tour of U.S. craft beer, it seems that Central Oregon and Vermont are far more alike than different. Vermont state, for one, is laden with natural beauty. Tourists flock to it during the summer months, and the Subaru ownership rate is through the roof. Maybe that’s why beer from Bend and the rest […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Beer in the OG Portland
Maine turning into a beer powerhouse
On a tour of U.S. beer, you can’t get much farther away (in miles) than this Northeast city. In terms of beer quality, however, Portland sticks close. Portland, the largest city in Maine, shares quite a bit in common with Bend (which it is slightly smaller than, population-wise). They are both rather remote large towns, […]
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Where American Drinking Has Always Been Great
On a tour of U.S. beer, Philly has long been a winner
Philadelphia is a boozy town. It’s been that way at least as far back as when Founding Father and craft cider nerd Benjamin Franklin wrote, “There cannot be good living where there is not good drinking.” The love for imbibing is symbolized by the Mummers Parade, the Mardi Gras-like string-band and public-intoxication festival that kicks […]
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Best New Brews of 2016
New styles, old standbys
The year 2016 will go down as a year where the far-out varieties of the past are now indispensable. Wild fermentation and sour farmhouse ales used to be the domain of just a few outfits; now most craft joints will have at least some kind of kettle sour. When it comes to picking the best […]
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Our Friend, The Abyss
The stout of Oregon is back, with new variants
Can’t see your car under the snow? Must be time for The Abyss. One of Deschutes Brewery’s most well-known brands, the 11th edition of The Abyss barrel-aged imperial stout made its official debut last Friday at the Deschutes pubs on Bond Street and Portland’s Pearl District. It will eventually be shipped across the nation, from […]
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The Other Beer City USA
On a tour of U.S. beer, Grand Rapids stakes a claim
Many, many towns and municipalities across the US call themselves “Beer City” these days. During my travels around beer country, I still say Bend, of course, is the best one. (That statement’s in print, so it must be true.) The western Michigan city of Grand Rapids is the only one actively promoting “Beer City” as […]
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Land of the Spotted Cow
New Glarus: Only available in America’s Dairyland
Next up in beer reviewer Kevin Gifford’s beer trek across the nation: Wisconsin. It feels, in modern-day Bend (and Portland for that matter), that Boneyard’s RPM IPA is available at every establishment that has a liquor license. It’s ubiquitous. And across the entire state of Wisconsin—from the college bars of Madison to the rural supper […]
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Road Trip: Beer Where People Aren’t
Feel the need to roam? The Source’s beer guy heads across U.S. Route 2 and the Great Northern Plains
With any road trip, the emphasis rightly deserves to be on the roads taken. If time is abundant and solitude is one of the main priorities, there are few better options than U.S. Route 2, which starts outside Seattle, goes on until Ontario, and is mostly a barren two-lane blacktop in between. Spokane, covered here […]
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Going Inland
Breweries in Spokane worth exploring
When it comes to craft beer in the less-populated parts of Eastern Oregon, there isn’t much. Steens Mountain in Burns is one, a tiny outfit that received a glowing profile in BeerAdvocate magazine a few months ago. Beer Valley in Ontario, whose Leafer Madness IPA is a mainstay around Bend, is another. Otherwise, one might […]
