Kevin Gifford, Author at The Source - Bend, Oregon

Resurrection of Ancient Beer Ghosts

Rhinegeist in Cincinnati sets up shop in a 19th-century brew factory

Kevin GiffordJanuary 7, 2015January 5, 2023

When the taxi drops you off at the Rhinegeist Brewery, in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, you’re greeted by an unadorned doorway and a fairly nondescript sign. Walk in and climb the three flights of stairs to the entrance, though, and you’re rewarded with an awe-inspiring sight—a massive, high-ceilinged, wide open space, easily the […]

Food & Drink

God’s Own 4.0 Percent Beer

Great beer thrives in Salt Lake City, despite it all

Kevin GiffordDecember 31, 2014January 19, 2025

To start the New Year, our beer reviewer is filing reviews from his road trip. This stop: Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1823, Joseph Smith was visited by the angel Moroni, who led him to ancient writings that would eventually form the content of the Book of Mormon. “Come unto Christ,” Moroni says in the book, […]

Food & Drink

Five Best New Bend Beers of 2014

Kevin GiffordDecember 17, 2014April 4, 2024

10 Barrel Jamaican Me Pumpkin Worthy of note both for symbolism (it was 10 Barrel’s last seasonal release before the AB-Inbev buyout) and for its irresistible mix of pumpkin spice and rum flavors. A masterpiece of barrel aging. Bend Brewing Co. Salmonberry Sour It’s a tight contest these days, but this flavorful yet approachable beer […]

Food & Drink

10 Barrel Conquers Idaho

Its brewpub is front and center in Boise’s beer boom

Kevin GiffordDecember 17, 2014November 29, 2023

If you haven’t taken the hilly, mostly barren journey to Boise lately, you might be surprised at how huge the local beer scene has become. From old standbys like Sockeye to newer outfits like Payette and Crooked Fence—both available around Bend—there’s truly something for everyone. The selection’s constantly growing, too: Haff Brewing debuted in Boise […]

Food & Drink

Winter Just Got A Bit More Sour

Tillamook’s de Garde Brewery officially touches down in Bend

Kevin GiffordDecember 10, 2014June 5, 2024

After nearly a year and a half, de Garde Brewing is finally beginning to distribute bottles to Bend on a regular basis. If this doesn’t mean anything to you, prepare to be soured on their beer…in a deliciously good way. Run by the husband-and-wife team of Trevor Rogers and Linsey Hamacher, de Garde launched last […]

Food & Drink

Oregon Beer: Big in Japan

Japanese and American craft brewers make drinking an adventure across the Pacific

Kevin GiffordDecember 3, 2014November 12, 2023

Thanks to its coastal proximity, the beer produced by Oregon’s breweries has fans in remarkably faraway places—even in Japan, which is currently experiencing a small but growing beer boom of its own. “Craft beer fans are pretty unique people,” says Keiji Nishio, owner of the Dig Beer Bar in the freewheeling Japanese city of Osaka. […]

Food & Drink

A Small Slice of Belgium in Bend

Monkless Belgian Ales offers fresh beer styles to adventurous drinkers

Kevin GiffordNovember 26, 2014February 19, 2025

One of the glorious personality traits about Central Oregon’s beer scene is its sheer inclusiveness. On one extreme, you have massive production facilities capable of producing tens of thousands of barrels per year—to say nothing of AB InBev’s recent foray into our collective doorstop. On the other, you have breweries that literally consist of a […]

Food & Drink

Another Trip Down the Abyss

Deschutes’ 2014 imperial stout release strikes gold again

Kevin GiffordNovember 19, 2014February 5, 2024

As the days grow shorter and Third Street grows icier and more pockmarked by the hour, the sophisticated Pacific Northwest drinker’s thoughts naturally turn toward The Abyss. Deschutes Brewery’s intensely flavorful Russian imperial stout has the power to get beer nerds lining up at liquor stores from L.A. to Philadelphia, but we in Bend don’t […]

Food & Drink

Five Predictions for the New 10 Million Barrel

Or how I learned to stop worrying and love the sellout

Kevin GiffordNovember 11, 2014July 7, 2024

“We definitely understand that the first reaction is shock,” 10 Barrel co-founder Chris Cox told the Source last week, the very day the brewery’s sale to Anheuser-Busch InBev was revealed. “But,” he added, “we really believe this partnership is the best thing going forward.” The response from many craftheads across Oregon was, “Yeah, right.” But […]

Food & Drink

IPA Wars: Oregon Versus…Cleveland?

Fat Head’s brings competition to Bend beer’s Portland invasion

Kevin GiffordNovember 5, 2014July 2, 2024

Since the original announcement in April, Portlanders have been salivating with excitement for the new 10 Barrel location coming to the Pearl District, only a few minutes’ walk from Deschutes Brewery’s own Portland mega-pub. They will have to continue salivating. 10 Barrel’s still busily renovating the old Mellow Mushroom pizzeria at NW 14th and Flanders; […]

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