Kevin Gifford
Posted inFood & Drink

Welcome to the Empire

Openings, closings, awards— and a shift in the nexus of Bend beer over the past year
Kevin Gifford

Yet again, it’s been a busy year for beer in Bend—one of the industries that makes the region an international destination, right alongside skiing, stand up paddle boarding and real estate speculation. Sunriver Brewing Company and Monkless Belgian Ales are the latest locals to achieve big-name awards, the former cleaning up at last fall’s Great […]

Posted inFood & Drink

Sour Beer Still Reigns

Examining Cascade’s Sour Fruit Fest
Kevin Gifford

Craft beer, like any type of food or drink, can often be subject to trends. Sometimes it’s really intense IPAs; sometimes thick, dark beers aged in this or that exotic barrel; sometimes a pale ale so laden with haze that it starts looking like a smoothie. (Even Samuel Adams is riding the hazy-IPA bandwagon these […]

Posted inFood & Drink

Coffee, Barley & Wild

Beers to watch for in February and beyond
Kevin Gifford

It’s wintry outside again (just in time for the end of February!), and as if on cue, breweries across the state of Oregon are preparing their offerings for the rest of the season and beyond. Given that it’s the darkest time of the year, thick concoctions from barrels dominate the scene—but take heart, for it’ll […]

Posted inFood & Drink

Modern Times Reaches Oregon

Inside Portland’s new Belmont Fermentorium
Kevin Gifford

It was with some chagrin across Oregon that The Commons Brewery, the southeast-Portland outfit that specialized in delicate, Belgian-influenced ales, closed to the public after a seven-year run. (Sean Burke, its former head brewer, now runs brew operations at Von Ebert Brewing, the Pearl District-based brewpub that will replace Fat Head’s.) The Commons does still […]

Posted inFood & Drink

10 Barrel’s SoCal Outpost

Overcoming the backlash in San Diego
Kevin Gifford

When 10 Barrel opened up in the Maker’s Quarter District of San Diego, the reception from the other 150-odd breweries that call the city home was not exactly welcoming. Many locals decried the new neighbor, accusing it of hiding its AB-InBev ownership and trying to lure customers away from “real” local craft. A carpenter’s union […]

Posted inFood & Drink

Hazy in L.A.

A trendy style for a trendy beer city
Kevin Gifford

All across the Northwest, breweries are falling over themselves to produce hazy, opaque-looking, juice-like ales, commonly called New England IPAs. It is the opinion of this column (your mileage may vary) that only a couple of them—Great Notion Brewing in Portland and Sunriver Brewing Company—have really nailed the style yet. People are still arguing over […]

Posted inFood & Drink

Enjoying the GoodLife in ’18

More bottles and special releases are on their way
Kevin Gifford

GoodLife Brewing, opened to the public in 2011, is now old enough to qualify as a veteran of Bend’s beer community. Originally set to launch as Noble Brewing (until California-based Noble Ale Works opened first), GoodLife’s been putting out enough Sweet As and Descender IPA in cans across the Northwest to keep beer fans practically […]

Posted inFood & Drink

A Trip to Russian River

Why the brewery behind Pliny still rules them all
Kevin Gifford

When Russian River Brewing began operations in 1997, its homeland of Sonoma County was best known as one of California’s largest producers of wine grapes. Now it’s known to beer fans nationwide as the producers of both great Belgian-style brews and Pliny the Elder—the classic that arguably invented the entire concept of a “double IPA.” […]

Posted inFood & Drink

Out in the Mountains

Beer’s footprint in far-out Eastern Oregon
Kevin Gifford

There’s not much to the town of Mitchell, Ore., nestled in the Ochoco Mountains about an hour east of Prineville. The population was estimated at 121 people in 2016, and outside of the outdoor festivals this little town off Highway 26 holds each year, there’s simply not much fun happening—unless one’s idea of “fun” is […]

Posted inFood & Drink

Tune In to CBS

Founders’ massive maple stout hits home
Kevin Gifford

It’s not often that one of the most sought-after beers in the eastern United States gets an official release in Bend, a place all about keeping it local with food and drink. Founders Brewing Company, however, is shattering that mold with its current release of CBS, which (until now) was the sort of rare bottle […]

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