The spookier the fall nights get, the darker the beer gets! Once a year, Deschutes Brewery releases The Abyss, usually with a few varieties. Deschutes provides a special Abyss flight at its pubs featuring the current year versions of The Abyss alongside those from previous years. I began my flight with the The Abyss from […]
Beer & Drink
Posted inFood & Drink
Casting Vermouth in the Lead Role
It’s time to think about vermouth differently. A local sommelier offers his picks
At a recent tasting at Ardent, a celebrated restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I asked for a boozy beverage to complement the sweet selection of the dessert course. The sommelier placed a delicate, stemmed shot glass in front of me and poured Dolin Blanc Vermouth de Chambér. I was surprised; I had expected a port, sherry […]
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Malt of the Earth
“Malty” isn’t a dirty word
With hop harvest season in the rearview mirror for another year and the outside temperature dropping, local taplists have begun to turn from lupulin-saturated fresh hop IPAs and pale ales to malt-driven red ales, brown ales and winter warmers. Though hops may be the most talked about ingredient in beer, malt is the most important. Without […]
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Feels Like the Fresh Time
Boneyard’s seasonal offering gives us one more reason to herald fresh hop beers
Boneyard’s brew Feels Like the Fresh Time is a light and hoppy hit.
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Local Kombucha Keeps Humming Along
The founders of Humm celebrate 10 years
Humm Kombucha: it’s a local staple and becoming a nationwide favorite probiotic drink. This year, the company is celebrating 10 years. Originally Kombucha Mama, Humm was founded in 2009 in the home kitchen of Michelle Mitchell. She was new to Bend and had been brewing kombucha for herself and friends for many years. Creating a […]
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The Taste of Progress
Mezcal goes mainstream
Have you ever enjoyed a cocktail and tried to order it again, but couldn’t remember what was in it? A few years ago I was at a swanky cocktail bar in the Southwest when my partner fell in love with a cocktail that was so aggressively smoky and tobacco-infused it had to be made by […]
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Bounty of the Hop Harvest
Fresh-hop beers arrive for a fleeting few weeks
September means many different things to many different people. For parents, it means back to school. For local businesses it marks the end of the summer tourist season. But for Northwest brewers, it means only one thing: hop harvest and fresh-hop beers. Oregon’s Willamette Valley—along with Washington’s Yakima Valley and Northern Idaho—grow over 95% of […]
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Oh Dear!
It’s Sneaky Deer Beer!
Congratulations to Spider City for winning Best Local Beer at Bend Brewfest with its Sneaky Deer! It’s well deserved, too. It’s been a longtime favorite of mine, that’s for sure. When I heard the news that they won, I thought it would be fun to share my take on some of the Sneaky Deer varietals. […]
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Summer’s Not Over Until You Get Hopped Up on Beer Slushies
Local taprooms feature frozen beer: the adults-only version of summertime slush
It’s no secret that Central Oregon breweries have become the tastemakers of the beer scene, both locally and nationwide. So, when 10 Barrel Brewing announced this summer that it would be transforming its Crush sour beers into beer slushies, other breweries took notice. I toured a few local taprooms to explore and compare the varieties […]
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A Beer Geek’s Dream
Barrel-aged beers, ciders and whiskey await at The Little Woody
The Little Woody festival is the beer event I wait for all year long. It’s my happy place—my Christmas, if you will. It’s truly a beer geek’s dream. Basically, it’s the best beer festival EVER! Barrel-aged beers from all over the place are served up. Not convinced yet? That’s fine. Read on for further temptation. […]