One Final Pour. One Last Toast.
Stacey Donohue has attended the Little Woody beer festival since it began in 2009. “Even during Covid,” she says. “I went with a friend, and it was Covid and smokey.” Her reaction to this being the last Little Woody? “It’s devastating.” The iconic Little Woody celebrates regional barrel-aged beers. The event, which is only for…
What Local, Award-Winning IPAs Tell Us About Beer in 2026
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…
A Social Battery Recharge
I’m not sure if everyone feels this way, but as much as I love going to the theater to watch new movies, my social battery is sometimes completely exhausted by the time Friday rolls around. My heart wants to spend a few hours in a room full of strangers, but my spirit just wants to…
Five Float Beers You Need This Summer
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…
With Public Lands Under Threat, Local Students Reflect
On any given day in Central Oregon, locals and visitors alike can be found hiking, biking, skiing, fishing and more on the region’s vast tracts of public land. These federally-managed areas are a quintessential part of life both here and nationwide, where the national forest system encompasses around 193 million acres of land, and about…
A Conversation with Three Creeks Brewmaster Ryan McVay
Ryan McVay has been making beer longer than most people realize. The brewmaster for Three Creeks Brewing Company in Sisters got his start homebrewing with his mom at age 16, studied fermentation in Germany, worked in a Bavarian monastery brewery, and has spent the last several years quietly stacking awards in one of Central Oregon’s…
A Moveable Toast
The assignment seemed dubious. Yet Managing Editor Nic Moye’s mischievous conviction, signaled by the finger she pointed at me from across the Source’s editorial department, was unwavering. I want you to write about Cycle Pub for the Beer Issue! I could see the logic if I squinted: I love craft beer as much as I love cycling. Ipso facto, I’d love Cycle Pub. Moye…
Pulse Check on Bend’s Brewery Scene
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…
Dip into Bend-Style, Beer-Infused Cuisine
I’ve always understood pairing a bold red wine with a rich beef bourguignon — classic culinary logic drilled into home cooks and sommeliers alike. But beer as a cooking ingredient? That idea had never crossed my mind. Turns out, I’m behind the curve, and I doubt I’m the only one. Beer-infused cooking has quietly become…
Savage in Bend: Why Bend Loves Beer
For this month’s Savage in Bend, Santi R. asks, “How and why did beer become more popular in Bend than most other places?” A very legit question considering beer’s popularity in Central Oregon. Two variables came to my mind when asked, both nature and nurture. The natural part of the answer relates to our amazing…
Wildfire Engulfs Central Oregon as More Than 1 Million Acres Burn Across the State
Large and volatile wildfires burning across Central Oregon have destroyed homes, threatened thousands more and blanketed the region with smoke. The blazes have consumed more than 1 million acres in Oregon — and about a month earlier than the state’s wildfire season usually peaks. Earlier this month, a flurry of lightning strikes ignited tinderbox-like conditions across a Central Oregon landscape parched from a record-low snowpack. “This year was poised to be a very active fire…
Homeless Shelter Funding “Cliff” Looms for Bend, Central Oregon
Homeless shelter providers in Central Oregon are staring down the potential closure of hundreds of beds by this time next year as they face a steep drop in the state and federal funding that local officials say helped turn a crisis around. Without additional funding, the local shelter network will see cuts in the millions of dollars — a combination of expiring pandemic relief money and state budget woes officials have identified as a funding…
Federal and State Homeless Funds are Drying Up. Use Some General Funds.
Government officials and service providers were thrilled to announce this year that the number of unhoused individuals in the community went way down compared to the previous year’s count. According to the annual Point in Time Count, the numbers were reduced by a staggering 19.1% — a figure that felt almost too good to be…
Asbestos Renders Redmond High School Unsafe for Coming School Year
Redmond High School students will learn in modular classrooms for the entirety of the 2026-27 school year after remodel construction shook loose dangerous amounts of asbestos from the building, the Redmond School District announced last week. The district began construction this summer on a $53 million Redmond High modernization, funded by a taxpayer bond voters approved in 2024. The district planned on using a phased approach during construction,…
The Local Food Scene Loses Some Tasty Options
Broken Top Bottle Shop is bowing out A popular westside restaurant is closing for good. Broken Top Bottle Shop at NW Pence and College Way will celebrate its last day in business on July 31. The restaurant, which has been open more than 14 years, offers a wide selection of beer as well as a…
Letters to the Editor, Week of July 30
Close Encounters of the Wildlife Kind Let me begin by stating that I am not a wildlife biologist, or any other type of “ologist.” I did, however, spend a career in conservation, including nearly a decade working in Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) member institutions. I’ve worked with and around a lot of animals…
Barenaked Ladies: Blind Stupidity & Good Times
Over the past 35 years. Barenaked Ladies have left a considerable mark on pop culture. Dip into the band’s canon and you’ll find songs that plug into generation-spanning sitcoms ranging from ‘90s behemoth “Friends” (“Shoe Box”), appearing as a guest band on “90210’s” fictional Peach Pit After Dark nightclub (they played a three-song set that…
A Cozy Spot to Dine
A new dinner spot has opened at Tetherow Resort. Coorie, named after a Scottish word meaning “to nestle in” or “take shelter,” is located in the space that was formerly Solomon’s. Seasonal menus inspired by Central Oregon ingredients focus on Pacific Northwest cuisine. Starters on Coorie’s menu include a panzanella salad, beet carpaccio, Rainshadow Farms…
Beyond Bend: Exploring Central Oregon Communities
For years, Bend has been the center of gravity for people relocating to Central Oregon. It still is. Its vibrant downtown, miles of trails, breweries, and easy access to Mt. Bachelor make it one of the West’s most desirable places to live. But something has changed. More buyers are asking a different question. Instead of…
‘The Most Travelled Person in America’ takes on Bend’s Beer Scene
Only some can say they’ve been to all 50 states. And very select few can say they’ve been to every city and town in the United States with a population more than 5,000. Daniel Seddiqui, however, can claim this title as of last October when he visited Allentown, Pennsylvania, the last town on his list. After…
Feisty Wildfire Threatens Sisters, Grows into Pacific Northwest’s Top Priority
Elijah and Xiomara Roy were at their grandparents’ house north of Sisters, about to drop the final antacid tablet into their fizzy homemade lava lamps, when they were told it was time to go. “My grandma — we call her mi-ma — said it was time to go,” Elijah said. “I was asking what was going on, asking if it was a Level 3, and she said yes.” He was referring…
