If it’s not going home with a good buzz, Bend Brews and Beyond organizers say they want visitors to leave the fest this year feeling a sense of joy.
The second annual BBB festival is back, with hidden gems such as a petting zoo with adoptable dogs, sour barrel-aged cherry beer and a drinking pants pageant. One notable change to the festival this year is lower prices. Festival organizer Brian Yaeger (who pens an occasional beer column in the Source) says visitors were vocal about admission prices last year, and he listened.
“In a world where everything else around you is going up, this is the only thing I could point to where the prices come down,” Yaeger says. “Everything you pay money for is more expensive except for this. That was a change directly taken from customers.”
Ticket prices this year are $35 for alcohol imbibers and $25 for non— a $5 reduction from last year’s prices.
While BBB is only in its second year, the event is tied to Bend Brewfest, which has a long history in Bend starting out in the early 2000s. Beer fest revelry, like most things, was stifled after COVID-19’s sticky tentacles had a go with it.
After a few years of attempting a revival, the festival came back in 2025 with a new name and a new place: Drake Park.
Yaeger told the Source last year’s turnout saw over 3,000 craft beer enthusiasts. This year he hopes to see similar numbers.
This year, BBB is slated to be a good time for beer drinkers and “California sober” folks, as well. Yaeger described what he calls a “hemp garden,” as a category of non-alcoholic beverages with ingredients such as cannabidiol and low amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC.
“I think it’s a great alternative for people who used to drink alcohol, still appreciate its effects, but don’t want to be consuming alcohol,” Yaeger says.
Another big activity being pushed this year is travel-by-floaty.
For individuals seeking a novel method of transportation, Tumalo Creek will offer tube rentals exclusively on May 23 for festival-goers.
Visitors can slip into an inner tube at Riverbend Park, hop out at Drake Park for the festival and take a shuttle to return to where they started.
For those seeking the surfeit of friendship with a furry companion, the Humane Society of Central Oregon will be at the event with a number of animals looking for a safe place to call home. Responsible potential owners can slide away from the festival to meet, give love to and potentially bring home a fluffy friend.
“Last year, every single animal they brought was adopted. I don’t think people expect a petting zoo at a beer festival, but I try to bring in a whole lot more than just drinking,” Yaeger said.
Four bands, including Billy and the Box Kid, the Trapper Keepers, Summit Express Jazz Band and Countryfied, will collaborate with four brewers, including Crux Fermentation Project, Bevel Craft Brewing, UPP Liquids and Wild Ride Brewing, to offer beer-inspired interpretations of each band’s sound.
This year Yaeger says the festival is big on small, locally owned breweries. Over 50 of the brewers will be from Oregon.
“My goal, if I have one, is to eventually have every Oregon brewery pouring at the event,” Yaeger says. “I can’t do that all at once because we have well over 200 of them, but I would say that’s a good long-term goal.”
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