The Little Woody beer, cider and whiskey festival celebrates barrel-aged sips and all things tree inspired including whiskey-soaked, oak-aged stouts, tart, berry-infused sours. The Bend festival, which began in 2009, is described as a toast to the forests, orchards and barrels that shape the finest brews. Some of which sound like a fancy dessert.
At least 15 breweries are participating. Buoy Beer Co. from Astoria will offer a crisp West coast Pilsner with a hint of grapefruit and Deep Waters, a stout aged in Pilot House Distillery’s Come Hell or High Water whiskey. Cascade Lakes Brewing Co. is offering This IPA which is described as hop-forward juiciness with flora aromas and its Badlands Imperial Brown Ale, which is made in partnership with Badlands Artisian Distillery in La Pine. It’s aged in double barrel rye casks with flavors of vanilla, graham cracker, candied nuts, molasses, spiced honey and coconut.
Wolf Tree Brewery from the Oregon coast has a farmhouse ale aged in Pinot Noir barrels for six months and a Saucerful of Secrets ale fermented and aged on apricots for two years. pFriem is offering Vinifera Saison, a rose-inspired barrel aged ale with grenache grapes and Frambozen, made by adding raspberries to ale.
Fort George in Astoria is serving 2023 Matryoshka Barrel Aged Imperial Stout which is aged for a year in whiskey and bourbon barrels, as well as Spruce Budd that’s brewed with spruce tips, pilsner malt and water. Deschutes Brewery will bring its Cherries Jubelale and Black Mirror. UPP Liquids will have its West Coast IPA and Cerveza Negra, a Mexican dark lager. Sunriver Brewing Co. is bringing its Chocolate Ice Cream Stout and Vanilla Baltic Porter.
Wild Ride Brew Co. will have barrel aged Laughing Face Imperial Coconut Porter aged in bourbon barrels and Brenna A, an amber lager. Boneyard Beer has Neighbors with Attitude, a barrel-aged black barleywine. Crux will have Tough Love 2023, a whiskey barrel-aged imperial stout and Bramble Candy, a blackberry sour ale aged in red wine barrels. The Ale Apothecary, a small, family brewery that makes spontaneous beers, hasn’t announced its selection yet.
If beer isn’t your thing, 2 Towns Ciderhouse will feature a barrel-aged blackberry and raspberry Imperial and a Westward Whiskey Bad Apple. Avid Cider Co. will serve Apple Pie or Pineapple Mango cider. Legend NW Cider Company will serve Peach Cobbler, Cascade Cooler which is a berry blend, and a grape cider.
Lazy Z Ranch Wines will have three meads. One is a gin barrel aged grape and plum flavor. A second is called the Berry Bomb which is a mix of raspberries, marionberries and black currants. The third mead is blueberry. Ablis CBD Infusions will serve a strawberry mojito and cranberry blood orange. San Juan Seltzer is bringing huckleberry or wild blackberry lemonade. About a dozen wineries are also participating.
The event starts Friday evening on Aug. 29. Entertainment is provided by local comedians and music by Lickety Split. On Saturday, Aug. 30, festivities start with a 5K beer run at noon. Runners start at The Commons, go through Drake Park and downtown Bend, finishing at the Deschutes Historical Museum with four stops on the way at Worthy Brewing, Crux Fermentation Project, Deschutes Brewery and UPP Liquids. The $45 registration fee provides entry to The Little Woody Festival, a commemorative tasting glass and six drink tokens. Other entertainment Saturday includes a comedy show in conjunction with the Bend Comedy Festival and music by Erin Cole Baker.
Tickets to the festival itself vary in price. The Gnomaste $15 ticket includes a tasting glass and five tokens. Prices increase with the number of tokens. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Deschutes Historical Society.
The Little Woody is put on by Lay It Out Events, the sister company of the Source.
Little Woody
Fri., Aug. 29, 5-9pm, Sat., Aug. 30, Noon -9pm
Deschutes Historical Museum
129 NW Idaho Ave., Bend
thelittlewoody.com/
$5-$50
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