Living in Beertown, USA like we do, we don’t forget that brewing is an art form and that each batch has its own special little notes that makes it original. Let’s get scientific for a second. Hops are the flowers (also known as seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant Humulus lupulus. They stabilize […]
Chow
Malt: The Meat in Your Beer
“If hops were salt and pepper, malt would be the steak.” In case you were curious about the relative importance of each ingredient in your beer, that quote from Madras resident Seth Klann should set some things straight. Here’s another way of putting it: Barley–and its resultant product, malt–is the bulk that makes up most […]
Port Barrel-Aged Beer and Black Butte Whiskey!? OK!
Winter, to borrow a heavily-used catchphrase, is coming, and breweries across Bend are busily preparing their seasonal offerings for what will hopefully be a season heavy on the snow and light on the black ice. In the case of a couple old standbys though, the preparations have been taking place three or four years in […]
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Washington is a neighborhood spot: a place where brunch, cocktails, and dinner meet to talk about their day. It feels like a place you can go into a few times a week and they’ll remember your favorite drink and recommend a new menu item you haven’t tried. Washington comes from the same team that brought […]
Little Bites: No, That’s Not a Coffee Truck
Visit any Hawaiian island and you’re sure to walk away knowing one thing: Hawaiians love them some carbs. Most meals are piled high with macaroni salad (just “mac salad” to an islander), rice and often potato salad, along with the meat of choice. It’s a carb-y phenomenon that non-islanders might puzzle about…but if you’re a […]
Modern Taste of Oregon
As this issue comes out, six members of the 5 Fusion team are accompanying chef Joe Kim to the James Beard House in Manhattan to prepare an exquisite five course meal for patrons of the American culinary tradition. You may wonder why a chef would travel clear across the country to cook for just one […]
Little Bites: When a Pancake and a Sandwich Make a Baby
I don’t often write food reviews, but anytime someone mentions “Korean” and “taco thing” in the same sentence, I’m pedaling away on my sad first-gen Diamondback faster than you can say, “Don’t forget your helmet.” With that, it wasn't long before I pulled up to EMW Fusion’s location on Cyber Drive, sad bike brakes squealing. […]
Get Fresh With Oregon Again
Seasonal brews come and go throughout the year—heavy stouts in winter, lighter ales in summer, the occasionally dreaded pumpkin beer right now. But there’s one genre of beer that we, as Oregonians, can claim as truly our own: The fresh-hop beer, the dank and bitter friend of any true craft fan. Thanks to increasing demand […]
Melts in Your Mouth
Bowtie Catering Co. sits in an unassuming strip mall on the south side of Bend, nestled in between a liquor store and a video poker placeโnot exactly a spot where you would expect to find carefully-prepared dishes and a menu curated for a Pacific Northwest palate. Still, that’s what’s happening. Bowtie’s space on Hwy 97 […]
Beer Along the Columbia
People from across the continent visit Bend to take in both the inspiring beauty and the inspiring-in-other-ways craft beer at the same time. Those who live here all year, though, might have a jaded sense of that—like the proverbial New Yorker who’s never been to the Statue of Liberty. To bring back that sense of […]

