10th Annual Bend Brewfest Preview

 Bend Brewfest

Being in the midst of summer here in the Pacific Northwest we get our fair share of beer events. It’s great for those of us that live in the Portland metro area but for those from afar you have to put in some time and miles to attend many of these fun filled festivals. But later this week is the time of the year for those beer seekers from Central Oregon to shine brightly.

The Bend Brewfest is now 10 years strong and begins on Thursday, August 15 and runs for 3 days along the banks of the Deschutes River at the Les Schwab Amphitheater.  Beginning on Thursday and Friday at 3pm and at Noon on Saturday you will be able to enjoy beers from over 60 breweries, a few cideries, a meadery and a winery. From the beer list that is provided after you scowl down there are 140+ craft beers from the 60+ breweries predominately from our bountiful Pacific Northwest region. For all things moderate in ABV, Bend Brewfest has you covered.

Bend Brewfest with Old Mill District in background

One of the highlights of the Bend Brewfest for us at Brewpublic is the very casual atmosphere that the Les Schwab Amphitheater offers its festival goers. Les Schwab’s lush grass lawn, unlike the sand and dust pit at the overworked Tom McCall Waterfront Park during OBF, is a very inviting setting. You can actually walk the grounds with cushioning grass below you.

As each year passes the Bend Brewfest keeps growing. Brewpublic was last at the fest in 2011 and if memory serves me correctly there are some new faces at the festival this year. First time pouring at the fest in Bend this year include Smith Rock Brewing, Worthy Brewing, Rat Hole Brewing, Logsdon Farmhouse Ales, Rusty Truck Brewing Co. among a few others.

Bend Brewfest X-Tap Tent

Returning once again this year is the X-Tap. Now in its 3rd year, the X-Tap booth at the festival features specialty beers from many different breweries. This years X-Tap beer list includes Bend Brewing’s Ching Ching, Anderson Valley’s Wild Turkey Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout, Oakshire Brewing’s Bier de Mars, Logsdon’s Far West Vlaming Flander’s Red and many others. Be sure to check out the X-Tap schedule on page 13 of this year’s guide to keep up with the day’s special beers.

Another feature here at the Bend Brewfest is what the organizers call the Brewtality Tent. The Brewtality Tent gets better every year, this year it will be hosted by The Brew Shop scheduling a great line-up of guest speakers. Sierra Nevada is brewing a special beer with The Brew Shop and will debut the tasty beverage at our Brewfest! This beer that the fellas from The Brew Shop brewed down in Chico is Beer Camp 99 India Farmhouse Ale. And it will debut at the X-Tap on Thursday at 4pm. We are looking forward to sampling this beer.

That sure is a plethora of beer choices at the fest this weekend. So what do you do when you bring a friend that is still on the fence about craft beer? Yes, the beerfest is offering a few options that do not contain malted barley. Cider and gluten free fans will rejoice on the cider options at this year’s Brewfest: 2 Towns Ciderhouse, Nectar Creek Honeywine, Red Tank Cider, Wandering Aengus Cider and Woodchuck Cider. There will also be Wine by Hood River’s Naked Winery and locally made mead by Nectar of the Gods Meadery.

And when you need the time to get some food, there will be plenty of options. This years food vendors include Cuppa Yo, Famous Kettle Corn, The Pizza Cart, Camerons Smoke Shack, Parilla Grill, Parilla Fries, Demetri’s, Dumpcity Dumplings, Spork, Jumbo Tamales, Bend Burger Co., Family Dogs Corndogs – Bison Blue Corn Corndogs and a Lil bit of Texas Sausage – Sausages. So if you arrive on an empty stomach one of these options looks satisfying.

Bend Ale Trail

And if these are not enough reasons to visit the Old Mill of Bend later this week you may want to visit some of the newly opened breweries in Bend and the surrounding area. A great adventure that the Visit Bend Tourism offers is the Bend Ale Trail. As the quantity of Bend Breweries continues to increase, the Ale Trail also increases in the amount of breweries that you need to stop in at to win your free gift. The Ale Trail now requires you to visit 11 Bend Breweries with a 12th bonus brewery in Sisters. It now seems a bit more challenging to complete in one day so take your time and complete in a couple of days.

You can check out the 2013 Bend Brewfest Guide here. If not, they’ll have plenty of copies when the festival kicks off on Thursday. This 40-page guide is definitely well thought out and put together very nicely.

And prior to leaving, please don’t forget to vote. The Bend Beerfest offers their patrons to vote for their favorite beer being poured over the weekend. Last summer GoodLife Brewing’s Mountain Pale Ale and Klamath Basin Brewing’s Vanilla Porter were Bend Brewfest People’s Choice Award winners.  Be sure to vote for your favorite beer this summer at Bend Brewfest.

2013 BREWFEST LINEUP

Brewery Beer #1 Beer #2 XTap Beer
10 BARREL Swill German-Style Radler OG Wheat IPA —-
21st AMENDMENT Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Bitter American Extra Pale Session Ale —-
2 TOWNS CIDERHOUSE The Bad Apple Rhubarbarian Ginja Ninja
ALAMEDA Klickitat Pale Ale P-Town Pilsner —-
ANDERSON VALLEY Summer Solstice Ale Heelch O’Hops Double IPA Wild Turkey Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout
BACKWOODS Beacon Rock Bitter Copperline Amber Ale —-
BASE CAMP In-Tents IPL Northwest Fest Marzen-style Lager MeridiWit Belgian Witbier
BELOW GRADE Validation Imperial IPA —- Dangerous Kate Imperial Black IPA
BEND BREWING Elk Lake IPA Black Diamond Dark Lager Ching Ching Sour
BIG SKY Moose Drool Trout Slayer Heavy Horse Scotch Ale
BONEYARD BEER RPM IPA Shotgun ISA Funky Bunch Sour
BREAKSIDE Breakside Pilsner Breakside IPA Alan from the Wood Strong Smoked Ale
BREW SHOP – PLATYPUS PUB —- —- Beer Camp 99 India Farmhouse Ale
BREW WERKS Rabble Rouser Imperial Red Irreverence IPA Brahfinger Sour
BRIDGEPORT Summer Squeeze Bright Ale Kingpin IRA Longball Ale
BURNSIDE Sweet Heat Wheat Ale Lime Kolsch lower_case ipa
CASCADE LAKES Paulina Lake Pilsner Jefferson Park IPA Solstice Stout
COLUMBIA RIVER CRB Pale Ale Rose City Wheat —-
CRUX Outcast IPA Crux Pilsner —-
DESCHUTES Deschutes River Ale The Belgian Baroness IRA Plum Line Sour
DOUBLE MOUNTAIN Vaporizer Pale Ale Kolsch —-
ELYSIAN Night Owl Pumpkin Ale Loser Pale Ale Oddland Spiced Pear Pale Ale
EVERYBODY’S Country Boy IPA Little Sister ISA —-
FIRE MOUNTAIN Tan Line Summer IPA Bogart NW IPA Steam Fired Stout
FIRESTONE WALKER Union Jack Wookey Jack —-
FORT GEORGE 3-Way IPA Quick Wit Hellcat Belgian Pepper Pale Ale Tripel
GEORGETOWN Manny’s Pale Ale Lucille IPA —-
GOODLIFE Evil Sister Imperial Pacific Ale Descender IPA Bourbon Pepper Brown Ale
HOP VALLEY Alpha Centauri IPA Czech Your Head Pilsner Peace and Carrots Belgian Saison
HOPWORKS URBAN Organic HUB Lager Organic Hopworks IPA Army of Darkness Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
KLAMATH BASIN Vanilla Porter Linkville Lager —-
KONA Big Wave Golden Ale Longboard Lager —-
LAGUNITAS Lagunitas IPA LIttle Sumpin’ Wild Belgian Ale Aged Hairy Eyeball American Strong Ale
LOGSDON FARMHOUSE ALES Kili Wit Seizoen Bretta Saison Far West Vlaming Flander’s Red
LOST COAST Great White American Wit Tangerine Wheat —-
McMENAMINS OLD ST. FRANCIS My Sunshine’s Pilsner Check Yer Coffeepot Golden Coffee Ale —-
NECTAR CREEK HONEYWINE Wildflower Session Mead Ginger Session Mead —-
NECTAR OF THE GODS MEADERY Peach Session Mead Ginger Session Mead —-
NEW BELGIUM French Aramis IPA Pumpkick —-
NINKASI Tricerahops DIPA Maiden the Shade —-
OAKSHIRE Watershed IPA Line Dry Rye Pale Ale Bier de Mars
OSKAR BLUES Mama’s Little Yella Pils G’Knight Imperial Red IPA Gubna Imperial IPA
PELICAN Silverspot IPA Surfer’s Summer Ale —-
PFRIEM FAMILY BREWERS Blonde IPA Saison —-
PHAT MATT’S White IPA Pacific Northwest IPA Jalepeno “Tres Peppers”
RATHOLE Fence Post Porter Rotation Red Ale Haystack Hazelnut
RED TANK CIDER Happy Cider Roughneck Cider 425 Cider
ROGUE Hazelnut Brown Brutal IPA —-
RUSTY TRUCK Moonlight Ride Blackberry Ale Hempeweizen —-
SEVEN BRIDES Waldo Hills IRA Mary’nberry Wheat Ale —-
SHADE TREE Mustang Pale Ale Challenger Smoked IPA Corvette Strong Ale
SIERRA NEVADA Red IPA FOAM Pilsner —-
SILVER MOON TBA TBA TBA Barley Wine
SMITH ROCK XTap only XTap only Sweater Weather Barrel Aged Oatmeal Imperial Stout
SOLSTICE BREWING XTap only XTap only Show Me the Honey Wheat Ale
SPEAKEASY ALES & LAGER Prohibition Ale Tallulah XPA Butchertown Black Ale
SUNRIVER Grandma’s Pale Ale Double Hook IPA Tripple Dry Hopped IPA
THREE CREEKS Raptor Rye IPA Five Pine Chocolate Porter Imperial IPA
WALKINGMAN 3rd Bridge Rye Homo Erectus American Double IPA —-
WANDERING AENGUS Cherry Cider Hops Cider Oak Dry Cider
WIDMER Alchemy Ale Hopside Down IPL —-
WOODCHUCK HARD CIDER Amber Cider Raspberry Cider —-
WORTHY Imperial IPA Helles Bock Special Saison
NAKED WINERY Naked Winery TBA Naked Winery TBA —-

 

Bend Brewfest Crowd

Visit Bend Brewfest for more information or to volunteer at the event. Brewfest t-shirts, growlers and more will be available at the Ticket Mill prior to the event.

 

Festival Times:

  • Thursday, August 15 – 3:00 to 11:00pm
  • Friday, August 16 – 3:00 to 11:00pm
  • Saturday, August 17 – Noon to 11:00pm

 

ALL AGES and furry family members are welcome until 7pm each night with a parent or guardian in attendance. Parent/guardian is required to sign a pledge acknowledging the responsibility of preventing children from consuming alcohol and the penalties for the parent and child. Pet owners will be required to sign a pledge acknowledging the responsibility of keeping your pet safe and hydrated, and guarantee the pet will be under your control at all times.

Re-admittance is permitted.

 

Admission:

Fee and children are welcome until 7pm each night. For beer tasting, you’ll need to make a one-time purchase of a 2013 Brewfest tasting package for $12. Tokens are required for each beer tasting (sold in packs of five for $5) good for all three days. Bend Brewfest runs Thursday & Friday from 3 – 11pm and Saturday 12 noon-11pm. A variety of food carts from outstanding local vendors. Cash required for food, mugs and tokens with an ATM on site.  

 

Social Media:

  • Twitter: @bendbrewfest  #BBF13
  • Facebook: facebook.com/BendBrewfest
  • Instagram: #bendbrewfest

 

Getting There:

 Map To Bend Brewfest

344 SW Shevlin Hixon Drive

Bend, OR 97702

 

From The Parkway take exit #138 following signs to Colorado Ave and the Old Mill District. Head southwest on Colorado Ave to the roundabout at the corner of Simpson and Colorado. Free parking is available in the Mt.Bachelor bus lot, located just two blocks from the Les Schwab Amphitheater.

 

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