Bend Oregon Breweries

 

Since my Son, Mark has gotten me interested in craft beers, I realized that Bend is one of “THE” places for fine brewing.  With a limited amount of time, and a limited ability to consume mass quantities of brews, I followed the local’s advice and visited the three most popular.

Deschutes – BIG!

Just walking up to this massive block square enterprise made me realize just how popular the craft beers have become.  Producing over a quarter million barrels each year, Deschutes ranks 5th among craft brewers in the US.

Walking along the front of the building, I get a look into the “barrel aging” section, which Deschutes is known for producing some of the best wine & whiskey barrel aged beers in the world.  These are usually reserved for the darker beers, stouts, porters and the like and are generally brewed once a year as a special run.

Inside at the tap room, I sign up for the 2PM tour, which includes four 4oz free tastings, along with any number of “sips” of others you’d like to try.  With 30 minutes to wait for the tour, I get to sample a few of the best!

Although the tour took about 50 minutes, and went through a fairly detailed description of the entire process, I won’t go on about all the details.  There’s plenty of information about making beer on the internet, so if you want to learn more look there.  Mark is really enjoying making his own brews, they are very good, and his friends appreciate the effort.

So, here’s a short synopsis of the pictures I took, walking through the plant from front end (wort making) all the way to the bottling plant.

On the way out there was a long hall of numerous pieces of local artwork, carefully chosen from many submissions each year for the “Jubilation” brew.  The wining artwork becomes the label art for that year. 

Over the years, Deschutes has won many awards, here is one of several display cases full of medals & awards.

So, next on the “crawl” was 10Barrel, which I had gotten several “must taste” reports on, but to my surprise the 4 beers I tasted were just flat & weak, they did nothing to make me want to linger and try any more!

Last, on to CRUX, by far the most interesting and unique of the three.  Founded and owned by two couples that wanted “excellent beer in an enjoyable atmosphere” it’s exactly what they’ve created.  From the open floorplan that allows tasters to “see the action”, to a great kitchen with wonderful low cost food, to the outdoor family picnic and gaming area this place is a hit! I would highly recommend a stop if you’re ever through Bend

.

Deschutes River Discovery & Walk

Before heading into Bend, I had spent the night at a “snowpark” on Hwy 97.  These area areas where a huge parking lot is available at the intersection of snowmobile & cross country ski trails. 

They can be used for overnite stays without fees and have picnic areas and restrooms.  I was surprised to see frost for the first time when I awoke this morning.

South of bend, I saw a sign about “Deschutes River Access” and since I knew I would be fishing it sooner or later, stopped to investigate.  First thing I noticed was a large sign outlining canoe & float trails through the area, with appropriate take-outs & put-ins that avoid the few rapids that are along this area. (Upper Deschutes). As luck would have it another sign stated that fishing wasn’t open yet.

The trail looked nice and appeared to be a local favorite.  Since I have been trying to walk at least 3 miles a day, off I went downriver.  The crossing at an old log jam proved an interesting area for birding, with many insects moving down near the water.

You just never know quite what to expect when you stop somewhere, but this indeed turned out to be a beautiful walk along what’s got to be one of the prettiest rivers in America!

I walked to a nice falls area, and just enjoyed the water and sounds. 

As I returned back across the bridge at the log jam, I thought to myself: “What a great way to start a morning!”

 

FISHING the Crooked River!

 

By now, you’re probably wondering “wait a minute Sam, this is a fishing trip, right?”   Well yes it is, and thanks to a tip from my good friend Scott Peterson, I’m at the Crooked for two days of outstanding fishing.

The area fished was just below the Prineville Reservoir dam.  And you’re right, “below” or “downriver” up here is North!

I did hire a guide for the first half-day from the “Fish & Field Fly Shop” in Bend.  Probably a wise move as he recommended an excellent campsite (Cobble Rock) where the fishing is literally “right out your door”.

No need to get up too early here either, as the fish really weren’t active until late morning.  The bite seem to last for a couple of hours, netting me well over THIRTY fish the first day with guide’s help.

Although he mentioned that we should be catching some “whitefish”, the days catch were all rainbows.  Top size on this River is about 15-16inches, but they are all “wild” fish (non-hatchery) and fight accordingly!

That afternoon I spent some time exploring downriver, beautiful scenery with lots of good looking holes to try.

The second morning, I went back to the same starting spot, and sure-nough, managed to catch another 17 rainbows and six nice whitefish.  I did save a limit today, including several of the nice whitefish, which made several filet packs for the freezer.

So, now it’s back to Bend to figure out where to go next and try some of the craft beers in the area.

Lava Butte!

I see what appears to be another Lava Beds place, but decide to take a quick look since my legs needed a stretch.  To my surprise, this was very different from the Lava Beds, no  caves here, just domes and a nice lava flow field below.
First order of business was to drive to the top of a several hundred foot high cone, luckily, my rig was one foot under the maximum allowed to drive up top!  Only a few vehicles are allotted a time window every 30 minutes to make the trip as parking is limited at the top.  The views from up here are spectacular!  Especially out west is Bachelor Mountain.
The lookout tower is not only a tourist attraction, but also doubles as an official NFS lookout during fire season. 
There is a nice trail around the cone’s crater, giving one a different perspective than the tower.
While walking to the Visitor’s Center (back at “ground level” I spy and elusive Red Crossbill, a beautiful creature for sure!

A short walk through the actual lava field provides nice views of the cone I had just driven up, while proving that there is some life that can live in such a harsh, barren environment.

Another great stop along the way!