Travel to Oregon Brew Pubs
Posted in Food, Microbrewery, Oregon, Restaurant, Travel | By Roger Gillespie | Tags: Brewpubs, Food, Microbrewery, Oregon, Travel
With the fourth largest number of breweries in the U.S., Oregon is a good place to find some suds on a Friday night, or any night, for that matter.
On a recent trip to Oregon, I decided to try out some of the bigger names in the micro-brewery and brewpub business, as well as one of the smaller and newest entries into the business.
Let’s start by saying “bigger” in this type of business does not always mean large. With a plethora of one-off location brewers, only a few have transitioned into regional or, even more rare, international status. The entrepreneurs involved in craft brewing might have just two stainless steel tanks visible through a glass window in their “down on the corner” establishment. The rarer instance is to actually have a full blown, off the premises brewery, that distributes throughout a specified region of the U.S., or possibly internationally.
So just what is a Brewpub, a Microbrewery, or a Regional Craft Brewery?
First, you fall into a category of “limited” production. You certainly don’t have hundreds of semis rolling down the road with your logo splashed all over the trailer, and you probably don’t have any big horses pulling wagons …
“Limited production” is an iffy number depending upon who you talk to, but according to the Brewers Association located in Boulder, Colorado the number of barrels is roughly 15,000 per year for a Microbrewery. But, it also stipulates that over 75% of sales have to be sold off the premises.
A Brewpub sells at least 25% of its production on the premises. You eat at their restaurant and drink their beer dispensed from their custom-made tap handles. They may have one location or many throughout several states.
A regional craft brewery produces between 15,000 to 2,000,000 barrels per year.
By comparison, a large brewery will have a production of over 2,000,000 barrels.
BEND
My first stop was downtown Bend, the home of Deschutes Brewery & Public House. As with most brewpubs, its history is relatively short (in comparison to say a 300-year-old English Pub). Established in 1988, they have since opened their second unit in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon.
Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR
What sets Deschutes apart from just a two-pub operation is their off-premise brewery that distributes product in thirteen western states making them a regional brewery.
Award winning Black Butte Porter and Mirror Pond Pale Ale are featured along with such brews as Obsidian Stout, Cascade Ale, and Bachelor Bitter (obviously named for Mt. Bachelor not far from the city.)
The food side of pubs has many of the “usual suspects” categories for the drinking crowd. There are appetizers, burgers, specialty sandwiches and Spent Grain Pizzas (pizza dough flavored with Spent Barley Malt from the brewery).
There is also what seems to be on every menu in Oregon in some form or another … Mac & Cheese. And, of course, you can’t go wrong with Brewery Fish & Chips.
So that’s why I went with the elk burger …
The sandwich featured a natural elk patty from a local purveyor, Pine Mountain Ranch. It was topped with Tillamook Smoked Cheddar and a sauce of Yamhill County Mushrooms and roasted shallots ($10.50).
For those of you who have never had Elk, and I hadn’t for many years, I was surprised that it surpassed one of my favorites, Buffalo/Bison, with more Protein, less fat and less calories.
And NO, it doesn’t taste like chicken!
1044 NW Bond Street
Bend, Oregon
Deschutes Brewery
901 SW Simpson Avenue
Bend, Oregon
If you’re looking for an interesting observation into the manufacturing of craft beer, a stop at the Deschutes Brewery will get you a free, guided tour and a stop at the Tasting Room.
Tours:
Monday – Sunday
1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm
(Tours start on the hour)
Note: Tours are limited to 15 guests
On Monday: We visit Bend and a very unusual restaurant.
NEXT WEEK: A stop in Corvallis, Oregon at the newest brewpub near the campus of Oregon State University. Later on, we’ll stop in Portland, Oregon and go Rogue along with a look at McMennamin’s, a multi-state, brewpub, entertainment and hospitality company.
Tags: Brewpubs, Food, Microbrewery, Oregon, Travel