Bend Oregon Brewpubs, Microbreweries, Craft Breweries and Brewery Tours

Bend is almost as popular for our beer as we are for our scenery and recreation activities. A cold beer after a long day of riding, hiking, rafting, or biking is a great way to end a day of adventure.

According to The Seattle Times, “Among cities in beer-crazy Oregon, Bend now has the most craft breweries per capita. Some locals have started calling this 'Beer City USA.' More breweries are opening soon.”

Bend's newest breweries, Crux Fermentation Project, opened in June 2012, and Worthy Brewing Company, opened in early 2013.

Bend is a "Beervana", with one brewery for every 9,111 people beating out our nearby neighboring city of Portland, Oregon. Bend celebrates this achievement with what we call the Bend Ale Trail. New craft breweries and nano breweries are popping up around Bend frequently. GoodLife Brewing Co. and Brew Werks Brewing are the latest breweries to the Bend beer scene and have been added to the official Bend Ale Trail - the largest beer trail in the West. Check out the Bend Ale Trail page for more information on guided beer tours, the free Bend Ale Trail app and more.

While the highlight of the Deschutes Brewery tour are the free samples of beer you are welcomed to enjoy before setting out into a maze of stainless steel tanks and Lavern & Shirley-esque bottling line, most visitors walk away from this tour with a whole new love of craft beer. Learn how the world’s best beer is brewed while experiencing the smell and touch of fresh hop flowers and the nutty crunch of roasted barley gains, which give Deschutes beers their caramel and chocolate accents.

Deschutes Brewery also carries a blazing torch for sustainability in Bend. The spent grain used in the brewing process is turned into the pizzas and pretzels which are served at the downtown pub. The rest is shipped off to feed cows at a local cattle ranch that, in turn, provides the meat for the pub’s hamburgers. Try the Black Butte Porter which is the number one selling porter in the USA.

Tyler at Silver Moon Brewery leads 10 person tours by appointment demonstrating the magic of brewing on a smaller scale in his facility on Greenwood Ave. Visitors end the tour with a ½ hour tasting of a seven-beer flight. Cascade Lakes Brewery, Bend Brewing Company and McMenamins Old St. Francis School also offer tours by appointment. Boneyard Beer, often dubbed the "anti establishment brewery", welcomes curious beer connoisseurs to their auto shop-esque original brewing facility for tastes and impromptu tours. While you're at Boneyard, pick up a six-pack of the world's first healthy beer brewed especially for your dog. DAWG GROGG is a non-alcoholic organic ale made for man's best friend.   

Growler Fill Stations - Fill up for gas while you fill your beer growler!
Forgot to grab a growler of your favorite Bend beer while doing the Bend Ale Trail? You can now fill a 64-ounce growler with your on-tap beverage of choice at a number of growler fill stations that are popping up around Bend, Oregon. The Growler Guys at the Stop and Go Shell gas station has 34 choices on tap. Gorilla Growlers at the Empire Car Wash fills from nearly 30 taps. Growler Phil's off NW Galveston offer 34 taps and Tumalo Country Store (64683 Cook Avenue; 541-389-1021) offers 21 varieties on tap.

Don't forget to schedule your vacation in Oregon around one of Bend's many annual beer celebrations like Central Oregon Beer Week, The Little Woody Barrel-Aged Brew & Whiskey Festival, Bend BrewFest, The Fermentation Celebration, Oregon Beer Month, Zwickelmania, and Bend Oktoberfest.