The Bend Beer Scene, Part 5
In our fifth installment of this series covering Bend, Oregon’s brewing culture, we’re going to tackle the next best thing to the breweries themselves: the beer bars!
Bend, like any region, has its share of bars and taverns, and this being Oregon, most places in town will have at least a couple of local microbrews on tap (Deschutes is popular, of course, but 10 Barrel, Bend Brewing, and Silver Moon are all often found as well). But for my purposes, I’m highlighting those places that focus on the beer—or at least, moreso than usual.
The Abbey Pub
The Abbey Pub is the one place in Bend that is actually focused on being a beer bar first, all else second. They have no official website, and on the web the site you can find the most information about it is, ironically, one of my blogs: Hack Bend.
The owner, Geoff Marlowe, is a friend of mine and I’ve been following with interest the Abbey since before it opened. Geoff is a fellow beer geek and homebrewer, and knows beer: the Abbey has some 12 taps available, always rotating with new selections of interesting and well-chosen beers. There is also a bottle selection so if what’s on tap isn’t of interest to you, chances are you’ll find something in the cooler.
The beer is paramount here; there is but one TV (behind the bar) and there’s a food menu, but it’s limited: sandwiches, appetizers, a salad, like that. So far the food that I’ve had there is good.
Hours are Monday through Saturday, 11am until 10pm (closed Sundays). When you walk in, you’ll notice that the place doesn’t look like it was intended to be a beer bar: that’s because it wasn’t, it was formerly an ice cream parlor. Talk about an upgrade!
The Abbey Pub
1740 NW Pence Ln.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 323-2337 (323-BEER)
The Blacksmith
The Blacksmith is actually an upscale restaurant that happens to feature a really good beer bar (as well as many other libations, of course—they are the only place in Bend that I know of that is serving absinthe, for instance). The Blacksmith underwent renovations a couple of years back and one of their goals was to establish themselves as a premier beer destination.
For an idea of what they have to offer, you can check out their draft list and their bottle list; I’m not sure how completely up-to-date they are because I know that they were selling (up until recently at least) vintaged bottles of The Abyss—2007, 2008, and 2009—as well as offering vertical flights of same, which aren’t showing up on their site.
Yes, it’s upscale and a bit more expensive; but the bartenders are good and the beer is worth it.
The Blacksmith
211 NW Greenwood Avenue
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 318-0588
Astro Lounge
The Astro Lounge rates a mention because, while they are more of the trendy-bar-slash-club type of place, they are making an effort to put good beer on tap: I found Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, a Lagunitas beer, and something else there recently (unfortunately I just don’t remember what—insert beer drinking joke here).
It’s small-ish and hipster-ish and they serve up good deals on good drinks, and intimate live music can often be found there on weekends.
Astro Lounge
147 NW Minnesota Avenue
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 388-0116
Brother Jon’s Public House
This is a newer establishment on Bend’s westside that is focusing on offering good food and good beer and is a definite destination for beer geeks looking for a great lunch with reliably good brews. I’ve been in once, early, and had a Bloody Mary, so I can’t give specific beer tips. I do know, however, that they are currently offering Double Mountain India Red Ale on tap, and that right there speaks to the fact that they are working on getting the good beer.
As a bonus, their just up the street from where 10 Barrel Brewing is building their new brewpub, so there are two good reasons to visit the westside.
Brother Jon’s Public House
1227 NW Galveston Avenue
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 306-3321
Bend Draft House
The Bend Draft House is the newest of all, a pub-slash-sports bar up on Bend’s northside shopping district looking to make a splash in the beer scene. I’ve only visited once here also, and one thing that stood out was that they had a nice selection of beers from Silver Moon Brewing—more such selection I’ve seen in Central Oregon outside of Silver Moon itself.
And looking over their Facebook page (which I linked above), they’re listing an impressive lineup of beers they’ve been getting on tap: Walking Man Homo Erectus Imperial IPA, He’Brew Rejewvenator, and more. Seems like another visit might be in order soon…
Bend Draft House
63455 N. Hwy 97
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 312-3233
2 Comments to “The Bend Beer Scene, Part 5”
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Don’t forget the Summit: they have a decent lineup on tap.
Bend could seriously add to its beer-fu if we had a good dry stout and some sours, like American Wild Ales, on tap.