Fits on the Road: Exploring Oregon by Foot- Part 2

By Cool J in Minneapolis

Part 1 of "Fits on the Road- Exploring Oregon by Foot" was all about the hiking. Part 2 of this exploration was still an exploration by foot, (most of the time it was a tour by footsies covered in Tom's)

But part two of this tour has a bit of a beer theme.

After two nights in Crater Lake, we headed east to the town of Bend. I didn't know much about Bend beforehand, except that it was a bit of a ski town (Mt. Bachelor is nearby).

I quickly learned that Bend is very well known for a multitude of awesome breweries!

The concierge at our hotel (the conveniently-located-though-otherwise-just-adequate Phoenix Inn & Suites) gave us a map of a brewery walking tour of Bend.

We walked from our hotel to the first destination- the  Bend Brewing Co. This brewpub was advertised as the only women-owned brewery in Bend. Our IPA's were just okay, but the food was pretty tasty.

Next, we walked about 1.5 miles to the Deschutes Brewery. This brewery was definitely the largest on the "ale trial", and they had organized tours at 1, 2, 3, and 4 pm every day. We arrived just in time for the 1 pm tour.

Between the three of us, we have toured our fair share of local Minneapolis breweries, and we have experienced some really good tours. But even compared to our local breweries, we all agreed that this tour was quite interesting and very well-done! 

Deschutes seemed like a pretty cool place to work as well. All employees get one free beer at work every day, and a case of beer every month! There were also sensory scientists who taste the beer every morning for quality control. Get paid to taste beer? Sign me up!

Sensory lab

The tours were free, and you could have up to four samples afterwards. We enjoyed the beer, and it was probably one of the few brands that we tried while in Bend, that we can actually buy in Minneapolis.

After the Deschutes tour, we walked another mile to an odd industrial area...We weren't sure if we were going the right way, but eventually we arrived at the CRUX Fermentation Project. 

Best. Brewery. Ever.

We tried a lot of good beer in Bend, but CRUX was by far the best. We sampled quite a few of the CRUX beers, and everything was so tasty, so crisp, so clean....The BEST! Definitely check out CRUX if you are ever in Bend. There is no "tour" and there are no free samples, but I definitely still recommend going there, and buying a sampler.

Scrumptious beer at CRUX Fermentation Project.

This pickle bug wanted to get a taste of the CRUX beers.

After CRUX, it was another mile to the next brewery:

BONEYARD BEER!

Boneyard was located in a small warehouse/garage. The tasting room was TINY!

 Only the first sample was free, and each additional was $1. There were only a few beers on tap, and they weren't quite as good as CRUX. There was one super HOT and SPICY beer (habenero infused) that we all loved.

Trifecta beer tasting!

After Boneyard, it was on to one of the many McMenamins breweries. McMenemans has locations all over Oregon. They repurpose old schools and churches into hotels, restaurants, and breweries. Each location is unique and funky. The one in Bend used to be a Catholic school, and we had been directed to go there primarily to check out the soaking pool.

If you're not a guest at the hotel, a pass for the soaking pool is $5. You can buy drinks at the bar to bring into the pool, so we grabbed a few different McMenamins beers before heading into the soaking pool.

The water was as hot as a hot tub, and felt good after a full day of walking around Bend.

Cheers to McMenamins!

After the soaking pool, we headed back to our hotel for some rest before dinner. We freshened up, and then walked another mile or so to our dinner destination. 

Dinner of course was at yet another Bend brewery: 10 Barrel Brewery Company

The food here was quite tasty, and we loved the patio.

10 Barrel marked the end of our walking tour of Bend.

 If you like beer, I definitely suggest checking out the Ale Trail if you can. You won't be disappointed!