Crux Fermentation Project

Happened to stop by during Portland burger week and had a grand time! Enjoyed a damn tasty burger for$8. Staff were super friendly and accommodating. Beer was on point but could have been a bit colder. Sat outside and enjoyed the delicious smells wafting over from the outside cooking setup.Pup friendly. Will definitely return next time I'm in Portland.

Large industrial building in industrial park just off highway. Expansive is an understatement, concrete bar area seats 10 with a few tables on the left, large covered area to right of bar, and gigantic side lawn farther right. 24 beers on tap. Efficient service. Singles, crowlers to go. I did not try the food. Very cool place.

Very modern, big, tall and concrete taproom. Lots of steel pipes with many long tables to sit at. Good amount of outdoor area to relax in. The beer was OK.

Nice location in an idustrial park on the periphery of Bend. Lots of outdoor space for sitting and activities. Indoor space has an industrial vibe. Nice selection of beers with a supoer helpful staff. Place really gets buzzing on a nice weekend. Definitely worth a stop

Survived & arrived alive in Bend, but my god, that mountain pass snowbelt in a shitty Toyota Corolla airport rental was something of nightmares tonight & tomorrow’s tonight & forevermore, for sure. On runaround now, winding down a day that aged me 5 years (stuck on my eyes). How does one get back to Portland the long way around? I don’t know, but you can be damned sure we’re going to find out. How does one get to Crux in the here and now? Wait! So, under the highway, right turn and back under the highway? Do you take me for such a fool? Strip parked on what could only dead end and walked on up…

We sat at the bar as two do; curved & concrete topped with a wood blocked base, and a shorty accessible spur on the end making for an ‘L’. Seating for 10 on backed chairs, save the spur which has low benches tucked in. 20 logo’d wood handled taps on a piping tower on the center of the bar. The barback is a wall of vertical windows offering brewery tank views with growls lining its sills. A pair of 4 tap towers and a lot of glassware fronting, running the length countered atop cooler space below. A triple wide horizontal board above, the first two listing draft options (beer, style, ABV, IBU, & serving size), and the third one listing ‘Banished Series’ (barrel aged) selections & upcoming events.

Red concrete floors, wood panel & plank ceiling with ductwork, sunken spots, spinny fans, and drop copper cylinder lamps over the bar. Pale cinderblock exterior walls & painted inners, and a wood plank cold box off the bar with barrels above. Garage door roll ups open or are over bar counter space to the front and side. Can & bottle cooler off the entrance. A kitchen area to my right, and another bar around the bend past there.

3 shared loooong hightops seating a dozen each on squared stools, and a single raised roundie off to the left, and the brewery proper down on the end. Plus another dozen or so shared hightops & shorty rectables behind me muscling the merch zone & further down that way there (me, pointing).

2 dozen beers (Crux Pilz, a new-old world Pilsner, 5.2%; Oats of Wrath, Pre-Prohibition Lager, 5.5%; Sweet Bee, Lager, 5.2%; Play Wave, NW Pale Ale, 5%; Entrenched, IPA, 5.5%; Not Too Bright, Hazy IPA, 6%; Bubble Wrap, Hazy IPA, 6.2%; Gimme Mo, not just another IPA, 6.2%; Vicky’s Gone Troppo, IPA, 6.4%; Battlestar, IPA, 7.5%; Cast Out, IPA, 7.6%; Hand Over Fist, Imperial IPA, 9.5%; Half Hitch, Mosaic Imperial IPA, 9.5%; Clearly Confused, Blonde Stout, 9%; PCT Porter, a day in & day out Porter, 5.5%; Like Father Like Son, American style Black Ale, 6.8%; Crux Stout, A not so rainy day Stout, nitro, 7.7%; Hurdy Gurdy, Strong Ale, 10.5%; Bendliner, BA Berliner Weisse, 4.6%; and a handful of Banished Series BA offerings; All Worked Up, BA Wheat Wine, 12.5%; Ribbon of Darkness, BA Imperial Porter, 10.3%; Freakcake ‘19, BA Oud Bruin, 10.5%; Pear Farmhouse, BA Farmhouse, 7.5%; Tough Love ‘18, BA Imperial Russian Stout, nitro, 11.5%), + 2 house ciders & 2 house wines (at least I think they’re house).

As a sampler will get you 6 in this town, yes, I’ll take that stave, please, and thank you, and then added some things along the way (Like Father Like Son, American style Black Ale, but not quite a Black IPA, coffee, roast, solid beer; Crux Pils, a new-old world Pilsner, clean, easy; Sweet Bee, Lager, lightly honeylike, a little easy drinking sweety; PCT Porter, a day in & day out Porter, dark chocolate, a bit roasty; Vicky’s Gone Troppo, IPA, resin, citrus, pleasant; Battlestar, IPA, big citrus, yes; Crux Stout, A not so rainy day Stout, roast, coffee, chocolate, maybe, does not suck; Pear Farmhouse, BA Farmhouse, lived in a red wine barrel, sour, pear on its edges). PCT Porter, Battlestar, & Like Father Like Son for the WINS, but there were no clunkers in this lot.

On walkabout now, I discover that there’s a large, very long outdoor space with a dozen & a half tables and 2 amazing firepits. It’s as cold as actual fuck out tonight, but I care not. I mean, it’s 19 degrees right now, but it’s amazing and clear and bright and love. Did I mention the sing-a-long to Van Morrison out here just now by myself for all of Bend to enjoy? It’s Warm Love (and it’s ever present everywhere).

Talked to that woman from KC. She is goods. And got some recs on the breakfast situation tomorrow because I speak the talk of locals. I am from everywhere and nowhere. Amber at the bar eating tomorrow’s secret soup, yep. Should have gotten here earlier and stayed later. We liked a lot a lot a lot.

Visited with my wife today, mid afternoon on a Friday during the pandemic.

Moderately busy, huge outdoor area and biggish indoor area. Tons of interesting things on tap; I got a sampler of four and my wife did too, and there were probably still another 8 beers I really wanted to try. Everything was at least good, and a lot of it was *really* good. Didn't eat there, though. I would definitely recommend it.

 

Love Crux. One of my favorite breweries. After exploring the Three Sisters Wilderness, go there.

 

we had a blast here, what a spectacular facility, worth the hype, and the beer list was stacked when we were in. it looks brand new, open feeling inside, with high ceilings, shiny gorgeous brewing equipment visible, a two sided service bar, and to the left a beer hall area, to the right high top community tables, but the real draw is outside, the yard is as big as a football field with several different seating areas, some sunny, some shaded, dogs everywhere, a little food cart outside slinging killer tacos, and yard games galore. stunning views to the west, even before sunset, and just a real laid back vibe. there must have been a few hundred people when we were in, but it never felt busy, thats how vast it is, especially outside. my on complaint would be how many little kids there were, really reckless, unsupervised, a bit more of a daycare sort of free for all vibe than i can ever really find relaxing, they should cut that back a little bit, but its cool that its so family friendly. the beer speaks for itself, crux kills it, but i was stoked to find to many new ones on the menu, wet hops all over the place, some beers from the banished series, and some i had never heard of before. i loved the in the pocket, which blew our minds, enjoyed the dr jack wet hop, and was stoked on a wild grisette as well, real compelling stuff across the board. the only one i didnt care for was the brett pils, which tasted new and kind of sloppy to me, but the rest of it was on point. the service was great for how busy they were, prices were fair, and this is a heck of a cool place to hang out. i think they do some food inside too, but we stuck to the taco cart and were real pleased. one of my favorite places for beer in bend, not to be missed if you are in town. amazing brewery experience!

Great outdoor seating area with horseshoes, parking can be a b***h, solid beers except for darks, and food carts for nom (do Sancho's).

 

 

 

 

This place was crazy on a warm summer evening. The wait for beers was 30-minutes and finding a seat was a challenge. Almost a party atmosphere! Beers are excellent and visiting Crux should be on everybody's growler list!

 

Visited around opening time the week of Bend Brewfest. Parking fills up quickly. Great industrial vibe to the facility. Awesome selection of house beers. Great selection of in house food and on site food trucks. Pet friendly. Large sidelawn area for yard games or relaxing in the shade with a pint. Great selection of branded swag. Very popular hangout of the locals.

 

 

Fun place with unique menu, good/friendly servers and decent seating. The menu is unique, you can find something for almost anyone, but they're a bit limited to smaller items, and having plenty of vegetarian options.

The tap selections range from light to dark, hoppy and malty, and they offer up their Banished series there quite regularly. There is definitely something for everyone here.

Overall a recommended stop if you are in the Bend area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the first stop of yesterday's Bend run from Welches, OR.

Vibe was very cool as it had a farmhouse vibe going on. We parked on the road outside the project, exited our car to hear the strains of Howling For You by the Black Keys which was pretty cool since this is the Arizona Coyotes (NHL) theme song!
A couple of acres of open field are available for customers to frolic about or chill.

Quality of the Half Hitch and Off Leash (that Da Boss had) were very good.

Service was solid. Server was timely and friendly.

Selection of beer was good as there were maybe 15-20 taps/

Food was extremely limited but of good quality. Da Boss had the Gaucho and I had the Bahn Mi. Sandwiches were on a bread that was light, flavorful, and crunchy.

Overall it was a pretty day in Bend and a very good experience on our visit. Recommend it amongst all the great choices in Bend!

Great spot lots of room. Nice variety of beer chill staff

During my July 2016 visit there were 21 Crux beers on tap with 8 (mostly over-lapping with the taps, for sale in bottles. Lively yet laid back and friendly atmosphere. Fine service.

The food selection is limited but good. The beer selection is good and I enjoyed being able to create my own sampler. The outside area is where the action is with an outdoor bar, some additional food options and cornhole and other outside seating available.

 

Staff varied from indifferent to somewhat helpful, building and grounds were nice. Beers ranged from mediocre to very good. Hops are malty, Flanders was on point, Belgians weirdly sour, scotch lacking crystal/toffee, BA stout delicious. Worth a visit but not worth going out of your way.

 

 

Neat space in an industrial park, nicely build out with a very impressive room full of brite tanks that are seated stadium style on risers behind the bar (hard to describe, but you will understand when you see it). The beers were largely solid and perhaps a bit more interesting then much of what you get in Portland. Service was good and the atmosphere was laid back. We ordered a small snack at the bar and it was good, though I wouldn't be inclined to come here for dinner.

I've been here a couple of times now and really enjoy pub and vibe. It's one of those places that's easy to see from the main roads, but takes a little time to actually find the parking lot. Though if you're downtown or at Old Mill it's an easy walk. A large bar when you walk in, with brew tanks and kettles all around you. The hop room is essentially in the middle main seating area and when the door opens.....wow, what a great aroma!

Staff has always been friendly, knowledgeable and prompt. As others have noted, it definitely can get busy. Beer selection is outstanding. The food menu is more limited compared to other pubs in Bend, but the quality was excellent; though I can't fully opine as we just had apps. Definitely worth a visit.

 

Cool spot up on a little bluff abutting the freeway. Great view of the mountain ranges from the wide expanse of a front lawn and sitting area. All the fermentation, bright, and brewing tanks are well withing view from the inside. Awesome Bend brewery, a must visit