Looking for some Ale Apothecary in Bend

If you're into Ale Apothecary, definitely email Paul and schedule a "tour." Seeing the setting and equipment he uses to create the beers really enhances your appreciation (and helps justify the prices, maybe). Bottles of TBFKA La Tache, Sahati, and El Cuatro are at multiple places around town, but other stuff is scarce (though the next quarterly stuff may arrive before your visit).

 

High $20s to $35-ish, depending on which beer and place of purchase.

 

They are priced like the Bruery, but you actually feel good about yourself after.

 

Be sure to hit this spot:

http://crowsfeetcommons.com/tap-list/

Right now they have a handful of Apothecary bottles and a couple De Garde.

 

Best places for Ale Apothecary in Bend are:

Brew Shop/Platypus: They had 1 bottle of La Tache yesterday
Broken Top Bottle Shop
Crows Feet Commons: Always have bottles, just a couple bucks more per
Jackson's Corner on Broadway

 

If you're looking for other sour/open fermentation stuff, don't sleep on Logsdon, Commons, and Bend Brewing in addition to de Garde.

 

Bend just got another shipment of Bu Weiss and Petit Desay. You should be able to find it at the shops I listed above.

 

Also spotted some de Garde Imperial Cherry Blu Bu, Rojo Uno and Rojo Dos today. Don't know if those'll stick around until Feb, though.

 

Those are being illegally resold then, unless this was at the brewery. Likewise, I would assume that they are all significantly marked up from our pricing. Any chance you can point me to where? I've heard about one place over there, but would like confirmation.
We dont want our prospective customers overcharged, and don't want the pains we take to keep our prices to our customers as low as possible to be devalued because a shop wants to make a few extra dollars.
Thanks in advance.

 

Ching Ching is the only sour they bottle, but they occasionally have others on tap.

 

Bend filled a growler of their Salmonberry Sour for me over the Summer. Good stuff.

 

Too bad OP is heading to Bend in February. If he were to go during the warmer weather, he could sit on Bend Brewing's lovely deck, and enjoy several brews while gazing upon the Deschutes River as it flows past the brewery. Prolly a bit chilly to do that this time of year.

 

Don't know if it would be feasible (or even legal), but what about putting a "suggested retail" price on the labels? For example, if Beertunes Brewing sold a 22oz bottle (which Beertunes Brewing would never do, as beertunes hates the format) for $5 at the brewery, but put a suggested price of $6 on the label, wouldn't that give retailers a little room to make an extra buck, or to price lower than the suggestion, so it looks like the consumer is getting a deal?

 

Yeah, it wouldn't work for a larger brewery, with a big foot print, but, what about a smaller brewery? Maybe one the size of, oh say, maybe, DeGarde? They sell only in one state. Their footprint isn't particularly wide or deep. It might give the brewery a method of better tracking how retailers are handling their product. And, it would also serve as a semi-subtle alert to consumers as to they should be expecting to pay. If Degarde sells a bottle for $4, and some guy is grey marketing the same beer for $8 in Bend, wouldn't this set off a bell for both brewer and buyer?

I'm just spitballing on this, but it also bumps into another thought I've had for a while. You've noticed that when you buy an ice cream sandwich at the mini-mart, it's got a barcode for retail sale. But, if you buy a box of the same treat at the grocery store, there's a little notice "not marked for individual sale"? Could that be a way to save on packaging/labeling costs, for a brewer? Design a nice sixer carrier that has all the info on it, but just slap a generic label on each individual bottle. Wouldn't have to keep updating things. Random thoughts during the slow, dark time of the year.