Visiting Bend/Sunriver (2015 Update)

They've committed one of the worst sins you can do with kickstarter imo. No fucking information, how can they expect people to give them so much money on 3ish paragraphs.

 

Just call it Shenmue III and you'll get as much money as you want.

 

Immersion Brewing here! Thanks for adding us to the list and linking to our website.

On a personal note. Why is McMenamins not on the "Must-Hit" list? The location alone justifies a visit. *we have no connection to Mcmenamins.

 

I can understand that their beers are uninspired, and in a town like Bend that doesn't fly... no matter how unique the location is. Still I really enjoy beer, burger and a movie there, but if I was just passing through there are better beer options.

 

I get kinda tired of folks dismissing all McMenamins beer as boring, mediocre etc.
Just isn't true, many of the basic beers are pretty tame , but they do attract a LOT of beer drinkers to craft.
And some of the brewers at individual locations make superb beers.
I for one enjoy McMens...( though not for lunch way to slow)..and i always try the brewers special beer at locations and find most of them very nice.
OK rant over.
Slainte

 

We had a great time in Oregon. Spent 3 nights in Portland, 3 in Bend, 1 in Pacific City, another in Astoria and 2 more back in Portland. We stayed in this Airbnb listing while in Bend. Great location for walking just about anywhere you want to get in town, it's easy to rent a bike and get everywhere else. We were able to go see Wilco play at the Schwab amphitheater. What a nice venue and it looks like they bring in plenty of good shows. We spent one morning hiking around Mt Bachelor and Tuamlo Mountain which lead to some fantastic views. I enjoyed our stop at Crux, but too many hoppy beers for my wife's taste, so we didn't stay long. I wasn't as impressed by Boneyard as I was expecting. I had their beers a few times over the trip and nothing was bad, just didn't justify the excitement I had seen posted on the NW forums about them. I had a lemon drop session IPA from the Deschutes pub that was good for a trendy style that's typically forgettable. Craft Brewery & Kitchen was an odd stop. The appetizers we ordered were good but the atmosphere was lacking and the space was completely empty when we were there. We had two great breakfasts in Bend, one at Chow and the other at Sparrow Bakery. I would recommend both spots for anyone visiting town.

Astoria and Hood River were big highlights for us. We actually went to Double Mountain twice because my wife liked their Peche Mode and pizza so much. If you're going to see the waterfalls at all, it's more than worth the short drive further East for lunch. The setting at Buoy is hard to beat and I wish we had spent more time at Fort George. Breakside was probably my favorite beer stop in Portland. Overall a great trip, prefect weather the whole ten days and we met plenty of friendly people. Thanks for these visiting threads, they really helped with the trip planning!

PS - Kindergarten Cop is a better movie than The Goonies

 

I believe this kind of talk gets you banned from the NW forum. John M, care to take care of this guy?

 

'its not a tumor' versus the truffle shuffle. Close one.........

 

I cant believe what Im reading

 

We ended up going with another couple who got us a free house to stay in for the weekend, but it was just outside of Sisters. As for our time in Bend, we ended up getting there for just two days.

The first day we had dinner at Blacksmith and I had a pale ale from Silver Moon that was really good on tap. [I had a bottle of the same thing the next night that was not nearly as good.] I also had a super fresh Crux Outcast. We then went to Crux where I had a Freakcake and a Better Off Red --- both on tap. We all had a great time there. It was super crowded, though, with hordes of toddlers and preschoolers running around. There was also a Grateful Dead-type cover band. The guitarist was smokin' good but he was one of the worst singers we've ever heard. Awful. Godawful. We had to leave he was so bad. We ended our night at Bend Brewing with glasses of Ching Ching with marionberry cobbler. The Ching Ching was fantastic and the cobbler tasted great but was too runny. More like soup than a dessert.

The second night we ate at Joolz and the food was the best we had all weekend. I drank Fresh Squeezed (I think) and Crux Off Leash and more Outcast. We then walked from Joolz to the amphitheater to see Wilco. A fun time was had by all. I am ashamed to say that I did drink a couple of Joe IPA because all they had was InBev products and I realllllllly wanted to beer to go along with other fun-time products in our possession.

All in all, Bend (and Sisters) was great. Looking forward to a return.

 

YOur a better man that I..would have taken my hip flask with some good rum..ideal to pour into coke..ideal for such situations!