How would you rate Deschutes?

Deschutes is awesome, but this inquiry could go in a lot of different directions. For starters, you'll find their year-round and seasonal sixers in pretty much every grocery store and bottle shop in OR. Will your trip take you to Portland as one of the main destinations? There's a Deschutes pub there if you're looking for more "special" stuff. What sort of trip, how long, etc.??

 

Bend is great, but note that it takes 3+ hours to get there from Portland, so it's kinda out of the way. Hitting the Deschutes brewery in Portland might be your best bet.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16862/?view=beerfly

And of course, as you may have noticed in browsing the NW forum, there are a few other places to grab a beer while you're in Portland as well.

 

It has a similar following as those mentioned above. They have a brewery in Bend, small brewery and taproom in Portland. They're both always busy with locals and tourists alike, families, business meetings, couples, people with tasting trays... they are not my *favorite* brewery, but no one would ever blame you for checking them out in either PDX or Bend (Bend is beautiful). They seem, to me, that typical "if you visit one brewery in Portland..." solid choice. Fun taprooms. Their winter special releases have a following like some of the "Best By" Stones and RRs.

 

My $0.02 is that yes, Deschutes definitely is in the same league with those esteemed breweries. However, I'd recommend checking out some of the "little guys" while you're in the area, too. Portland's beer scene is pretty unique, with a ton of brewpubs, beer bars, breweries, etc. Check out a few of the "where to go in Portland?" threads that pop up periodically for ideas.

Edit: Since it's not solely a beer trip, it's worth noting that most decent restaurants are going to have a local beer or 2 on tap as well. You don't have to go on a "greatest hits of BA" pub crawl type thing to get a sense of how much great beer is a part of life there.

 

My friend in Portland says that Hopworks Urban Brewery is amazing and has great food. I would highly recommend their beer, especially their ipa.

 

Cascade is walking distance from HOTD and well worth the walk.

 

A lot depends on what else you like to do with your time, but I'd strongly recommend a visit to Bend. Lots of very good-to-great breweries in a small area, lots of outdoors activities, a visit to the High Desert Museum http://www.highdesertmuseum.org/ , and then a visit to Crater Lake on your way South. But you'll be able to find Deschutes beers easily throughout your trip. Maybe you could even try to visit all places on the Deschutes beer labels: http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/landmarks .

 

Bend is not conveniently located for anything but outdoor activities, beer, and Mars rover testing. If you're not an outdoorsy type and just want to go pubcrawliing, Portland is a better bet. Also, no Skiing in July, which is one of the major appeals of the area around Bend.

 

When I first starting getting into beer I thought they were really good but over the years I have found them to be just ok with some good one-offs. They do make pretty consistent flavored beer but I don't really seek them out or buy their beer anymore, except things like abyss.
In 2002 the black butte porter was 5.9% abv, in 2005 it was 5.6%, in 2008 it was 5.4%, and now it is 5.2% abv. Lowering abv over the years is really weak (please stop) and the only reason I can think of why they did it is because as they get more popular and try to get their beer out to more people so they may have had to cut back on ingredients or fermentation time???
I do give them credit for expanding my craft beer horizon and I think they are great for people who are new to craft beer. But I think Firestone Walker/Russian River/Stone are way better...
I am more excited to see what ex-brewmaster Larry Sidor will do over at his new place Crux Fermentation.

 

the portland pub is worth a visit, they do some one off beers that vary in quality but are really good sometimes. I would definitely ask for a taster first though. sometimes they even have Abyss on nitro, not to be missed.

 

Your friend is not a foodie. But the beer is pretty good.

 

eh, the beer isn't that good either

 

I've had seven Crux beers so far. The Four Pound Sterling IPA was a bit buttery, and the Flanders Red is in a pre-soured stage, but everything else was fantastic. I really like Outcast, Sugar Daddy, Long Day and the Bavarian Hefeweissen.

Can't wait to get back down to Bend, I helped set the place up and haven't been back down since Memorial Day.