The Bend Brewfest is headed to new heights this summer.
Celebrating its 15th anniversary, the three-day Bend, Oregon, craft beer festival held August 10-12 at the Les Schwab Amphitheater will feature more beer and cider than ever before with 86 breweries and cider houses from around the West set to attend.
Festival director Marney Smith expects the 2017 Bend Brewfest to offer up more than 200 different beers and ciders, a record number for Central Oregon’s largest craft brew celebration.
“There is a huge amount of interest each year from breweries all around the region,” said Smith, whose festival drew nearly 40,000 people last year.
The Bend Brewfest showcases some of the most innovative breweries in the country, large and small. West Coast heavyweights Deschutes, Lagunitas and Sierra Nevada will once again be at the Bend Brewfest, as will regional favorites like Crux, pFriem, Fremont and HUB. Craft beer aficionados will also have the chance to sample some of the Pacific Northwest’s smaller standouts such as Sedition Brewing out of The Dalles, Oregon; Ashtown Brewing from Longview, Washington; and Incline Cider Company based out of Auburn, Washington.
One of the yearly highlights at the Bend Brewfest is its X-Tap program. Almost like a specialty beer festival within the Bend Brewfest itself, the X-Tap program is reserved for small batch and experimental beers. Think of concoctions like Anderson Valley’s Salted Carmel Porter aged in Wild Turkey Bourbon barrels or a one-time version of Fort George’s Matryoshka Stout infused with cocoa nibs and raspberries. Yes, life in the X-Tap tent is as fantastic as it sounds.
Can’t make it to Brewfest? Check out some of the other great events happening at the Les Schwab Amphitheater in Bend this year.
Admission to the 2017 Bend Brewfest is free; to sample the goods you’ll need to purchase a mug – which includes five tasting tokens for $20. Additional tokens are five for $5.
For more information on the Bend Brewfest, go to bendbrewfest.com. Additionally, you can find a complete list of participating breweries and cider makers at bendbrewfest.com/brews.
While attending the Bend Brewfest, be sure to eat, drink and stay local. Reserve a hotel room for the Bend Brewfest in the Old Mill District.
