Deschutes Brewery makes plans to celebrate 30th anniversary
Bend’s original craft brewery is gearing up for its 30 th anniversary with a week of celebrations in Bend spanning Monday, June 24 – Saturday, June 30.
On June 27 th , 1988, Deschutes Brewery opened the doors of its Bend Public House on Bond Street. Three decades and a lot of beer later, the company will host a weeks’ worth of local events celebrating 30 years of craft brewing, community partnerships and the countless local customers who have been critical to Deschutes’ ongoing success. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation, a longtime non-profit partner of the brewery.
To anchor the celebration, Deschutes has invited several Deschutes Brewery alumni to return and collaborate on seven exciting new brews.
Deschutes founder Gary Fish takes pride in the success of the collaboration brewers after their time here because they all continue to make major contributions to the craft industry.
“I’m glad they are pursuing their passion and have all been successful at it,” said Fish. “It speaks to their talent and perseverance. Every single one of them makes really good beer, and we’re proud of all of them.”
The Deschutes Brewery 30 th anniversary collaboration “family tree” includes John Harris, Deschutes Brewery’s original brewmaster with Ecliptic Brewery, Frank Appleton a brewing consultant responsible for creating the recipes of Deschutes’ beloved brands such as Black Butte Porter and Cascade Golden Ale, Tim Gossack from Bell’s Brewery, Tony Lawrence from Boneyard Brewery, long time brewer Mark Vickery, Paul Arney from The Ale Apothecary, and Cam O’Connor and Larry Sidor now with Crux Fermentation Project.
The guest collaborators partnered with current Deschutes Brewery brewers Veronica Vega, Ryan Schmiege, Robin Johnson and Ben Kehs to make the unique brews. All were made at Deschutes’ Bend brewing facility.
“There have been a lot of great brewers that have impacted our process, our mission, our values and our success over these three decades,” said Fish, “I’m glad they’ve chosen to come back to commemorate the time we’ve spent together.” These brewers will head to Drake Park on Saturday, June 30, to help showcase the beer and reminisce about the days at Deschutes.
Below is a listing of the week of festivities!
Festivities kick off Monday, June 25, at the Bend pub located at 1044 NW Bond St., for a “super local’s night” with a throwback to 1988, the year the company was founded. The evening will include a toast to the brewery’s long-time pub regulars. Wednesday, June 27 will be Deschutes Brewery’s annual birthday “Back Alley Bash” at the Bend pub located at 1044 NW Bond St. from 5:30pm to 9:30pm, with live music, food, and the release of special reserve beers: Black Butte XXX (Black Butte 30 th ) and Black Butte 3 (referred to as Black Butte cubed.) On Thursday, June 28, specialty 30 th anniversary Black Butte Whiskies will be released at the Bend pub. These releases will not be sold in bottles, only available by the glass. Saturday, June 30 is a daylong celebration at the namesake of Deschutes Brewery’s favorite pale ale, Mirror Pond (at Drake Park, 777 NW Riverside Blvd.), on Saturday, June 30 th from 12pm-9:30pm. This family friendly party in the park includes pours of all the special 30 th collaboration beers and special releases. There will be, live music, damn tasty beer, hot air balloon rides and more family fun. The centerpiece of the action includes Street Pub, our nationally famous 186-foot-long pop-up bar.
About Deschutes Brewery
Family and employee owned since 1988, Deschutes Brewery – Bend’s original brewpub – has become the cornerstone of Central Oregon’s legacy craft brew culture. Known for defining beers such as Black Butte Porter, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, and Fresh Squeezed IPA, the brewery also keeps fans on the edge of their bar stools with the release of small batch experimental beers. Now available in 29 states and Washington, D.C., Deschutes’ flagship brewpub has been joined by a main brewing facility overlooking the Deschutes River in Bend, a pub in Portland, and in coming years, a new east coast brewery in Roanoke, Virginia. www.deschutesbrewery.com
