Winner: Deschutes Brewery, Portland
Photo by Michael Mathers
With a highly successful brewpub in Bend and its Black Butte Porter the best-selling porter in the country, Deschutes Brewery knew it was time to enter “Beervana,” Portland’s nickname for having the most brewpubs per capita in the nation. In 2008, Deschutes opened in an old converted body shop in the Pearl District, where locals and tourists can experience on-site dining and drinking that is part laid-back Bend, part upscale urban. “The best way to experience a craft beer is by going to the pub,” says Jason Randall of Deschutes Brewery. Both locations recycle spent hops and grains from the brewing process to feed locally farmed cattle that eventually end up on the table. Order an old favorite like the fish and chips or the newer, Obsidian Stout braised beef, with one of the nineteen beers on tap.
Runner-Up: 10 Barrel, Bend
Just as the craft beer craze took off, 10 Barrel Brewing Company opened a brewpub on Bend’s west side in 2010. It has been riding the wave ever since, growing from a 10-barrel system (thus the name) to a newly opened fifty-barrel production facility. Partner Garrett Wales expects capacity to expand from the current 9,000-barrel output to 20,000 barrels in coming years. Enjoy a tasty burger and beverage at the popular Galveston Street pub. Sip beer around the outdoor fire pit while you wait for a table) or pick up a six-pack of Apocalypse IPA, and other 10 Barrel beers in grocery stores across the Northwest.