Topic “Brewery”

The lukewarm reputation of American beer during the 20th century was due in large part to Prohibition. From 1920 to 1933 Americans could not enjoy their beverage of choice. In desperation, bootleggers watered down their black market beer to increase profits, altering the palette of Americans for decades to come. At least 800 breweries were shut down in the United States during Prohibition, and independent breweries continued to close for the next fifty years.

It's hard to believe but it's been two years since Alan Sprints from Hair of the Dog Brewing Company came over to Bend to brew Fred and Adam at our brewing facility for our first collaboration project. The Dissident and The Stoic were later brewed and all four beers were then transferred into a variety of oak barrels.

The enduring quality of Deschutes Brewery’s Reserve Series is no more apparent than with the 6th release of The Abyss. This imperial stout is the heart and soul of the Reserve Series. It built the house and raised the wax-topped roof. Then brought the house down. The Abyss is the wheelhouse and the lighthouse. It epitomizes great accomplishments. Its success is the bar to measure all other adventures.

Congratulations are in order for Brian Faivre (left) and Cam O’Connor (right) who have just been promoted from assistant brewmaster to brewmaster! Brian and Cam have been instrumental in creating many of the new beers that have been brought to our fans over the last few years and were chosen for their abilities to both innovate and lead. For the full press release click here. Cheers guys!

We are very excited to announce that we came home this weekend from the 2011 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO, with some new hardware! Above, Larry, Alicia, Jake and Ryan pose with Charlie Papazian as they accept one of three awards.

Extended Summer

We had a slow start to the summer in Bend this year, but I believe I’ve figured out a way to extend it for a couple more months (those of you who live in Phoenix may not want to hear this). It’s a calendar thing. In our little microclimate of Bend we have summer during the 7th and 8th months of the year (July and August). Here we define “summer” as a period of time where the chances of your plants freezing are generally below 50%. Summer’s a funny word isn’t it? Say it a few times out loud: summer, summer, summer.