Bend hosted the 2017 American Hop Convention, which prompted several area breweries to come together and create an Oregon-centric beer for the occasion. Photos courtesy of Deschutes Brewery
By Dustin Gouker
For the Oregon Beer Growler
When the 2017 American Hop Convention came to Bend in January, it sparked a unique opportunity for the craft beer community in Central Oregon.
The convention, which is held in different cities across the country annually, examines the future and history of the hop industry across several days. It attracts hundreds of people associated with the beer industry.
But such a big event doesn’t come through relatively small towns like Bend all the time, so the brewers in the region decided to take the opportunity to do something special.
A variety of brewers came together — via the Central Oregon Brewers Guild — to brew a special beer for the convention, called Oregon Tr’Ale IPA.
Robin Johnson, the assistant brewmaster at Deschutes Brewery’s Bend location, recounted the effort to get a beer ready for the convention at the urging of Crux Fermentation Project’s Larry Sidor. More than a dozen folks from area breweries got together at the pub, as Johnson recalled.
“As we started kicking around ideas, everyone really liked the idea that it would be an all-Oregon brew,” Johnson said.
No detail was spared in making sure it was an Oregon-centric beer:
—Experimental hops came from Willamette Valley Hops.
--Madras’ Mecca Grade Estate Malt, used by several area breweries already, was tapped for the malt.
—The label is in the shape of the state of Oregon.
—The bottle cap features the state seal.
Picking the style was an easy choice, given the platform for the beer.
“We said, let’s do an IPA here,” Johnson said. “Let’s showcase the hops and show the convention what we can do as Central Oregon brewers.”
The group settled on using two varieties of experimental hops from Willamette and the Vanora and Pelton malts from Mecca Grade.
In all, 10 breweries had a hand in conceptualizing the beer and making the idea a reality. Boneyard Beer did the brewing, Deschutes coordinated the gathering of raw materials and Crux provided the bottling machine. A variety of breweries helped with the bottling process.
Showcasing hops was a major theme throughout the week in January when the convention was in town. Growers offered up experimental hops to area brewers who wanted to play around with them. Crux put 18 of those beers on display at a special tasting at its Bend pub.
But the biggest effort came with Oregon Tr’Ale. Will we see any more collaborations in the future from the Central Oregon craft brewing scene? Don’t count out the possibility.
“For this beer, we saw an opportunity to do something cool for Oregon,” Johnson said. “We would all be open to do it again in the future. It was a really positive experience and we felt really good about the beer we produced.
“But we’re all pretty busy guys with our own beers,” Johnson said with a laugh.
For the Oregon Beer Growler
When the 2017 American Hop Convention came to Bend in January, it sparked a unique opportunity for the craft beer community in Central Oregon.
The convention, which is held in different cities across the country annually, examines the future and history of the hop industry across several days. It attracts hundreds of people associated with the beer industry.
But such a big event doesn’t come through relatively small towns like Bend all the time, so the brewers in the region decided to take the opportunity to do something special.
A variety of brewers came together — via the Central Oregon Brewers Guild — to brew a special beer for the convention, called Oregon Tr’Ale IPA.
Robin Johnson, the assistant brewmaster at Deschutes Brewery’s Bend location, recounted the effort to get a beer ready for the convention at the urging of Crux Fermentation Project’s Larry Sidor. More than a dozen folks from area breweries got together at the pub, as Johnson recalled.
“As we started kicking around ideas, everyone really liked the idea that it would be an all-Oregon brew,” Johnson said.
No detail was spared in making sure it was an Oregon-centric beer:
—Experimental hops came from Willamette Valley Hops.
--Madras’ Mecca Grade Estate Malt, used by several area breweries already, was tapped for the malt.
—The label is in the shape of the state of Oregon.
—The bottle cap features the state seal.
Picking the style was an easy choice, given the platform for the beer.
“We said, let’s do an IPA here,” Johnson said. “Let’s showcase the hops and show the convention what we can do as Central Oregon brewers.”
The group settled on using two varieties of experimental hops from Willamette and the Vanora and Pelton malts from Mecca Grade.
In all, 10 breweries had a hand in conceptualizing the beer and making the idea a reality. Boneyard Beer did the brewing, Deschutes coordinated the gathering of raw materials and Crux provided the bottling machine. A variety of breweries helped with the bottling process.
Showcasing hops was a major theme throughout the week in January when the convention was in town. Growers offered up experimental hops to area brewers who wanted to play around with them. Crux put 18 of those beers on display at a special tasting at its Bend pub.
But the biggest effort came with Oregon Tr’Ale. Will we see any more collaborations in the future from the Central Oregon craft brewing scene? Don’t count out the possibility.
“For this beer, we saw an opportunity to do something cool for Oregon,” Johnson said. “We would all be open to do it again in the future. It was a really positive experience and we felt really good about the beer we produced.
“But we’re all pretty busy guys with our own beers,” Johnson said with a laugh.
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