"Beer is good, more is better"

Gary Fish started Deschutes Brewery in downtown Bend in 1988.  The brewery was named after the nearby Deschutes River and built with the community in mind, creating the public house and local feel. Deschutes Brewery produced just 310 barrels in his first year.  By 2014, however, with a number of renovations and additions, Deschutes is slated to produce in excess of 500,000 barrels.

Black Butte Porter was and still is considered the flagship beer produced at Deschutes, which actually surprised me, as I would have guessed it to be Mirror Pond.  Black Butte Porter, is the number one craft porter in distribution, while it is only distributed in 18 states.  Additionally, Deschutes Brewery is now ranked no. 5 in craft beer sales in the United States.

With statistics like this, I probably don't need to convince you to try one of their liquid concoctions, chances are, you've already had one or two of their award winning brews.  Maybe it should be of no surprise that, despite their size, they still maintain that small, craft brewery feel.  They still brew test batches and a majority of the beer poured at the public house in the 12 barrel system located downtown.

Craft Beer in Central Oregon is definitely alive and well and a majority of the thanks is due Gary Fish and Deschutes Brewery.

Cheers

50 barrel home of beers such as "The Abyss"

Shipped in one piece from Germany, these barrels run deep below the floor

A maze of fermenting vessels