Get funky: Meet the brewers turning Central Oregon air into beer
October 31, 2025
1 minute read9 craft beers you need to try right now
From rare dark lagers to full bodied ales, our beer expert weighs in on the Bend Ale Trail bevs he dreams about.
If you’ve never heard of a cicerone, your love for beer is about to level up. Bend currently has 27 breweries, which, by our count means you have a metric s-ton’s worth of different beers to choose from. And since November is Bend Ale Trail month, the only time of the year you can win a trophy for supporting our breweries, there’s no better excuse to get to work. But where to begin? There’s where a cicerone can help, especially one like Jeremy Storton.
Cicerones (“sis-uh-ROHNZ”) are to beer what sommeliers are to wine, experts who have spent years cultivating an intimate knowledge of flavor, craft, and pairings. Storton is one of just 200 “advanced” cicerones in the world and an accredited beer judge who for a decade has helped crown winners at the Best of Craft Beer Awards and, more recently, at the Great American Beer Festival, where Bend breweries picked up a whopping eight medals. He’s also a beer educator at Linfield College’s Center for Wine Education. So listen up, belly up, and let’s begin. Here are the nine Bend craft beers Storton says you shouldn’t miss.
Crux Fermentation Project’s In the Pocket saison
Sunriver Brewing’s Che Figata Italian pilsner
Terranaut’s Roasted Robot Czech dark lager
Van Henion’s Munich Helles lager
Bevel’s Black Ace, Cascadian dark ale
UPP Liquid’s Dollar Kitten rice lager
Monkless’s Imperial Peppercorn Wit wheat beer
Deschutes Brewery’s Fresh Squeezed Old Fashion and N/A Black Butte
Need a place to stay while you check out Bend Ale Trail month? November is a great month to score big deals, including free nights. (Looking at you, Wall Street Suites!) Find your perfect home away from home here.
9. Crux Fermentation Project’s In the Pocket, a barrel-aged rustic saison
Why Storton picked it: Larry Sidor, the former Deschutes brewer who helped launch Crux, is the godfather of northwest brewing, Storton says, because he created a lot of brewing processes that we now take for granted. That includes finding new ways to use hops to extract the purest flavor. “He’s the kind of guy that when he talks, people listen,” Storton says. “So when he talks about beer he wants to drink, you listen.” Storton says Sidor once told him that if had to choose a beer to drink on his last day on Earth, it’d be his In the Pocket saison. “It’s exceptional craftsmanship with so many layers of complexity,” Storton says. “It knocked my socks off.”
Pair it with: A loaded cheese and charcuterie board with prosciutto, soppressata, and warm camembert.
Where to find it: The Riverlands, Crux Fermentation Project
8. Sunriver Brewing’s Che Figata, an Italian pilsner
Why Storton picked it: We’ve all heard of pilsners but the Italian pils is a relatively new style that offers a more hoppy take on the classic light-color beer. It’s crisp and floral but dry-hopped for extra aromatics. “We’ve loved hoppy lagers like IPLs (a lager version of the IPA) but this is a pilsner that’s done in a more craft-like way,” Storton says. Sunriver’s founding brewer Brett Thomas and master brewer Patrick Rasch nail the hop expression without bruising your palate. It’s hoppy, yes, but elegant and impeccably integrated, Storton says.
Pair it with: Stick with the Italian theme and go for a creamy mushroom carbonara.
Where to find it: The Badlands, Sunriver Brewing East
7. Terranaut’s Roasted Robot, a Czech dark lager
Why Storton picked it: Storton knows well brewer Bryon Pyka, the mastermind behind Terranaut, another relative new-comer to the Bend Ale Trail that has been making waves with hit after hit of outstanding beer. “He’s particularly interested in honoring style,” Storton says. “So if he’s going to attack a Czech pils, he’s going to do it right.” Storton says the Czech pilsner is “ground zero” for all pilsners but most of them that we know in North American tend to be the pale version. Think Pilsner Urquell. “Finding a dark one is like finding a unicorn,” Storton says. “You are not going to get it on your everyday brewery tour.” What makes the dark version so special is the body fullness and rich texture, like comparing nylon to silk. “It’s more refined, chocolatey, nutty, smooth,” Storton says. “That would be the first beer I’d go for.”
Pair it with: Carnitas and a spicy salsa.
Where to find it: The Brewers District, Terranaut Beer
Fun fact: Terranaut offers 5-ounce pours for $3, meaning you can easily try a dark Czech lager and their pale Czech lager, the Disc Czech, side by side.
6. Van Henion’s Munich Helles, a golden lager
Why Storton picked it: “As a beer professional, if I were stuck with one beer style for the rest of my days, it would be a Munich helles,” says Storton. As a style, helles, (“HELL-us,” meaning “light,” in German, the opposite of “dunkel”), is easy to drink as a crisp lager but goes far beyond the flavorless swill you might wrongly associate with light beers to become something sublime and complex. “They’re like blues on an acoustic guitar,” Storton says—stripped down but intricate. Van Henion’s take on the beer that’s ubiquitous in Germany’s most famous beer town tastes like it’s straight out of Munich, which is very hard to pull off with no place for off flavors to hide. “It is really hard to brew well and Van Henion did it exceptionally well.”
Pair it with: A spicy sausage, like andouille, would be great.
Where to find it: The Brewers District, Van Henion
5. Bevel Craft Brewing’s Black Ace, a Cascadian dark ale
Why Storton picked it: Cascadian dark ales, or CDAs, are a Pacific Northwest original that helped shape early Bend beer culture. Think of it as roasty malts meet a firm hop bitterness that combine to offer a stout-meets-IPA hybrid. It’s a delicious throwback and a love letter to the Northwest, Storton says. “This is what you try when you want to reminisce about the early days of craft beer in Oregon,” he says. “It’ll put hair on your chest, male or female.” For your second round, Storton says you shouldn’t miss Bevel’s Prickly Pear Kettle Sour, a gose that’s a bit like “the margarita of beer,” with a somewhat salty, extremely refreshing fruity profile that’s typically found in beers out of the southwest. It pours a delightful pink, like a sunset in your glass.
Pair it with: The CDA goes impeccably well with a white-sauce pizza with Italian sausage and mushrooms. Pair the Prickly Pear Kettle Sour with “street tacos all day long,” he says.
Where to find it: The Badlands, Bevel Craft Brewing
4. UPP Liquids’ Dollar Kitten, a rice lager
Why Storton picked it: Uniting People and Places with Liquid, or UPP (“up”) for short, may be one of Bend’s newest breweries but the people behind it represent some of the greatest minds in beer-making today. “They have the Midas touch and not just in a particular style but a lot of styles and they do them exceptionally well,” Storton says. That includes Tonya Cornett, a long-time Bend-based brewer, whom he calls the Michael Phelps of brewing. “She can’t not win medals,” he says. For that reason, Storton encourages you to make a beeline for a pint of the Dollar Kitten, a rice lager that’s ultra-clean, dry, and very food-friendly. Using rice tends to thin out the body of the beer and create a more dry mouthfeel. “Think of them as the craft version of Soporo,” he says. “I think they are under-appreciated. It’s a lager you love that’s clean, crisp, complex and a little more carbonation that gives your mouth a cleaning effect.”
Pair it with: Ahi tuna, preferably sashimi, or your sushi of choice.
Where to find it: The Riverlands, UPP Liquids
3. Monkless Belgian Ale’s Peppercorn Imperial Wit, a wheat beer
Why Storton picked it: A traditional “wit,” short for “witbier” or “white beer,” is actually much more golden in color and the style is typically lower in alcohol—think 5 percent. It’s as easy as the breeze. Monkless, however, caught Storton’s attention with an “imperial” version that ups the alcohol—think 8.2 percent—while preserving the refreshing flavors of coriander and orange peel to make it more of winter beer that will delight your gizzards. “In a town that is so beer savvy, it’s so nice to take a break from the IPAs and try something different that still ticks the ‘Friday night let’s have a few’ box,” he says. “After a day of skiing, I want something refreshing but strong.”
Pair it with: a pot of steamed mussels and aged gouda.
Where to find it: The Riverlands, Monkless Belgian Ales
2. Deschutes Brewery’s Fresh Squeezed Old Fashion, a strong ale
Why Storton picked it: “We all know and love the Fresh Squeezed IPA,” says Storton. “This one makes it stronger and aged in barrels for a more oaky character.” Like the name suggests, the beer is a cocktail-inspired spin on the beloved Bend flagship brew that’s designed to echo a whiskey Old Fashioned. It’s rich, citrus-tinged, and evening-sipper strong at 11.9 percent alcohol. “They pull it off really well,” he says.
Pair it with: Jazz, Storton says, or buttery shortbread if you must snack.
Where to find it: The Old Block, Deschutes Bend Public House
1. Deschutes Brewery’s N/A Black Butte Porter—no alcohol, all the flavor
Why Storton picked it: Plenty of stops along the Bend Ale Trail now pour non-alcoholic options, but Storton singles out Deschutes’ Black Butte N/A, a tribute to the brewery’s 1988 roots when Bendites had four beers to choose from, Cascade Golden, Bachelor Bitter, Wychick Weizen, and Black Butte Porter. How things have changed. “N/A beers are 100 times better than what we had growing up, and what Deschutes is doing are some of the best I’ve ever had,” Storton says. Rich with notes of dark chocolate and caramelized bread, it mirrors the original porter’s flavor and history.
Pair it with: a bacon burger and truffle fries.
Where to find it: The Old Block, Deschutes Bend Public House
Fun fact: When Deschutes first launched Black Butte Porter, Americans were wary of dark beer—until the brewery marketed it to women for its chocolatey flavor. “Where women go, men will follow,” Storton laughs.
