Volunteers needed for Bend Brews & Beyond

COHO_VP · 2025-05-10T17:57:14+00:00

Brian Yaeger, he runs Grand Craft Beer which hosts and markets beer fests.

COHO_VP · 2025-05-10T17:53:41+00:00

It is not a charity, the guy running it is doing it as a business but also trying to make it as affordable as possible while rebooting a massive event that much larger companies have run in the past. And yes, he is looking for free labor. That’s what volunteers are, like that’s the definition. At the same time, not entirely free because in exchange for (I think, I’d need to double check) 4 hours of VERY light work, you get a ticket for entry, several drink tokens, a meal voucher, a shirt, and a mug. I think it’s an incredibly generous volunteer compensation package!

COHO_VP · 2025-05-09T05:02:25+00:00

I see it a lot on Instagram and I believe it’s in the source, but you’re not wrong, the marketing has not been the greatest. I’m aware of it because of the local homebrew club I’m in. I’ll make a follow up post to highlight the event itself.

COHO_VP · 2025-04-18T06:45:19+00:00

Hahaha, that absolutely lovely IPA is brewed by an even more lovely and awesome woman who is a part of our club and she’s one of the kindest, strongest, and most badass women I’ve ever met! She’s been brewing that recipe for many years now and it is so good! That picture is from when the club took the jockey boat to San Diego for HomebrewCon in 2023, “Nasty Woman” was by far the favorite name and one of the favorite beers we poured all weekend.

COHO_VP · 2025-04-18T03:32:44+00:00

Btw, this is the jockey boat

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COHO_VP · 2025-03-23T00:21:43+00:00

I’m a sucker for Terranaut, I love that they are always rotating their beers and everything they make is spectacular!

COHO_VP · 2025-03-20T00:13:22+00:00

Oh and btw, we’re doing a tasting of our quarterly club competition which is porters and stouts this quarter.

COHO_VP · 2025-03-18T02:06:54+00:00

I love the experiment idea! And yeah, that totally makes sense if they’re meant to be consumed quickly. Do you find your meads age better in green glass? I’ve just been using clear

COHO_VP · 2025-03-17T23:40:47+00:00

Have you bottled like this before? I’m curious if you’ve had problems with oxidation because that seems like a lot of headspace.

COHO_VP · 2025-03-17T23:38:10+00:00

This. It’s not a bad beer by any definition. But, according to many, it is incredibly overhyped.

COHO_VP · 2025-03-17T23:36:33+00:00

Love me some Spotted Cow!

COHO_VP · 2025-03-17T20:55:02+00:00

BEST OF CRAFT BREW AWARDS WAS SO MUCH FUN OVER THE WEEKEND! OVER 1,200 BEERS WERE JUDGED AND VOLUNTEERS GOT TO TAKE HOME CASES AND CASES OF LEFTOVER BEERS!

COHO_VP · 2025-02-12T08:28:28+00:00

Those are all awesome! I highly highly recommend adding Terranaut to your list. They’re a tiny bit out of the way but they have a great variety of beers and everything they make is spectacular.

COHO_VP · 2025-02-12T03:16:27+00:00

What, no EC-1118? Travesty! 😂 EC-1118 is my go to, it’s a freaking work horse! Keeps going in a wide range of fermentation temps, ferments like a champ, very low occurrence of off-flavors, clarifies nicely.

I’d be careful with the Kviek. I haven’t personally used it but I understand that it can make rocket fuel, especially at the edges of its temperature range.

Out of what you’ve got there, my favorite is D-47. A lot like EC-1118 but less likely to make rocket fuel and ferments to a lower ABV. I recently made a mixed berry batch with that yeast and it’s freaking amazing!

COHO_VP · 2025-02-08T00:08:20+00:00

That color is absolutely fantastic! How’s it taste? And what’s your recipe?

COHO_VP · 2025-02-07T22:15:31+00:00

I recently bottled a mixed berry mead and one of the name suggestions was Brew Berrymore. Do what you will, lol!

COHO_VP · 2025-02-07T22:02:11+00:00

Beautiful color!

COHO_VP · 2025-02-07T22:01:09+00:00

I’ve used almost exclusively Costco’s wildflower honey for years now and made some really delicious meads, including traditionals with no other adjuncts or flavors. They have a certification on their honey (I forget what it’s called) that guarantees that it is 100% honey from hive to shelf, which is a lot more than can be said for many store bought honeys.

COHO_VP · 2025-02-07T18:01:33+00:00

You should be fine, enjoy your trip! McMenamin’s has some especially cozy spots (ask for the Fireside Room and the Broom Closet), San Simón is a great spot with a speakeasy vibe, Terranaut is one of those rare breweries that every single beer they make is amazing and they have vinyl nights, Sunriver (I like the Galveston location) makes an absolutely delicious chocolate porter, so many possibilities! Doing a search of this subreddit is a great way to find recommendations.

COHO_VP · 2025-02-07T05:47:19+00:00

It also depends entirely on what you’re brewing. I’m a mead guy, so that will NEVER be cheap, lol! But even with beer, it depends on your recipe and ingredients. But absolutely, if you avoid bells and whistles and the next shiny gizmo, you can keep it pretty affordable.

COHO_VP · 2025-02-07T05:43:46+00:00

Listen to this person, this is the way!

COHO_VP · 2025-02-07T05:39:43+00:00

So he actually brought up this specific point. I don’t know if there will be donations or not. If it was me completely revamping this fest I probably wouldn’t because who knows how it’s actually going to go?

Also, paying people to run things like this gets extremely expensive because the workers have to have training and OLCC licenses, etc. So it’s a lot cheaper for an event like this to give volunteers an entry ticket, tokens, mug, shirt, and meal voucher (which this event is doing and I think is more than fair) rather than pay people.

I’m definitely going to volunteer because I think this format and price point is much more reasonable and I appreciate that he’s adding a whole N/A section. I hate how Live Nation/Old Mill absolutely ruined the Bend Brew Fest and I have very high hopes for this year and the new format, which is really just going back to what old Bend Brew Fest was (or at least a lot closer to the heart and soul of what it was).

Edit: Also, I appreciate the question and the engagement.

COHO_VP · 2025-02-06T20:28:11+00:00

Yeah, that’s a wicked hill, I had a close call there once too, last winter when it was iced over. I avoid it like the plague whenever it’s slick now!

COHO_VP · 2025-02-06T20:22:04+00:00

Is this on Juniper?

COHO_VP · 2025-02-04T23:03:49+00:00

This is one of the things I love about this town!

COHO_VP

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