In two weeks the High Desert Museum will be opening a new exhibit I’m a little excited about: Brewing Culture: The Craft of Beer. It’s promising more than just the history of beer and brewing, and is the perfect addition for the Museum to complement our beery culture here.

Oregonians love their stouts, ales and IPAs, and no Oregon town has more brewpubs per capita than Bend. So it’s only natural that Bend’s landmark museum would create a popular exhibit about the craft of beer-making.

Brewing Culture: The Craft of Beer opens January 17^th and will be on display through Memorial Day weekend. Special brewing events, tastings, and beer-themed programs will be presented at the Museum throughout the 19-week run, starting with a big kick-off party on January 16^th at 6:30 p.m.

The exhibit, conceived and designed by the High Desert Museum staff, will present the history of brewing, the ingredients used in craft beers, the process of brewing and the culture of the craft brewing industry.

In the interests of disclosure, Museum curator Faith Powell did reach out to me a few months ago to pick my brain on beer and the local brewing scene, and I’m also going to be a guest at the January 16th exhibit opening:

Join us for the kick-off event of our newest exhibit, designed specially for beer lovers. Celebrate our local craft brewing community and the history of brewing at the opening of our highly anticipated exhibit. Enjoy beer tastings, bar food and music. Stay for a special discussion with Jon Abernathy, author of Bend Beer: A History of Brewing in Central Oregon, brewers Veronica Vega and Paul Arney. Live music and a no-host bar with plenty of locally-brewed beer.

6:30 – 8:30 pm   Members, free; Non-members, $5. Beer tasting package, $10, includes souvenir glass and five tasting tickets. Additional tastings, $1 per ticket.  This is sure to be a popular event, so please click here to RSVP: www.highdesertmuseum.org/rsvp

January 16 won’t be the only beer event they host, either. In addition to the general exhibit, they will be hosting a number of beer tastings and extra events during the 19 weeks it will be active:

BEER TASTINGS (4:00 – 8:00pm):

• Feb 5 Porters & Stouts
• Mar 5 Winter & Spring Seasonals
• Apr 2 Sessions & Imperials
• May 7 Sours & Belgians

PANEL DISCUSSION:

• Feb 19 6:00 – 8:00pm
  Learn about current issues and trends in brewing from experts.

FARM TOUR & BEER DINNER:

• Apr 25 1:00 – 6:00pm
  Take the full post-production tour from brewery to farm to pub.

OPEN TILL DARK:

• May 29 4:00 – 8:00pm
  Live music and beer after hours at the Museum.

So I might be a little biased, but I think it’s going to be a great feature offered up by the Museum, and mark your calendars for two weeks from Friday, the 16th—and come out to the exhibit opening! I’ll be doing a talk/Q&A with Paul Arney and Veronica Vega, two of my favorite local brewers, and it’s going to be a great night! See you then!