The Ale Apothecary

Microbrewery in Bend, Oregon, United States 🇺🇸
Associated Venue: The Ale Apothecary Tasting Room

Established in 2011

Contact
61517 River Road, Bend, OR, 97703, United States
Description
Origin beer, connected to nearby farms, artisans and the land surrounding the brewery. 100% made by us on our own equipment with our creative brains and hearts. Children welcome in our tasting room.

The Ale Apothecary is a very small artisanal brewery, located 10 miles west of Bend, Oregon in the middle of the Deschutes National Forest. Paul & Staci Arney built the brewery on their property in 2011 after Paul had decided that his career in industrial beer-brewing was officially over. Taking cues from historical breweries, Paul decided that he would take the very basic concepts of making beer and build a totally unique brewery out of them, relying on locally grown or foraged ingredients and using the most natural approach possible.

Before there were beer styles, there were just breweries making the best beer they could out of the raw materials nearby, the water from the ground, and the yeast in the air. Paul believes that the Process in making beer can be used as a primary ingredient, so The Ale Apothecary has its very own methodology that gives us our house character that cannot be reproduced anywhere.

We get our grain from Mecca Grade Estate Malt in Madras, Oregon. Our hops primarily come from Goschie Farms in Silverton. We naturally carbonate our beer in the bottle with Oregon wildflower honey and try to avoid any and all industrial processing aids or commodity ingredients. Instead of using exotic ingredients, we experiment with the process of making beer to find unique and inimitable flavors and experiences.

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8.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle to snifter.
Appearance: golden amber to orange color with a finger and a half's worth of white foamy head which slid off delicately to leave some light messy lace
Aroma: funky to earthy to woody and floral tones noting some barrel-like vibe meshing with some light vinous to light pine tone then light honey rolling in underneath
Flavor: moderately funky sweet with a woody toned tart to sour thing going on; slight aftertaste of funk and pine
Texture: medium bodied, of the sipping quality; medium sour harshness to the tongue but fully astringent; finishes woody with a touch of honey and floral capabilities
Overall: another awesome sour ale by these guys. Of course I would love to have again.

Tried from Bottle on 28 Jan 2026 at 18:33


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle to tulip.
Appearance: ruddy amber color with a sly transparency about it. Two finger white foamy head which slid off delicately and left some light lace
Aroma: woody to floral to herbal character blending with some vinous qualities, light honey sweetness but nothing overly done, light stonefruits
Flavor: takes all the prior noted aromas to blend semi-sweet with a nice funk and woody vibe; no aftertaste
Texture: medium bodied, some dryness bouncing off my tongue; definitely a sipper, finishes woody brisk and floral dryness
Overall: another nicely done sour ale by these guys, I would very much love to have again.

Tried from Bottle on 28 Jan 2026 at 18:28


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle to tulip.
Appearance: muddy amber color with a two finger white fluffy and foamy head which took it's time to dissipate and once it did messy lace was all over the place
Aroma: apricots & peaches, herbal to earthy and woody scents; funky and semi-vinous, sweet grass and dried plums, light floral tones
Flavor: copies the aromas to a nice and semi-tart to funky mixture while allowing some sour tones to enter for an even finer blend; no aftertaste
Texture: medium bodied, she's a sipper!, some tart punches cling to my tongue; finishes woody, semi-sour with a tart sweetness
Overall: very nicely done sour ale I would love to have again.

Tried from Bottle on 28 Jan 2026 at 18:24


7.8

Absolutely nothing on the nose cold. Warms nicely, but a bit sharp still.

Tried from Draft on 31 Oct 2025 at 01:21


7.8
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Gulbrun tåkete med hvitt skum. Lukter bondegård, fyrstikker og stikkelsbær. Lett. Sursyrlig. Smaker eplesidereddik, bondegård og grønne rips. Middels lang.

Tried on 10 Oct 2025 at 14:56


7.9
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Tåkete lys brun med hvitt skum. Lukter eddik, svovel og noe floral. Smaker syrlig. Sitron, eddik, gjær. (Farmhouse 2022)

Tried on 10 Oct 2025 at 14:54


7.4
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle. Orange color with no head. Aroma is mushrooms, a bit dirty, honey, berries. Taste is earthy, berries, not too sour. Oily mouthfeel, soft carbonation. Decent.

Tried on 08 Aug 2025 at 15:09


7
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Bottle. Pours clear burnt orange, small off white head, decent lacing. Aroma is ascetic, oaky, hint of nail polish remover, light cherry, tannin. Flaky is light plus tart, light funk, tannic. Medium body, low carbonation.

Tried from Bottle on 28 Jul 2025 at 00:56


5.6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 5 | Overall - 5

750mL bottle, pours a cloudy dark amber it’s a medium white head. Aroma has some nice funk, plenty of acetone, a touch of pine needles, and oak. Flavour is quite acetonic, with plenty of funk, some bitter pine needles, oak, and balsamic. That’s borderline enamel-stripping acidity. There’s some nice funky depth but the acidity is too high. Difficult one to stomach.

Tried from Bottle on 09 Jul 2025 at 07:27


7.8

Tart stone fruit. Drying.

Tried from Draft on 28 Jun 2025 at 21:15