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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8.2/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 9
Bottle thanks to Derek. Pours a hazy orange with small white head leaving sticky lacing. The aroma is strong wood, honey, citrus, floral. Slick body, citrus, honey, oak, light tartness, enjoyed this.
Tried from Bottle on 02 Oct 2022 at 01:55

7.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8.5
12.7 oz corked and caged. Aroma is woody, funky, hoppy, lemon rind, cooked broccoli. Pours hazy burnt orange with a half finger beige head that settles into a cap of foam after a minute. Taste is highly sour (9/10) with flavors of lemon-accented funk, wine barrel, and hops. The honey is subtle and makes itself known after warming up in the glass after a good ten minutes or so. The broccoli off-note comes through a little bit in flavor, but not enough to ruin my enjoyment of this creative brew.
Tried from Bottle on 01 Oct 2022 at 04:53

8.6/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 8 Flavor 9 Texture 8 Overall 8.5
Bottle pours at Arrogant Sour Festival 2022. Hazy orange with medium white head. Very nice barrel, great funk, fruit, honey, complex enough. Medium sourness and body.
Tried from Bottle on 27 Sep 2022 at 19:51

7.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8
375ml bottle. Vinous, funky and oaky with some cherry tartness, sour woody notes
Tried from Bottle on 25 Sep 2022 at 14:31

8.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 8 Overall 9
Bottle pours at Arrogant Sour 2022. Hazy orange with white head. Fruity, some grapes, funk, citrus, honey, stone fruit, barrel. Quite complex. Very nice.
Tried from Bottle on 20 Sep 2022 at 21:09

6.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Bottle sample at a Yana's tasting at Max's place. Cloudy orange. Acetone, vinegar, fruitiness, very sour and acidic, a bit too acetic but still nice.
Tried from Bottle on 28 Aug 2022 at 14:35

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
From backlog. 750ml bottle. Stingy, funky and sour and heavy with cherry notes, oak, wood and farmyardy yeastiness.
Tried from Bottle on 08 Aug 2022 at 15:29

7.2/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8
Bottle, date: April 2016, gift from a stranger, at Brasserie du Bas-Canada - Hautes Plaines, members event at May 2021 release, savoured on May 21, 2022; eye: golden, cloudy, no effervescence, ring of khaki head, no lacing; nose: vinous, wild yeasts, peach, fruity; mouth: vinous, wild yeasts, peach, fruity, fruity finale with presence of tannin, medium body, average carbonation, lightly bitter, lightly sweet, slick texture; all in all: nice surprise FRANÇAIS
Bouteille, date : avril 2016, cadeau d'un étranger, chez Brasserie du Bas-Canada - Hautes Plaines, évènement pour les membres lors de la mise en marché de mai 2021, savourée le 21 mai 2022; œil : dorée, voilée, pas d'effervescence, anneau de mousse kaki, pas de dentelle; nez : vineuse, levures sauvages, pêche, fruité; bouche : vineuse, levures sauvages, pêche, fruité, finale fruitée avec présence de tanin, corps moyen, carbonatation moyenne, légèrement amère, légèrement sucrée, texture coulante; en résumé : belle surprise
Tried from Bottle on 06 Aug 2022 at 19:14

8/10
Vinegary sour, intense and heavy with honey notes, vinous notes, oak and tartness. Complex and heavy.
Tried from Bottle on 09 Jul 2022 at 23:14

7.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
750ml bottle. Vinegary sour, intense and heavy with honey notes, vinous notes, oak and tartness. Complex and heavy.
Tried from Bottle on 09 Jul 2022 at 22:01