A few weeks ago Deschutes Brewery set out on their Beers Made By Walking hike through the Deschutes Land Trust's Whychus Canyon Preserve. They invited about twenty fans along and the hike was led by the Land Trust's Jane Meissner, who informed the hikers on the land they were walking through, as well as Deschutes' brewer Veronica Vega who explained her love for the park and her decisions for picking the plants that will go into the beer she makes. The land is a 450-acre parcel located northeast of Sisters and hosts old growth juniper trees with a backdrop of the snow covered mountains.
Here Veronica Vega talks to the group about her plans for the Sage Fight IPA that will use juniper and sage from this trail. An article posted in the Bend Bulletin reports "[Veronica] grabbed one tree branch and examined its still-green, pea-sized berry. It wouldn't do for the beer Vega is making — a strong IPA with juniper and sage aromas derived from native plants."
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A 200 year old Juniper |
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Dwarf Purple Monkey Flower |
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Sagebrush |
Photos by Deschutes Brewery.