Courtesy Deschutes Brewery / Submitted PhotoDeschutes Brewery has created the world's largest mobile pub. Its seven city tour starts May 9 in Bend.

Leave it to the oldest brewery in Bend to come up with one of the most innovative ideas in the beer world — a street pub. With a bar measuring in at over 400 feet long, Deschutes Brewery’s street pub is one of the longest bars in the world. And did I mention it can all be packed up and moved to its next destination in one day? Yep, leaving nothing behind but the faint aroma of hops on your mustache.

Deschutes Brewery has steadily become a nationally recognized brand, and with that recognition the brewery felt compelled to share its story. The story of how it was founded as a small downtown public house in the mountain town of Bend, Oregon in 1988 and is still family- and employee-owned 27 years later. The story of the hard work and attention to detail that goes into each batch of beer. And the story of how the community surrounding the brewery has helped mold it into the success it is today. Deschutes Brewery Field Marketing Manager Joey Pleich says, “It’s not just about the beer, it’s about the life that surrounds it.” This is the story behind the epic street pub.

The street pub will be towed to seven cities around the country, set up and taken down each day, and it all kicks off in the brewery’s hometown Saturday.

“The personal connection with our patrons is a core part of who we are,” Pleich said. The concept of the traveling street pub is to give everybody a chance to experience the Deschutes Brewery in the way that we privileged locals can.

The street pub is a locally crafted 402-foot custom bar made from 4,296 feet of reclaimed white oak and 10,000 pounds of steel. Details have been added to the massive structure to emulate the brewpub in Bend, so Deschutes fans in other cities can experience what they would otherwise have to travel to Oregon for.

The apparatus has five major sections, each meant to provide a different experience and to tell the Deschutes story.

The main bar showcases the brewery’s most well known beers such as Black Butte Porter and Mirror Pond Pale Ale.

Another section houses the Bond Street beers such as Fresh Squeezed IPA and other experimental beers from the pub.

There’s the Reserve section that features beers such as The Abyss, and where the Deschutes Brewery team will discuss things like barrel aging and the “more nerdy side of specialty beers,” Pleich said.

Then there’s the Worth Sharing section that features games and prizes and is meant for people to interact with others and foster a sense of community.

Finally, the pub section holds cooking demonstrations and discussions on pairing food with beer.

At the end of the day, the entire thing collapses into a 50-foot trailer.

After its debut in Bend, the street pub will travel to six cities around the nation — Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Denver and Sacramento. Deschutes chose a mix of cities, some that are familiar with the brewery and some that aren’t.

“It’s a great way for us to break through and make people take notice — that we like to go big and do things with quality too,” Pleich said.

Deschutes wants to be a part of the communities it serves and make sure that as the brewery grows so do the communities around it. So, in every city the street pub visits 100 percent of the proceeds will go to a local charity. In Bend, Deschutes has teamed up with Central Oregon Beer Angels and Boys and Girls Club of Central Oregon.

At the Bend premiere of the Deschutes Street Pub will be “junkbox” blues band Hillstomp, as well as Woebegone providing some supple rock for your auditory enjoyment. The Pizza Cart and Parilla will be on site for the evening, and Deschutes Brewery’s executive chef, Jeff Usinowicz, will hold live cooking demonstrations of his favorite Deschutes recipes.

The event will take place from 5-10 p.m. Saturday at Deschutes Brewery’s location at 901 SW Simpson Ave. in Bend and is free for all ages.

— Reporter: 541-383-0350, 
kmccool@bendbulletin.com