Craft beer enthusiasts had the chance Saturday to meet Central Oregon brewers and see how the region’s beer is made during Zwickelmania, a brewery open house.

About two dozen breweries in Central Oregon invited people to tour their production facilities and drink beer samples right from the fermentation tanks.

The 12th annual event is named for the zwickel, the sampling valve on the side of the tanks.

Zwickelmania draws beer drinkers from across the Northwest.

Ashely Bryan and her boyfriend, Ethan Wolfe, made the trip to Bend for Zwickelmania from their home in Edgewood,

Washington, just east of Tacoma.

The couple made their first stop at Silver Moon Brewing in Bend, where they sampled a Northwest IPA right from the tank.

Bryan said she went to Zwickelmania a couple years ago in Portland, but she prefers making the trip to Bend, where it is not as crowded and easier to get around to each brewery.

“I like craft breweries and trying beers,” Bryan said. “I’ve done the Portland one, as well. I didn’t like it quite as much.”

The past few years in Bend had snow and rain during Zwickelmania, but this year, it was sunny with clear skies. That made it even more enjoyable for Bryan and her boyfriend, although they wouldn’t have minded seeing some snow.

“That would be fun, too,” Wolfe said.

Jeff Haskins, head brewer at Silver Moon, was busy Saturday greeting visitors and pouring beer samples out of the zwickel. Early in the day, Haskin was pouring a raspberry porter that hasn’t been released for sale yet.

Haskins said he always looks forward to Zwickelmania and getting to share his love of beer with others. And to get feedback on new recipes like the raspberry porter.

“This is a good way to interact with people who don’t normally get to come into a brewery,” Haskins said. “You get people in here who get to see how it’s all made.”

Dustin Kellner, brewmaster at Worthy Brewing in Bend, was offering four different types of beers from a low calorie, 3.7% alcohol content brew to a heavy barrel aged stout.

Kellner enjoys visiting with people he often recognizes from past Zwickelmanias.

“I always see a lot of repeats,” Kellner said. “They seem to be as excited as they were the last year.”

Big windows inside Worthy Brewing show the large tanks that brew the beers, but the public is not allowed in the production area. But during Zwickelmania, Kellner and the other brewers welcome people to see the facilities.

“This is such a unique opportunity for people to get to step into these production facilities that are typically not open to the public,” Kellner said.

Kellner finds they are busiest during Zwickelmania in the morning and later in the afternoon, because the brewery is further east compared to the other breweries at the event.

“Our location always makes us unique because we are either going to be people’s first stop or their last stop,” Kellner said.

For Bend resident Garret Andresen and his friend visiting from Portland, Stewart Morice, Worthy Brewing with their first stop of the day.

Neither of them had been to Zwickelmania in recent years, and were making a plan for the day to visit as many breweries as they could.

With the sunshine Saturday, they were planning to find places to sample beers outside.

“We’re going to go sit outside on the patio someplace,” Andresen said.