Beer 4 – I’ve always given McMenamin’s more love as a real estate redevelopment company than as a brewery. Their properties are works of art, inside an out. But the brewery and restaurant side has always left me a bit underwhelmed. Then along came Kris Kringle. I really enjoyed this beer and would continue enjoying it year round if it wasn’t just a seasonal. I fit right in to Bend as my favorite beers are usually big IPAs and maybe that’s why I enjoyed Kris Kringle so much. It really tasted more like a big thick NW pale ale than a spicy holiday brew. In the glass it appears cloudy and murky orange…or maybe that was the dim lighting in the Old St Francis Pub. McMenamin’s spices this brew with ginger, cinnamon and allspice but that taste did not come through for me. Between the spices and the chocolate malts used, I’m sure that’s the sauce which keeps this beer from being over the top hoppy and adding the gentle sweetness. You can find this brew in bottles at the various McMenamin’s gift shop locations if you don’t delay. They’ve stopped bottling for the season and the only bottles left are sitting in the cooler waiting for you! Otherwise order it on tap through the holidays. If you’re in Bend, check out the roman tubs and movie theatre at McMenamin’s Old St Francis School. If that doesn’t float your boat, cozy up to the fire pits at O’Kane’s – one of the coolest outdoor gathering spaces in Bend!
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