When GoodLife's Sweet As won "People's Choice" at the Bend Brewfest — in the brewery's first year out of the gate, no less — it showed that this brewery knew it was onto something from the drop. A dozen years later, Sweet As is still undeniably and indelibly a Bend favorite.
"We're making classic, clean beers," says owner Ty Barnett. "Not overly aggressive. Not too hoppy or strong." Born of Australian hops (the moniker is Aussie for "awesome") Sweet As has beguiled beer drinkers with its "soft and juicy" profile since before hazy, wheaty hop-bursted beers re-wrote the rules of the craft beer industry a few years back.
So much so that even though it has all the hallmarks of an American pale ale and refers to itself as a Pacific Ale, once GoodLife embraced the fact that the quotient of wheat in its grain bill qualifies it as an American wheat beer, it has earned three medals — two golds and a silver — at the Great American Beer Festival. But we don't need those fancy beer judges in Colorado telling us what we've got in Bend. Remember, it's been our blue-ribbon beer from the drop.
Goodlife Brewing
70 SW Century Dr. #100-464, Bend
Open daily Noon-9pm
541-728-0749 goodlifebrewing.com
Second place: King Crispy, Deschutes Brewery
