Silver Moon Brewing announced that a pop-up Riff-ugee Camp for friends and fans of its downtown pub is being hosted at the Riff Cold Brewed Taproom in Bend’s Box Factory. Riff is opening its doors to the local brewery to provide a temporary location for Silver Moon to continue its popular Local’s Night and Trivia on the Moon events during an Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC)-mandated three-week shutdown. The collaborative effort is taking place through October 11. To heighten the spirit of neighborly support and friendship, Silver Moon and Riff decided the appropriate centerpiece for this partnership is, of course, a coffee/beer collaboration. Appropriately named, Riff-ugee, a barrel-aged cold-brewed coffee porter, leveraging Silver Moon’s popular Boys in the Wood Boysenberry Porter as a base, is being poured throughout the duration of the Silver Moon Riff-ugee Camp at the Riff Taproom.
“After nearly 20 years as a Bend brewery, we discovered an administrative error had been made earlier this year, and unfortunately we’re in the penalty box for the first time ever with the OLCC as a result,” said James Watts, owner and vice president of Silver Moon Brewing. Watts is referring to an off-site permit the brewery had filed in the three prior years in order to provide beer service at the Bend Park and Recreation District’s Ice Pavilion. The permit, known as a Temporary Use of an Annual License, allows breweries to extend tap room poring privileges to off-premise locations and events.
“We read the unfortunate news, and following the initial shock, we immediately reached out,” said Paul Evers, co-founder and CEO of Riff Cold Brewed, as well as a co-founder of Bend’s Crux Fermentation Project. “It’s what we do. We’re still a relatively small community whose strength is based on a spirit of having each others’ backs. All boats float with the rising tide around here.” Evers, who started Riff with his son, Bobby Evers, and Steve Barham, Nate Armbrust and Kevin Smyth, has a deep history in craft beverage that espouses an incredible cultural spirit of collaboration and community.
Riff and Silver Moon plan to offer the best of their respective coffee and beer offerings, among other beverages including wine, cider and Riff specialty cocktails, during the Silver Moon Riff-ugee Camp. Silver Moon staff will also make appearances as guest bartenders during events to create an authentic experience of integration and partnership for guests. And, to bring that point home even further, all standing Silver Moon discounts, including the Mug Club discount, will be honored by Riff during the three-week shutdown. The Riff Taproom has eight taps regularly dedicated to the best of craft beer, all of which will be taken over by Silver Moon’s biggest fan favorites in addition to the pop-up’s namesake Boysenberry Coffee Porter, Riff-ugee.
