Perhaps you’ve heard recently about this new beer business over on Bend’s east side: no, not Worthy Brewing (though that’s going to be impressive!), rather the relatively new growler fill station located inside the Shell gas station on the corner of Highway 20 and 27th Street—The Growler Guys.

Yes, I wrote “inside the Shell gas station” because as unlikely as it seems, that’s exactly where you’ll find them. (And yet another reason that Bend’s beer scene is so great.) The other interesting aspect? It’s the first of its kind here on the west coast, as far as I know: a place to stop and fill up your growlers with craft beer that isn’t a brewery or other beer-related business—basically a station to fill up with fresh craft beer to go.

They’re going big, too: currently they have 30 taps pouring craft beer, wine, and cider. Two of the taps are dedicated to wines and sangria from Volcano Vineyards, at least two have ciders, and the rest are an ever-rotating list of craft beers. And it’s a good list of beers they’re pouring, too—I’ve seen some very limited and rare beers show up there.

Prices are reasonable: $8.99 on average for a fill, and you can bring in your own growlers (of course) or buy a growler (64 ounces, a half gallon) or a “growlette” (32 ounces, a quart) there. I took this picture a few weeks back and they’ve since added a bunch more growlers, all with their own logo:

So far they seem to be doing a great job, and yes, while I’m still a bit skeptical—a growler fill station is a new concept that hasn’t really been done around here before, plus stopping at a gas station for fresh craft beer isn’t the first thing that pops into your head—it’s a cool idea that I can see catching on.

Plus, increasing the beer scene on the Eastside is always a good thing!

Full disclosure: I work for the web development company that developed and manages their website and live tap screens, though I didn’t work on the site directly. I did however talk a bit with the owners before the opened up as they had questions about beer.