The Surprising Connections between Oregon Craft Beer and Nepal
The recent devastation in Nepal after caused by a massive glacier collapse has me thinking not only of many governments refusal to address global warming on a meaningful level, but also of Oregon’s craft beer connections to the Himalayas. Reading the news and scrolling endless social media clips showing the horrific disaster that stretches from Tibet to Nepal had me recalling a dinner with Nepalese immigrants Nurbu and Pema Sherpa of High Camp Taphouse in Sisters, Oregon, and all the surprising connections between Oregon craft beer.
Part restaurant, part beer bar, High Camp is a showcase of Himalayan culture and cuisine, fused with central Oregon’s love of craft beer and the outdoors. But more than just a sustenance and hospitality experience, Nurbu and Pema have also embraced the craft beer worlds dedication to giving back and rising when people are confronted with significant challenges from injustice to natural disaster. They are not the only Nepalese restaurant in Oregon with craft beer connections; Sherpa Kitchen in Portland opened at Base Camp Brewing and is now located at Zoiglhaus Brewing who makes annually makes a beer in their honor; in Bend, one of the most popular food trucks at On Tap is Himalayan Bites. These aren’t coincidences.
Before coming to Central Oregon, partners Nurbu and Pema Sherpa traveled and studied in the U.S., but knew little about craft beer. After opening food truck Himalayan Bites in Bend in 2016, they began to fall in love with the craft beer community.
Pema and Nurbu Sherpa at High Camp Taphouse in Sisters, Oregon
In 2022 Nurbu and Pema went brick-and-mortar, taking over the former space of Hop & Brew in Sisters to open the High Camp Taphouse. Pema also runs dental clinics in remote areas of the Himilayans while not serving guests at the taphouse while Nurbu runs the kitchen making authentic dishes of Chinese and Tibetan influence. With a selection of 20 rotating drafts, High Camp has one of the best craft selections in town and food and culture like no one else.
“We make food just like it is at home. In Nepal, we heal with food,” Pema told the Bend Magazine. “And the flavor of our food comes from our thoughts. Which is why we cook with gratitude, joy and love.”
But High Camp is more than just a restaurant and bar. A portion of all proceeds raised at High Camp goes back to Nepal to fund a program to providing education for kids and teach income-generating skills to Nepali women.
“Our main goal is to give back to the community. Sherpa is an ethnic group, in Nepal we have more than 150 different ethnic groups with different cultures and languages,” says Pema.
Nurbu taught himself how to cook after coming to America, because in Nepal only women are allowed to do so. When Pema and Nurbu have the opportunity to travel home, they spend their time with the marginalized populations of Nepal. One one of their many trips, Pema says, “We stumbled upon this group of people known as Musuhar Caste in the village of Tilhi, they are very poor and have to catch mice for protein.”
Shortly after opening in Sisters, the Sherpa’s joined Ten Friends, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Central Oregon that improves the lives of children, young women, and communities in Nepal. Founded in 2005 by Sisters-based teachers Rand Runco and Mark LaMont, after spending a summer in Nepal with eight of their friends delivering medical stretchers to remote villages.
Nurbu and Perma later handed off the Himalayan Bites food truck to relative Tenzin Sherpa, who strengthened the connection to the local beer scene by relocating it to popular craft beer destination and food truck pod “On Tap” on the east side of Bend.
In Portland, the High Camp’s Nepalese friends and family Mingma T Sherpa opened Sherpa Kitchen as a food truck stationed at the now closed Base Camp Brewing. Early on Sherpa embraced the way Oregonians appreciated food and drink as a way of connection with other people that on a surface level they have little in common with. When Zoiglhaus Brewing transitioned from a German brewpub to a micro food hall called The Zed in 2021, Sherpa Kitchen was the first tenant to sign-up. Over the years Sherpa Kitchen and brewmaster Alan Taylor have fostered a tight connection expanding from food and drink collaborations, a Mt. Everest celebration, to making the limited housemade German dishes on the Zoiglhaus menu.
In response to the disaster in Nepal, Zoiglhaus has brought back their Himalayan Pilsner collab with Sherpa Kitchen.
Proceeds of sales will go to Khangri Experience Foundation, which is working with local partners in Rasuwa, Nepal, to provide families in need with clean water, shelter, medical care, and support for children who’ve lost everyone. Donations will eventually go toward the harder work of helping families rebuild.
In addition to The ZED , the Himalayan Pilsner will also be available on draft at The Hollywood Queue and the new Norte Brewing taproom.
Back in Sisters, Oregon the High Camp taproom and restaurant still strives to create a sense of community, while concurrently offering a bridge to Nepal—not only through their own sales but of handmade garments like beads and shawls made in Nepal by a woman freed from being forcibly entered into a brothel. The Nepali community connections are evident not only in the food and decor, but in a wall of photos of children from the Musahar School that they help fund.
High Camp has joined the Rise for Nepal project to raise funds to support those affected by the flooding. Along with Ten Friends, High Camp is hosting a 3-course dinner and drinks for $75 on Thursday, September 3rd with 100% of proceeds going toward flood relief efforts in Nepal. Reserve your seat: 541-904-4694 or Text: 541-639-5322.
“We are born and raised in Buddhist culture where we practice compassion, and compassion is as simple as feeding someone or providing tea on a cold day, or listening to someone on their lows, you know just like a drop of compassion,” adds Pema.
High Camp Taphouse, 523 US-20, Sisters, OR 97759
Sherpa Kitchen, 5716 SE 92nd Ave, Portland, OR 97266
Himalayan Bites, 1424 NE Cushing Dr, Bend, OR 97701