Reflections on Oregon Brewers Festival

Well, my First OBF has come and gone and no real permanent damage seems to be done-other than the fact that we are really short on Overcast Espresso stout since it was our featured beer at the fest. (Not to fear however, we have two double batches finishing up in the tanks). The week for us began with the annual Brewers Dinner on Wednesday. A buffet dinner (great salmon) and a host of special beers from Oregon Brewers made this a good way to kick off my first fest. I can’t remember my favorite beer of the Brewers dinner, but Cascade Brewing comes to mind. They are doing some great sour beers in Portland. What I can remember is the Ranier I had after the event at the pub down the street. Refreshing! New Old Lompoc treated us well beyond that.

The next morning it was time to crawl out of bed and get a base on. What better than to hit Pine State Biscuits for the second time in 5 days. Reggie Deluxe anyone??

After a great wad o’ food ( I mean that in the most complimentary of ways), I met a friend downtown and checked out theOBF parade, a tradition of closing down streets and marching to the mayor’s workplace (ironically Mayor Sam Adams) and bringing him along to the park to tap the ceremonial first keg. There were monks from Rogue, a pretty sweet band, uniforms, and beer ranger? officer? patrol? Abe Goldman-Armstrong-what was that again Abe?? Whatever it is, it worked. Here’s the crowd gathering at the city hall and a glimse at Hizzoner and Abe marching and chatting:

So then it was off to the festival in beautiful Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Since this is the most non-crowded day, it’s a great time to check out as many beers as you can before the weekend hordes arrive. I had a few nice ones, can’t recall too many standouts, but no duds either. Sadly I had to bolt by 2PM due to Eugene Emeralds tix I had and work on Friday. Duty calls. The lines, however, did start forming right away at the OAkshire booth:

SO it was back to Eugene to get some work done on Friday, but on Saturday, I drove back up to take in the fest again. The Buzz tent, new this year to OBF was to pour our Glen’s Hop Vice and I was to appear in the booth a bit to chat it up. Due to slower than expected ticket sales (it was an extra $20 to enter and get 8 tastes of rare beers) they didn’t get to ours (and other beers). They opened it again on Sunday (it was just to be Fri and Sat) but I dont think they tappped into our 1/2 barrel of Imperial IPA. Oh well. I did get to hang out in the tent and have a few beers. Firestone Walkers Double Jack was delish, as was McMennamin’s St Francis School Coffee Stout. They use a very similar process to ours with cold pressing. Finally, I did get a very generous pour of Imperial Eclipse Stout, from friend Todd Ashman at 50/50 Brewing in Truckee California. Just as good as I had expected. While the Buzz tent may not have lived up to expectations, I think it was a success for the main reason of getting more “Beer geeks” to not blow off the OBF for reasons of crowds and “had it” beers. There were some very hard to come by beers in the tent and it was never really crowded. I’m sure with a few tweeks and a little more Buzz (pun intended) it will be a huge hit next year. Cheers for effort!

I slipped out at about 3 for the Full Sail smoker hosted by brewmaster John Harris. Shared some food and conversation with Jay Brooks of Brookston Beer bulletin and Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker. It was nice to get out of the 95 degree weather.

Hot Buttered Rum played at 6, so I stuck for that, although the crowds and beer got in the way of musical enjoyment. Then hunger all but banished us from the fest. Kelly’s Olympian was the first stop. A little Overcast Espresso stout and an omelet hit the spot for dinner (Breakfast served all the time-try it with a stout) Oh, and the motorcycles hanging around are cool too. Next stop was Bridgeport pub. Nice outdoor seating and nachos. Finally, a non-descript sorta dive bar ended the night with a PBR, pinball, and a loud screaming, mostly female local band. Well, actually a quick walk to Voodoo donuts for a Triple Chocolate and a Portland cream ended the night, but we’re not telling people about that.

So, Sounds like a typical night for Matt, right?

Sunday came too quickly and it was time to put a hold on Pine State biscuits and enter Industrial cafe and Saloon on about 25th and Vaughn. A nice place for breakfast and hopefully I talked them into carrying our beer soon. Then it was off to the fest for a few quick, “shoulda-tries” before heading back to Eugene.

One tip, be careful going in on Sun. first thing. Many beers get shuffled around on Sat. nite and they may not be “put back” correctly on Sunday. I ordered an Imperial IPA and got Watermelon Wheat. I think the volunteer pourer thought I was crazy, so I got a supervisor to check it out. While the What was good, it wasn’t what I wanted. One token wasted.

So wrap it up all ready. The OBF is a great week. I think if I would have attended even more “peripherary events”, it would have been better. I may do the Brew Am golf event for charity next year, that looked like fun. Also, we’ll have a ton more promotions set up next year. The fest is for tourists and people who live in Portland and can pop in and out when convenient. It is a great time in Portland, but the OBF certainly cannot hold a candle to the Great Taste of the Midwest when it comes to top notch beer fests. Sure, OBF has more people in the gates (a negative aspect in my mind) but the GTOM is also held out doors on a sun drenched lake but offers a one day unlimited tasting of 100 brewers who are bringing the best of the best 3-6 beers out for beer lovers to indulge in. And Madison WI is surely no beervana, but the beers in the town and at the fest will keep you busy for the whole weekend. It’s worth taking a summer trip. GTOM, I’ll be back. OBF, you know OAkshire will be back with a vegeance. See ya next year.