12th Annual Oregon Garden Brewfest

One week from today the 12th Annual Oregon Garden Brewfest kicks off in Silverton. One week from today I expect to be waking up still stuffed from the Brewer's Tasting Dinner the night before.

Dessert from last year's dinner: a trio of cupcakes
(strawberry, lemon & orange)

Before we talk about the fest, let's talk about that dinner. It's a six-course, beer pairing meal, this year with beers (and one mead) from Ordnance Brewing from Boardman, Worthy Brewing from Bend, Nectar Creek Mead from Corvallis, Silver Falls Brewery from Silverton, Fremont Brewing from Seattle and Three Creeks Brewing from Sisters. Since brewers or brewery representatives tend to be scarce at beer festival in these parts (not so back in the Midwest) it's an added bonus that someone from each brewery is at the dinner to talk about what beer we're about to drink. Bonus #2: in looking over this year's menu I'm not seeing a single beer that I've had before. If I've intrigued you enough to check it out you'll see that there's meat in nearly every course however vegetarian options are generally available (indicate at the time of purchasing a ticket). Since I'm getting full already thinking about that meal, let's skip ahead to the festival itself.

Pre-fest relaxation in the resort's hot tub

Starting at 3pm on Friday (noon on both Saturday and Sunday) the festival will feature 120 beers, ciders and meads from 60 different breweries. If you've done the math that works out to two from each brewery which is especially nice for those I'm less familiar with like Climate City, Drinking Horse and Wolf Tree. One big change, and an exciting one as far as I'm concerned, is that the festival is moving out of its indoor setting and instead booths will be dotted throughout the woods of the botanical gardens pouring beer. I'm hopeful that it will turn out to be as cool as I've imagined it in my head.




If you see us & him, ignore
him (he thinks he's invisible).

As in the past there will be live music Friday and Saturday nights. Kids are welcome during the day on Saturday and all day Sunday (Father's Day). Since the festival is mostly outside this year leashed pets are allowed so we'll be taking our new addition to his first beer festival. In the months we've had him he's learned about beer and since he started life as a stray he's a big scrounger - he's gonna love it! (At least we hope he will. Otherwise our time at the festival may not be limited so much by our imbibing as our patience for him.)

Oregon Garden Brewfest
Friday, June 17 3-11pm (21+ only)
Saturday, June 18 12-11pm (21+ after 5pm)
Sunday, June 19 12-6pm (kids allowed all day)
Admission: $15 for single-day admission includes sampling glass and 5 tasting tickets
Additional tickets $1 each and multi-day admission packages available

Coming Up: Oregon Garden Brewfest

What tremendous summer weather we're having now! It's the kind of weather that gets me especially excited that the Oregon Garden Brewfest moved from March to June this year. That's not to say that I haven't enjoyed the festival and wandering the grounds of the gardens previously just that the increased chance of better weather and the assuredly more lush gardens this year are a bonus.

1st course from last year's dinner

The 11th annual event, just south of Portland in Silverton, is one that I've attended for the last two years. While it's close enough to be a day trip (remember our April outing?) to get the full Oregon Garden Brewfest experience I highly encourage staying overnight at the Oregon Garden Resort. That's also where the pre-festival Brewer's Tasting Dinner takes place on Thursday night. This year's six-course dinner showcases beers from a host of the state's newer breweries - Buoy, Crux, Ex Novo, Ecliptic, Vagabond and Wild Ride - paired with dishes that are leaving me drooling just reading about them. There are still some tickets available for the dinner, an evening of great food, great beer and the opportunity to hang out with many of the brewers attending the festival.

Tickets for the festival itself, which opens at noon Friday, Saturday and Sunday, can be purchased in advance or at the door. Depending on how much of a weekend you want to make it there are single day as well as three-day ticket options and a VIP package. As an added bonus for Silverton residents, they receive a $10 discount on three-day tickets purchased at the door (proof of address required).



A 2014 standout - a citrusy DIPA

The star of the show is of course the 135 craft beers, ciders and meads from nearly 70 breweries. The beers run the gamut from summery sours and Saisons to hop-forward IPAs and barrel-aged offerings. In addition there's live music Friday and Saturday nights and diversions like shuffleboard and foosball. It's a close weekend getaway or maybe even a day trip provided you have someone to drive your festival-weary self home.

11th Annual Oregon Garden Brewfest
June 19-21, 2015
Silverton, OR

Day Trippin': Down South

Our recent situation change has given us the freedom to do day trips with much more ease than we've been accustomed to. And after living in Portland for nearly five years we realized that we haven't gotten "out" very much, a realization that came with some regret that there are probably plenty of great places and things we haven't seen. So a couple weekends ago we set our sights on Silver Falls State Park as our first "empty nest" day/half-day trip.

Before we hit the road we picked up supplies for a simple picnic lunch, then off we went, on the approximately 75 minute drive from our inner SE Portland abode. We opted to take 205 to 213/214 (I-5 is another option) to Sublimity, OR, just a bit south and east of Silverton. The park was surprisingly busy for the last weekend in March and the weather a bit cool but we found a picnic table in the sun and ate while we figured out which path to set out on.

Neither of us being hikers and not in the mood for anything with much difficulty we chose a route that took us past a few falls along a two mile or so course. The number of people, especially the couple with a stroller and mom with a bum arm, was more challenging to deal with that the terrain, although there were a few steep areas but it was a relatively easy walk that went behind the two falls. Pretty cool.

Back at the car, with the nature/park/hiking itch scratched we started to feel the beer itch. Being a stone's throw (ok, probably only if you were a giant) from Silverton we decided to pop into the taproom at Seven Brides Brewing. This is a place we'd visited the last couple of years on our way to the Oregon Garden Brewfest and found the same friendly woman behind the bar. As we enjoyed our pints we plotted the rest of the day and decided to make our way back towards Portland with a stop in Oregon City.

You may have heard some beer news out of Oregon City lately, that Coin Toss Brewing is opening up there, but our destination was Oregon City Brewing Co. I'm not sure what I expected but I know I didn't expect a good-sized, dedicated parking lot, nice patio set up and 40+ tap lines. That day the list included six of their own beers, a great selection of other craft beers plus three ciders and four wines. If you aren't able to find something to drink from their menu then you should probably just go to the grocery store and pick up a sixer of some crap macro.

The inside and outside were about as busy as one would suspect for a sunny Sunday mid-afternoon with a record player behind the bar sending out some old school tunes. The staff was inviting and friendly, pouring mostly pints but filling growlers as well. Perhaps the best overheard conversation was a patron with two growlers that asked the beertender how many growlers he could have filled at one time. The beertender's answer: How much money do you have?

All of the house beers we had were solid and without going into detail, suffice it to say that it's worth the drive to Oregon City to visit OCB. If you're looking to make more of a day of it or want some "nature time" as well, include Silver Falls State Park in your day trip plans with a stop at Seven Brides.