Locked & Loaded for the 29th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival

2015 festival tasting mug

The granddaddy of beer festivals in Oregon, the Oregon Brewers Festival, starts Wednesday and I for one am ready. Last week I made my way through the full list of 100+ beers from breweries across the U.S. and the world, identifying 49 that I'd really like to taste.

In an effort to put some organization in place I first listed them by general style/ABV, starting with fruit and sours beers, ending with a few imperial stouts (the order in which I'd like to drink them in an ideal world). While it'd be foolish to waste time going in that exact order this will help ensure that as much as I want to try those big, bold beers I'm better off waiting. Because I do in fact want to taste the beers on the list, not just drink them.

Next up, because I'm a die-hard user, I created a Wish List on Untappd. For those who haven't done so before, it's a huge time-saver for check-ins during a festival, especially for those foreign beers whose brewery or beer names might be listed slightly differently in this app than on the festival list. Keep in mind that the first beer put on the Wish List gets pushed down as the others "stack" on top of it. Therefore I entered one of the last beers I plan to drink, New Holland's 11% Dragon's Milk: Mexican Spice Cake, first. (FYI - It's far easier to do this on a computer than phone.) As with the overall list it's not foolproof but it is helpful, including to identify beers one may have already tried. I found two on my list that I'd had before.

The final step, when the listing of the trailers the beers would be pouring at was released Monday, was to assign trailer numbers to the beers on my list. In the past I've then reshuffled my list by trailer number. This year I'll be attending the festival for multiple days so left the original order intact. I won't be running from trailer #9, down to trailer #5 and then over to the International Beer Garden to stay in exact order but it will give me some guidance as I wander through the festival.

Speaking of the International Beer Garden, for those new to the festival, this is a feature that was added three years ago to be "part of a cultural exchange of ideas, knowledge and the celebration of craft beer." What's more important logistically is to understand that the 25 beers coming from Japan, The Netherlands, China and Germany will not all be pouring throughout the festival. They will rotate so don't set your heart on trying all of them unless you intend to be there from open until close all five days. Definitely take advantage of this unique opportunity though and try what's on tap while you're there.

Things to keep in mind:
- The beer starts pouring at noon each day (gates open at 11:30am).
- It is a cash-only event (although ATMs will be available...for a fee of course).
- Entrance itself is free; drinking requires a tasting mug ($7) and tokens ($1/sample).
- Besides the obvious silliness of operating a vehicle post-fest, parking in the area is horrible. And expensive. Use public transit, take a cab/Uber/Lyft or hoof it.

Oregon Brewers Festival
Wednesday, July 27 - Sunday, July 31
Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland
12-9pm Wed - Sat, 12-7pm Sun

Holiday Ale Festival Hit List

Today is the first day of the 19th Annual Holiday Ale Festival although how we got so late into the year is beyond me. Perhaps it's due to how late Thanksgiving fell. Nonetheless, I'm staying true to my standard beer festival preparations with a perusal of the Standard Release Beers list and creation of my hit list.

Knowing I'd have to ax a fair number of them beers I ruled out ones I've had (like Kell's Boom Roaster, which is phenomenal!), beers I suspect I may be able to get elsewhere (like Lagunitas Scare City 2) or beers that are just not stylistically preferable to my palate (Belgian/Belgian Strong Ales).

As I made and reviewed my list I was surprised to find that I included some breweries I tend to pass by, but have been coming around to more lately, (like McMenamins and Portland Brewing). My initial cut yielded a mere 15 beers I definitely want to try and an additional 13 maybes for the B Side of my list. That boils down to a pretty doable amount, especially if I make it multiple days.

You're welcome to check out my full list but for those of you who prefer a Cliff Notes version my top eight are (in alphabetical order by brewery):
Burnside Brewing Co. Jingleberry - Imperial Stout with cranberries
Ex Novo Brewing Co. Moonstriker - Baltic Porter with Mexican chocolate
Feckin Brewery Top O' The Feckin' Mornin' - Imperial Espresso Milk Porter
Gigantic Brewing Red Ryder BB Gun - Saison with cranberries
McMenamins Lord of Misrule - Rum Barrel-Aged Mexican Mocha Imperial Stout
Nectar Creek Triple Brett - Barrel-Aged Session Mead
Oakshire Brewing Prestidigation - White Chocolate Milk Stout
Sixpoint Brewery Lump of Coal Porter - Robust Porter, a collaboration with "Beer Goddess" Lisa Morrison

Invariably I'll be disappointed by some I was most excited to try and conversely wowed by some I had dismissed (but was tipped off about from some of the beer friends I'll surely run into). But that's part of the fun, just like as a kid shaking the packages under the tree trying to guess what's inside.

May your #HAF19 mug run over with goodness!

19th Annual Holiday Ale Festival
Wednesday, December 3 - Sunday, December 7
Open 11:00 am daily, closing at 10:00 pm daily except for Sunday when festival concludes at 5:00 pm
Pioneer Courthouse Square
General admission tickets: $35 includes tasting mug and 14 tasting tickets

Beer Fest Prep: NAOBF



Here we are, although how exactly we got here I'm not sure, looking down the last week of June. Does that make me a bit sad? Yes, but you know what helps to counter that? It's time for the North American Organic Brewers Festival (NAOBF)!

NAOBF, sandwiched between Fruit Beer Festival (whose beer line up is the one I look forward to most) and OBF (whose sheer depth and breadth is amazing), is special in another way. It takes place at my favorite beer festival venue in Portland - Overlook Park.

Getting back to my standard beer festival preparations (which I've been slacking on a bit lately) I scanned the beer list looking for beers that I've had, ones I can cross off my drinking list for the day (because as much as I'd like to drink them all, even I'm not that good). To my surprise and dismay, I wasn't even able to rule out half of the nearly 60 offerings.

Then it was time for round two cuts. Reading through the beer descriptions I was looking for special words like "dry-hopped" and "tart" and interesting ingredients like "cold brewed Jasmine tea" and "ginger". That round made a more significant impact, whittling the list down to 10 beers I definitely want to try and handful of others I'd like to try, a manageable agenda for day drinking.

The final step, and this is a newer one, will be to add the 10 - 15 beers to my Untappd wish list. Not only will it make check-ins easier at the festival but I'll be making progress on the elusive Your Wish Came True badge. Yes, I'm that kind of beer geek. Wanna be Untappd friends?

10th Annual North American Organic Brewers Festival

June 26 - 28 12:00 - 9:00 pm

June 29 12:00 - 5:00 pm

Free admission, $6 tasting glass, $1 beer tokens

The Next Big Festival: OBF

Last week I talked about my beer festival must-haves and now it's time to talk about The Portland Beer Festival. Yes, it's none other than the Oregon Brewers Festival, the big kahuna lounging along the Willamette at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland.

Now in its 26th year, the festival has expanded to a five-day event. As in past years the festival kicks off with the Oregon Brewers Brunch (which if you haven't gotten tickets for yet, you're SOL) and parade. Three things are notably different however. First, the festival now starts on Wednesday instead of Thursday. Second, no longer will attendees be subjected to drinking great beer out of plastic mugs. This year the festival glasses will actually be glass, 12.8 oz vessels. Third, there will not be the Buzz Tent or the Sour Tent that the festival has seen in the past few years. I'm on the fence about this change - there were some great beers poured out of both tents but there were also plenty of problems associated with them including the high cost of the beers (some that were worth it, others that were not) and getting the information out about keg turnover. Hopefully a year off from these tents will allow festival organizers to come back with new and improved versions.

The beer however is the star and after a perusal of the beer line up, I managed to narrow down the impressive list of 80+ beers to a short list of 20. Many of them are fruit beers, which seems to be a trend for me lately. The rest are interesting sounding beers of styles I don't usually drink and a festival is the perfect place to give them a try. See you there!

Oregon Brewers Festival
July 24 - 28, gates open at Noon daily
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Free admission, $7 tasting glass, $1 tokens (cash only)
Beer list

Beer Festival Must-Haves

Beer festival season is in full swing across the country. A veteran of many festivals, I've found some to be more restrictive than others about what attendees are allowed to bring in. The best ones have no restrictions on my two festival must-haves: water and food.

More and more festivals are getting wise to the fact that when drinking beer one should also make sure to drink plenty of water. To that end more are allowing water bottles to be brought in and/or having plenty of water stations planted throughout the festival area. Either is fine with me as long as I have easy access to plenty of water. Not only is remaining hydrated important but so is keeping my glass free of any residual flavors or aromas from the last sample. Pro tip: drink your rinse water.

Festivals that also allow food to be brought in get huge points from me. Most won't make people remove pretzel necklaces but it's the heartier, easy-to-nibble-on foods I prefer like meat, cheese and nuts. I've found those foods have some staying power and help offset the alcohol intake. When combined with enough water they make for a much more pleasant post-festival experience.

I'm aware that I'm a little obsessive about carrying my own food and water. Many people are fine rolling with the punches and being content with whatever is available. Do you take your own food and/or water to festivals when it's allowed? If so, what are your preferred snacks or water vessel (bottle, Camelback, etc.) for beer festing?