Brewer's Tasting Dinner Recap

Last weekend marked our fourth year attending the Oregon Garden Brewfest and its night-before event, the Brewer's Tasting Dinner (now in its fifth year as part of the festivities). The six-course dinner is an interesting mix of industry folks (brewers, bar/restaurant/business owners and media) and people who may or may not be attending the festival as well. One of the couples at our table this year had only heard about the dinner the morning prior on their local news of choice and although they had other plans preventing them from attending the festival they jumped on tickets to the dinner, driving down from Portland for the evening.

The first year the dinner was great, the second not quite as good and last year, well let's just say that if it had been the only year I'd attended I might not have gone again. But this year, wow!, a redemption in the food and the beers and even the service was a bit more coordinated. Grab a napkin for your drool, here's a recap of the meal.

First Course
Arugula and tangerine salad with toasted almonds and poppy seed dressing, fontina crostini

Worthy Brewing Coeur de la Peche

The beer, part of their Saison program and made with peaches and apricots, was something I was looking forward to but the Saison characteristics were a bit too pronounced for me to enjoy much of it on its own. The food however, especially the fontina crostini but also the poppy seed dressing, made a fantastic paring. Light and balanced in intensity, the meal was off to a promising start.

Second Course
Thai-style coconut and lemongrass soup with crab and chili

Fremont Brewing Interurban IPA infused with basil and lemongrass

The soup, similar to something I make at home, had amazing aroma and flavor with the only detraction being that unchewable portions of the lemongrass had not been strained out of the soup (something my dining companions commented on as well). The infusion of the beer was something done especially for this festival and in my view could have been done with a heavier hand as the flavor was mostly from the hop profile. No problem though, the beer was tasty and a great counterpoint to the soup, neither overpowering the other, instead complimenting and amplifying the spiciness of the other with each sip and slurp.

Third Course
Bacon and brisket hush puppies, Terry's BBQ sauce and tangy slaw

Silver Falls Brewery NW Red Ale

Here the food was the dish I was most excited about. I mean bacon and brisket? Yeah. Fresh out of the kitchen the aroma left my mouth watering and they were perfectly cooked, remaining moist and not at all greasy. The beer, heavy on the malt aroma and flavor, I wasn't a fan of on its own but it paired exceptionally well with the cornmeal in the hush puppies. More of the BBQ sauce would have been great as there was only enough for my hush puppies and I would have liked a bit more to drizzle over the slaw.

Fourth Course
Papparadelle with prosciutto, asparagus, hazelnuts and lemon

Ordnance Brewing Garden Beer

Pasta can be done well or pasta can be uninspired and forgettable. This was most definitely the former, being buttery and lemony (although it needed pepper). The pale ale was said to have been infused with spruce tips from the Oregon Garden and although I wasn't getting any spruce it was delicious and amazing for being a pale ale. In addition its brightness provided a compliment to the lemony pasta and balanced the rich butteriness.

<<<Here the dinner took a slight intermission while Gale Goschie, of Goschie Farms, came to the front to talk. She was a delight to listen to, talking about hop farming and being part of the next generation of this family-owned farm. As good as the food and beer had been she was definitely the highlight of the evening.>>>

Fifth Course
Herbed ricotta and spinach stuffed chicken breast and herbed potatoes white balsamic and plum sauce

Nectar Creek Cluster

Mag was correct in his observation that this was dish was comfort food all the way. The chicken, another potential hit or miss item, was very tender and although a bit over salted, was nicely balanced by the sweet, vinegary sauce and the mead. Speaking of Cluster, it was beautiful to look at but to drink on its own, is reminiscent of Kool-aid. Another successful pairing and a good thing there was only one more course to go as my belly was filling up.

Sixth Course
Tuxedo Mousse and cherry truffles

Three Creeks Brewing Stampede NW Strong Ale

Dessert was a beautiful presentation of a towering mousse creation with cherry-goodness truffles. The beer being a strong ale was expectedly malty, hoppy and big. Perhaps a bit strong for the mousse, even as full as I was I would have eaten a table's worth of the cherry truffles and drank a pitcher of the beer the pairing was so good. A perfect ending to dinner.

Oregon Garden Brewfest Changes: Yea or Nay?

The 12th Annual Oregon Garden Brewfest took place last weekend on the gorgeous grounds of the Oregon Garden. Like any annual event it will periodically undergo changes, hopefully changes that will make it better and more appealing to attendees. Two years ago it made a significant change to the date, going from April to June when not only was the weather more likely to cooperate but the gardens were more beautiful.

This year there were three noticeable changes:
1) The start time was moved to 3pm instead of noon on Friday
2) It was held in the Discovery Forest portion of the gardens instead of in a large tent and permanent building
3) Each ticket was good for a 2oz sample (a full glass remained 4 tickets)

 

The change in start time, perhaps a mere three hours to some, is most significant for those of us who came down the night before for the Brewer's Tasting Dinner. In the past the noon start time has usually meant a slow Friday morning, perhaps recovering from a wee bit of over indulgence of food and drink the night before. While the later start time doesn't necessitate a change to that, it does leave more hours to fill. We used that time to go on a hike and were able to take our time doing so instead of feeling rushed to get out of the room in the morning and rushed to get back for the start of the festival. For those who didn't stay overnight the difference may not have even been noticed and I suspect the reason for pushing it back was to eliminate a few hours when there was not a huge crowd.

The second change, setting up "tasting cottages," each housing the beers/ciders from three breweries in Rediscovery Forest upped the appeal tenfold. No longer relegated to fitting rectangular tables into a square or rectangle structure, the "tasting cottages" were spread along a slightly curving, woodchip-lined lane under the towering trees. An added bonus is that since dogs are allowed in the gardens, dogs were allowed at the festival and it afforded our new pup his first beer festival experience.

The final change was that the tasting marking on the festival glasses (real glass pints) was significantly lower to the bottom than in the past, allowing for 2oz instead of the standard 3 or 4. At first take I was a little irritated but in practice the reduced amount meant I was able to try more beers before reaching my limit. I suspect part of this decision may have been influenced by the varying price of the kegs. It seems lately more and more festivals are charging varying numbers of tickets for the same size sample. I can do math and I get it; nevertheless I do feel a little nickel-and-dimed when I get to a festival only to discover at least half of the beers I planned to try are double or triple the number of tickets (I've yet to see the number of tickets each beer will cost posted in advance). This is an alternate way to deal with the issue of pricier kegs and keeps things simple for everyone involved. I'm not saying I love it but I do think I prefer it to the alternative, more widely used option.

One final note, this year's Brewer's Tasting Dinner was the best to date. I'll try to find the time in the next few days to put together a post of the deliciousness to share with you.

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

June Preview

July may officially be Oregon Craft Beer Month but with the 10-day run of PDX Beer Week and other events in June it certainly rivals July for beer geeks' attention. There are too many things going on in June for me to list them all but there are some I'm really, really looking forward to. Expect more in depth preview posts throughout the month but for now, a quick snapshot of where you can expect to see me.

Friday, June 7 5:00 - 8:00 pm: Red Duck Ketchup Day at Coalition Brewing
I don't like to play favorites but Coalition is one of my favorite breweries in town and the idea behind this event, to celebrate National Ketchup Day, is a fun one. If you haven't heard about it, make sure to click the event link to read about the beer and more that will be there.

Friday, June 12 - Sunday, June 14: 5th Annual Fruit Beer Festival at Burnside Brewing
I've attended three of the last four years of this festival (had to miss one year due to a beercation to Colorado) and I always look forward to the creativity of the brewers that use not only traditional, sweet fruits but also less traditional fruits (that are sometimes miscategorized as vegetables) like tomatoes.

Friday, June 19 - Sunday, June 21: 11th Annual Oregon Garden Brewfest in Silverton
This will be my third year attending this festival and although the change in date from spring to summer puts it in greater competition with other beer events I'm excited to visit the gardens (traditionally our Friday morning post-breakfast, pre-festival plan) when they're in full bloom. Like the Spring Beer & Wine Fest, this is one where some of the smaller breweries that you won't see at larger festivals make an appearance.

Sunday, June 21 12:00 - 5:00 pm: 4th Annual Beer & Cheese Festival at The Commons Brewery
I waited too long last year and the event sold out before I could buy my ticket. Having greatly enjoyed this festival in the past this year I made sure to snag my ticket early. Some are still available if you haven't gotten yours but do expect it to sell out again this year.

#10 For You, #2 For Me

This year marks the 10th Annual Oregon Garden Brewfest and our second year attending it. While last year everything was new and shiny to us, this year we had a better idea of what to expect and were eager to experience it again.

The first thing we knew to expect was that the later in the day we left to get down to Silverton Thursday afternoon, the more traffic there would be. We planned accordingly and found ourselves already nearing the Salem exits from I-5 just after 3 pm. After a quick look at options for ways to spend the hours between then and dinner, we decided to pay a visit to Vagabond Brewing. I'll be telling you more about that soon, but for now, just know that it was worth visiting and if you're in Salem don't pass up the opportunity to go yourself.

Once we arrived at the Oregon Garden Resort and got checked in we headed over to the Fireside Lounge for some pre-dinner drinks. There were plenty of familiar faces but this time instead of getting our beers and finding a seat on one of their comfy couches we opted to stay at the bar. We talked to quite a few people, including owner and brewer of Boring Brewing, John Griffith. I'd exchanged emails and phone calls with John the previous summer in the course of setting up a BREWVANA tour but this was my first time meeting him in person. Not only that but as I was to find out the next day, his Hot Scotch Scottish Ale (brewed with Scotch Bonnet peppers) was outstanding. Enough jumping ahead, a bit on the six-course Brewer's Tasting Dinner first.

The dinner offered a wide range of beers - from well-known breweries (Bridgeport, Stone and Cascade) to younger, less proven ones (Golden Valley, Rusty Truck and Salem Ale Works). Of the six courses there was only one where I didn't enjoy the beer, the food or the pairing and a second one where the beer was excellent but the food was by far my least favorite of the night. As is often the case there was one pairing where I didn't particularly enjoy the beer on its own (Golden Valley Pinot Noir Barrel-Aged Geistbock, pictured) but when paired with the hazelnut crusted goat cheese fritters, I found it much more enjoyable.

Both the second course - Rusty Truck Simcoe CDA with smoked sausage potato cakes - and the fifth course - Cascade Honey Ginger Lime with pork confit-stuffed artichoke - offered great beer, great food and a great pairing of the two. Going into the dinner we told ourselves that since we were staying two nights this year we should take advantage of the post-dinner drinking but alas, our bellies full of beer and food overruled our determination to "stay out" and by 10 pm we were both zonked out.

The next morning we enjoyed the rare opportunity to sleep in. After building a good base at breakfast and a stroll around the gardens there was still some time to kill before it was time to embark on the festival, just enough time for a session in the resort's hot tub. Then it was off to drink!

My plan for this festival, as it is at many, was to avoid the brews I had tried before regardless of how much I like them, and work on trying new-to-me beers. Four beers easily rose to the top: Boring Brewing Hot Scotch, something we had learned about the night before from John, Feckin Brewery Irish Oatmeal Porter, Flat Tail Brewing 6 am Stout and Goodlife Brewing Evil Sister, an imperial version of their Little Sister ISA.

Evil Sister was a heavenly citrus bomb but at 9% a bit to big to drink a ton of. Hot Scotch, while being the most delicious pepper beer I've had, still had more heat than I could drink more than a pint of. That left, when it came to the time in the festival when I still had tickets but had tried all the beers I wanted to, the porter and the stout. Enjoying them alternately until our tickets were exhausted and our bellies starting to grumble for a proper meal made for a great end to the festival.

The festival continues today (Saturday) until 11 pm, with live music starting at 5 pm, and tomorrow 12 - 5 pm. With only an hour's drive between Portland and Silverton, if you're looking for something to do this weekend, it's still a do-able option. Otherwise, keep the last full weekend of April open next year and consider attending the 11th Annual Oregon Garden Brewfest.

Coming Up: 2014 Oregon Garden Brewfest

Last year was our first year attending the Oregon Garden Brewfest in Silverton, OR. While Silverton is only about an hour's drive south of Portland we'd never been there before and had no idea what the gardens were all about. This year when we were reminded that the festival would be taking place the last weekend of April the decision to attend again was an easy one - of course we would!

The festival takes place on a portion of the Oregon Garden grounds Friday, April 25th - Sunday, April 27th. Perennial early birds that we are, we'll be taking advantage of the front end of the festival, going down the night before to take in the Brewer's Tasting Dinner (which was all kinds of delicious fun last year) and then hitting the festival as soon as the gates open Friday. In between we'll have a leisurely breakfast on the patio and then take a spin around the gardens, enjoying all they have to offer and working up a thirst for the festival.

One of the great things about this festival, as opposed to many that take place in Portland, is the relaxed atmosphere. With 130 beers, ciders and mead from over 60 breweries it's nothing to sniff at; this is a real deal festival with live music both evenings of the festival, a shuttle running to and from Salem and for those looking to make a little getaway of it, packages that include festival tickets and accommodations at the Oregon Garden Resort.

Come on down and join in the fun!

Oregon Garden Brewfest
Silverton
Friday, April 25th - Sunday, April 27th
Gates open at noon each day

To Silverton! For Beer & More

Last week was my first trip to the Oregon Garden Brewfest and to Silverton. The main focus of the overnight trip was to attend the Oregon Garden Brewfest, held on the Oregon Garden grounds. We left Portland early and had time to spare before attending the Brewer's Tasting Dinner (which was delicious!) so we stopped in at Seven Brides Brewing. They are conveniently located on the main road, Highway 214, coming from Portland and had about 12 beers on tap, many more than make it into Portland.

First off you should know that the vibrant green beer on the left is their pilsner that food coloring was added to in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Not being a pilsner fan in general it didn't do much for me and I have to admit the brightness of the green was a bit distracting. What was easily my favorite was their Abbey's Belgian Sour, which was not sour to the extent of something Cascade might pour but a great gateway sour more along the lines of Duchesse. Also pleasing was the Weezin-ator, a Doppelbock, Becky's Black Cat, a very roasty porter, and Erin's Irish Red Ale that was offered a roasty aroma and went gentle on maltiness that I find overpowering in many red ales. After splitting a sampler tray and having a pint it was time to depart but not without a mental note to make plans to visit again.

Arriving at the Oregon Garden Resort we checked into our room, a roomy set up with a semi-private patio and a gas fireplace that was the main heat source. The Brewer's Tasting Dinner that evening was well worth coming down early for (In case you missed the last post you can read all about it here.) but after how busy the week had been we called it an early night, forgoing an over indulgence that would have been so easy with a room within stumbling distance available.

Friday morning dawned sunny and beautiful, warm enough to eat breakfast outside overlooking the upper part of the gardens. With the festival not beginning until noon we had plenty of time to explore the gardens, which we did so completely. It's a beautiful set up overall and for those who don't have time to do a full tour the map easily identify the separate gardens so one can pick and choose.

The walking was good but somewhat thirst inducing so by the time noon rolled around we were ready for the festival to begin. Split between a permanent structure and a tent there was plenty of room to move around and for the first two hours of the festival there were plenty of brewers on hand. Like usual they were happy to talk about their beer and answer any questions. This was one of the highlights of the festival since it's a festival feature that is far more uncommon in Oregon than in the Midwest where you'd be hard pressed to visit any booth at a festival and NOT find a brewer or someone intimately involved with the production of the brewery's beer.

I enjoyed plenty of good beer but the brewery that stands out most in my mind is Standing Stone out of Ashland. Each brewery offered two beers and both of theirs were hits with my taste buds. Their I Love Oregon Ale was deliciously stanky with plenty of grapefruit flavor while their Noble Stout was one of the best coffee stouts I've had, reminding me strongly of Furthermore's Oscura, a Midwest beer I dearly miss.

We could only spend part of the afternoon at the festival as duties back home were calling so after grabbing lunch it was time to hit the road back to Portland. Traffic ended up being much heavier than I expected but other than it taking longer to get back than I would have liked the entire trip was a good one. And beer fest or not, I hope to visit Silverton again before long. You should check it out, too.

Brewer's Tasting Dinner at the Oregon Garden

Last night's Brewer's Tasting Dinner, on the eve of the Oregon Garden Brewfest, brought brewers and beer lovers to the table for a six course meal. One cider and five beers, each introduced by their brewer, were paired a mix of traditional plates and those with surprising components.

First Course - Flat Tail Blended Beer with Fontina, Boursin and dill Havarti with dried fruit and crostini

The dinner started off with a very successful pairing of a blended beer from Flat Tail that was part pre-Prohibition pilsner and part sour beer.

Second Course - Fort George Roses on Roses Belgian IPA with blackened shrimp martini with fresh pico salsa and crab meat

After a big first course I was pleased this was a smaller portion of food. Belgian IPAs are not a style I enjoy and the boozy, barrel aged flavors were appreciated more by others at the table than me.

Third Course - 2 Towns Traditions Ciderworks 2012 Vintage Amity Rose - Willamette Valley Traditional Dry Cider with pork and baby apple bruschetta

The cider was more like a wine, dry and not sweet at all to my palate, but it was delicious with the apples and pork.

Fourth Course - Alameda White Peppercorn Saison with spinach salad with smoked pears, walnuts and lemon vinaigrette

The Saison was "dry hopped" with peppercorns and was delicious with the walnuts alone. The most impressive part of the dish was the smoky aroma and flavor from the pears. Had I not known it was a smoked pear salad I would have thought that there was delicious smoked meat on it.

Fifth Course - Falling Sky Who Loves the Sun Winter Spice Ale with Cornish game hen with grilled strawberries and root vegetables

I didn't anticipate liking a winter spice ale but it surprised me with a sweet, hoppy aroma and a completely different, amazing tropical fruit flavor. Another surprise was in store for me with a bite of grilled strawberry and a piece of bacon. I could have eaten a whole plate of just these two components.

Sixth Course - Santiam Sangre de Cristo Oak Barrel Aged Cabernet Stout with flourless chocolate cake with black cherry compote

The barrel aging of the beer was very prevalent and very pleasant and paired with the dense cake...nothing short of f*$%ing amazing. Really.

The evening - the food, the beer, my dining companions - were a great start to my first visit to the Oregon Garden and the Brewfest. Although the dinner is now just a delicious memory and I can't do anything other than suggest you get a seat next year, the fest awaits, running both Friday and Saturday. It's going to be a gorgeous day so hop in the car and make the short drive to Silverton for the Oregon Garden Brewfest.

The Oregon Garden Brewfest is Coming

Two weeks from today I'll be attending the Oregon Garden Brewfest in Silverton for the first time. Having lived in Portland for a scant three years now there are plenty of places I haven't visited and events, even beer events, I haven't attended. I have heard from veterans to this beer festival that the grounds are absolutely gorgeous and with so much in bloom right now I'm looking forward to drinking in one of the prettiest settings of any festival I've been to.

For those of you that know me well you know that it's not my nature to just show up at a festival. I can't remember the last time when I showed up woefully unprepared so even though there are other things I should be doing I had to sit down with the program and a fine tooth comb.

What I found was that there will be more representation by some of the larger "craft" producers, some of which are owned at least in part by the big boys, than some of the other festivals I've been to. Those include Goose Island, Leinenkugal's and Blue Moon but that's ok. There will be far too many beers for me to try all of them so that makes knocking a few brews off the list of 125 beers, ciders and meads a little easier. What is harder is narrowing things down to a list to probably about 20 beers. A few that I don't want to miss are:

• Old Town Brewing Boysenberry Black Ale - I have only had a few Old Town brews and I'm also a sucker for fruit beers.
• Falling Sky Brewing Retrograde NW Red - Again, I haven't had a lot of Falling Sky and I'm curious to see just how hoppy this red ale is.
• Crux Fermentation On the Fence Pale Ale and Outcast IPA - I haven't had much of their beer...seeing a pattern yet?
• Standing Stone Noble Stout and I Love Oregon Ale - I don't think I've had anything from Standing Stone.

There will be some breweries and beers that I've had before and enjoyed and while I may have some of those, at this festival, like most I go to I'll be focusing on trying beers I haven't had before and breweries that are less familiar to me. Usually there's a mix of ones that are "meh", a stinker or two and some that wow me. The question is which will fall into which category?

If you're thinking about making the short drive to Silverton, here are the important details:
Oregon Garden Brewfest
April 26 - 28, doors open at noon each day
The Oregon Garden, 879 W Main St, Silverton
Cost: $15 & up (advance, multi-day and on-site tickets available)
The Oregon Garden Resort is offering a package including overnight accommodations, festival admission and more.

Images courtesy of the Oregon Garden Brewfest.
Disclaimer: I was invited by the festival to attend however I can assure you that I wouldn't be going if I wasn't sincerely interested.