As soon as I found out that this year’s Oregon Brewers Festival would feature a brewery from the Netherlands, I was out the door. What a great excuse to spend a sunny summer day in Portland. The Red Line of the MAX Light Rail conveniently stopped just a block away from the festivities at Waterfront Park.
The Oregon Brewers Festival has been going strong for 30 years, and is quite a big deal with the beer loving community. Over five days, brewers and volunteers serve up around 180 craft beers from all over the US (and the Netherlands in this case). We were there on the first day and there was already a good crowd, so I can only imagine what this weekend will look like. The organization is expecting around 80,000 beer fans to flock to the event.
Show Yer Mug!
Make sure you bring your ID with you, because Security checks everyone at the gates. Technically the festival is free, but all the beer, samples and regular size, is poured into a plastic souvenir mug that you can purchase for $7. Get some wooden nickels for a dollar a piece to pay for all the hoppy goodness.
Not just locals appreciate the Brewfest, because I chatted with folks from Germany and Australia. There were world maps available where visitors could mark their hometown or country with pins. I sure was not the only Dutchman in the house, judging by this map. Meanwhile, the Ozzies were lamenting the fact that the Kiwis outnumbered them. The German couple happened to be from Munich, so I could not help but mention their epic Oktoberfest celebrations. They were quick to say that they liked the Oregon Brewers Festival much better, as it showcases the beers instead of placing the focus on, you know, getting hammered.
Racket? Ruckus? Uproar!
Of course it was my civil duty to try the Dutch beer first. The “Oproer Brouwerij” happens to be from my college town of Utrecht, so I could not wait to try their 24/7 IPA. It’s a very rich American Style IPA that is actually brewed with their partners in Oregon City, Coin Toss Brewing. Very tasty indeed. There was only disappointment about this experience. It turned out that the gentlemen whom I had seen earlier that morning on the local news were MIA. Instead, a volunteer poured their beer for me. A while later it became clear to me that all the brewers themselves were sampling the wares. That’s why there were so many volunteers. Fool me once, you stealthy brewers!
Brewers And Beer
While I am by no means a beer connoisseur, the facts don’t lie. This festival is dominated by India Pale Ales (IPA). Runners-up would be the fruit beers, lagers, saison and sour ales. No coincidence that I tried samples from all but one of these categories. The Maui Mango Hefeweizen, Fearless Lemon Lager, Mojito Sour Ale and Mcmenamins Tropic Heat sounded very promising, but were just not very “beer-like” to me. So call it chauvinism, but I definitely liked Oproer’s 24/7 best.
The fun of craft beers starts with their names. I found Cocunut Curryiocity, Bloody Well Wit, Plumbelievable!, Yoga Pants, Brettanomyces is Not a Dinosaur!, Berry White,Tigers in Tiny Spaces, and the unmissable Chasing Fluffy Pink Unicorns among the, pardon the pun, witty beer names.
Are you looking for something fun to do in the Portland area this weekend? Head out to the Oregon Brewers Festival!
Be First to Comment