Sometimes I joke that Portland has made me drink more. But it’s not really a joke- the high caliber of local wineries, distilleries and microbreweries here in Portland has really wowed me and made me enjoy beverages more than I ever thought.
Portland also isn’t shy about outright celebrating its liquid bounty. Take June for instance. I decided to do a Portland June 2014 Events Roundup of all the various events in June, and I decided to highlight these (keep in mind there is probably more that I missed).
Tiki Punch Out!
Wednesday May 28 – Tuesday June 3, 2014
Portland Monthly Magazine and Captain Morgan White bring you Tiki Punch-Out!, a classic tiki punch competition! At the free but ticketed event (21+ only) at Punch Bowl on Tuesday June 3 5:30 – 7:30 PM, they will be breaking out the rum, the booze infused watermelons and hollowed-out coconuts! Six of the city’s best bartenders will vie for the title of Tiki Punch-Out Champion and a cash prize of $500!
Participating Establishments:
- Kask
- Hale Pele
- Alibi
- Trader Vic’s
- Punch Bowl Social
- Sand Bar
May 28 to June 2 is Tiki Punch-Out Week so you can stop by any of those above participating bars to get previews of the punches.
Salt & Straw Cocktail Ice Cream Month
June 1 – July 3, 2014
At all of the Salt & Straw locations, you can try for one month only some special ice cream flavors. Welcome to The Summer Cocktail Ice Cream Series, where Tyler Malek, Salt & Straw’s head ice cream maker, collaborated with various top bartenders in Portland to offer five ice cream twists on classic drinks (the ice cream itself has the alcohol burned off so you will get the flavors without the tipsyness).
- Chocolate Chip Mint Julep: Hand-selected batch of bourbon from Four Roses Distilling with Oregon grown spearmint and Oregon roasted single-origin chocolate (Brandon Wise, Imperial)
- Strawberry & Verbena Pimm’s Cup: Strawberry and lemon verbena ice cream with Aviation gin marmalade (Ross Hunsinger, Aviary), a sweet and bitter, citrusy pop in the mouth
- Lemon Amaretto Sour: Amaretto sherbet with punches of lemon egg cream (Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Clyde Common)
- Pineapple Honey Dorléac: based off of Kyle’s own Dorléac recipe, Honey, vodka and Aperol ice cream with a gentle ribbon of pineapple caramel (Kyle Webster, Expatriate)
- Rhubarb & Saffron Champagne Cocktail: Subtly yeasty Champagne ice cream with a tart ribbon of saffron and rhubarb jelly reminiscent of that perfect summer-fresh rhubarb spritzer (Evan Zimmerman, the Woodsman Tavern)
Part of the proceeds from the summer cocktail ice cream series will go to Global Fund to Fight AIDS, in support of (RED)’s EAT (RED). DRINK (RED). SAVE LIVES campaign. No seriously it is all caps and with the parenthesis, I remember buying their tshirts before and the RED is always like that.
Negroni Week
Monday June 2 – Sunday June 8, 2014
Negroni Week is sponsored by imbibe Magazine and Campari internationally. In the 7 days of Negroni Week, participating bars take advantage of the ingredients of a Negroni (Campari, Gin, Vermouth) to raise money for various charity causes. Participants vary from Canada and England and Australia and France to all over the US, including almost 40 participating bars here in Portland Oregon.
Each bar can select the charity of their choice, so for instance by filtering to Portland in the US here at the participating bars list you may decide to have a Negroni at
- Bunk Bar or Irving Street Kitchen benefiting Share our Strength. I should mention that Bunk Bar plans to serve a slush-i-fied version of the Negroni…
- Clyde Common for the Pixie Project
- Multnomah Whiskey Library for United Way
- Ned Ludd for Zenger Farms
- Ox or Whey Bar for Panda Paws Rescue
- St Jack for the Humane Society
- Teardrop Lounge for Alzheimers Foundation of America,
- etc.
The above are only a small selection I pulled out as examples but illustrate the amazing bars that are participating. So make sure to browse the list and visit a bar or two for a Negroni! I’m actually going to be in San Diego and Chicago for part of Negroni Week, but don’t worry that are participating bars I saw for Negroni week in both those cities as well, so being out of town is no excuse.
To kick off Negroni Week, Imperial will host a Negroni-centric happy hour on Monday, June 2nd from 4-7 PM featuring Negronis made with local Aria gin and Beefeater from guest bartender Douglas Derrick (previously of Nostrana, now managing Raven and Rose, and also featured in that video below! He helped inspire Negroni Week with the Negroni Social he used to hold at Nostrana) and Imperial’s presiding barman and Negroni Week supporter Brandon Wise.
There will also be a special Negroni ice cream from Salt + Straw made with House Spirits’ Aviation American gin.
Scoops are just $3 and Negronis are $5 and a portion of the proceeds will go directly to the Red Cross. I’ll still be in San Diego so am missing that event, but how awesome does that sound?
Imbibe and Campari Present: Negroni Week 2014 from Imbibe on Vimeo.
PDX Beer Week
Thursday June 5 – Sunday June 15, 2014
Apparently it’s not enough that we have July dedicated to Oregon Beer. We need a special week just for Portland beer celebrations. And boy, is there a lot going on for PDX Beer Week! I am not going to cover all the events going on- look on the website yourself for that as there is lots to read and more being added it seems every time I check! But let me highlight in my personal opinion (of course- this is my blog after all) my selected 12 favorites for beer week. Ok, technically, it is a little bit more than a week, it’s 10 days, but no problem with that!
- The Official Beer Week Sandwich available at the various Lardo locations and Easy Company will be featuring this official special sandwich as well as the official beer week beer and t-shirt for sale as a special package for the duration of Portland Beer Week. The official beer week sandwich is with Olympic Provisions Kielbasa, smoked Tillamook cheddar, sauerkraut, Worthy/Hopworks Session India Rye Ale mustard on toasted ciabatta.
- What? There is also an Official Beer Week Donut??? Yes, Blue Star Donuts is developing a special beer week beer donut that will be featured at their 2 locations and at select beer week events, a Widmer Brothers Hefe citrus cake donut!
- pFriem & Irving Street Kitchen Beer Dinner Pairing. Sunday June 8, 2014 5:30-8:00 PM Irving Street Kitchen Executive Chef Sarah Schafer will be hosting pFriem Family Brewers for a four course meal plus passed canapes paired with a lineup of Pfriem beers. I love the farmhouse style beers of pFriem and I think it would go fabulously with the Southern cooking by Chef Sarah. Tickets will will be $85, which includes food, beer, and gratuity. For reservations contact Irving Street Kitchen at 503.343.9440 or jessie@irvingstreetkitchen.com. The photo below is an example of the awesomeness that can come from Chef Sarah when I attended an event where she matched her cooking with Hawks View Wine so I am confident she will be just as kickass doing food pairing with beer. There is another Brewer’s Dinner event taking place at Raven and Rose with Samuel Smith beer that same night, but since that is more of an English, I’m going to vote for this Beer Dinner pairing because it’s local.
- Alternately, also on Sunday June 8 6 PM is a Beer Versus Cider & cheese pairing where the same cheese, selected by Cheesemonger Steve Jones of Cheese Bar, is paired both by a beer from Alex Ganum of Upright Brewing and a cider by Nat West of Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider as part of a face-off to see whether the beer or cider paired better with the cheese. You would get 10 different cider and beer pairings for $31 (advanced ticket sales only). Take a look at the cider and beer and cheese that will be at the event here at the ticket site.
- New School and Bailey’s Taproom New Breweries Showcase June 9 2 PM – midnight features ten new breweries from across the Oregon state. These are all breweries that are probably new to you: Chetco Brewing, Salem Ale Works, Buoy Beer Company, Sam’s Bond Brewing, Plankton Brewing, Vagabond Brewing, Gratin Station Brew Works, Baerlic Brewing, Thunder Island Brewing, and Stormbreaker Brewing. Don’t worry, they have been conveniently gathered for you to learn about all in 1 place. At Bailey’s Taproom 2 beers from each of these breweries will be on top, and from 4 to 7pm at The Upper Lip you can meet the owners and brewers. No admission fee, just pay for what you drink! See that link to the showcase description at the New School website for more information/hint of what beers everyone is bringing to this party.
- Old Salt + Upright Brewing Brewers Dinner. Upright Brewing is teaming up with chef Nathaniel Price of the Grain and Gristle for a special pairing dinner at Old Salt Marketplace’s event room on Monday June 9th 7 PM. This seven course dinner is going to exclusively feature vintage barrel aged beers. and is the first time the brewery has reached into the cellar for every course, including sometimes their final cases of a beer. There are some amazing verticals slated for the seven course dinner, including 2012 & 2013 Blend Love, 2011, 2012, 2013 Fantasia, and 2010, 2011, 2013 Billy the Mountain. Yeah, that’s a lotta beer for some of those courses, but I love tasting verticals to compare and contrast the flavors, and you get to taste them with food pairings too! Email the brewery uprightbrewing@gmail.com to reserve a spot, tickets: $75.
- Mussels from Brussels is an event where 4 breweries (Breakside, Lompoc, pFriem, and defending champion Upright) create 4 secret sauces for dipping in one pound of mussels served with fries, and paired with their Belgian-inspired beer. There is a seating for a table of 10 that takes place every 30 minutes between 5:30-8:30 PM on Tuesday, June 10, with the awards ceremony at 9 PM. The cost is $25 per person (ticketed) and the event is taking place at Bazi Bierbrasserie. Mmmm beer and mussels and fries is a classic, just classic combination.
- More seafood + beer coming your way… this time with the Upper Lip Oyster Social which brings together on 5 – 8 PM Oyster Social’s Hama Hama oysters, six taps and over 100 bottles to try at The Upper Lip. Sip beer and slurp freshly shucked oysters right on the spot. Eat one or a dozen–the world is your oyster at $2 a pop! Please note that the raw bar is cash only, though you can have a tab for the beer.
- The Sour and Wild Beer Seminar on Thursday June 12, 2014 6 – 8 PM is an opportunity to both learn about and taste sour and wild ales from Oregon’s masters of the styles including Cascade Brewing’s Ron Gansberg, Block 15 Brewing’s Nick Arzner, De Garde Brewing’s Trevor Rogers and Breakside Brewery’s Ben Edmunds. It is a seated seminar style event that includes a panel discussion with the brewers while you also get to taste the beers by the brewer panelists. Last I checked, this seems to be still in the finalization stages and I didn’t see tickets on sale yet.
- On Friday, June 13th, from 4 PM -2 AM is the Taplister Rye Beer Festival, held at Eastburn. The festival features 22 rye beers, as well as rye cocktails and rye-themed food. Partial proceeds from the sale of beer will be donated to the Dawn to Dusk paddle fund for the Children’s Cancer Association. Entry to the event is free, and you just pay for the price of your beer (5oz samples and pints), cocktails and food as your order.
- If like me you love barrel aged beers, perhaps instead of the Rye Beer Festival (or before…) you might attend the Barrel Masters Night on Friday June 13th 6 – 8 PM at Hopworks on SE 28th and Powell. This social mingle event includes Brewmaster Matt Van Wyk of Oakshire Brewing, Ben Love of Gigantic Brewing, Widmer Brothers innovation brewer Jack Beiting, Deschutes barrelmaster and Assistant Brewmaster Ryan Schmiege and moderator Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewery in a guided discussion with free samples of all the beer included in the ticket pricing. Tickets are $37 from Stranger Tickets., and you can check the list of the beers at the PDX Beer Week event listing
- Ok, maybe these are multiple events, but they are all with Firestone Walker. The one I ranked highest is the Luncheon with the Lion at Saraveza and Firestone Walker. I love Firestone Walker, so I was quite torn when I saw that this event on June 15 12 – 3 PM Sunday is taking place the same day as the Portland Beer and Cheese Festival (which I cover below). The event includes David Walker of Firestone Walker Brewing Co at Saraveza where he will be speaking specifically about Firestone Walker’s barrel-aging program at 1:30pm. Meanwhile they will have a special ‘Bangers & Mash’ pasty alongside many delicious draft offerings of Firestone Walker beers, including the highly regarded 2010 “Abacus” Barrel-Aged Barleywine, 2013 “Stickee Monkee” Barrel-Aged Belgian-Style Quad, ”Parabajava” Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout Infused w/Coffee, and more! No admittance fee for this event, you just pay for what you order. Alternately, David Walker/Firestone Walker is doing a Lions Brewers Dinner with Old Salt Marketplace that evening though the menu and beer options are not listed yet as of writing this post. And, earlier the day before, at The Lion’s Scratch event which is free (pay for what you drink), David Walker/Firestone Walker will be at Belmont Station Saturday June 14 4 – 7 PM where they will be offering 2011-2014 Parabola vertical flights. They will also have some special Firestone Walker vintage beers for sale in the bottle shop and if you buy one of these special vintage Firestone Walker beers, you can have David Walker sign it for you! Afterwards, follow The Lion as he walks pied-piper style down the street to The Horse Brass, where he will continue his evening there with 13+ Firestone Walker beer offerings.
Portland Fruit Beer Festival
Friday June 6 – Sunday June 8, 2014
Taking part in PDX Beer Week as well is this festival so good I made it a section of it’s own. Saturday June 7 – Sunday June 8 is the Portland Fruit Beer Festival, which features almost 50 fruit beers and ciders. As usual nearly every beer and a few ciders have been brewed specifically for the Fruit Beer Festival and use a wide range of fruits.
Some of the beers on the list vary from 10 Barrel Brewing Cherry Sour Brown, Breakside Passionfruit Sour Ale, Burnside’s Nero Fiddle with a blend of apples, Elysian D’Mango Unchained, Falling Sky Marionberry Smoked Ale, to Oakshire Oude Bes: Strawberry Balsalmic, Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider Sweet Triple Hot ¡Tepache! Pineapple wine with three different hot peppers to Stone Brewing’s “The Tiger Cub” Saison aged in White Wine Barrels w/Sour Cherries… (you can see the list here at New School which has descriptions with the beer, though that list of 25 does not yet include the two dozen Rare Rotating Tap list of one-off or vintage kegs of just 5 gallons each).
I know right, doesn’t that sound delicious!!?? It is a one of a kind festival, with one of a kind beers exclusive to this festival.
Tickets are already on sale at $20 general admission Saturday 11am-9pm or Sunday 11am-6pm. There are also $30 VIP admission on Friday 4-9pm and limited to 300 VIP guests with a few special tappings – that one is almost sold out so if you are interested in that act fast! The Fruit Beer Fest is open to All-Ages.
The festival will be held Burnside Brewing. Burnside Brewing will be open, so you can still get a cheese plate to compliment your beers, or my personal favorite their cohiba cigar as I covered here previously and/or beer cheese curds on their menu! Not only that, but one of my favorite food carts Pulehu Pizza will be there with their grilled pizzas and making a special pizza for the festival, as well as Bunk Sandwiches.
Burnside Brewery & Portland Fruit Beer Festival Documentary from Ron Cummings on Vimeo.
Portland Beer and Cheese Festival
Sunday, June 15, 2014 12:00PM-6:00 PM
I guess technically this is also part of PDX Beer Week, but too good to not have it’s own section. I have been attending the Portland Beer and Cheese Festival for several years as it brings together beer AND cheese. You can see my recap of 2012 here and my recap of last year 2013 here, and the photos below are from those previous festivals.
Held this year at Burnside Brewing, this will be the festival’s 3rd year featuring 11 breweries and beers each carefully paired with a select cheese by award winning cheesemonger Steve Jones of Cheese Bar. Tickets are $35 (on sale now, advanced ticket sales only so there will be no tickets at the door- this helps control the amount of people there and amount of attendees and prepare tastings accordingly. No minors allowed at this event). When you check in you will get a special festival glass and a punchcard for samples of each of the 11 beers and their respective cheese pairing. Maybe 11 beer and cheese pairings doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is. You should skip brunch and go directly to this event.
Also, did I mention Olympic Provisions will be providing complimentary charcuterie at a table for your own savory meat cleanser/complement as needed. I mean, just look at Chop’s amazing meat board from previous years (he is taking this year off to actually enjoy Father’s Day), which they kept filled during the event!
It was never so crowded that there were more than a few people in front of me, and most of the time I could just walk up and ask for my taster and sample. The Punchcards helped suggest an order as well as provide information about the beer and cheese that would be in the pairing. It it is one of my favorite beer events all year, and particularly it brings out a generally sophisticated beer drinking crowd that wants to think and savor what they are having rather and how everything tastes than just taste a lot of beer.
Cider Summit
Saturday June 21 – Sunday June 22 2014
Did you know that Portland has a Cider Festival, called the Cider Summit? SBS Imports and the Seattle Beer Collective organize the fest that is presented by World Foods & Bushwhacker Cider, and ironically when I attended the Cider Summit I did so in Seattle because they also do it theirs in the fall. It looks like next year they are even expanding Cider Summit to two new cities, Chicago and Berkeley!
This year the Cider Summit is celebrating its 4th year in Portland by moving from the South Waterfront to the northern Pearl District at Fields Neighborhood Park. It will be held Friday, June 20 from 2 – 8 PM and Saturday, June 21 from 12 – 6 PM. As before, cidery owners and cidermakers will be on hand to inform and guide guests through the samplings which will be available in 4-ounce tasting portions in a souvenir festival glass.
In addition to the range of ciders, the event will feature the DoveLewis / Unleashed by Petco dog lounge, expanded food selections from World Foods & St. Honore Boulangerie (if you visit their Division location they have wonderful cider taps!), special dessert pairings from Smitten Truffles and cider ice cream from Fifty Licks. Transportation wise Brewvana Brewery Tours shuttle will run a continuous loop from SE Portland to the Park because of its location you can easily also ride the Portland Streetcar to the event.
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 (cash only) at the door and are available online via Stranger tickets, Umpqua Bank Pearl District branch, and at many of the area’s leading bottle shops. Admission includes a tasting glass and 8 tasting tickets. Additional tasting tickets will be available for sale onsite at $2 per ticket. There is also a special VIP ticket available for $35 that includes 4 additional tasting tickets and early admission on Friday from 2p-3p, only 200 of these tickets are available – exclusively online via the event website. Dogs are allowed at the event, but no minors.
Re-admission will be allowed at any time with event wristband and tasting glass. The Cider Summit event will benefit Northwest Cider Association, Cascade Blues Association, DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, and The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research.
Portland Monthly’s Country Brunch & Bloody Mary Smackdown
Sunday, June 22, 2014 11:30AM-2:00 PM
I hesitated too long when the first Portland Monthly Country Brunch tickets went on sale their first year, but was smarter and snapped them up quickly last year and again this year. The photos below are from when I attended last year and did a blog recap so visit there for more.
This event is obviously sponsored by Portland Monthly Magazine, which is one of the best organizers of events. They always put together a beautiful atmosphere and most importantly, always think of seating to enjoy the food and drink! This year, six chefs will prepare bites of their favorite brunch fare while Irving Street Kitchen (People’s Choice) and Le Bistro Montage (Judge’s Choice) winners from last year defend their titles of “Best Bloody Mary” in the third-annual Portland Monthly Bloody Mary Smackdown!
Furthermore, 100% of net proceeds will benefit Zenger Farm‘s new Urban Grange. Urban Grange is an 8,960-square-foot facility that will support the Zenger Farm ongoing efforts to connect Portland communities to fresh-grown food by being a space for Zenger youth field trips, summer camps, healthy eating workshops, and farmer training programs, opportunities for emerging businesses in the commercial kitchen, etc.
Here are the participants for the Brunch and Bloody Mary competition!
Brunch Bonanza by:
- Chef Matt Christianson from Urban Farmer
- Chefs Karen Pride & Brittney Galloway from Harlow
- Chef Johanna Ware from Smallwares
- Chef Rick Gencarelli from Lardo
- Chef Jose Chesa from Ataula
- Chefs Michael Madigan & Jeff McCarthy from TenTop
Bloody Mary Smackdown presented by Grey Goose:
- Irving Street Kitchen (2012 People’s & Judges’ Choice Champion, 2013 People’s Choice Champ)
- Le Bistro Montage (2013 Judges’ Choice Champion)
- Broder
- Radar
- Doug Fir
- Imperial
In addition to brunch, guests will enjoy bottomless Manmosas (see: beer +orange juice) by Miller Highlife and Crispin Cider. I’m not sure what to think about that yet. Also, New Seasons Market will treat attendees to fresh organic juices and local hot sauce condiments. Sunshine Dairy will be sharing its delicious yogurts and Boyd’s will be keeping everyone caffeinated with their fresh brew.
Just like last year, Whole Foods Market will host a Bloody Mary Accoutrements Station to dress your Bloody to your liking… which was amazing. I think I ate like a half dozen of those giant cocktail shrimp.
Do you have your tickets? VIP Brunch & Bloodies (must be 21+) includes early admittance at 10:30 AM, brunch items, adult & non-alcoholic beverages and swag are ticketed at $45, or you can just have brunch and no bloody marys for $35 and still get 1 hour early entrance and swag. Or, enter at the regular admission time like I am at 11:30 AM and enjoy Brunch & Bloodies for $30 or Brunch Only for $20. Kids 5 or younger are free. The event is taking place at Castaway Portland. Get your tickets here at Eventbrite.
Sake Fest
Thursday, June 26, 2014 6:30PM-9:00 PM
Saké Fest PDX brings together more than 130 samples of saké, plum wine & beer with food from local restaurants & purveyors at the Sentinal Hotel. I’ve never been, though I have heard good things! The admission fee for the ticket/tasting glass is all inclusive, so all food and all saké sampling stations! Tickets for the event are $50 per person in advance online with limited tickets will be available at the door for $60. Participants must be 21 years or older to attend
A portion of the net proceeds from Saké Fest PDX benefits the Japan-America Society of Oregon (JASO)
North American Organic Brewers Festival
June 26-June 29, 2014
The North American Organic Brewers Festival brings together organic beers and ciders alongside live music, food, sustainability-oriented vendors, non-profits and a children’s area at Overlook Park. I missed it last year, but attended the previous two years. The goal of this festival is to raise awareness about organic beer and sustainable living and the NAOBF serves up nearly 60 organic beers & ciders from around the nation.
The festival times are 12-9 PM Thursday, Friday & Saturday, and 12 – 5 PM Sunday. Admission into the event is free, but the $6 reusable, compostable cornstarch glass is required for tasting beer. You also need to purchase drinking tokens, each token is $1. However, you can get a $1 discount toward the tasting glass with a validated Tri-Met ticket! ALso, the event is cash only.
WWOOOOOOOO!!!
Isn’t it crazy with all these June events? And to think after that is July, which is Oregon Beer Month and there will be even more events to celebrate! What a summer that is coming!
Are there any events that I mentioned that you are thinking of attending / will I see you?
