PDX Beer Week 2016 Highlights

June 6, 2016 by 4 Comments

This Thursday kicks off PDX Beer Week 2016, which lasts from June 9 to June 19. Yes, this is actually more than a week, but it’s been like that for years and I can’t complain about having more days to have more events to celebrate Portland beer. For these eleven days of fun, the events range from those showcasing new beers or particular beer styles to special collaboration food inspired or to be paired with beers. There are beer events for the beer geek like seminars, but there are also beer events that are accessible even to the casual or novice beer drinker like beer sampling.
Portland Beer Week June 9-19th 2016

In fact, there are quite a few limited edition collaborations available to celebrate Portland Beer Week 2016 that are beyond just drinking beer or beer events. Check out these special one off concoctions available at multiple locations throughout the duration of the 11 days of June 9-19.
Portland Beer Week 2016 special beer inspired food Blue Star Donuts S'more Beer donut, a chocolate beer mousse filled donut with toasted marshmallow topping.

  • Portland Brewing & Double Mountain‘s official beer of the 2016 Portland Beer Week – Subcontinental IPA. This is a ~7% ABV northwest IPA brewed with Indian spices like pepper, cardamom, clove, cumin and saffron. These spices highlight the beer’s biscuity malt base and tropical fruit hop notes, and I was surprised as the beer warmed a bit how the spices became more prominent and really tasty, particularly the cardamom and cumin for me. You can find 22 oz bottles at local beer bottle shops as well as Whole Foods who is doing a special free tasting at all their Portland Whole Foods locations on Friday June 10 and Wednesday June 16, as well as of course at the Portland Brewing and Double Mountain taprooms.
    Portland Brewing & Double Mountain's official beer of the 2016 Portland Beer Week - Subcontinental IPA. This is a ~7% ABV northwest IPA brewed with Indian spices like pepper, cardamom, clove, cumin and saffron Portland Brewing & Double Mountain's official beer of the 2016 Portland Beer Week - Subcontinental IPA. This is a ~7% ABV northwest IPA brewed with Indian spices like pepper, cardamom, clove, cumin and saffron
  • Bunk Sandwiches Beer Week Fried Chicken Sandwich, a SubContinental IPA brined buttermilk fried chicken with bacon scallion aioli, hot sauce, maple & Pickopolis pickles. Available at Bunk Wonder during beer week. There is another beer sandwich, a sloppy joe made with Good Life Cash stout, is also available at Bunk Bar Water.
    Bunk Sandwiches Beer Week Fried Chicken Sandwich, a SubContinental IPA brined buttermilk fried chicken with green onion & bacon aioli, hot sauce, maple & pickles. Available at Bunk Wonder during beer week. Bunk Sandwiches Beer Week Fried Chicken Sandwich, a SubContinental IPA brined buttermilk fried chicken with green onion & bacon aioli, hot sauce, maple & pickles. Available at Bunk Wonder during beer week.
  • HOT LIPS Pizza’s Beer Bratlips, a pizza with Smoked Carlton Farms bratwurst simmered in Subcontinental IPA with Tillamook extra-sharp cheddar, fresh onions, mozzarella, and a garlic Parmesan base finished with whole grain maple mustard glaze. This will be available at all six HOTLIPS pizza locations.
    HOT LIPS Pizza's Beer Bratlips, a pizza with Smoked Carlton Farms bratwurst simmered in Subcontinental IPA with Tillamook extra-sharp cheddar, fresh onions, mozzarella, and a garlic parmesan base finished with whole grain maple mustard glaze. This will be available at all six HOTLIPS pizza locations. for Portland Beer Week 2016 HOT LIPS Pizza's Beer Bratlips, a pizza with Smoked Carlton Farms bratwurst simmered in Subcontinental IPA with Tillamook extra-sharp cheddar, fresh onions, mozzarella, and a garlic parmesan base finished with whole grain maple mustard glaze. This will be available at all six HOTLIPS pizza locations. for Portland Beer Week 2016 HOT LIPS Pizza's Beer Bratlips, a pizza with Smoked Carlton Farms bratwurst simmered in Subcontinental IPA with Tillamook extra-sharp cheddar, fresh onions, mozzarella, and a garlic parmesan base finished with whole grain maple mustard glaze. This will be available at all six HOTLIPS pizza locations. for Portland Beer Week 2016 HOT LIPS Pizza's Beer Bratlips, a pizza with Smoked Carlton Farms bratwurst simmered in Subcontinental IPA with Tillamook extra-sharp cheddar, fresh onions, mozzarella, and a garlic parmesan base finished with whole grain maple mustard glaze. This will be available at all six HOTLIPS pizza locations. for Portland Beer Week 2016
  • I tried Beer Bratwurst especially made for the Portland Brewing Taproom by SP Provisions using about 30 gallons of beer for every 100 pounds when making the bratwurst, and then the sausage is further cooked by simmering it in the beer and then you can enjoy it with the beer mustard!. Definitely for me this bratwurst is the best food pairing with the beer itself – or any beer, any time of year,
    SP Provisions bratwurst is especially made for Portland Brewing, and includes using about 30 gallons of beer for every 100 pounds when making the sausage, and then the sausage is further cooked in the beer and then you can enjoy it with the beer mustard. Definitely for me this bratwurst is the best food pairing with the beer itself - or any beer, any time of year! SP Provisions bratwurst is especially made for Portland Brewing, and includes using about 30 gallons of beer for every 100 pounds when making the sausage, and then the sausage is further cooked in the beer and then you can enjoy it with the beer mustard. Definitely for me this bratwurst is the best food pairing with the beer itself - or any beer, any time of year!
  • Blue Star Donuts S’more Beer donut, an IPA chocolate mousse filled donut with toasted marshmallow topping. I mean, just look at this beauty.
    Blue Star Donuts S'more Beer donut, a chocolate beer mousse filled donut with toasted marshmallow topping. Blue Star Donuts S'more Beer donut, a chocolate beer mousse filled donut with toasted marshmallow topping.
  • Salt & Straw Ice Cream’s Garam Masala & Hops, a special ice cream that uses a combination of Indian spices and hop that match the same ones used by the Subcontinental IPA, plus chunks of dark molasses cake. This was my favorite of all the 4 beer “foods” inspired by the beer I tried! This flavor is available exclusively at Wiz Bang Bar at Pine Street Market.
    Salt & Straw Ice Cream's Garam Masala & Hops, a special ice cream that uses a combination of Indian spices and hop that match the same ones used by the Subcontinental IPA, plus chunks of molasses cake Salt & Straw Ice Cream's Garam Masala & Hops, a special ice cream that uses a combination of Indian spices and hop that match the same ones used by the Subcontinental IPA, plus chunks of molasses cake

I have attended events of PDX Beer Week every year -and here’s a summary of events I wanted to highlight during this beer celebration week. For the full list of PDX Beer Week events, see their PDX Beer Week 2016 Events Calendar.

  • For any of you IPA lovers, El Segundo Brewing from California is having a launch party Thursday, June 9 6 – 10 PM starring their very hop forward, taking place naturally at beer bar N.W.I.P.A. Then a week later, also at N.W. I.P.A., on Friday June 17 5 PM on attend the 3-Way IPA party that offers the 3 Way IPA on tap as well as IPAs from all three of the 3 Way IPA collaborators of Fort George, Barley Brown’s, and Melvin Brewing
  • Pair beer and food at a great value on Thursday June 9 6 – 9 PM. For $40 per person at The Beer Belly Dinner with Ecliptic at Eastburn you get 5 courses paired with five Ecliptic beers – see the menu at the link. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit The Jeremy Wilson Foundation, a nonprofit health and service organization supporting musicians and their families during medical emergencies.
  • One of my favorite beer festivals every year is the Portland Fruit Beer Festival. This year it has finally moved from the Burnside Brewing parking lot, which it has outgrown, to the shady North Park Blocks (NW 8th and Davis) with 40% more room and did I mention shade? Running from Friday, June 10 – Sunday June 12 this festival offers fruit beers, ciders for the gluten free, food trucks for eats and live music, and is all ages.
    Portland Fruit Beer Festival 2016 Poster
    I’ve highlighted Portland Fruit Beer Festival beers in the past in 2015 and 2014 and I’m going this year as well. I often go multiple times because of special tap beers they tap over the days. This year 29 breweries and 7 cideries are offering 36 regularly pouring taps of beers, plus 24 additional rare and rotating tap lines. Look for my personal picks list on Thursday and which I’ll update after attending on Friday!

  • For an alternate festival, celebrate  at the 1 night Rye Beer Festival with 20 Rye Beers from 20 participating breweries and Rye Beer Cocktails at Eastburn from Friday June 10 from 4 PM – 2 AM. Part of the proceeds of the Rye Beer Festival will benefit the Children’s Cancer Association. This year, highlights of the Rye Beer Festival include a whiskey back card offered for $10 that includes (3) 1/2 ounce shots of Russell’s Reserve Rye, Knob Creek Rye and Wild Turkey Rye and Jacob Grier will be creating a special rye beer cocktail combining specially brewed Rye Beer Festival official beer Back Pedal Brewing’s Oatmeal Ryesin Cookie beer with rye whiskey and other ingredients and other cocktails. At 10pm the fest will offer live music from The Cure cover band The Xploding Boys (no cover of you’re in by 8:30, and remember the proceeds go towards a great cause anyway). 
  • For a different take on beers in a new way, the Randallized Beer Fest being held on Saturday June 11 (free, just pay for what you drink) at Imperial Taproom offers local beers poured through Randalls containing a variety of interesting ingredients to add new twists of flavors.
  • If you love Sour Beers, Saraveza Bottle Shop and Pasty Tavern on Saturday June 11 and Sunday June 12 all day will be pouring Cascade Brewing as part of a Cascade Invasion that includes a special Saraveza blend as well as Elderberry Blond, Nectarine Dream, Rose City Sour and Mixed Plum while also “putting out a massive selection of vintage Cascade bottles that we’ve been hoarding” for you to purchase.
    Saraveza's Flight of Five Chili and Smoked Beers for Fire & Brimstone... Burnside Sweet Heat always glows in the glass it seems (front right)
    For a more serious sour beer education, attend the Sour & Wild Ale Seminar presented by Oregon State University and panelists like Trevor Rogers (De Garde Breiwng), Christian de Benedetti (Wolves & People), Alex Ganum (Upright Brewing), Matt van Wyk (Alesong Brewing & Blending and formerly Oakshire) and Ben Edmunds (Breakside Brewery) at Tuesday, June 14 at 5:30 PM at Upright Brewing.
    There’s even a sour beer festival, courtesy of Imperial hosting the Sour Solstice Sour Beer Festival on Saturday June 18 and a dozen sour beers to choose from on tap.
    Sour Beer Solstice for Portland Beer Week 2016
    If you’re really into bourbon barrel aged Cascade, although not technically part of Portland Beer Week, Cascade is having Bourbon Barrel Week.5 from June 7-19 at Cascade Brewing and Raccoon Lodge.
  • I always want to promote beer pairings with food, so if you’re out in the Happy Valley area come out on Sunday June 12 3 PM – 6 PM to the Happy Valley Station Food Cart Pod with Alameda, Base Camp, Coalition, and Culmination breweries bringing beer out to the 24 food carts in a structure location, and the food carts will be offering Open House Special where Food Samples are $1, $2, & $3 so you can try all the food carts.
  • There are always new breweries opening up in Oregon so it may be heard to track them all. Thankfully there is the 101 on the newbies all at once that you can attend via the  New Oregon Breweries Showcase, this year happening at Bailey’s Taproom on Monday June 13 noon – midnight. The showcase will introduce you to 11 new breweries from Oregon, all opened within the last year and you will get a chance to meet the brewers and owners 5 – 8 PM as well as enjoy beers from newcomers Wolves & People Farmhouse Brewery, Alesong Brewing & Blending, Ruse Brewing, Freebridge Brewing, Ancestry Brewing, Public Coast Brewing, Great Notion Brewing and more TBA. I will be at this event if you want to say hi!
    New School presents the New Oregon Breweries Showcase 2016
  • Another exciting beer pairing dinner is Maya Lovelace of Mae PDX and her fried chicken with six beers from Breakside, Ballast Point, and Fremont on Monday June 13 7 PM at Old Salt Marketplace. See the menu here that includes family style dinner with Carolina gold risotto with morels, ramps, and shelling peas; Buttermilk brined chicken skillet fried in 3 fats (bacon fat, chicken fat, and lard), Pimento mac and cheese, and Brown sugar pound cake studded with bourbon barrel smoked cocoa nibs, macerated strawberries, buttermilk vanilla whipped cream. See the link for the full dinner and beer pairing list and if there any of the tickets left!
    Skillet Fried Chicken with Crystal Hot Sauce and the gorgeous skillet of Creamed Corn with Summer Savory and Smoked Soy Skillet Fried Chicken with Crystal Hot Sauce
  • How about Barrel Aged Beer and Bacon? Also on Monday June 13 6 PM – 11 PM Saraveza Bottle Shop and Pasty Tavern welcomes Fremont Brewing with BBF (Bacon Best Friend) Zeph from Proletariat Butchery passing out FREE samples of his delicious meat as Fremont brings taproom only and barrel aged beers with them for Fremont Bacon Night.
    Fremont Brewing Tap Takeover at Upper Lip Schwag!
  • Also on Monday June 13 is an opportunity to see how beer pairs with sushi when Roscoe’s and Miyamoto Sushi pair up to offer four courses of sushi paired with pFriem Family Brewers Oude Kriek, Crux Fermentation Project Apricot Wild Farmhouse Ale, The Commons Brewery, and Breakside Brewery. The cost for the 4 courses of Sushi and Beers is $25, just  show up any time at Roscoe’s between 4:30 and 8:30 PM or until they run out.
  • If you are a Belgian Beer aficionado, look to the 5th Annual Battle of the Belgian beers with 4 Belgian beers versus 4 US Belgian-inspired styles on Tuesday, June 14 between 5-9 PM at Bazi Bierbrasserie with $15 for all eight 5 ounce tasters.
    The next day, on Wednesday June 15 Bazi presents the annual Mussels from Brussels with five breweries (Breakside , Fat Head’s, Lompoc, pFriem, and Upright), five secret sauces created by each brewery for dipping in one pound of mussels served with fries, and paired with their Belgian-inspired beer, and you judge who is the winner. Seating for you/audience judges will take place every 30 minutes between 5:30-8:30 PM.
  • One of my favorite festivals all year is this one pairing Beer and Cheese at the Portland Beer and Cheese Festival (already sold out!), this year at the on Saturday, June 18 1 – 5 PM at Wayfinder Beer. Expertly pairing samples of beer with a sample of cheese times ten. 10 different beers from 10 different breweries with 10 amazing cheeses paired by Cheesemonger Steve Jones of Cheese Bar. Your ticket price include sample of each plus complimentary samples of Xocolatl de David artisian chocolates and charcuterie and meats from Wayfinder chef Rodney Muirhead. To get an idea of the experience, check out my recap of last year’s event.
    Portland Beer and Cheese Fest 2015, pairing of Firestone Walker Lil Opal with Ferns Edge Mt June goat cheese from Oregon along with some Olympia Provisions charcuterie and Woodblock Chocolate Portland Beer and Cheese Fest 2015, pairing of Fat Heads Rye bock with Willamette Valley Cheese Brindisi cow cheese from Oregon
  • A new closing event for Portland Beer week this year is SNACKDOWN! on Sunday June 19th 12 – 4 PM at The Evergreen event space above Loyal Legion. SNACKDOWN! is a food and beer pairing event where 10 of Portland Chefs and 10 Oregon Brewers are paired into 10 Brewer/Chef teams to make their greatest snack and beer pairing. Guests will choose their favorite pairing and the winning team will be awarded the SNACKDOWN Belt! This event is designed to be more loose than a traditional beer pairing dinner. DJ Rev Shines will be keeping the party live, while the atmosphere is styled like a WWF style Smackdown with brewers and chefs hyping their pairing on the mic – possibly while sporting wrestling themed costume. WHAT? Yeah I will totally be there.
    Snackdown Portland Beer Week 2016 Closing Party
    The 10 Brewer/Chef teams include:

Are you going to any of the Portland Beer week events? Do any of those beer inspired items sound like something you want to try?

Disclosure: I attended a preview of the Limited Edition Portland Beer Week treats and a Portland Fruit Beer Festival media preview, but I was already planning on writing the Portland Beer Week post before the media previews, and I was not asked or compensated for this post and I purchased/pay my own way at any PDX Beer Week events I attend. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.

 

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Baker’s Dozen Coffee Beers & Doughnuts Next Weekend

March 3, 2016 by 11 Comments

I wanted to give you a heads up before the tickets sell out for Brian Yaeger’s Baker’s Dozen Coffee Beers & Doughnuts Festival!  Taking place next week from 10 AM – 3 PM on Saturday March 12, 2016 at Culmination Brewing, this was a fantastic event I attended last year that had me wired for the rest of the day thanks to all the caffeine from the coffee beers and all the sugar from the doughnuts.

Baker's Dozen Coffee Beers & Doughnuts 2016

This year, the festival again takes place at Culmination Brewing, which just recently won Best  New Brewery of the Year at the 2016 Oregon Beer Awards. With 20 some taps, of which 3/4 of them are their own beers which span a wide variety of styles, it’s hard to believe this brewery is less than a year old but already pumping out classics as well as always tweaking and experimenting too.

Culmination Brewing Chalkboard at Culmination Brewing with the Beer List on June 20, 2015 Bar inside of Culmination Brewing Bar inside of Culmination Brewing
These photos are back before they put the chalkboard on the wall atop the tap – I’ve been visiting since they first opened!

Culmination Brewing is family friendly and dog friendly, and has several comfy outdoor seats to enjoy the good weather (as well as easy street parking in a lot or nearby streets in the neighborhood just off out SE Sandy), as well as a dozen seats at the bar and tables inside as well. It is really like a neighborhood brewpub, but with an impressive list of brews.

Outside seating at Culmination Brewing Outside seating at Culmination Brewing Outside seating at Culmination Brewing

For $24 a person (purchase your tickets online at Mercury Tickets before they sell out – they are only selling 400 of these 21+ beer tickets), at the Baker’s Dozen Coffee Beers and Doughnuts festival you get access to a thirteen 4-oz samples of baker’s dozen (13) coffee beers as well as samples of all thirteen different doughnuts from thirteen different breweries and local Portland doughnut shops all in one place.

Bakers Dozen Coffee Beer & Doughnuts festival (coffee beer and local donuts from all over PDX) at Culmination Brewing  Bakers Dozen Coffee Beer & Doughnuts festival (coffee beer and local donuts from all over PDX) at Culmination Brewing

And, it can be family fun! They are offering a Doughnut Decoration Station for kids and non-kids. Local roasted normal coffee will be provided too, along with live music. You can purchase additional beverages beyond the 13 coffee beers and/or house-made breakfast sandwiches too.

Here’s more of a glimpse of what this upcoming festival can be like, based on the Baker’s Dozen Coffee & Doughnuts Festival last year.  I collected multiple donuts on my plate so I could try pairing them with the various beers on the checklist you get when you check in in whatever order I want.

Bakers Dozen Coffee Beer & Doughnuts festival (coffee beer and local donuts from all over PDX) at Culmination Brewing Coco Donuts Espresso Donuts were my favorite donuts from the Bakers Dozen Coffee Beer & Doughnuts festival (coffee beer and local donuts from all over PDX) at Culmination Brewing Bakers Dozen Coffee Beer & Doughnuts festival (coffee beer and local donuts from all over PDX) at Culmination Brewing Bakers Dozen Coffee Beer & Doughnuts festival (coffee beer and local donuts from all over PDX) at Culmination Brewing Bakers Dozen Coffee Beer & Doughnuts festival (coffee beer and local donuts from all over PDX) at Culmination Brewing Bakers Dozen Coffee Beer & Doughnuts festival (coffee beer and local donuts from all over PDX) at Culmination Brewing

Here’s a pro tip: when I went, I took ziploc bags with me because even with them cutting up the doughnuts into sample sizes of 1/2 or 1/4 of a doughnut, there was no way I could eat 13 doughnut morsels, so I took some home by putting them in the bag!

For a preview of some of the participating breweries brews and doughnuts check out the Brewpublic Article here on the 2nd Annual Bakers Dozen.

Unfortunately I’ll be out of town for the festival so will miss it, which just means I’ve freed up a ticket for you that you should snap up ASAP. Have you been to Culmination yet? Have you paired coffee beer and doughnuts before? Who is your favorite Portland doughnut provider? Do you spell doughnut or donut?

Culmination Brewing

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Portland Craft Beer Festival

July 1, 2015 by 4 Comments

July is Oregon Craft Beer Month, and I will be highlighting every week an event or beer in honor of celebrating and promoting Oregon Craft Beer.

Especially if you live in Portland, there are so many breweries right here just in the city. In fact, the upcoming Portland Craft Beer Festival this weekend July 3 – 5 is focused exactly on that – celebrating just the beers made in the Portland city limits.

Portland Craft Beer Festival poster for 2015, design by Dotzero with illustration by Wilder Schmaltz

I’ve summarized everything up into 10 points you need to know about the Portland Craft Beer Festival (PCBF).

  1. The 5 Ws:
    • What: A beer festival showcasing beers only from within the city limits of Portland. Even though Portland does host many beer festivals, this is the first one focusing only on Portland breweries.
    • When:
      • Friday, July 3, 2015 – 4pm to 10pm
      • Saturday, July 4, 2015 – 12pm to 10pm
      • Sunday, July 5, 2015 – 12pm to 7pm
    • Who: Guests must be 21+ to drink alcoholic beverages. On Friday and Saturday admission is 21+ only, but Sunday is Family Day and open to all ages.
    • Where: The Fields Neighborhood Park in the Pearl District, at 1099 NW Overton St, Portland, OR 97209
    • Why: CaskAide, Inc. and its partner charities are the non-profit beneficiaries of the PCBF. This year, the charities that CaskAide is honored to partner with are The Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation, The James Beard Public Market and the Oregon Brew Crew
  2. Support Local! The beer list is great – with almost 100 beers being poured from Portland breweries. Even as a beer geek myself there are beers from breweries new or small I have never visited or only heard of,  but PCBF has gathered them conveniently all in one location. Besides the beer being within the city limits, so are the wine and ciders alternatives if you don’t want to partake in beer. PCBF will be offering wine from Coopers Hall and fizzy wines from Hi Wheel, and cider from Cider Riot! and Reverand Nat’s.
    Cider Riot! cider
  3. Portland Made Cheese! PCBF is showcasing two cheesemakers who make their cheese within the city limits, Ancient Heritage Dairy and Portland Creamery
    Portland Creamery sells theirs in pretty small packages Ancient Heritage Dairy, cheese
    Cheeses from Portland Creamery; Cheese from Ancient Heritage Diary
  4. It’s a great value for a beer festival. $20 for a keepsake mug and 10 beer tickets. 1 ticket will yield one 4 oz pour and 4 tickets will buy a full pour. Advance ticket purchasers will receive 15 beer tickets and the mug for $20. which is a BIG DEAL! Additional tickets will be available for purchase at $1.00 apiece. Tickets will be available for advance purchase through Brown Paper Tickets.. It will be cash only at the PCBF festival. Your admission is good all weekend.
  5. PCBF cares about you stretching: they are holding free yoga classes for adults and for children 1 hour before the festival opens (aka the free yoga classes are at 11 AM) on Sunday
  6. There will be plenty of food to go with the drinks. PCBF is making sure we support several local food carts that will be on site, and also the offerings are diverse to satisfy whatever you feel like eating. They include Bunk Sandwiches with their always tasty sandwiches, The Dump Truck with their dumplings, Floyd’s Coffee Shop, Farm to Fire wood fired pizza, and Urban German Grill with their German sausages and pretzels. Additionally on Sunday there will be ice cream thanks to Ruby Jewel.
    Bunk Sandwiches' winter vegetarian sandwich: Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Apple Chutney, Gruyere & Horseradish sandwich. Example sausage from Urban German Grill Potato Curry dumpling on the left which had a burst of pork and ginger with scallions, Mr Ma dumpling on the right which essentially has a Malaysian yellow curry with potato inside the dumpling wrapper Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwich
    Example vegetarian sandwich from Bunk one season that was Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Apple Chutney, Gruyere & Horseradish sandwich; A sausage from Urban German Grill; Sample I had on a food cart tour from Dump Truck with a Potato Curry dumpling and a Mr Ma dumpling; Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwich
  7. On Family Day Sunday, there will be a Children’s Craft Market with craft booths by kids. Support the kids! There will be free vision testing by The Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation and also face painting as well on Sunday Family Day.
  8. The Portland Beer Hall of Fame will be unveiled on Saturday, July 4 at 3 PM. The inaugural inductees will be announced by the Beer Goddess Lisa Morrison (also known as Beer O’Clock Radio host) and ballots will be available to vote on next year’s inductees.
  9. Thanks to BTU Brasserie there will be beer slushies to keep you cool

    Beer slushies brought to you by #BTUBrasserie will keep you cool at #PortlandCraftBeerFestival next weekend! #portlandbeer

    A photo posted by Portland Craft Beer Festival (@pdxcraftbeerfest) on

  10. It is very easy to not have to drive to PCBF. And there’s a reward for taking your bike to the fest.
    • The Portland Streetcar runs from Downtown, Northwest, & the Inner Eastside and stops a block from The Fields Park.
    • PCBF will be partnering with Lyft for safe rides to and from the festival (use PCBF code to get a free ride up to $20 for signin gup).
    • PCBF will also have a bike valet (bring your own lock) courtesy of Spinlister, The Global Bike Share. Present your valet parking stub inside the festival for a free 4 oz. pour.
    • Pedi-cabs will also be on hand – a scenic trip along the waterfront park for anyone looking to go back and forth from the Waterfront Blues Festival.
    • And for those with designated drivers, there is a parking lot at Station Place Garage Lot 120 at 720 NW Lovejoy Court, at the west end of the Broadway Bridge.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be at PCBF on Friday, so check my Untappd profile at pechluck to see my thoughts on some of the beer, and my Instagram @pechluck or Twitter @pechluck for any pictures!

What do you think of the ideas of the Portland Craft Beer Festival –  do you find it so very Portland like I do? What are your holiday weekend plans?

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My picks for Portland Fruit Beer Festival 2015

June 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment

I had an opportunity to sample a few of the beers at a Media Preview, though a few of my picks are also based on the description of the beer and reputation of the brewery. If you are attending the Portland Fruit Beer Festival 2015 this year, which runs Friday June 12 to Sunday June 14, here is a quick summary of the logistics and my picks of the most interesting beers for Portland Fruit Beer Festival 2015.
Portland Fruit Beer Festival 2015

Portland Fruit Beer Festival Main Facts

  • Days and Hours of Operation:
    • Friday June 12th 4pm – 9pm
    • Saturday June 13th 11am – 9pm
    • Sunday June 14th 11am – 6pm (special kegs will be tapped Sunday)
  • Location: 7th and NE Burnside, which is at Burnside Brewing and also the extra lot (Sat and Sun only) to give more room this year to spread out!
  • Cost: $20 for for one 21+ entry  12 tickets and a collectible 16oz glass. Purchase and print your ticket in advance for faster entry at Stranger Tickets (so they say anyway – it does add processing fees but at the door is cash only). Re-entry on all festival days is allowed as long as you get your wristband and the glass.
  • Admittance: The festival is all ages, though you must be 21+ to drink alcohol. There will also be non-alcoholic drinks and food available for purchase
  • Food Situation: from Burnside Brewery’s brewpub all three days, and/or from food carts on Sat/Sun such as Bunk Sandwiches and Taco Pedaler and the Fifty Licks Ice Cream truck. As extra credit, you can also take a little walk to Bar Vivant/Pix Patisserie and present your receipt, wristband or festival glass from the Portland Fruit Beer Festival and get a token for a FREE beer in their beer garden.

Pech’s Portland Fruit Beer Festival Beer Picks

The reality is that I plan to go more than 1 day, and I will probably taste everything (and re-taste even the ones I previewed as it’s been an additional week so it could have changed). But, I thought by giving a few highlights you can get a little hint at what’s in store this year, and make you want to check out the full beer/cider list here yourself!

  • This year, the Portland Fruit Beer Festival is releasing a special collaboration beer bottle that will only be available in limited quantity at the fest in draft and bottle form. I had a chance to taste this beer, named Fruit of the Garden of Good and Evil, at the Media Preview and it is spectacular. The beer is a collaboration between Burnside Brewing Co. Sweet Heat and Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider Ghost Chili Tepache. The way I would describe it is that it has the nose and tastes vaguely similar to when you go to a Brazilian steakhouse and they have those grilled pineapples that are juicy and sweet with a bit of sugar and spice with cinnamon… well this beer is like that but better because of the spicy heat from the Ghost peppers, Scotch Bonnet peppers, and Aji peppers that are contributed by the chilis usually present in Sweet Heat and  Ghost Chili Tepache.
    Portland Fruit Beer Festival bottle label for Fruit of the Garden of Good and Evil
    Available in 22 ounce bottles only at Burnside Brewing during the Fruit Beer Fest for $7 (only 60 cases made), with limited draft poured at the festival, Reverend Nat’s taproom, and special events in the future TBD… I would get the bottles right away when entering myself, but be wary because of the heat that this might blow your palate away so maybe save to drink later after you’ve had all the lighter fruit beers.
  • I can’t help but go “squeeee” whenever I see female brewers, and the Peaches of Immortality Farmhouse Ale Burnside Brewing is pouring at the fest this year is nicely tart and sour where finally I can taste the peachy flavor (peaches are so delicate and often get lost in beer) along with the French saison yeast. Yay Natalie! She has already put some in a Ransom Gin Barrel with peaches and other goodness that she is setting aside so I look forward to stalking to see what becomes of that batch in a few months.
    Natalie Baldwin of Burnside Brewing talks about Peaches of Immortality at the Media Preview for the Portland Fruit Beer Festival
  • Ecliptic Brewing‘s is premiering Ultra Violet Blackberry Sour Ale which don’t worry, is not very sour. It has just enough sour to be crisp and balance the Oregon blackberries to make for a very refreshing beer that is dangerous because it tastes much lighter than the 7.5% ABV it punches at. Also, though this is probably no big deal to brewer John Harris ha ha, I thought it was the prettiest beer at the Media Preview.
    The lovely color of the Ecliptic Brewing Ultra Violet Blackberry Sour Ale at the Media Preview for the Portland Fruit Beer Festival John Harris of Ecliptic Brewing talks about Ultra Violet Blackberry Sour Ale at the Media Preview for the Portland Fruit Beer Festival
  • For an entirely different take on berries (though John used Oregon Fruit Products puree, while Brendan used Columbia Fruit frozen berries), try the ballsy Alameda Brewing‘s Berried By Night Marionberry CDA. Brendan took a big risk by combining Marion blackberries with 7 varieties of hops into this Cascadian Dark Ale – dark and roasty like a porter, some of the hoppiness of the IPA but balanced by those blackberries which you can definitely taste at the tail end after the initial hops and caramel malt. What a surprisingly winning combo.
    Alameda Brewing's Brendan Ford-Sala talks about Berired By Night Marionberry CDA at the Media Preview for the Portland Fruit Beer Festival
  • I love dark beers, so seeing a stout on the list will get my attention. Upright Brewing is presenting their B.B. Stout, which is a stout with over 200 pounds of blueberry.
  • I haven’t had a chance to taste it yet, but I generally enjoy the beers of Breakside Brewery so their Tropical Fruit Salad Quasi IPA Six Fruit Blend is making my list for it’s attempt to reverse engineer to match the flavors and aromas of fruits that hops sometimes have with six actual fruits.
  • The Widmer Brothers Brewing Fresh Strawberries Farmhouse Saison with Strawberries is a tasty collaboration with Coda Brewing from Colorado, the winner of the startup brewery challenge to travel up to Portland and become Widmer’s “Brother for a Day”. This takes the Sleepyhead Passionfruit Imperial Kolsch that Coda does (and which took home a silver medal at the 2014 Great American Beer Fest) and combines it now with strawberries and French Saison yeast
  • Not a beer, but I’m a big fan of 2 Towns Ciderhouse of Corvallis as they are always creating interesting combinations with their ciders. For the fest they will debut the Peach Saison Cider that blends a mix of a blend of several northwest apples (many which don’t admittedly taste good on their own in apple form, but great as a cider) blended with Oregon white peaches and French saison yeast. It’s simply a mix of “good fruit, good cider” Kevin explained.
    Kevin Hood of 2 Towns Ciderhouse talks about Peach Saison Cider at the Media Preview for the Portland Fruit Beer Festival
  • One of the reserve kegs tapping on Sunday only is the Bogman’s Cranberry Brett Cider by Cider   Riot! with traditional Yamhill county English cider apples, Oregon cranberry and inoculated with Cherry cider. At 3pm Sunday they’ll tap their firkin.
  • Other rare beer tapping on Sunday to lure you in included Hopworks One Tun Tomato Michelada made with Totally radler, chili powder, Worchestershire sauce, house made blood mary mix, and tabasco and (questionable qualification as fruit beer,though the beer itself is interesting to me) New Belgium Brewing Bourbon barrel-aged Salted Chocolate Stout Nitro keg poured through a Randall filled with black cherries
  • I haven’t had this yet, but the idea of the Hi-Wheel Wine & Mead Co. Kiwi Lime sounds super refreshing. I love lime-ade, so their beverage for the fest of a tart fizzy wine made from fresh lime juice and kiwi that is carbonated seems like a promise to cool off with deliciousness.

Definitely a theme I saw this year is a lot of kettle souring (read more about kettle souring at this great article at the New School website “How Kettle Souring Is Making Sour Beer Cheap and Affordable”), a lot of Nancy’s yogurt (yay choose and support local!), and French saison yeast.

Are you a fruit beer fan? What fruit beers from the Portland Fruit Beer Festival (or cider) sound intriguing to you?

Disclosure: I attended a Media Preview so I was able to taste the beers for free, but I purchased my own ticket to the Portland Fruit Beer Festival with no discount and this post was written because I enjoyed the beer – I was not asked or required to write it. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.

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Oregon Brewers Festival 2014

July 21, 2014 by 13 Comments

Oregon Brewers Festival Logo
This Wednesday kicks off the biggest beer festival of them all for Oregon Craft Beer Month, the Oregon Brewers Festival, also nicknamed OBF. Held the last full weekend of every July, this year the festival is kicking off on Wednesday July 23 and goes to Sunday July 27. As always, OBF makes its home on the Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, making is just a 1 block away from the Max lines at the SW First and Oak Street Max Station.

Admission to the Oregon Brewers Festival is FREE and is also all ages as long as you are the parent of the minor. To taste the beer you will need to purchase a 2014 souvenir Oregon Brewers Festival 2014 tasting glass for $7, and then from there tasting tokens are $1. It costs four tokens for a full glass of beer, or one token for a taste.
Oregon Brewers Festival, Photo Credit Timothy Horn
Oregon Brewers Festival, Photo Credit Timothy Horn

Purchasing the glass or tokens is Cash Only, though they do have ATMS on site. The six food/beverage vendors providing food and alternate drink also are cash only, but some of the vendors selling other items it may be up to their discretion. The message is, bring cash. You can also bring your own food and non-alcoholic beverage if you’d like, though it is subject to bag searching like all bags when you are entering. I always make sure I bring alcohol absorbents like a bread and cheese and charcuterie plate, and a bottle of water.

Taps close at 9 pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and at 7 pm on Sunday. I always try to go as early in the day as possible, as there will be less crowds in terms of finding seating, less lines in getting a beer, and less likelihood that a beer will have run out for the day (they will not tap the next keg until the next day). The best days will be the weekdays or early on the weekends, the worst lines are the weekend evenings.

Oregon Brewers Festival, Photo Credit Timothy Horn
Oregon Brewers Festival, Photo Credit Timothy Horn

Keep in mind that OBF spans multiple days, so I will sometimes walk in the North or South tent, get some beers in that area, and then leave and come back another day to do the other side, rather than walking back and forth between the two tents. When you get there, sit down and plan your strategy based on where the beers you have picked out and ranked are located. Read through the Beer List online and then when you get the list with trailer numbers upon entering the festival, start marking where everything is.

Here are a few of my picks of beers you might want to consider for your list,  which you can even do on your mobile phone using coaster.me :

  • 10 Barrel Brewing Co Cider Weisse, a Berliner Style Weiss blended with green apple cider
  • Ballast Point Brewing Co Sculpin IPA, a solid IPA and Ballast is from San Diego, if you haven’t had Ballast before (they do bottle this beer year round, but still you may not have seen it before). They describe that their use of hops creates hints of apricot, peach, mango and lemon flavors, but still packs a bit of a sting, just like a Sculpin fish.
  • Boneyard Beer Bone-A-Fide, an  American Pale Ale that has high rankings on Beer Advocate and Untappd
  • Caldera Toasted Coconut Chocolate Porter, because it sounds delicious just with the name alone, and I love chocolate candy bar like porters.
  • Cigar City Brewing Mangosteen Florida Weisse, the Berliner Weisse style is always refreshing during the summer, andt his one particular Berliner Weisse has Mangosteen
  • Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Burton Olde English, an Olde English Style Ale that is oak aged blend of an English Style ale and an IPA
  • Dudes Brewing Grandma’s Pecan Brown is Toasted Nutty brown ale deliciousness. I enjoyed it last year and plan to get it again
  • Ecliptic Brewery Perihelion Crimson Saison, a Saison brewed with Rhubarb which may be a one off for OBF as I haven’t seen this Saison offering before
  • Ex Novo Brewing Co Black & Wheat, Ex Novo just opened this month and I haven’t had a chance to try any of their beers, so I’ll be glad to have this sample introduction with a Black Raspberry Wheat beer
  • Firestone Walker Brewing Co Easy Jack, a Session IPA that uses hop varieties from Europe, New Zealand and North America for globetrotting hops all in one beer
  • Gigantic Brewing Co Who Ate All the Pies?, this Strawberry Rhubarb Gose had me at the name including the word pie and the use of Strawberry and Rhubarb in a Gose style which promises a bit of sourness
  • Logsdon Farmhouse Ales Sraffe Drieling, an organic Farmhouse Triple brewed with spices. If you haven’t had this Logsdon beer before, here’s your chance to try it out!
  • Mazama Brewing Rasplendent, a Raspberry and Hibiscus Wit
  • Paradise Creek Huckleberry Pucker is a Berliner Weiss with Huckleberries that one commenter on Untappd mentioned is “Tart n tangy like Pixie Stix”, while others mentioned Nerds. Basically it’s sweet and sour sorta like a candy. Sold.
  • Sixpoint Craft Ales Barrel Aged 3 Beans, a Baltic Porter made with Mast Brothers Chocolate cacao husks and infused with fresh Stumptown Coffee Roasters cold brew, and then aged on oak. Yum right?

Oregon Brewers Festival, Photo Credit Timothy Horn
Oregon Brewers Festival, Photo Credit Timothy Horn

This year OBF will be hosting 88 different craft breweries from around the country plus another 100 in the Specialty Tent, which makes its return (previously called the Buzz Tent) after a hiatus last year. In the Specialty Tent there will be special European beer friends: 12 breweries (11 from the Netherlands and 1 from Germany!) so this is a special opportunity to try those beers and their unique flavor profiles compared to the 88 American breweries.

Plus, look how fun these brewer friends are that you can meet in the tent as you are tasting their beer! Each brewery will serve up to five of their beers in the Specialty Tent starting at Noon (Wed-Sat) and the brewers will be available for meet the brewer sessions those days as well as you drink their beer. 

Do note that although there is no separate ticket to get into the Specialty Tent, only tasters are served (no full pours), and all beers are double tokens. I’ve highlighted the brewers and few example beers where I was able to see descriptions so you have an idea what you might be able to try!

Dutch brewers are coming to OBF 2014

  • Bierbrouwerij Emelisse, I’ve had beer from this brewery before that I’ve enjoyed, and they are bringing their Smoked Coffee Porter  as well as Black & Tan blend of Imperial Russian Stout and Double IPA and is barrel aged on an Isley barrel.
  • Brouwerij Rodenburg has brought their internationally acclaimed Bronckhorster Nightporter stout with flavors of coffee, smoked malts and chocolate as well as their Midnightporter American Imperial Porter which is similar to the Nightporter but with more smoke peat and hops. Their Terra Incognita is their 100th Anniversary Brew and they will be barrel aging it to be available in 2015
  • Brouwerij ‘t IJ
    Dutch brewers are coming to OBF 2014, such as Brouwerij't IJ
  • Microbrouwerij Rooie Dop has me interested in their The Daily Grind coffee porter of which the description says “Using delicate ingredients like Guatemala Antigua coffee, brown malts and Saaz hops, we created this dark coffee-infused beer. It will be the smile you need to break the daily grind.”
    Dutch brewers are coming to OBF 2014, such as Mark Strooker of Microbrouwerij Rooie Dop
  • Brouwerij Maximus
    Dutch brewers are coming to OBF 2014, such as Marcel Snater of Maximus
  • Brouwerij Duits & Lauret
  • Brouwerij de Molen has a variety of beers they have brought, including representatives of the styles of English Barleywine, Russian Imperial Stout, Baltic Porter, Saison, and more!
  • Oedipus Brewing – they have brought some unusually flavored beer, including Lekkerbek Saison with mustard seeds and dill. and Mannenliefde Saison with Lemongrass & Szechuan peppercorns and a Thai Thai Triple with Galanga Root, Orange peel, Coriander Seeds, Lemongrass, Chili pepper. A thai spice dish in a beer?!
    Dutch brewers are coming to OBF 2014, such as Oedipus @OedipusBrewing took the OBF glass to Noordwijk, the small coastal town where they all met 15 years ago!
  • Het Uiltje has an interestingly named Uiltje Pepperspray Porter
  • Oersoep has an unusual lineup of Saison and Sour Ales, a couple which they described as having hints of bubblegum (their Sergeant Brett Pepper Saison that has spice and bubblegum?) or sour candy (Brettanosaurus Rex Brett Ale), and a Pomme Bruxelles that is a dryhopped blend of an apple-cider and a one year old  barrel-aged sour that is described as sparkling, tart and very fruity
    Dutch brewers are coming to OBF 2014, such as Oersoep
  • Ramses Bier, if you dare, has the Naar de Haaien Smoked IPA that is brewed with seaweed and seawater
  • Brauerei Nothhaf

I’ll be there at the Oregon Brewers Festival 2014 on Wednesday evening, and also I’ll be following when beers tap at the Specialty Beer tent via their twitter @OBFLTDTent. If you are trying those beers from our European friends, also use or check for the hashtag #NLtoPDX.

Are you going to OBF? What beers sounded interesting to you?

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