Oregon Brewers Festival ’10 Primer

This coming Thursday marks the start of the 23rd Annual Oregon Brewers Festival at Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Hmm…a very capitalized sentence (58% – Statistics Editor). Anyway, the OBF is the state’s premiere brewfest, which is saying a lot considering the quality of festivals we Oregonians enjoy throughout the year. Here is the information for this year’s event.

Event Name
23rd Annual Oregon Brewers Festival

Venue
Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon
Main entrance at S.W. Oak Street and Naito Parkway

Dates
July 22-25, 2010 – “Always the last full weekend in July”

Times
Thurs through Sat, taps are open from Noon to 9 p.m.
Sun, taps are open from Noon to 7 p.m.
Token & mug sales cease one-half hour prior to the taps closing

Admission
Admission into the festival grounds is free. In order to consume beer at the OBF, you must purchase a taster package. Taster packages are available in $10, $20 and $50 increments.  All packages include a 2010 souvenir mug, which is required for consuming beer (mugs from previous years will not be filled); a souvenir program that includes a map of where the beers are located onsite; and various quantities of tokens, which are used to purchase beer.  Patrons pay four tokens for a full mug of beer, or one token for a taste. Additional tokens may be purchased at $1 apiece.

$10 package: one mug, one program, four tokens
$20 package: one mug, one program, 14 tokens
$50 package: two mugs, one program, 40 tokens

Description
The Oregon Brewers Festival is one of the nation’s longest running and best loved craft beer festivals. Situated on the west bank of the Willamette River, with towering Mt. Hood as a backdrop, it is the ideal venue for anyone who loves craft beer. With a laid back attitude and scores of award-winning beers, the festival reflects the essence of the city of Portland.

The festival exists to provide an opportunity to sample and learn about a variety of craft beer styles from across the country. Eighty-one craft breweries from all parts of the nation offer handcrafted brews to more than 70,000 beer lovers during the four-day event.  There’s also a Buzz Tent featuring tastes of more than 50 limited production brews from the participating breweries.

The event features live music all four days, beer-related vendors, beer memorabilia displays, beer writers and publishers, homebrewing demonstrations, and an assortment of foods from a variety of regions. The Crater Lake Root Beer Garden offers complimentary handcrafted root beer for minors and designated drivers.   Minors are always welcome at the festival when accompanied by a parent.

The Oregon Brewers Festival strongly encourages responsible drinking, and urges patrons to take advantage of the MAX Light Rail line, located just one block west of the festival on SW Oak Street.   The festival also offers complimentary manned on-site bicycle parking.

The Oregon Brewers Festival will kick off at 11:30 am on Thursday, July 22 with a parade featuring 500 beer lovers and a small marching band.  Anyone can join in the parade, which departs from Deschutes Brewery Portland at NW 11^th & Davis.

Contact Information
www.oregonbrewfest.com or 503.778.5917
www.facebook.com/oregonbrewersfestival + www.twitter.com/oregonbrewfest

A very nice beer list is also available at the OBF’s website (www.oregonbrewfest.com), so I won’t bother posting it here. In typical beer blogger fashion, I was going to list some of my pre-festival picks, but now I think I am going to try something else instead. 17 beers have been picked for the media preview (which I will be trying my damnedest to attend); selected for innovation, not daunting grain-bills or sky-high ABVs. Based on this criteria, I am going to guess the 17 brews being offered; assuming of course that they are all from the beer list, no curve balls or surprises.

1. Dump Truck Extra Pale Summer Bock – Bayern Brewing (6.9% ABV, 28 IBU)

Yep, I’m starting my OBF preview predictions with an out of state beer. Sacrilege. Actually, I’m going alphabetically and five beers preceding Bayern were a mix of IPAs and old hat. So, number six is number 1 with a bullet.

Bayern is kind of like the Heater Allen of Montana. Owner and Brewmaster Jürgen Knöller cranks out both traditional German beers and unique German influenced brews. Dump Truck belongs in the latter camp, employing a traditional decoction mash and fermented with a special strain of yeast, designed specifically for the brewery.

2. German Tradition Double Dry Hopped Pale Ale – Boundary Bay Brewing (6% ABV, 45 IBU)

Brewed for this year’s OBF, this one might be the first gimme. Boundary Bay’s brew (Oh sweet alliteration – Stylistic Device Editor) is a lesson in simplicity; a grain bill consisting of 2-row and Munich with German Tradition hops for all additions, two of them dry-hoppings.

3. Stump Town Tart – BridgePort Brewing (7.7% ABV, 9 IBU)

While I missed Stump Town Tart’s first go-around, I was pretty happy with last year’s Belgian-wheat-cherry concoction. For its third iteration, the brew was fermented on Oregon Raspberries and aged for 6 months in French oak wine casks.

4. Caldera Hibiscus Ginger Beer – Caldera Brewing (4.7% ABV, ? IBU)

Another OBF exclusive; hibiscus flowers are used along-side ginger in the boil and in the fermenter to “dry-flower” the brew. Gimme 2?

5. Summer Gose – Cascade Brewing (4% ABV, 11 IBU)

The Leipziger Gose style seems to be enjoying a small revival in Portland, thanks in no small part to Ron Gansberg and Cascade Brewing. A great example of the area’s brewing diversity, I have no doubt this brew will be offered.

6. Sunstone Pilsner – David Hayes/Widmer Collaborator (5.6% ABV, 32 IBU)

David’s brew is a German Pilsner with a grain bill similar to that of an American Wheat (65% Pils, 35% Wheat malt). Not sure exactly what this one will taste like, but I’m thinking crisp and Kolsch-y without the fruitiness. Gimme 3.

7. Fresh Squeezed IPA – Deschutes Brewery (6% ABV, 65 IBU)

An IPA hopped exclusively with Citra, my arch nemesis in the world of hops. I’m sure people will love this brew, but to me, Citra tastes like artificial lemon/orange candy. Widmer wasn’t able to convert me with Sunburn and I doubt Deschutes will fair any better with their IPA. If this one is preceded by something with Nelson Sauvin, my opinion may change.

8. Sofie – Goose Island Brewing (6.5% ABV, 25 IBU)

An oak-aged Saison, hopped entirely with a distinct American hop, Amarillo. My favorite Goose Island’s brew and probably the best of the non-west offerings.

9. Le Freak – Green Flash Brewing (9.2% ABV, 20 IBU)

The other Belgian IPA from the other San Diego brewery. Actually, if my memory serves me correctly, Le Freak is more crazy-hopped Tripel than Belgian-dressed American IPA. More Houblon than Cali-Belgique if you will. Of course it has been a good year and many a beer since I’ve last tried any of these brews, so if I am mistaken, feel free to disregard.

10. Lip Stinger – MacTarnahan’s Brewing (4.8% ABV, 32 IBU)

So nice they made it twice. This brew impressed me last year, but looking back now, this may have been more the fact that it was produced by Pyramid-mangled Macs and less actual merit. Perhaps this will be my chance to verify.

11. Maiden the Shade – Ninkasi Brewing (6.8% ABV, 70 IBU)

Also in its second year is Ninkasi’s Oregon Country Fair IPA; brewed with seven hops and dry-hopped with five. The most interesting Eugene area brew on this list, Maiden received a bottle run this year, allowing it to reach a wider audience.

12. Oud Heverlee – Rock Bottom Brewery (6.8% ABV, 66 IBU)

A Flemish Brabant is a style that I will admit I know little about. What I do know is that Oud Heverlee is brewed with dried tulips and specially-aged Sterling hops. Oh-so-Dutchy.

13. 21 – Rouge Ales (8% ABV, 30 IBU)

For his 2st OBF beer, John Maier has crafted an Olde Ale, comprised of 14 ingredients including Rogue Farms RiskTM malt and Revolution hops. Gimme 4? Definitely.

14. Single Hop Double IPA – Terminal Gravity Brewing (7.9% ABV, 104 IBU)

I recently tried the brewery’s Simcoe Single Hop IPA and thought it was fantastic. I can’t wait to see what they can do with 100+ IBU of Columbus.

15. The Bruery – 7 Grain Sasion (5% ABV, 20 IBU)

One of the only good things to come out of OC. Barley, rye, oats, wheat, rice, corn and spelt fermented with The Bruery’s house Belgian yeast. If this is anything close to their regular farmhouse, Saison Rue, we have a winner.

16. Reggae Junkie Gruit – Upright Brewing (5.2% ABV, 0 IBU)

Always the little innovators, Upright completely left the hops out of their Farmhouse Gruit; opting to bitter with orange peel Sichuan peppercorns, hyssop and lemongrass. It’s probably safe to say that all the Portland bloggers have already tried this brew, but I have a feeling it will still be offered; a treat for the traditional media and us out-of-towners.

17. Captain Shaddock IPA – Widmer Bros. Brewing (6.5% ABV, 60 IBU)

An IPA with a copious amount of grapefruit peel added at the end of the boil. Too bad they got the same idea as Deschutes and went with Citra hops. See what you started Sierra Nevada?

So, there are my guesses for the media preview. Any of you other beer bloggers want to play? Perhaps a childish wager would make things more interesting? Person with the least correct guesses spends a day with Dr. Wort?

Cheers!
Kevin