I’d like to open my Oregon Brewers Festival report by saying that I can’t think of a better hobby than writing about craft beer. In the last year, I’ve had the opportunity to travel, try fantastic beers from all over the world, join a community of like-minded individuals and meet, converse and correspond with many of the brewers responsible for creating our favorite beverages. I hope everyone both realizes and appreciates how uniquely accessible this industry is, and not just to the media. At most craft breweries, Timmy B. Enthusiast can take a tour, sample beer and talk openly with brewers about their latest efforts. This is like strolling into Nintendo’s HQ and getting to discuss the inspiration for Mario Galaxy 2 with Miyamto or popping into Muscle Shoals to watch the Black Keys record Brothers and casually chatting with them between cuts. We are fortunate.

And this fortune brought me to Portland on Thursday to attend the 23rd Annual Oregon Brewers Festival. Arriving a little after noon, my wife and I had time to try a couple brews before I had to head off to the media preview. I started off my day with the strongest non-buzz beer at the event, Flying Fish’s Exit 4. The beer was one of my favorites of the day; a crisp, dry Trippel buried under a mountain of hops. Both Simcoe and Amarillo were easily detectable, but I suspect there were at least a couple others. The flavorful Abbey yeast took a back seat to the strong hopping, adding another layer instead of fighting for dominance.

Next up was the buzz beer tent, where I dropped a pair of tokens on Deschutes’ Streaking the Quad, a Belgian Strong ale that had received much praise from the Cheers to Belgian Beers Festival. Praise that was lost on me. Up front it was overly sweet yet surprisingly thin. The finish, a mix of hot alcohol and cherry cough suppressant. With my first two beers down, both over 9% ABV, I decided to curtail the drinking and just hang out with my wife until the media preview started.

At the media event, I sat across from Beer Goddess Lisa Morrison and Abe Goldman-Armstrong, and next to a nice guy from Seattle whose name is completely escaping me (sorry – Apology Editor). Looking back now, I could have probably written a better report by just jotting down what they were saying.

I also saw Bill from It’s Pub Night again and met Jason from Portland Beer and Music. Jason was the only person to take up my challenge to guess the 17 preview beers; a challenge that I somehow managed to win by one point (10-9). Here are my tasting notes and some comments for the 17 preview beers.

WINNERS

Cascade – Summer Gose

Notes: Tart, wheaty aroma. Clean acidic taste, wheaty and thirst quenching.

Comments: A great way to start off the preview. A fine example of a Leipzig Gose; cleanly tart and very refreshing.

Collaborator – Sunstone Pilsner

Notes: Wheaty aroma, low spicy German hop and toasty Pils malt notes. Medium-bodied and wheaty. Spicy hops transition to a sweeter malt finish.

Comments: This brew just works. A clean, well-hopped Pilsner. A little wheat bite, but no haze; the beer is lagered crystal clear. I wouldn’t mind seeing this brew make the jump from Collaborator project to part of Widmer’s W series.

Upright Brewing – Reggae Junkie Gruit

Notes: Peppery, herbal aroma with low fruit notes. Very herbal flavor; lemon, peppery, tart.

Comments: This beer is definitely Upright. Pungent herbal aromatics accurately preview the flavor; the lemony citrus and pepper give way to a tart, dry finish. An impressive example of what can be accomplished without hops and a beer worth trying if you can find it.

Boulevard – Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale.

Notes: Light sweet, pepper aroma. Sweetness fades to fruity, citrus middle.

Comments: Exactly the opposite of The Bruery’s saison, which failed to deliver on the promise of it’s aromatics. Boulevard’s brew on the other hand played down it’s intense flavors in the aroma. A lot of farmhouse yeast phenols with a nice citrus punch from a bunch of Amarillo hops.

Sierra Nevada – Tumbler

Notes: Caramel colored. Roasted chocolate and smoky aroma. Toasty, caramel sweet, low smoky flavor.

Comments: Tumbler is Sierra Nevada’s new Fall Seasonal, replacing their Anniversary Ale. It caught me by surprise how much I enjoyed this brew. A lot like the Smoked Rye Mild I have sitting in the fermenter.

Oakshire – Overcast Espresso Stout

Notes: Overcast Espresso Stout.

Comments: Overcast Espresso Stout. Seriously, the consensus around the media tent was, “Why are they serving this? We all know what it tastes like, we all know it’s good.” Well, maybe not the guy from the mid-west. I should have remembered to ask him what he thought.

Maui – Coconut Porter

Notes: Dark brown with a sweet, malty aroma. Lots of toasted coconut. Rich coconut flavor, chocolate finish.

Comments: Another brew I have had many times. Intense coconut flavor on top of a smooth, chocolaty porter base.

Rogue – 21

Notes: Cola colored. Low hop aroma with a thick caramel sweetness. Creamy, caramel sticky, alcohol warmth.

Comments: Strong caramel malt flavor with a sweet creaminess from the Golden Naked Oats. The only beer of the preview which a discernible alcohol presence. Decadent.

FAILS

Caldera – Hibiscus Ginger Beer

Notes: Grapefruit juice-pink in color. Spicy, ginger aroma. Sharp ginger taste, but watery and too little bitterness. Waxy finish.

Comments: This one tasted like ginger-flavored water. The ginger is strong enough, but the body is too thin and there just aren’t any hops to balance it. Probably in some way the victim of following Cascade’s fantastic Gose.

Natian – Destination

Notes: Light cola brown. Thick, sweet aroma with a strong roasted barley note. Coffee-like roasted flavor with a lasting, bitter finish.

Comments: I tried, but just couldn’t find much I liked about this one. The strong roasted character completely beguiled any hop or honey flavor. The results, a bitter and slightly acrid brew. The roasted barley needs dialed down several notches here.

The Bruery – 7 Grain Saison

Notes: Pale yellow. Spicy pineapple fruit aroma. Effervescent, grainy, disappointing flavor.

Comments: This is the first beer from The Bruery than I haven’t been impressed with. The aroma smelled promising of tropical fruit and saison-funk, but the flavors were muted. Instead, the biggest thing I noticed was the gritty flavor that comes with liberal use of unmalted grains.

MEH

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing – Olallieberry Cream Ale

Notes: Color very close to Caldera Brew. Berry/honey sweet aroma. Smooth and sweet with an odd, grainy finish. Not tart.

Comments: I think this beer would be a lot better if some of the purported tartness of the Olallieberry was present. Unfortunately, this brew was sweet from start to finish. Not offensively sweet, but sweeter than I prefer. If a smooth drinking, berry-sweet beer sounds good to you, you will probably like this brew.

Great Divide – Hoss

Notes: Amber color with a sweet, wet-grain aroma. Rye up front with a heavy, sweet finish.

Comments: Hoss smelled oddly like my kitchen when I’m mashing grain. The brew had a lot of rye flavor, but the spiciness faded to a thick, sweet grain finish. A flavorful brew that caught me off guard when I was expecting a crisp, dry rye beer.

Rock Bottom – Oud Heverlee

Notes: Floral and sweet. Stronger herbal aroma than Reggae Junkie Gruit. Lasting bitterness.

Comments: Not knowing anything about the Flemish Brabant style, I had no idea what to expect from Oud Heverlee. What I got was sweet, Belgian ale with a strong floral aroma and an odd bitterness that hung around forever (the tulips?).

Green Flash – Le Freak

Notes: Fruity esters, pungent hop aroma. Thick body.

Comments: Less attenuated than a Trippel, Le Freak had a heavy residual sweetness. On top of this sat a huge amount of citrusy and piny American hops. I have had Le Freak a couple times in the past and do not remember it tasting anything like this brew. More like a heavy-hopped Belgian Strong Ale. See Flying Fish’s Exit 4 for a fantastic IPA/Trippel.

Widmer – GFX-72 (Captain Shaddock IPA)

Notes: Golden with a sharp, citrus aroma. Well-hopped, strong citrus flavor. Damn Citra hops.

Comments: Made with grapefruit peel and named after the man responsible for bringing grapefruit to the West Indies, Captain Shaddock (the beer) is sort of a tongue in cheek response to the comment that some IPAs taste like grapefruit. The grapefruit was apparent, but not overwhelming. Too bad the same cannot be said for the Citra hops which have been showing up to ruin more and more of my beers lately.

For those of you keeping track, that was only 16 beers. I missed Terminal Gravity’s Single Hop (Columbus) Double IPA while searching for a restroom. After the media event, I met back up with my wife, now been joined by her sister, and attempted to sample the rest of the beers on my shortlist.

Kona’s Coco Loco Big Island Brown tasted like a toned down version of Maui’s Porter. I was impressed with Bayern’s Dump Truck, a rich malty Bock with spicy German hops and a hint of alcohol in the finish. Ninkasi’s Maiden the Shade I’m still on the fence about. Despite the wide array of hops used, the piny Simcoes seemed to dominate the flavor. I think some of the other spicy and citrusy hops could have been better showcased if the Simcoe was dialed back. Deserving of another try when it isn’t the 20th beer of the day. Surly’s Bitter Brewer is another beer that may have suffered from being sampled so late in the day. Maybe not weak for a session Bitter, but lacking in flavor for a Surly brew.

I ended the afternoon with a pair of great barrel-aged brews, Goose Island’s Sofie and Oakshire’s buzz beer, a Pinot Barrel Strong Ale. Sofie is a delicate farmhouse ale, tart and dry with just a hint of oak from its time spent in wine barrels. Oakshire’s brew is the exact opposite, malty and rich with a strong vinous character.

At this point I was out of tokens and had just launched a beer onto my (understanding – Apology Editor) wife’s shirt, while trying to fish a pen out of my pocket to take more notes. A quick stop at Kell’s for a baked gorgonzola plate and we were back on the road to Eugene.

My top 5 beers of the festival were:

1. Flying Fish Exit 4
2. Oakshire – Pinot Barrel Very Ill-Tempered Gnome
3. Rogue – 21
4. Bayern – Dump Truck Extra Pale Summer Bock
5. Goose Island – Sofie

I want to thank Noel, Chris and everyone at the Oregon Brewers Festival for putting on a great event. We’ll see you next year.

Cheers!
Kevin

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

Cloud 9 in Corvallis is hosting another beer dinner. This time the menu is vegetarian and Ninkasi is providing the brews.

I also want mention that the area outside Ninkasi’s tasting room, is really taking shape. Here is a picture of the “patio”, lifted from the brewery’s Facebook page.

I hope this means drinks can now be taken outside the confines of the tasting room; it’s been uncomfortably crowded in there the last couple times I’ve dropped in. Speaking of which, I couldn’t believe what happened a few weeks ago when my wife and I stopped by the tasting room to celebrate her newly-found unemployment. I tried to order a sample tray and was denied. The person manning the counter informed me that samplers take too long to pour and when the tasting room gets busy, they stop serving them. First off, I don’t see how pouring 5 small samples takes drastically longer than pulling a full pint. Although, I’ve never tended bar, so I could be drastically mistaken. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a damn TASTING ROOM. What is more ironic than a tasting room refusing to sell a tasting tray?

Actually, that wasn’t a rhetorical question, I can tell you exactly what is more ironic. While sitting at the bar, drinking my pint of Kraken, I watched several individuals sample every beer in rotation, for free. Apparently, it’s too time consuming to make a single trip to the taps for a sample tray and take my money, but it doesn’t break your stride if I ask you to make seven trips for free? Simply brilliant. We ended up leaving after a single pint and split the rest of the evening between Sam Bond’s and the Bier Stein, both of which delivered excellent service despite being just as busy as the tasting room. I just hope my experience was an isolated one and not some ill-conceived, peak-hour policy.

Ok, I think I’m done ranting now. Wait, I guess I should mention that if anyone in the Eugene/Springfield area is looking for someone with degrees in Psychology and Gender Studies, several years of experience doing customer service, light design and type-setting at a local print shop and a couple more years as an assistant in the buying office of a regional retailer, my wife is looking for part-time employment.

Steering this post back on track, Oakshire is hosting a beer and cheese pairing at their brewery Thursday evening. Here is the event information:

Join Brewmaster Matt Van Wyk, Head brewer Joe Jasper and myself for a beer and cheese pairing class!

We will be tasting a range of domestic artisan cheeses with Oakshire beers at our tasting room on July 15th.

The class will focus on the fundamentals of effective pairings, how best to select and present pairings and give you an opportunity to talk with our talented brewers in an intimate environment.

Date: Thursday July 15th

Time: 6pm-8pm

Place: Oakshire Tasting room – 1055 Madera Street, Eugene, OR

Cost: $10 – Limited to 12 people – pre-registration required – payment due at class – cash or check only

Contact Eriel to sign up – 541.688.4555 or email: eriel@oakbrew.com

Sign up early, we look forward to seeing you.

Eriel – Oakshire Brewing

And to show I’m nothing if not fair, here is a picture, ripped from Oakshire’s Fackbook page.

Why is Jeff holding a chicken? Perhaps a better question is, “Why would Jeff not want to be holding a chicken?” Chickens rock. Gamecocks rock. Tottenham Hotspur for the Premiership. Said chicken, and several of his (her?) friends are part of Oakshire’s new urban farm. Check it out next time you stop by the brewery.

Cheers!
Kevin