The Complete Guide to the Oregon Brewers Festival

Jeff Alworth

Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland
Main entrance at S.W. Oak Street
Thurs - Sat, taps open Noon to 9pm, Sun, Noon to 7pm
Kids allowed; admittance is free; drinking mug $4, tokens $1

Ah summer in Portland, that dry, warm, surprisingly bug-free time of year that can only be improved by  one thing: beer.  No worries, the Oregon Brewers Fest is upon us, and with an IPA in hand, our experience will be complete. 

Before I highlight a few of the more promising beers, a word or two about how to enjoy yourself.  Sun and alcohol are a dangerous combo, so be sure to drink lots of water and stay in the shade.   Also: go early to avoid the thickest crowds.  As the day wears on, crowds and lines grow.  OBF organizers buy an allotment of kegs from each brewery and then allocate a certain amount to each day; by early evening, the favorites begin to run dry.  The sooner you go, the more variety you'll find.

If you want to appreciate the beers--and you should; there are some exceptional offerings this year--start with lighter, less-hoppy beers and work toward intensely-flavored, hoppy ones.  Once you've dipped into the IPAs, your tongue will start getting coated with a protective layer of hop resin, and your taste buds will miss the subtle flavors. 

This year's offering is one of the strongest in recent memory, and it is skewed toward big, bold beers, so be a little strategic if you want a range of flavors.  And, with 73 choices, you'll have to be selective.  Based on some educated guessing by me and a few of the other beer bloggers in town, here are ten beers that shouldn't let you down.

Consensus Beers
Three years ago, when I wrote my first post on the OBF, there were precious few beer blogs.  This year, three other bloggers--Jon from the Brew Site, Suds Sister from WW's Best Blog, Portland Food and Drink, and Zymorgy, from PDX Beer Blog--have assembled their own picks.  Along with my top ten, three beers caught our attention. 

Flying Fish Bourbon Barrel Abbey Double, Cherry Hill, NJ
Belgian dubbels are rich, malty ales that highlight dark-fruit notes (like raisin and plum).  This inclines me to think it will have the depth to handle the strong, sweet flavor the bourbon will impart. Belgian brewers are the great experimenters of the beer world--I have a hunch they'd appreciate this combo.

Widmer Noggin Grog, Portland, OR
So there are these things called "buzz beers" at the OBF.  Festgoers start chatting about what they've tried, and invariably, certain beers starts cropping up in more and more conversations.  Thus begins the buzz. In more Brewers Fests than I can remember, the Widmer Brothers had brewed that beer.  They always make something special just for the OBF, and it's usually strange and interesting..  Noggin Grog is an Imperial Wit--a brewing oxymoron (wits are slight, crisp, delightful summer beers).  But because it's a Widmer, it'll be one of the first beers I try.

Rogue Imperial Porter, Newport, OR
This is a huge porter--substantially meatier than the brewery's Shakespeare Stout, which is no cupcake.  Yet brewer John Meier has designated it a summer beer ("why the hell not?").  Maybe it's the Summit hops--a new strain that are sweet and distinctly orangey--or maybe it's just because that's what you do when you're a rogue.

Other Good Bets
There are 21 IPAs at this fest and twelve Belgian ales, so depending on your tastes, you could stick with just your favorite styles.  But here's a few more to round out the palate.  They're the rarer beers you may not have another chance to try, so enjoy them while they're here.

Brewery Ommegang, Hennepin (Cooperstown, NY)
The saison style is one of the most difficult in the world to brew, and I've had only two examples that really sing--the historic saisons from Dupont in Belgium, and Hennepin from Ommegang.  For you hop heads out there, this is an interesting change up that you might appreciate.  You can get this in grocery stores, but I've never had it on tap.

Golden Valley Quercus (McMinnville, OR)  Golden Valley started out as a winery, so things come full circle here: they've aged this ESB in a pinot barrel. I've lived in Oregon for over two decades and I've never had a beer that was aged in a pinot cask??  My life is incomplete!

Stone Vertical Epic (Escondido, CA) The Arrogant Bastards do this very cool thing. Each year, they release a version of Epic Ale to be sampled side-by-side in a "vertical tasting" in 2012. This year's was released on 7/7/07, and it's likely the only shot we'll have to try it. Dunno what kind of beer it is (it's listed as a "saison," but who knows), but I expect it to be big, aggressive, and green.  For the love of beer, don't try one this first.

Fearless Scottish Ale (Estacada, OR) Fearless probably brews other beers, but I don't know 'em. This is what they're known for: a chewy, creamy beer that will tickle the fancy of people who appreciate malt. (It's not a hoppy palate-wrecker, either.)  Scottish ales have a substantial following, and they'll love this version.

Russian River Pliny the Elder (Santa Rosa, CA)  Oh joy!  Liquid courage, liquid hops.  The best strong ale in America and one of my top five ales of all time.  The only place I can get it is at the Fest, and I do--three or four pours.

Good Bets By Style
Looking at my list, I see that there is not a single IPA.  This will not do.  Since many of you know your beer styles and will be looking for Belgians or IPAs or lagers, here are a few of the suggestions by style.

Starters
To get my palate tuned up for the bigger beers, I'll try some of the subtler choices on tap.  These won't become buzz beers, because it's not that kind of festival, but they may be some of the best beers available. 

From San Diego (believe it or not, a hotbed of craft brewing) comes Ballast Point Yellowtail Pale Ale, which, despite the name, is a kolsch.  It's a wonderful, summery style of ale from Cologne that is zesty and tart.  The first Belgian wit brewed in America was Belgian transplant Pierre Celis's.  He ultimately sold his brewery to Miller and moved back to Belgium.  But now Michigan Brewing has purchased the rights to and has reissued Celis White.  Before you hit the Noggin Grog, try this and see what the source style is like.  Speaking of source style, you might try Hale's El Jefe, which is what a Bavarian hefeweizen is supposed to taste like.

Hops
At some point, they're going to have to change the name of this festival to "Oregon Hop Fest," so replete has it become with beers green with lupulin.  But not all hoppy beers are made equally. 

Christian Ettinger was the founding brewer at Laurelwood, and he's busy founding a new place called Hopworks Urban Brewery.  It's not open, but his Hopworks Organic IPA is already pouring.  It's big, hoppy, and already creating buzz.  Next, you might try Diamond Knot Industrial IPA.  It is a single-hop beer, and the Mukilteo (North of Seattle) brewers have reportedly put hops in the keg.  Finally, you might give McMenamin's Monkey House, a try.  Each year, the McMenamins host their own in-house brewing competition, and this year's winner got to go to the OBF.  It comes from Chris Haslett at the Fulton Pub, an IPA he called No Mas Lento in the competition.  A wild card I'm interested in is Laurelwood's PNW Pils, a lager that is brewed for ale-loving hop heads.  If we get lucky, it will be inheritor to Saxer Pilsner's long vacated thrown.  Finally, Racer X from Bear Republic and Ninkasi Believer are both fantastic.

Belgian-Style Ales
Oregon has steadily (if slowly) begun to embrace the wild, wonderful styles of Belgium.  This year there are twelve on tap, which must be a record.  I'm looking forward to BJ's C'est Bon Blonde. This chain brewery may not have captured your attention, but under brewer Dan Pedersen, they were among the first in Oregon to seriously brew Belgian-style ales.  Max's Farmer's Daughter is a beer by Max Tieger, brewed in his recently-opened Tualatin brewpub, Max's Fanno Creek.  It's a malty Belgian strong ale. 

Lagers
As Oregon gets its hoppy Belgian freak on, we seem to neglect lagers.  Fortunately, there are a few arriving from points South and East for those who enjoy their beers brewed reinheitsgebot.  A very nice, subtle lager comes from Wisconsin--Sprecher Mai Bock, which was dry-hopped with Mt. Hood.  Pennsylvania's Victory Brewing's Prima Pils has a national following and is widely admired.  And for a real old-world experience, try Trumer Pils, which is from the Berkeley outpost of the 406-year-old Salzberg brewery. 

Okay, that's 23 beers, which should be plenty for even the burliest of drinkers.  If I mention any more, you'll think I'll drink just anything.  And blogs are no place for the truth.

Cheers!

By Jeff Alworth July 26, 2007