The center of gravity on the annual beer calendar revolves around the last full weekend in July, when the Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF) lures tens of thousands of beer drinkers to Waterfront Park. It's become such a large celebration that it has expanded into a full week--the first day of which as now arrived. So, without further ado, and with thanks to the stinkin' Devil Sun, who has stifled his fury long enough for me to blog, here we go...
Tonight, July 24
Beer and cheese tasting with Fred Eckhardt
No one who reads this blog is unfamiliar with Fred, right? Well, just in case: Fred is the poet laureate of Oregon beer, having documented professional and homebrewers and homebrewing for 30 years. There is at least one portrait homage in the McMenamin's kingdom (Grand Lodge); another homage by BridgePort as an Old Knucklehead; and more famously, he is the namesake of Hair of the Dog Fred. He is also the James Beard of beer, having turned Oregonians on to beer tastings as paired with chocolate and cheese. He just celebrated his eightieth birthday, so you know he's got some experience with these things. Thirty bucks advance, $35 at the door. Rogue Public House 1339 NW Flanders, doors open at 5pm. 503-222-5910.
Tuesday, July 25
Oregon Brewers Guild Dinner
Sold out! (As the popularity suggests, this is a great event, and one to put on the calendar for next year. It's a cool, insidery event with lots of brewers and brewing mucky-mucks, along with some of the bigger beer fans in the city. And they pour rare beers you can't get at the regular OBF.
Wednesday, July 26
Pale and IPA blind tasting
Ripped straight from the pages of Beervana, we have what may be the first of its kind (but I'm relying on a very faulty memory here, so correct me if I'm wrong). Much as with our own blind tasting, there are two phases--identification and rating. Participants will get twelve (!) pales and IPAs, after which they will be stacked like cordwood until Thurday afternoon, when they should be sobered up and ready for the fest.
Thursday, July 28
Over the Edge Tour
There have been alternafests in the past, usually involving the word "edge" for its multiple entendres, to feature beers who didn't make the cut into the OBF. This may or may not be one. The link the Brewers Guild supplies is dead. Supposedly at a number of local pubs, and probably one will be the Rose and Raindrop, so maybe I'll go scope that out and see. Holler if you have info.
Oregon Brewers Fest
Repeating a recent experiment, the Brewfest kicks off at 4pm on Thursday. But the real fun begins Friday at noon, when I arrive. (Not that I have a limited perspective, or anything.) Seventy-two beers, seventeen million people, and predicted moderate temperatures. What more can you say? Waterfront Park.
Friday, July 24
Sasquatch BrewAm Golf Tournament
This looks like a pretty cool thing. Held at the Edgefield's pitch-and-put course, twenty-one brewers have agreed to participate in this event, which is a fundraiser for the Glen Hay Falconer brewing scholarship program. The brewers feature some pretty bright lights, too: John Harris (Full Sail), Alan Sprints (Hair of the Dog), Dick Cantwell (Elysian), David Zuckerman (Boulder, a brewer who got his start at BridgePort), Jamie Floyd (Steelhead), Darron Welch (Pelican) among many others. Cost: $75. 9am tee time. Email here to sign up.
If I've missed anything, let me know.
Are you getting royalties for the OBF's use of "Beervana"? Raise hell, man!
ReplyDeleteI have to miss the Brewer's Dinner tonight for work. I've had some tasty brews at those functions, so it's hard to turn down a free ticket. So, I'll have to wait for FRIDAY!
No, and actually, some bar in Louisiana trademarked it, I think. Uselessly. Obviously they have not whit one about what it means or what to do with it.
ReplyDelete