Events of Note

I feel like we're at the end of a marathon here--mile 24, the end is near, but there's still some runnin' left to do. (I'm part of the problem, I know.) But before you can rest, you must finish the race. There are scads of events around Portland Beer Week, and I've been lame in promoting them--fortunately, the Number One Beer Blogger in America has been on the case. Here are two more to be apprised of:

1. Hop Madness
Homebrewers tend to fly under the radar, and yet approximately 97% of Portland's beer geeks are also homebrewers. I therefore commend you to Hop Madness, the "largest gathering of home brewers and home brewing clubs in the Pacific Northwest." It's more like Homebrew-a-palooza:

• Hop harvest brewing: Fresh hops and water provided, bring your own brewing equipment.
• Hop tour: A tour of the active hop harvest (2pm on Sat)
• Best Damn Hoppy Beer Contest: Bring your hoppiest damn beer and enter it into the contest.
• Overnight camping
• Hop Olympics: Organize a team of your fellow club members to compete for homebrewer bragging rights.

It's September 3-4, 2011 from noon to noon at the Rogue Farms Micro Hopyard in Independence, Oregon--and it's dirt cheap. If I weren't going to be out of town, I'd be there myself. Here's their website with all the deets.


2. Brewvana Bend Tour
For those (like me) who have been woefully bad about getting over to Bend, here's a great opportunity. Brewvana Tours are embarking on their first overnighter. You leave Saturday morning, Sept 10, land in Bend for a tour at Deschutes. Lunch is at 10 Barrel, and the evening is yours to roam (Bend Brewing, Silver Moon, Cascade Lakes, etc.). Brewvana puts you up at the Phoenix Inn Suites and in the morning, you're off to Boneyard. The tour price includes transportation, overnight accommodations, beer samples at 2 different breweries, lunch on Saturday afternoon, and breakfast Sunday morning. The cost is just $165 for a four-person room, $195 for a two-person.


3. Occidental Debuts
St. Johns' only brewery has actually had beer available for awhile, but they've never been to Southeast Portland. They will tonight at 5-8pm at Beermongers (12th and SE Division). On hand are owners and brewers Dan and Ben Engler and a lineup of their all-German beers: Cloudy Summer Kolsch, Hefeweizen, Altbier and Dunkel.