The Oregon Beer Awards were handed out last night, and there were a few surprises. The first came when Wolf Tree (Seal Rock) won the first gold medal. Wait, who? That happened several times throughout the night, as obscure breweries took home medals: Freebridge (the Dalles), Back Pedal (Portland), Salem Ale Works, and Wild Ride (Redmond). Wolf Tree, incidentally, "is one of very few breweries operating on a working cattle ranch." I have no doubt about that.
Meanwhile, some high-profile breweries got mostly elbowed off the podium--pFriem, Block 15, and The Commons took home just four medals combined. That kind of thing happens when you have a blind-tasting competition. (Upright, a member of that often-lauded tier, pulled a hat trick, getting a bronze, silver, and gold, so some order was restored to the universe.)
The big winner, by a country mile, was Breakside, which took home ten medals total, including four gold. There were only 22 categories, which means Breakside managed to win a staggering 15% of the awards--in a competition with over 900 beers from 114 breweries. Tourists visiting the city often overlook Breakside or seem surprised when I suggest they go visit--this is a pretty good example of why locals keep buzzing about it. (Though from the perspective of optics, there is something slightly awkward about seeing the festival organizer, Breakside's Ben Edmunds, trot up on the stage so many times to pick up hardware.)
Maybe the best moment of the night was the short film put together by Lucas Chemotti and Ezra Johnson-Greenough to honor the late publican Don Younger, who was voted into the hall of fame:
Two years ago, when the OBA asked for nominations for the hall of fame, they forbade us from choosing posthumous candidates. Something like 75% of us ignored that and nominated Fred Eckhardt anyway (they relented and he was honored). Don is a worthy follow-up. Now maybe the organizers will get their wish and we can start honoring the living legends.
A couple other odd notes. Of all the beers submitted, 140 used Lactobacillus. 140! This is a trend no one could have seen developing even a decade ago. Related to that, Cascade Brewing, which is famous for using only Lactobacillus in its sour ales, won gold in the "Wood + Barrel-aged Sour + Brett category." Ron Gansberg is so opposed to Brettanomyces he used to dump barrels that had been wood-inoculated. I don't know if Framblanc 2015, the winner, had any Brett, but even winning the category is jarring.
Oh, and Ezra wore a tie.
Finally, a comment to organizers of the ceremony. Waiting outside in line for thirty minutes is not acceptable to get into a pre-ticketed event. The venue at Revolution Hall is great--for a crowd half that size. It's a rolling mosh pit with ten-minute beer lines. The ceremony is an awkward blend of awards-show pretension and in-group humor. I really felt for the poor MC, a comedienne whose jokes fell flat in a crowd where guys from a hop farm got a giant roar from the audience. The awards show itself doesn't know whether it wants to be for the industry or the public, and striking the unhappy medium between the two just isn't working. It's still a lot of fun, but that part needs to be tweaked.
Congrats to all the winners, the organizers, and the judges.
The Don Younger video was produced by myself and Lucas, all interviews by me. I produced last years video as well and always promoted posthumous winners. Not sure where your getting this forbade thing.
ReplyDeleteThe ceremony is also for the industry and the public, it can be both! Though I agree the comedienne was not a good fit at all this year.
also have you never been to a sold out concert or movie? There is typically a line...
ReplyDeleteI will adjust the producer credit appropriately--that was a great video and you deserve credit for putting it together! As for the line: no, not acceptable. Just not.
ReplyDeleteAnd on the posthumous thing--that absolutely was the case when nomination ballots were handed out at Breakside judging last year. I don't know where you were when people were telling us that.
I definitely recall that directive last year. But I ignored it, as most of us obviously did.
DeleteFact: our registration team checked in 800 people in 90 minutes. That's literally 7 seconds per person. Which is half the time of average event registration process. Think about the people who literally sleep outside to get the seat and experience they want to get into Timber games. I'm not sure how you want me to get much faster than 7 seconds, Jeff. Thanks for your always-insightful thoughts!
ReplyDeleteBigger venue. Get industry vips through diffferent enterence, same with vendors and nominees. Heck, given the timeline, hold it in Newport and use the same tents as seafood and wine (don't - I mean I would love it, but I'm sure you can find a venue for this for this). Time for this to get bigger, more a festival and really promote Oregon beers!
DeleteThat all sounds great. But have you been to this event? It's not a festival, it's an awards show. People sit in a theater, not stand in a tent.
DeletePresenters (that's your vendors and VIPs) did get to come in early so they could get stage direction. As a writer, I can confirm that writers aren't VIPs and should not expect to be treated differently than any regular guest.
Most of state's population lives in the Portland area, and many of the attendees have businesses and families that would prevent them from going to Newport on a weeknight. There really isn't a bigger venue that can serve enough beer unless you hop up to the Schnitz. That's a big jump in both space and expense since it's a fancy place that requires hiring union workers in bow ties. Do you think attendees would drop $40 each for the ticket? Honest question. That's likely what it would cost.
-Martin