Organic Brewers Fest Wrap-up

[Update (via Twitter @beerabe): People's Choice award winner: Standing Stone Double IPA. Tie for second: Crannóg Back Hand of God Stout and Hopworks Secession. Third, Oakshire IPA.]

It wasn't clear to me for years, but I'm beginning to see that for a beer fest to find relevance, it has to have a raison d'etre beyond "beer." The three standards are the Oregon Brewers Fest, International Fest, and Holiday (winter) fest. All of these have very clearly defined taplist identities and target audiences. Once upon a time, the Spring Beer Fest managed to bring to Portland lots of small breweries who couldn't otherwise get distribution. As a bonus, lots of the brewers came. Since that time, those breweries do get distribution here, and it's not obvious why the SBF still exists.

Which brings us to the Organic Brewers Festival. It has a reason for being, but a slightly artificial one. Organic ingredients don't suggest anything about beer styles. So now, after the fest has had three full-fledged years, has an identity emerged? I pondered this as I worked my way through the diversity of styles on offer, and I'm prepared to offer a tentative "yes." "Organic" may not be a kind of style, but it is a state of mind. The Organic Brewers Fest, held in that green bowl of Overlook Park and ringed by fir trees, promotes the idea of harmony. I sat under an amazing tree (chestnut, walnut?) that provided a Tolkien-esque view on the fest, further enhancing the whole experience.

When I visited two years ago, many of the beers were (generally very well-made) versions of more straightforward styles; this year, that element of natural harmony was expressed in the diversity of ingredients. Beers were made with basil, berries, honey, spruce, coffee (lots and lots of coffee!), and so on. There were even two gruit ales. This is already a trend in brewing, and the Organic fest plays on that theme. For the time being, it's the fest that actually best captures the current trends in brewing.

The Beers
But enough prattle. I was again impressed with the uniformity of quality. The only flat-out miss-fire I tried was Eel River's acai berry debacle (early tweets described it, accurately, like "Crunch Berry"), and in that case the brewery at least was going for something. All the other beers were B's or better; you had to work to get a bad pour. Below are a sampling of beers that stood out, not an exhaustive list.

Best in Show
Three beers stood out for me:

• Crannóg Back Hand of God Stout. I'm a little reluctant to rave about this beer because I raved about it after the last Organic Fest. But since I haven't seen it in two years, what the hell. The brewery styles it an Irish stout, but it's really a hybrid--light-bodied and creamy like an Irish, but succulent with notes of chocolate and vanilla as in a sweet stout. The end is clean but slightly sweetish--you want to drink a full pint in a single swallow.
  
• Standing Stone Double IPA. If only the beer geeks could vote, this would win the people's choice going away (it may win, anyway). I know why, and I approve of Standing Stone's cunning: they poured it from a cask. Nothing exhibits fresh, pine-cone hopping so well as real ale, and, with the lovely caramel base, the beer was in perfect harmony. Usually I find double IPAs overwhelming, but this one was just a tour de force of flavor. The visual of the beer engine didn't hurt, either.
• Dupont Foret. This also feels like cheating, too--an identified world classic and one of the first organic beers. But it was also instructive: given that saison is the style du year, it's worth trying a standard. What I love about the Dupont beers is their dryness. The yeast is bone dry and peppery, but Foret is soft, floral, and lovely. The two elements leave you considering going back for an 8-token full pour (I resisted). My only complaint that it didn't come in a keg.
  

Other Winners
A beer that might have made it into my top three had I tasted it earlier in the day was Nelson After Dark, a beer brewed in what we might call the "Northwest mild" style. It was, as are all beers on the left coast, a mite strong for style (5%). Yet even at that, I was surprised at the amount of flavor they managed. A brown ale of such creamy substance I could imagine it sufficing as a winter tipple, it was toasted elegance. I regret not starting out with it.

I think I tried all of the coffee stouts, but the one that stood out was Oakshire's Overcast Espresso Stout. The trick with a coffee stout is to hint at coffee without overpowering the beer. You want it to draw out the chocolate and roast notes of the malt, not conceal them. Oakshire's did, and may have been the best coffee stout I've had.

I also quite liked Samuel Smith's Cherry Ale. It bordered on too sweet, but the cherries provided just enough sour to keep it from cloying. Definitely brewed in the English fruit-ale style (as opposed to Belgian), but nicely done.

Interesting, but...
Three beers deserve mention for expanding my world, if not rocking it. Let's start with Upright's Reggae Junkie, a gruit. Gruits are unhopped beers that compensate for the sweetness of the malt with a potpourri of other herbs and spices. Upright's had an herbal tea quality that was interesting but just a step too far away from beer. A bit of lactic zing gave it interest, but it wasn't for me.

Another interesting effort was Fort George's Spruce Ale. Jack Harris, one of the brewers at Fort George, has been working with spruce for years at his first brewpub in Cannon Beach. (Confession: I've never tried those beers.) That useless background out of the way, I will proceed to say that spruce is not what you think. Rather than being astringent and piney, like I expected, it's very sweet and almost citrusy, like lemon-lime soda. I'm not sure this wasn't a gruit, but if there were hops, there were few.

Finally, Hopworks Secession, a beer aiming to solidify Abe Goldman-Armstrong's emerging "Cascadian Dark Ale" in the brewing firmament. The idea is to have a hoppy dark ale where the dark malts contribute not just gimmicky color, but a rounded roastiness. If any beer can, this one should accomplish Abe's wish. It has both elements--a nice but not punishing level of bitterness and a gentle roasted note. The two conflict as little as any I've tried. But still, they do conflict. This is the problem--roasted dark malts rob hops of their vivid freshness. It's like trying to smell a flower while your head's in the smoke of a camp fire. Both aroma's have their virtues, but they don't go well together. (Obviously this view is not shared by everyone. Abe clearly loves the beer and so did Bill. That's the beauty of beer--spectacular variety! Of course, they're still wrong.)

Oh, and speaking of Bill, in addition to his review is another at the Hops and Barley blog. Dave was apparently there, but no review as yet.

Your thoughts?

Organic Brewers Fest Preview

The first Organic Brewers Festival started back in 2003, but I wasn't really aware of it until 2007, when the fest really came into its own. The Saturday of that festival it poured rain and was cold enough that we could see our breath, and even still it was one of the best events I've attended. I wrote at the time:

In terms of overall consistency of beers, it may have been the best ever (even PIB, with its 200+ beers and dozen countries, always has a few losers in the bunch). This may have been due to a selection process--were the beers juried? More likely, it is a reflection of a particular moment in time: breweries don't lightly brew organic beers. Since they take special effort, it seems like breweries take special care with the recipes. We had habenero stouts, gingerbread browns, potato beers, and Belgian IPAs. And they weren't gimmick beers; they were serious and seriously good.

When this year's version unfolds, I'm looking at two things: 1) are enough new organic beers available to give the fest variety year-by-year, and 2) is the quality still so high? To the second question, only the tongue and nostrils will decide. To the first, however, a glance at the beer list gives a clue.

What emerges is that while there is a fair diversity among new beers, there isn't so much among breweries--and I guess this isn't surprising. Organics are still a niche, and most breweries still aren't making organic beers. Of the 41 breweries (that includes cider-makers and meaderies), only four are new--and three of those are new breweries. However, of the 78 beers pouring, 45% (36) haven't appeared in the past two Organic fests. Obviously, the organizers are doing a good job of making sure familiar breweries bring new beers.

What I'll Be Trying
It's worth noting that I try beers new to me. That means I won't be sampling a lot of local beers I can get easily, nor beers I've had in past years. If you don't live in Portland or have never been to this Fest, you'll have a larger and/or different palette to work with. That said, here's what looks good:

• Bison Honey Basil Ale (Berkeley, CA). I've really enjoyed Bison's beer, and this is the only one I've missed.
  
• Dupont Foret (Belgium). True, it was here last year, but it's generally extremely rare to see it on tap.
• Eel River Acai Berry Wheat (Fortuna, CA). Acai (pn: ah sigh ee) berries are native to Brazil, and so you know this must be tasty, right?
• Elliott Bay Coffee Stout (Burien, WA). An oatmeal stout brewed with coffee. Because I'm a stout slut and I can't help myself.
• Hopworks Secession (Portland). Brewed for the fest, so I make an exception to the Portland rule. A beer brewed in the style Abe Goldman-Armstrong is trying to popularize as Cascadian Dark Ale.
  
• Lakefront Fuel Cafe (Milwaukie, WI). See above.
• Nelson After Dark (British Columbia). A dark mild ale. I hope to add another name to my growing list of great small beers.
• Oakshire (Eugene, OR). Oakshire's sending two beers, yet another coffee stout (Overcast) and an IPA (Watershed), and I haven't decided which I'll try.
• Pinkus Jubilate (Munster, Germany). From the founding brewery in the organics movement (1980!), a dark lager brewed in a throwback style.
• Sam Smith's Fruit ales (Tadcaster, England). The famous English brewery is sending a passel of beer, including cherry, raspberry, and strawberry ales. I may go for the cherry.

That's not a bad top ten. I may find the Upright Reggae Junkie Gruit irresistable, too. And of course, I'll be keeping my ear to the ground for any buzz beers I've overlooked.

I plan to attend Saturday, and I'll be live tweeting. Any of you who go Friday, report back so we know what to look for. Cheers--

Organic Beer Fest Ho

We are but two weeks six weeks [sorry, month confusion there] from one of the best beerfests in all of Beervana. Earlier today, Abe Goldman-Armstrong sent out the list of beers in this year's lineup--and it looks like a good one. (That's how you know it's a good fest, right?--the beer.) Thanks to a hat tip from Samurai Artist, we also have a cool vid to get us in the mood. Here's Alison Grayson's short doc on last year's fest:

North American Organic Brewers Festival, 2008 from Alison Grayson on Vimeo.

Get out your calendars and mark it down: June 26-28, Overlook Park, Portland.

Organic Beer Fest - Open Thread

Open threads work well on blogs that get high traffic and comments, and this one has neither. Still, I hope you report back on your findings at the Organic Beer Fest. Your reports will be my only experience of it, and so you'll be doing me a favor if you tell me what happened.

• Good beers?
• Bad beers?
• Breweries new or new to Oregon--how'd they measure up?
• Environmental issues--the site, the weather (should be a mirror opposite of last year's cold, rainy Saturday), the volunteers, etc. How'd it go?

Stay hydrated and stay cool--

Organic Beerfest Preview

North American Organic Beer Festival, June 27-29
Overlook Park, North Portland, Oregon
Fri, 3:00 to 9:00 p.m., Sat, noon to 9:00, Sun, noon to 5:00.
Compostable tasting mugs: $5, samples $1
Children welcome with parents.

Tomorrow at three o'clock, the North American Organic Brewers Festival opens its doors. Believe it or not, this is the fourth iteration of the fest, which seems like it just got started a couple years back. I have the distinct displeasure to have to miss this year's fest do to an unavoidable trip out of town, but you shouldn't be cavalier: this is the premier event for quality West Coast beers.

Organic beers are no longer the oddity they once were, but they're still special. Few breweries are all-organic, so those that do brew an organic beer do it with intention. (An example: in order to have Green Lakes certified organic, Deschutes had to spend six months working with Oregon Tilth just for the one beer.) Whether or not organic ingredients offer empirically-better tasting beer is debatable. But what became clear to me at last year's fest was that as a class, organic beers tend to get more loving attention from brewers and are consequently showcase products. Nearly every beer you try at this fest will be better than average, and that just can't be said for any other fest. So don't miss it.

I will not presume to tell you what to sample, but if I were able to go, this would constitute my short list:

• Dupont Foret. Was Dupont the first brewery to produce an organic beer? They started way back in 1990. Pinkus (see below) may have started even earlier, but together, these two breweries are organic pioneers. Foret is one of the saison variations offered by the most renowned farmhouse brewery in the world, somewhat more robust than the standard Saison, and I would love to try it on tap.
• Pinkus Hefe-Weizen. This German brewer started experimenting with organics two decades ago, and if you think you don't like hefeweizens, test the theory by trying Pinkus. It is a revelation of delicacy and tartness. And from the keg, it should be super fresh.
• Crannog Hell's Kitchen Potato Ale. I had this last year, but I would love to revisit it--the potato is, I recall ... interesting.
• Bison Single Hop IPA. Last year, I was impressed by Bison's offbeat Gingerbread Ale, but I'd like to see what they can do with a straight-up IPA. (No evidence of which single hop has been deployed.)
• Willamette IPA. What's a brewfest for if not trying beer from new breweries? I was unaware of this Eugene joint, which looks to be about a year old. (What the hell kind of blogger am I to have missed this? A question for the sages.)
• Santa Cruz Dread Brown. Why? Because this is the beer's lineage: "This is the first ale by brewster, Emily Thomas, co-owner of Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing. Thomas brewed up her first batch of brown ale in the bathtub of her college apartment almost ten years ago." Female brewer? Check. Bathtub? Check. Award-winning brown ale? Check. A trifecta.
• Hair of the Dog Greg. Though HotD has three choices, I'd probably go with the Greg, just so I could still stand up in a roughly vertical manner afterward.
• Nelson Brewing IPA. Okay, I've got too many IPAs on my list. But come on, it's from British Columbia, eh.
• St. Peter's English Ale. You may recall Britain's St. Peter's from their characteristic flat bottles. I recall them for their extraordinary quality. Never had the English Ale, though.
  
• McMenamins Saison du Pass. The buzz beer last year, to which I responded coolly. I'd like to give it a second chance.
• Widmer WOMP Pale. Because Widmer always tries something interesting.
  

This list excludes beers that I know to be exceptional, like the Double Mountain beers, Sam Smith (another organics pioneer), Schneider, Fish Tales, and Roots (which I can get at the pub near my house). And I'm certain that I've overlooked some stellar beer that will float your boat. And with this fest, you probably can't go wrong.

Enjoy--

Review: Organic Beer Fest (2)

Okay then, to the reviews. There are a lot of them, and a friend actually handed me her notes as we were walking out, so there's yet MORE to impart. On availability: you may actually see some of these in pubs around town, so look for them and by all means order a pint if you see one. Great stuff.

(I've organized these into three categories--the sublime, the delightful, and the merely tasty. I personally sampled a dozen beers, and there wasn't a single one I wouldn't recommend.)

Sublime (A)
Despite the innovation and exotica at this fest, if I were asked to cite a "best in show," I'd go for a beer in one of the most modest of styles: Cascade Lakes Organic Bitter. Brewed for the fest, it is a textbook lesson in making a lot of a little. It has a roasty, almost light-roasted coffee aroma and a biscuity malt backbone. The hopping is crisp and rounded. For a beer that only had 4.5% alcohol and 32 IBUs, it had an amazing depth of flavor. I'll admit to be a little ignorant of Cascade Lakes. No more: they caught my attention with this one.

How's this for a debut? Double Mountain Brewing, the brand-new brewpub in Hood River, brought two beers, and one was so good it blew Friday (Hop Lava). I can't imagine how good it must have been, because the beer left over on Saturday was extraordinary. Dubbed the IRA (I may henceforth call it Ira, because it has nothing to do with IPAs or Red ales), it is brewed with a Belgian yeast strain, which really removes it from the the classic character you'd expect from a muscular IPA. It has a kind of creamy sweetness that bouys the ample hops and simultaneously mellows out the palate. I am reminded of Duvel, which is also a huge, yet deceptively smooth beer. It will be familiar to fans of NW beers, but also quite distinctive.

Delightful (B+/A-)
Here's a brewery to watch: Crannog Ales from Sorrento, BC. Canada's only all-organic brewery also appears to be a spiritual sibling of Roots; not only are they exclusively organic, but they experiment with adjuncts like potatoes (see below), cherries, and flax. But of the two beers pouring, my fave was Backhand of God Stout (I prefer the former name, Black Wolfhound). It is a traditional Irish stout (appropriate for a Gaelic brewery), light, silky, and dry. As with the best Irish ales, the dry, coffeeish note is balanced by a dark-fruit sweetness that is drawn out at the final sip. No sooner is the beer slipping down the back of your throat than your hand is rising, reflexively, for another sip.

There were two buzz beers at the fest, Roots' stout and a saison by McMenamins (see both below). It is a testament to the increasing attention to beer that one of my picks was a different McMenamins' ale, Ryenoceros, from the Kennedy School. Rye is a dangerous grain--it can offer an unpleasant sharpness or a dreary sourness. But used properly, it imparts a spicy quality that is abundant in Ryenoceros. The malts and hops create a kind of continuum, from an earthy spice in the malt out to a more peppery hop finish. Yet I also noted down the word "springwater"--of the quality one finds in a good single malt.

The hosts knew they had to come out with something special, and it is possible that Roots' Habenero Stout is better than I'm giving it credit for. It was the last beer I tried, and due to the vagaries of beer fests, this meant my palate was a little wrecked. I can report that I heard raves about the beer all day long. What I was able to discern were striking contrasts in the beer. Built on a Irish stout base that was both creamy and sweet (they added chocolate nibs to the mash), the "dry hopped" peppers (added during fermentation) mainly add sensation, not flavor. Chocolate and chile is a famous combination, and I believe the Aztecs would have recognized this beer.

I tried Brouwerij 't IJ's Zatte first, and that was lucky--it was a very subtle tripel, and my palate was fresh to appreciate it. Unlike some tripels, this one was characterized by a chardonnay-like dryness of palate. Nevertheless, a rich skiff of head rode the taster through my last sip, despite the 8% alcohol. It was, moreover, surprisingly creamy for such a dry beer. The yeast character was subdued, contributing mainly a kind of cellary earthiness. I imagine it would be an ideal beer with a variety of foods, from the cheese tray through fish entrees. It was one of the few not on tap; my guess is you can find bottles around town.

Good and Tasty (B)
Christian Ettinger made his debut with Hopworks Urban Brewery IPA, a beer I think most people would have rated more highly than I did. When he was brewing at Laurelwood (which shared a booth with Hopworks at the fest), Ettinger made a minor specialty of beers with Amarillo and/or Ahtanum hops--both of which appear in this IPA. Hops react differently on the tongues of different tasters, and on mine, these have a slightly harsh, chemical signature. I believe I'm the exception. Beside this, though, it was an impressive debut: the hops were aggressive without overbearing the malt, which held up its end of the bargain. I would recommend it to anyone who loves Laurelwood's beers.

The McMenamins beer everyone raved about was Saison du Pass. My lovely spouse decried it as "too sweet" and "hollow in the middle." While I won't go that far, I don't think it was quite the buzz beer everyone claimed. It lacked the crispness I would have liked and didn't stand up to the world standard-bearers. On the other hand, it was nicely spicy and refreshing, and an impressive effort coming from the McBrothers. Probably likely to be the best thing on tap at Corneilius Pass, where it was brewed (hence the name).

In the exotica category, another offering came from Bison Brewing in Berkeley: Gingerbread Ale, a hearty sweet porter spiced mildly with ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon (almost below the threshold of taste, though you could pick it up in the aroma). Not an everyday beer, but nice on a chill day. Continuing in the exotic vein, Crannog brought a potato ale called Hell's Kitchen that tasted distinctly (though not unpleasantly) of the common tubers. I occasionally drink a Polish beet drink that had a similar quality. Definitely worth a tipple if you have the chance.

A final curiosity was Mateveza's Yerba Mate Pale Ale. The basic beer was a nice recipe in the classic pale ale style, but the yerba mate added an unmistakeably medicinal note. It actually felt like it was anesthetizing my mouth. From a psychotropic perspective, even the four ounces I had altered the course of the usual narcotic sensation unfolding at the back of my brain. I suspect a pint would be an interesting ride.

Two other beers lost in the shuffle were Roots' East Side Abbey, about which I wrote one word (before, apparently, forgetting to write further notes): "Nice." Also Ukiah Brewing's pilsner, which got similar short shrift in my notes. (I seemed to enjoy it). You're on your own with those two.

Errata
Looking over my friend's notes, I find fragmentary documentation: "Ah, hop-o-licious. Big flavors--complex [unreadable] palate!" (Alamedo El Torero IPA) Actually, unreadability seems to be a hallmark. From what I can discern, these were the big winners:

• Butte Creek Revolution X Imperial IPA - "[Wow]!* I'm quite a few in, but this is definitely a big boy."
• Double Mountain Ira - "Damn, this is really good --> very, umm...full-bodied on the tongue."
• Fort George Quick Wit - "I like it."
• Hopworks IPA - "This is awesome, but I love hops."
• Roots Habenero Stout - "Excellent. Habeneros build at the back of your tongue."

Thanks, J!

And by all means, add your own thoughts in the comments.
__________________
*Profanity deleted.



Update: John Foyston has pics, and Belmont Station has a review. So does Rooftop Brew. More importantly, Belmont Station is attempting to locate some of the beers that were pouring at the fest, so keep your eyes open.

Review: Organic Beer Fest (1)

Yesterday's high temperature was 59, and it rained .4 inches in a steady drizzle from about 11 am through five or six in the afternoon-- perfectly coordinated to coincide with the second day of the Organic Beer Festival in Overlook Park. I dunno what the temperature was during that period, but it was cold enough that we could see our breath. Needless to say, the folks who showed up were serious beer fans. (In the picture at right, look closely and you can seethe rain coming down and the wee crowd beyond.) To those who looked out their windows and decided to go see Shrek 3 instead of braving the rain, you have my sympathy: you missed a hell of fest.

This was hands down the best fest of NW beers I've been to in years. In terms of overall consistency of beers, it may have been the best ever (even PIB, with its 200+ beers and dozen countries, always has a few losers in the bunch). This may have been due to a selection process--were the beers juried? More likely, it is a reflection of a particular moment in time: breweries don't lightly brew organic beers. Since they take special effort, it seems like breweries take special care with the recipes. We had habenero stouts, gingerbread browns, potato beers, and Belgian IPAs. And they weren't gimmick beers; they were serious and seriously good. (I'll go through the reviews in the next post.)

It is inevitable that this moment will not last. All trends revert to the mean. Eventually, if we're lucky, organic beer will become the norm, not the exception. And then we'll have the usual distribution of mediocre efforts and noble failures. But for now, and probably for the next couple-three years, seek out organic beers. And for the love of all that is pure and good (and hoppy), don't let the rain dissuade you next year.

Kids Okay at the Organic Beer Fest

This just in: a friend called the organizers and confirmed that kids are okay at the Organic Beer Fest. This in case you are, like me, planning on attending tomorrow. (I assume you've cracked this nut if you're already there.)

That is all...

Organic Beer Fest

Organic Beer Fest
Friday June 8 (3 - 9:30 pm)
Saturday June 9 (Noon - 9pm)
Overlook Park (Fremont and Interstate)

Admission is free, $5 for a mug (a dollar off if you show a Tri-met ticket or bring a can for the Oregon Food Bank). A 4-oz taster is a dollar.

For the first time in over a decade, I self-consciously decided to skip the Spring Beer Fest. There has been an ever-growing tendency by that fest to include random vendors (last year's review here). At first it expanded to vintners (fine), then to some vendors more or less distantly connected to food (eh), then to random peddlers (bad), then to guys who sold vinyl windows (very bad). So I blew it off.

There arrives this year the third installation of a new beerfest that I expect to jump in the hole left by the SBF in my four-season calendar (in Oregon, Spring runs through June): The North American Organic Brewers Festival. It is headed by the boys of Roots, which is a good start, and it includes 25 breweries and 40 beers (even better), and will be held this year in the beautiful Overlook Park (hot damn). I anticipate a rocking good time. Keeping in mind that I rarely am a bandwagon promoter, I regard this as the most interesting beer event this year, and a definite must-see.

Normally, I would offer a preview of the beers here, but I have tried exactly three of them. This is mainly because organic beer is yet hard to brew. Organic hops and malt are specialty items, so most breweries (Roots, Fish Tale, and Wolaver's excepted) don't have regular organic offerings. So you get things like Deschutes Organic Carbonic Red (5.2% abv 44 IBUs). There will also be an appearance of a beer from Christian Ettinger's as-yet unopened new brewery (Hopworks Urban Brewery).

In fact, it is festivals like this that create the interest in, and subsequent market for, organic beers. It's by no means a totally obscure market, and the more brewers ask for organic malt and hops, the more growers will devote acreage to it. So by attending this fest, you help the cause of organics (and also Oregon Tilth, Oregon Food Bank, Doernbecher Children's Hospital, who will receive some of the proceeds.)

The link above is to John Foyston's post, and he has a more detailed summary of the event. I'll include a short list of the interesting-looking beers I'm hepped up for (no promises!). For more, check his site out (it's better than the official site). And plan to set aside an afternoon. See you there!

A Few Interesting-Looking Beers

• Crannog Ales (British Columbia) - Backhand of God Stout
• Deschutes Brewery - Organic Carbonic Red Ale
• Elliot Bay Brewing Co. (Seattle) - Klondike Gold Belgian IPA
• Fort George Brewery (Astoria) - Quick Wit Belgian White Ale
• Hopworks Urban Brewery ( Portland) - Hopworks Organic IPA
• Lakefront Brewery (Milwaukee, WI) - Organic ESB
• Brouwerij 't IJ (Netherlands) - Natte, Zatte [both are 2 tickets]