2008's Oregon Brewers Festival was the best yet with more beer and more attendees than ever before. The state's rich culture of craft beer was highlighted by more than 70 breweries offering their tasty selections to a boisterously jolly quaffing crowd.
The crowds on a Thursday afternoon at the OBF are big, but nothing compared to those on Friday and Saturday.
I always enjoy getting down to the festival early to ensure short lines and that the beers I really want to sample are still available. One thing I've learned from years past is that by Friday and Saturday, the festivities are in full swing and Tom McCall Park can feel a bit more like a moshpit with seemingly endless lines. Another time that I like to visit the festival is early Sunday afternoon. At this time I hoped to try the remainder of the beers undiscovered by my palate in hopes that many of them will still be available.
People from all continents visit Portland for the Oregon Brewers Festival during the last weekend in July each year.
After a week or so of preparation, I've mapped out some of the beers that I anticipate as being the "buzz beers." Usually there is one that shines about the rest, but there is usually at least a handful that I anticipate will be gone by Saturday and may not be available to me again for some time. Talking to some folks in the media tent on Thursday, I get clued in to a must-try beer, the Old Market Brewing Pub & Brewery's "Hopcask" Triple Tripel Organic. This beer describes itself as an "overly-hopped" Belgian Tripel and includes a few of my favorite hop varietals, Simcoes, Amarillos, and Centennials. I've enjoyed Old Market's brews in the past, but honestly never thought they might be thee buzz beer at this prestigious event. With a rich orange-amber body and a wispy white head, this Triple Tripel is just as big as the hype surrounding it. Funky armpit hopped nose with slight bubblegum and candy esters, this beer is undeniably delicious. I could have spend an hour with a couple full mugs of this beer, but I had a lot of "work" to do. I had to be sure this was the one.
After reading through the handsome festival program that read like a craft beer lover's bible, I decided that I would aim for something light on the tongue that was hard to find here in Portland. The Wild River Harbor Lights Kolsch from Grants Pass seemed fitting, and was available at the first table which made the decision even easier. A bright, glowing fruity beer with a sharp yeasty carbonic clove bite, this beer was very satisfying.
The Deschutes Brewing keg trailer was one of many attractions at this year's OBF
Previously in the media tent, I had sampled a few beers that, if not considered the festivals buzz beer, would certainly stand out as some of the more unique offerings. One particular stand out brew was the Roots Organic Brewing Calypso Ale. Brewed with 70% organic red wheat and gently hopped with the German Hallertau hop, the character that set this hybrid apart from the rest was a distinct smoky hot pepper profile. Light in body and low in alcohol, the Calypso was far from overwhelming considering its daring recipe. Employing Oregon-grown apricot and scotch bonnet peppers, the Calypso had a mild bite and as my friend put it, tasted like chips and salsa.
Volunteers are a huge part of the festival's success
One of my all-time favorite brewery's, Bells Brewery, from Comstock, Michigan offered their dark and roasty porter. With a creamy, beige head and a big nutty, chocolaty character, this porter was a great example of why the oldest craft brewery east of the Mississippi is a perennial buzz beer candidate.
Not being a coffee drinker, I was still interested in approaching the Surley Brewing Company's Coffee Bender Brown Ale. Surley is one of those breweries that is unavailable for distribution in Oregon and I had read a lot of praising reviews about it in publications such as Celebrator and Beer Advocate magazine. Overwhelmingly coffee, this beer was an explosion of espresso flavor, yet with a thinner body than your typical coffee brew (often a stout or porter). If you like beer with your coffee, this is definitely the beer for you. It still wasn't my choice for a buzz beer at this festival, unless of course, you count the caffeine jitters that would have certainly ensued had I partook in a full mug.
Craft beer lovers congregate under one of the large tents at Tom McCall Waterfront Park
It seems every beer crowd has a league of IPAs that duel to out-hop one another. I was certain that the Russian River Pliny the Elder Imperial IPA was its usual amazingly delicious self. But it had made previous appearances here and I wanted to see what other hop monsters, if any might give Pliny a run for its money. I had previously enjoyed Lagunita's Hop Stoopid, the Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale, and BridgePort Brewing's latest, greatest, the Hop Czar, so I took a gander at the beer that boasted the highest IBU level at this year's festival (113), McMenamins Hillsdale Brewery & Public House's Madman Jack's Insane Pale Ale. I was to assume this beer was as big of a mouth-full as the name itself. Pouring a hazed amber-orange body, the nose of this supposedly off-the-charts brew was surprisingly subdued. Winner of the 2008 McMenamins Battle of the Belt competition, the Madman was perhaps a little nutty, but lacked the extremeness that might hoist it to the apex as this year's OBF winner.
An eclectic array of live music adds to the ambiance of the bustling festival
Making my way down the line of keg trailers, I was compelled to partake in a few of my favorite breweries at the festival. Ashland, Oregon's Caldera Ginger Ale seemed promising considering how delightful their two canned offerings, the IPA and the pale consistently prove to be. For me, a lot of ginger spice goes a long way, and while I have enjoyed some of the genre's offerings like the Hitachino Ginger and the Laughing Buddha Ginger Pale Ale, I have known myself well enough to realize that I am not a ginger beer person. Well, I thought so until I had what Caldera was serving up. A very mild gingerbread and hops nose with a gentle biscuity spine, this sessionable spiced brew was an instant classic. I would certainly return for a full mug of this beer before the weekend was over.
Down the line even further was another brewery I have grown to like tremendously. The regular availability of Chicago's Goose Island beers has disappeared from the area to many people's dismay. Something to do with Widmer and Anheuser-In-Bev-Alliance dealings I've heard, which is, in my opinion, a crying shame. Goose Island's Matilda, a Belgian-styled Reserve Series beer proved easily to be one of my favorite beers at the entire festival! An orange hazy body imparted a well-balanced Brettanomyces yeastiness that projected a lavish, creamy, candy body. Mildly spiced with a perfect hop floralness, this beer was worthy of a four-token topper.
So many other beers graced my palate over the course of the afternoon, it was a sort of sensory overload and almost too much of a great thing. Almost. Other standouts included the Standing Stone Almond Brown Ale (another fabulous brewery from Ashland, Oregon) and New Holland Brewing Company's Dragon's Milk Barrel Aged Strong Ale (Holland, Michigan) yet there was one beer that separated itself as the perfect balance of ingredients and was suited perfectly for a Northwest crowd of beer lovers amidst a warm summer's weekend.
Boundary Bay Brewing Company's Dry Hopped Crystal Pale Ale. This beer from Bellingham, Washington was made specially for the OBF and fully and completely hit the spot. An American pale ale with a light amber body and a crisp, biscuity, bitter grassy, earthy, floral complexity was off the hook! The server spoke to me as handed him my first token, "This is one people are coming back for seconds for."
A busy shift for this gentleman serving up the Boundary Bay Dry Hopped Crystal Pale Ale
"Better fill that one" I said as I handed him three more tokens. After all, everything I've ever had from Boundary Bay has been superb. The Crystal was long gone before I returned on Sunday at opening time. Several other wonderful beers were poured and enjoyed. To be honest, and I know this might be hard to believe, I don't think there was a bad beer at this year's OBF. Some I enjoyed more than others, but it was evident that the brewers and staff put their best foot forward to ensure a spectacular beer festival. Great food, music, and vendors illustrated the amount of preparation and work that went into it all. Watching the eclectic crowd of people peruse the ground was a treat in and of itself. T-shirts with witty and outrageous slogans unraveling the multiplicity of beer culture that coalesced for this amazing event. People from all around the globe coming together for a sip of Brewtopia. Just another shining example of why it is so great to live in here Beervana.
MON JULY 7th 6 - 9PM @ 
