NAOBF Carries on with Shift to August

When Craig Nichols launched the North American Organic Brewers Festival in 2003, the beer calendar was pretty barren. There weren't daily beer events in those days and there were only a few large events. Things have changed dramatically as the NAOBF returns for 2015. Festival dates are August 13-16.

The first thing you ought to note is the move from June, when the event was held for quite a few years, to August. Nichols suffered through some truly lousy weather in recent years, prompting the move from unpredictable June into typically dry August.

We'll see how the move works out. Bizarre weather struck the Oregon Brewers Festival last year and again this year. Meanwhile, the Fruit Beer Festival, held in June, enjoyed perfect weather both years. The weather is fickle.

It isn't mentioned in the press materials, but organizers considered moving the event from centrally located Overlook Park to a location outside the city core. Why would they do that? Because Overlook, though it is easily accessible by MAX, bus or bike, has almost no parking for folks who have to come by car.

I suspect they stayed at Overlook because a move outside the city core would have cheapened the event's mission of promoting sustainable values. A move may still happen down the road, depending on how they perceive the parking problem. There may be venues out there that would work better than Overlook.

This year's event will feature 63 organic beers, ciders, meads and braggots from 36 breweries located in the US, Canada, Germany and England. Styles are all over the place, with a smattering of everything. I have not yet built a target list, though I will be posting some favorites after I attend next Thursday. You can find the complete list of beers here.

An addition this year is the Merchant du Vin Organic Bottle Garden, which will feature bottled beers and ciders. Pinkus Müller, the world’s first certified organic brewery, will be tapping kegs of Ur-Pils and Münster Alt in the Merchant du Vin Garden at 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Only tasters will be available and they'll cost two tokens. Hey, this stuff is rare.

For those not in the know, admission to the NAOBF is free. You'll have to buy a compostable cornstarch cup for $7 to taste beer. And you'll need some tokens at $1 apiece. One token will get you a taste of most beers; full glasses of most beers will set you back four tokens. This is pretty much the pricing structure you see at most area festivals. Nothing bizarre here.

  

One the reasons to support this event is garbage. Yep. Large events like this one generate a shitload of garbage. The NAOBF generated more than 2,000 lbs of trash in 2014. But they kept 95 percent of that out of landfills via aggressive composting and recycling efforts. They expect about 12,000 attendees this year and will probably wind up with about 100 pounds of actual garbage. Organizers would like that number to be zero. Maybe someday.

Check out the event website for more information. Looking forward to a fun event.

Let the Summer Good Times Roll

The North American Organic Brewers Festival is underway in Overlook Park. It's the first large venue event of the summer. I spent a few hours there yesterday in ambivalent weather. The weekend forecast calls for heat and I suspect it's going to get crazy. In a good way.

Liz sports a pitcher of Ambacht G++ Ale

There wasn't much of a crowd on Thursday. I suspect two reasons: First, this is the first time they've opened on Thursday. A lot of people didn't get the memo. Give it a year. Second, people looked at the weather report and planned to attend when the sun is fully out...which starts today.

As was the case last year, these guys had some warm beer issues at the start. The first few beers I tasted were warmer than they should have been. Pretty soon, a cartload of ice showed up and solved that problem. I have no idea why it happened again.

As far as the beer I mentioned when I previewed this event, they were mostly quite good. I didn't taste every single beer they were serving (a good thing), but I probably tasted at least half of them thanks to a buddy who showed up and shared tastes.

The pick of the litter so far as I'm concerned is the Ambacht G++ Ale. Aged in whisky barrels previously used by Hair of the Dog for Cherry Adam, G++ is a near-perfect balance of competing flavors and aromas. The double-token price is well worth it. I paid it several times.

With hot weather imminent, I suspect Hopworks' Totally Radler is going to be wildly popular on the weekend. It's a succulent blend of HUB Organic Lager and natural lemonade. Very refreshing. This beer was a late entry, replacing something that dropped out, and is not in the program. Just look for the line.

The Bottlecap Boys entertained

Two Kilts Highway to Helles is another beer that works well. A soft sweetness in the backbone is balanced nicely with hop character and aroma, just as advertised. Highly drinkable. I also liked Fort George's Forbidden Wonder Fruit Ale.

One of the nice things about the NAOBF is the layout. The beer is situated at the east end of the park and covered seating is located near the middle. Thus, beer lines don't overflow into the sitting area, as is the case at the Oregon Brewers Festival. I realize this is largely a function of Overlook Park's shape. Waterfront Park is far more narrow.

Volunteers galore did their usual great job

As noted in my initial post, the NAOBF runs through the weekend, opening at noon each day. Take public transit or ride your bike...parking is extremely limited in this area. They've got ongoing entertainment and a nice food line-up to go with the beer. Let the good times roll.

Get Ready for Organic Beer!

If you didn't already know, we have entered the outdoor festival season. The recent Fruit Beer Festival was arguably the kickoff, but there are so many smaller events happening all the time that the calendar has become mostly a blur.

Almost time to flip and fill...

Next week's North American Organic Brewers Festival, set to run June 27-30 at Overlook Park, has established itself as one of the premier outdoor events of the summer. That's a difficult hill to climb for any June event because the weather often refuses to cooperate. Yet the NAOBF has been successful. So successful that they've expanded to four days this year.

The event was founded in 2003 by Craig Nicholls, the founding father of organic brewing in Portland. Nicholls worked at Alameda Brewing on Fremont and later at Halling Brewing in Gresham before opening the now defunct Roots Organic Brewing in 2005. The NAOBF took a couple of years off while Nicholls worked on Roots, then returned in 2006. It moved to its current location in 2007.

According to the event program, organic beer sales were up $66 million in 2012, an increase of nearly 25 percent over 2011. That's an interesting stat, and basically suggests that brewers and beer consumers are increasingly comfortable and committed to organic beer. This is arguably good news for the planet, as organic ingredients are less damaging to the environment.

Possibly the last year for the cornstarch cup

The NAOBF puts a lot of effort into advancing sustainable values across a wide spectrum, and Nicholls' efforts have influenced others. The festival glass/cup is made from compostable cornstarch and they may go to glass next year. Electricity comes from biodiesel generators. Food vendors use compostable plates and utensils. They generated 175 lbs of trash last year, which is next to nothing for a festival of this size. 

There are 39 breweries/cideries pouring liquid sunshine at this year's NAOBF. You can view the list on the event website here. Not all of the brews are 100 percent organic, but all are made primarily from organic ingredients. Like always, I'll be hunting for beers that aren't commonly available around town...and they won't be hard to find. A partial list:

 Ambacht Brewing Hillsboro, OR - G++ Ale | Belgian Strong Golden 8.5% ABV, 18 IBU
Aged in whiskey barrels previously used by Hair of the Dog to age Cherry Adam. The beer is apparently heavily influenced by cherries the Dog left in the barrels. Can't wait to try this one.

Yep, it can get crazy at times

 Brunehaut Brewery Brunehaut, Belgium - Brunehaut Amber 6.5% ABV, 28 IBU
An authentic Belgian beer in gluten free, organic form. This beer is apparently the color of port, tawny port, I assume.I'm interested to see how fragrance (pine seeds) balances with the yeasts and malts.

Falling Sky Brewing Eugene, OR - Done Rye't Pale Ale  5.5% ABV, 35 IBU
I'm a fan of rye beers, so I have to give this one a try. They say it has aromas of citrus blossoms and grapefruit in a spicy rye finish. We shall see.

Golden Valley Brewery McMinnville, OR - Milo Mild Ale  3.8% ABV, 22 IBU
I'm always searching for low alcohol beers that have flavor and character. Could this be a good one? It's brewed with a bit of chocolate and black malts to give it a little color, hopped with homegrown Willamette hops for character, fermented with English yeast. Could be a winner.

Laurelwood Brewing Portland, OR- Green Elephant IPA 6.9% ABV, 80 IBU
I've had this beer many times and it's terrific.Too bad it's a seasonal and usually only available this time of year. The combination of Cascade, Amarillo and Ahtanum hops make this beer. Now that Laurelwood will be contracting some of it's production out to the Craft Brew Alliance, I hope to see more seasonal offerings like Green Elephant at the pubs.

Pints Brewing Portland, OR - Green Line Organic IPA 5.1% ABV, 37 IBU
This might be a decent session IPA...or not. They use organic malts along with Bravo and Cascade hops to create a classic Northwest IPA. At only 5.1%, this is definitely worth a try.

Two Kilts Brewing Sherwood, OR - Highway to Helles Lager 5% ABV, 20 IBU
This classic, refreshing style is drinkable anytime, but particularly if we get good weather for the festival. Two Kilts has developed a solid reputation and is getting a new brewing system to pump things up.

Uinta Brewing Salt Lake City, UT - BABA Organic Black Lager 4% ABV, 32 IBU
Anyone who doesn't know about Uinta might be inclined to write them off because of their Utah roots. Don't be naive. These guys brew some of the best beer around. You can find BABA around town in bottles, maybe even in cans. I've enjoyed it at home and look forward to sampling it at the festival. I'm breaking my own rule...oh well.

With the extra day, I expect to attend on Thursday and Friday. Slacker schedule. Festival hours are noon to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Get there early for the best selection and shortest wait for beer. Oh, I'll be filing an updated report Friday morning.

NAOBF Reviewed and Recycled

I hesitate to write event reviews. They're too personal. My experience at a given event may be completely at odds with the experience of others. But never mind. Let me tell you about the just-completed North American Organic Brewers Festival.

Wither Weather
This festival was victimized by marginal weather for the second straight year. If my recollection is correct, it wasn't as wet last year...and Sunday was nicer. I was down there Friday afternoon and it was cloudy and warm. By the time it started raining Friday evening, I had vamoosed out of there. Saturday must have been a quagmire with all the rain and Sunday was cool until late afternoon. Not the best.

The recyclable cup looked good in liquid gold

June is always a sketchy month for outdoor events in Oregon. Festival organizer Craig Nicholls knows that. All of us who have lived here for any length of time know it. I have no idea what attendance was...don't even need to know. What I do know is attendance would have been better if the weather had been warmer and drier.

I suppose Craig has a several options: First, he could try to shoehorn the NAOBF into July or August. That could prove difficult due to the packed summer calendar. Second, as insurance against unkind weather, he could cover more of the festival area with large tents. I suppose he'd have to weigh the cost of doing that against the benefit of better attendance. The other option is to move the event indoors...and let's face it, that isn't going to happen.

Ladies and gents, get ready to start your engines...

Unforced Errors
People on the outside generally have no idea how much coordination it takes to run a festival like this one smoothly. A lot of things have to come together for things to come off the way they're supposed to. By the way, I didn't coin the phrase unforced errors...Jeff Alworth over at Beervana did. Credit due.


I have no idea what kinds of issues occurred during the weekend. I wasn't there. They likely ran out of some of the more popular beers before closing time. That's par for the festival course.  If they avoided this scenario at the NAOBF, terrific. If you want the best beer selection, arrive early.

Possible ride home...for the overindulgent

What did happen was truly stupid, though it affected mostly those of us who showed up for the media tour Friday morning. The tour, a first at the NAOBF, was to be led by Lisa Morrison, who most of us know as the Beer Goddess and host of Beer O'clock Radio. Lisa was ready to lead the tour on cue at 11:00 a.m. It was fortuitous that some members of the media did not arrive on time.

When we did get over to the taps, we discovered the beer was warm. This was unfortunate. Here you have a bunch of people who have come to sample the beers so they can write or talk about them. And the beer is warm. As well, some of the beers hadn't arrived or hadn't been tapped. This threw a monkey wrench into Lisa's plan, which was well-organized. The good news is that paying customers weren't affected. Still, not the best. 

Faithful tasters...Alex Ganum (Upright) and Angelo De Ieso

By the way, this problem was well on its way to being solved by the time the gates opened at noon. By 1:00 p.m., they had iced down the jockey boxes and all the beer was flowing cold. I can assure you that members of the media did their best to find a warm beer...and failed.

The Layout
They changed the layout this year, to mixed reactions. The beer taps were located to the right of the courtyard as you entered, as opposed to straight back, which was the case last year. I saw the possible reason when I took a gander at the area where the beer was located last year: it's quite uneven. The area where they had the beer this time appeared to be flatter.

This may have been a nice logistical change, but it created a couple of issues: First, the beer taps were a long ways from the restrooms, located on the opposite side of the festival green. I heard a few people bitching about that. Oh well. Take a walk. Second, the beer was a long ways from the stage, where they had live music playing pretty much continuously. I can't say how big of an issue this was. To me, the music seemed remote and muted this year...I paid little attention to it. Last year was different.

The Friday afternoon crowd

The Beers
It's a little late to talk about the beers, since the festival is over. But you will be able to find some of these beers around town on draft or in a bottle. I used my original tasting list as a guide (find it here) and was pleased with most of what I found. A few notes:

Alameda Brewing - Thai Yellow Wolf Imperial IPA - ABV 8.2% IBU 100
This variation on standard Yellow Wolf is made with 100 percent organic malts. The addition of dried mangoes, flaked coconut, Thai basil and ginger softened up the normal bite. I thought it was terrific. 

The Commons - Havier Bier/Oat Saison - ABV 5.6% IBU 15
Typically on-style and refreshing. Any beer by The Commons is worth a try. 

Fort George Brewing - Spruce Budd Ale - ABV 5.2% IBU 0
They use spruce tips in place of hops for aroma and some flavor in this beer. I didn't care for it. The other Fort George offering, a barrel-aged fruit beer called South, was good.

Laht Neppur Brewing Co.- Peach Hefeweizen Fruit Beer - ABV 5.2% IBU 15
This is Laht Neppur's Hefeweizen with peaches and puree added. I found it crisp and tasty.

Laurelwood Brewing - Organic Green Elephant IPA - ABV 6.9% IBU 80
Both of the Laurelwood beers were quite nice, but I knew already knew that. Organic Green Elephant and Organic Deranger IRA are on tap at the Sandy pub and should continue to be for a while. Update: I stopped in last night (7/3) and discovered they are not pouring Deranger. Bartender said they won't put it on until the Green Elephant is gone. I swear they had Deranger on last week. Oh well.

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales - Kili Wit Beer = ABV 5.5% IBU 20
I may have ingested more than my fair share of this stuff during a visit to the brewers tent. Brilliant.

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing - Love Potion Fruit Beer ABV 4.5% IBU 36
This one was not pouring at the outset. It's a pale ale brewed with cherries, oranges, rose hips and hibiscus. I thought it offered a nice mix of lightness and complexity.

So there you have it...my version of the 2012 NAOBF. It was a decent event all in all. Of course, the weather could have cooperated. Maybe next year.

Update: Check out the Brewpublic blog for Angelo's version of the NAOBF. Nice write-up.

Outdoor Festival Season Revs Up with NAOBF

Even though there have already been several festivals, the upcoming North American Organic Brewers Festival is nominally the first of the summer. That's a sketchy argument if you go strictly by the weather, which has been, shall we say, uneven. But I can easily make the argument using the calendar, since we just officially entered summer.

Early Friday afternoon features line-free tasting

One of the biggest challenges routinely faced by the NAOBF is the weather. As most Oregonians know, summer often doesn't arrive here until July 5th. June can be dicey. Last year's NAOBF did not enjoy perfect weather. When I was there drinking on Friday, it was fairly cool. I think it warmed up during the weekend, but you never know what you'll get this time of year.


The Beers

The beer list for NAOBF 2012 is fairly impressive. They expect to have around 50 organic beers in a wide range of styles from around the country. Lots of good beer means choices can be tough. Well, unless you can come to the festival for multiple drinking sessions. Then you're set...but your liver may be in trouble.

My own recommendations are based on single visit drinking...most likely Friday afternoon. How do I decide what to taste? I look for beers that I can't find in local stores or pubs, or maybe a variation of something I can find there. I also take ABV into account because I can only taste so many beers. Lower values are going to attract my interest more than higher ones. I know, I know...that runs contrary to the thinking of some festival goers. Oh well. My list:

The bike corral packed in last year

Alameda Brewing - Thai Yellow Wolf Imperial IPA - ABV 8.2% IBU 100

Standard Yellow Wolf is a good IIPA, available in many stores and on draft around town. This is a variation, made with 100 percent organic malts. They also add dried mangoes, flaked coconut, Thai basil and ginger. This could be pretty interesting. Or not. But worth a try. At 100 IBU, it's a pallet buster for sure, so save this for late in your tasting excursion.

The Commons - Havier Bier/Oat Saison - ABV 5.6% IBU 15
Any beer by The Commons is worth a try. Saison is a refreshing style and perfect for a warm weather. Even if the weather fails to cooperate, I suspect this beer will.

Fort George Brewing - Spruce Budd Ale - ABV 5.2% IBU 0
This is one of two beers Fort George is bringing to the festival and the other one (South, a barrel-aged fruit beer) is worth a taste, as well. But Spruce Budd Ale looks interesting. The "O" IBU isn't a typo, so hopheads may wish to move on. Fort George brewers use spruce tips in place of hops for aroma and some flavor in this beer. I suspect it will be great or terrible. Either way, I like the creativity.

Late afternoon lines will be long

Laht Neppur Brewing Co.- Peach Hefeweizen Fruit Beer - ABV 5.2% IBU 15
Laht Neppur is located in Waitsburg, Washington...the heart of wine country. They make wine and beer...the brewing part of the operation was established in 2006. Seriously, Laht Neppur is on my road-trip hit list the next time I go to the homeland (Spokane or Pullman). This beer is their standard Hefeweizen with peaches and puree added. Sounds like a perfect summer pick-me-upper.

Laurelwood Brewing - Organic Green Elephant IPA - ABV 6.9% IBU 80
Laurelwood is bringing two excellent and highly sought-after beers to this festival. I'm listing Organic Green Elephant because it has a lower ABV than Organic Deranger Imperial Red Ale. Both of these are limited edition beers and worth trying. Hopheads will be lined up for both...and rightfully so.

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales - Kili Wit Beer = ABV 5.5% IBU 20
Logsdon is located up the road in Hood River and makes its beers from locally grown ingredients. They have built a strong reputation on their Farmhouse Ales. Kili Wit is brewed with organic barley, wheat and oats. Whole cone Fuggle hops (as opposed to pellets) and Egyptian coriander evidently contribute to a light, refreshing beer.

Recycling is a big part of the program here

McMenamin's Crystal Brewery - Organic Liquid Friend Session Ale - ABV 4.7% IBU 26
I'm not normally going to seek out McMenamin's beers at any event. However, this one looks interesting. They use 2-row barley and wheat malt for the backbone and Centennial and Tettnanger hops for a citrus, floral finish. Beware of the low IBU rating here. Hops may come to the forefront due to the relative lightness of the beer.

Natian Brewery - Alphabetically Above Average Organic Amber Ale ABV 5.3% IBU Not listed
The other Natian beer at the festival (La Luz Summer Ale) has a higher ABV than this one. It's a little odd for an amber ale to be lighter than a summer ale...though not unheard of. They evidently use a bit of organic cocoa in this beer for color and flavor.

Pike Brewing - Naughty Nellie/Golden Artisan Ale ABV 4.7% IBU 24
Sometimes a name is all you need. Naughty Nellie sounds pretty good to me. Seriously, Seattle's Pike Brewing has been producing great beers for a long time. Nellie is positioned as a balanced, crisp golden ale. We shall see.

The beer will flow, rain or shine

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing - Love Potion Fruit Beer ABV 4.5% IBU 36
Love Potion is a seasonal offering at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing. This is a place I hope to visit someday. Anyway, Love Potion is a pale ale brewed with cherries, oranges, rose hips and hibiscus. How can this beer not be interesting?

So there you have it...my tasting list for the NAOBF. Opinions will certainly differ. There are a lot of high octane beers at this festival and I'm quite sure some of my partners in crime will have tasting lists that are significantly different than mine. And that's cool. It's all about personal preference.

The Festival 
I suppose the most important thing to remember about this event is that it runs THREE DAYS. That's right. This isn't the OBF, which runs four days (and could possibly run a week). The NAOBF is basically a weekend event. If you're keeping in theme, walk, ride your bike or take public transit to the event. Parking is extremely limited. There's a whole lot more info here.

Cheers to summer!

Organic Festival Highlights Sustainable Values

The onslaught of the summer festival season is upon is. Get ready for crazy. For the next three months, beer fans get to enjoy the best of the best mostly in outdoor settings around town. The highlight, in my mind, is always the Oregon Brewers Festival, which happens in late July...a sort of exclamation point on Oregon Craft Beer Month.

What event kicks off high season in Portland? It's hard to say. Maybe it was last weekend's Fruit Beer Festival, which attracted good crowds in an expanded venue in and around Burnside Brewing. That festival is going to continue to grow and will likely need an even larger space next year.

From the 2011 event...early Friday afternoon

The next big event is the North American Organic Beer Festival, now in its eighth year and set for June 29-July 1 in Overlook Park. They are expecting 18,000 beer fans for what is thought to be the nation's most environmentally friendly festival. More on that shortly.

They will be serving up 60 or so organic beers and ciders from 39 breweries this year. The tap list is out there to review if you're so inclined...I'll wait to make any suggestions until the week of the festival.

Craig Nicholls, who is arguably Portland's first organic brewer, launched the NAOBF and continues to run the show today. Craig was the brewmaster at Alameda Brewing for many years and subsequently opened Roots Brewing. He folded up Roots a couple of years ago and has been doing consulting work since, helping folks like Fire on the Mountain organize their brewing systems and operations.

There will be plenty of great beers at this event. But its values transcend beer. The NAOBF is all about promoting sustainability and does so in a variety of ways:

• Beer is sampled from reusable, compostable corn starch cups.
• Strategically placed onsite stations collect compostable and recyclable items
• Food vendors must use organic ingredients, as well as compostable plates and utensils
• Solar and biodiesel generators provide festival electricity
• A gigantic bike corral packs in hundreds of bikes

As a direct result of the efforts made here, 90 percent of the 2,300 pounds of waste generated by the NAOBF last year avoided landfills via recycling and composting. Craig had hoped the festival would be trash neutral this year...meaning nothing would wind up in in landfills. Even if that goal is not quite attainable for now, he is focused on getting there and eventually will.

As I said in an article I wrote for an actual publication last year, the NAOBF essentially uses good beer to showcase what you can do with sustainable principles if you put your mind to it. Most of the festivals around town generate mountains of waste that goes to landfills. This one does not. You have to respect that.

There's plenty of information on event times and costs here. It should be another good year for the event. Mark it, dudes.