In Shark Infested Waters, the Holiday Ale Fest Thrives

The 23rd Annual Holiday Ale Festival opened for business today in Pioneer Courthouse Square and runs through Sunday. Hardcore fans. as well as clueless newbies, will flock to the festival in droves. At a time when many large beer events are floundering, the HAF is thriving.

There are reasons for everything, of course. In one sense, you could argue that the Holiday Fest got lucky, that it has benefitted by way of timing, location and the evolving and fenetic interest in rare, experimental beers. You could argue that.

But it's a lot tougher to get lucky than it once was. Craft beer events used to draw crowds no matter how poorly they were run, how lousy their location or how mediocre their tap lists. Those days over. The competition for festival patrons is fierce and you have to offer value to reel them in.

What would become the Holiday Ale Festival began as the Winter Ale Festival, an offshoot of the Oregon Brewers Festival. Organizers, including OBF director, Art Larrance, discontinued the event after two years. After a year off, it returned as the Holiday Ale Festival. The historical arc of the event is nicely outlined in a recent post on the New School blog. Highly worthwhile read.

I first attended the event when it was known as the Winter Ale Festival. As noted in Ezra's article, the set up was quaint compared to today. The tents were small and, although it isn't mentioned in the article, made of fabric. As such, you couldn't view the surrounding sights while sipping beer, as is the case today. The beer list was small.

The most significant changes, it seems to me, have occurred since Preston Weesner took over in 2002. I know Weesner from my time working as a volunteer at OBF dating to the 90s. He became a common fixture in the beer fest culture here, involved in a number of area festivals. Those experiences, I suspect, helped shape his vision of the Holiday Fest, which he owns and directs.

Of the decision's Weesner has made (or not made), probably the most important one was staying the course in Pioneer Courthouse Square. He could have moved the event to a larger and less costly venue at any time. He refused to take the bait. Whether by luck, good sense or osmosis, he realized a large part of the event's appeal is its location.

I don't know when the clear plastic tents were introduced, but that was a game-changer. In the early days, it was a little claustrophobic and musty under the tents. The clear tents opened up the world outside the festival, including stunning views of the holiday tree and the surrounding city skyline. The change in ambiance was significant.

The downside of keeping the event downtown was and is the cost. It's an extremely expensive place to host a beer festival due to the setup required for the unwieldy shape of the venue, challenges connected with unloading kegs and other essentials, as well as costs involved in arranging security and adhering to city and OLCC regulations.

With event costs high, ticket prices have escalated almost yearly. The base price this year is $40. Weesner has attempted to deflect gripes about rising prices by curating a list of extremely rare, typically experimental beers. For the most part, you won't find these beers outside this event, which seems to provide value for geeks and novices alike.

One of Weesner's revelations was that the HAF had become so popular that it did not need significant promotion. With that in mind, he stopped offering event passes to bloggers and other beer-centric media several years ago. That community was stunned and has mostly maintained radio silence since. But it hasn't mattered. The event hasn't missed a beat, just as Weesner suspected.

The result of the various moves (and non-moves) is a festival that keeps churning along smoothly, while others struggle in an increasingly competitive market. My guess is the HAF appeals to a wide swath of patrons interested in a boutique beer event in a picturesque setting during what is arguably our most festive time of year. This event pummels each of those targets.

Still, I'm not suggesting you shell out $40 for what I consider to be a stingy drinking package. I haven't attended for several years and have no plans to attend this year. Despite its attributes, I think the HAF stopped being a good value a while ago. The ambiance is terrific, but the beers tend to be more miss than hit for the price, which continues to spike upward.

Don't let my opinion stop you from attending if you are so inclined. I'm admittedly out of step with many of my peers, most of whom look forward to the Holiday Festival every year. That's fine. It wouldn't be any fun if we all had the same views on these things.

The Oregon Brewers Festival Experience at 30

Today's news that Tugboat Brewing will soon cease operations was met with inverted smiles in the beer community. Few are bemoaning the loss of Tugboat beer, which could be dicey at its best. They bemoan the loss of the experience. Tugboat was, more than anything, an experience.

Traversing the grounds of Tom McCall Waterfront Park this afternoon, I couldn't help think the same thing about the Oregon Brewers Festival, celebrating 30 years. Beer may be the main focus of the OBF, but the event is about much more than that. It's about sharing beer and conversation with friends and strangers in a unique place.

That's not to say there aren't plenty of good beers being poured this week. (I'll get to a short list of my favorites below.) But beer merely provides the grist that fuels the nonstop conversations happening in the park...the heart and soul of the event.

It's hard for me to count the number of friends I saw and talked to for the first time in a while. Many, though not all, of these are beer media or industry-connected folks. You might think we see each other all the time. It just ain't so.

I suspect beer has become a bigger part of the conversations in our current context. Eclectic craft beer is more of a fad than it was in the early days, when festival attendees were mainly looking for something a little different than the macro swill they were finding in stores of the time. We've jumped the proverbial shark from those quaint days.

Running into John Foyston, longtime Oregonian beer writer, we talked about the wide range of styles available. The list has morphed wildly over the years and it's gotten increasingly crazy in recent times as style guidelines have collapsed. That's a good and bad thing, I think, but never mind.

There are 91 beers available at the main trailers and a bunch more in the Specialty Tent. I won't say anything about the Specialty Tent beers because I don't know how long any of them will be on. Some of my favorites from the standards included:

Tigers in Tiny Spaces, Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle.
Hazy pale ale with notes of grapefruit and peaches. 5.6% ABV

Dragon's Milk: Thai Curry, New Holland Brewing, Holland Michigan
A bourbon barrel-aged stout with hints of curry, ginger and coconut. Wannabe drunks will be lining up for fills of this one late. 11% ABV

Heirloom Saison, Upright Brewing, Portland
Features a barrage of late kettle addition hops in a blended, barrel-aged sour beer. The young and old beers produce an interesting mix of dank and bright notes. 6.9% ABV

Avant Garde, The Lost Abbey, San Diego
A Farmhouse Ale with minimal sweetness, subtle hop presence and aromas of fresh fruit. Light, crisp and refreshing. 7% ABV

Cal Estupido, Ex Novo Brewing, Portland
Chasing the growing popularity of Mexican Lagers, this beer is flavored with lime and sea salt. If served slightly warm, as was the case on my first try, it will remind you of drinking a too-warm lager with a slice of lime on a beach somewhere. It's better when served cold. 5% ABV

Easy Beaver, Belching Beaver Brewery, Oceanside, California
Described as an "easy drinking session IPA for those wearing orange and black. True balance means Duck fans will love it, too." Works for me. 4% ABV

As always, there were beers I didn't care for. Hopworks' Kiwi Sparkle & Pop had some off flavors and metallic character. Laht Neppur's Strawberry Concoction was a hot, fruity mess. Neither is worth the tasting effort, though results and opinions may vary.

The event itself seemed to be running smoothly. I arrived just before the gates opened at 11:30 a.m. and saw lines at each entry. The bike corral, located at the South end of the park, was mostly empty. By the time I got my bike gear organized and headed into the festival, the lines were gone. Lines to buy tokens and get beer seemed short.

Of course, all that may all be out the window later in the week, when things get busier than they are on Wednesday. My advice is get to the park early and leave before the work day ends and cubical dwellers scurry in to catch up with people who've been drinking all afternoon. A word to the wise.

Finally, a quick thanks to my friend and occasional collaborator for hanging out and chatting me through the afternoon. The good news? We somehow drank less than we did at a Timbers match in June. Hard to believe, I know. 🍻

Fruit Beer Fest Returns to Burnside

The Portland Fruit Beer Festival, now in its seventh year, returns to its original home at Burnside Brewing this weekend, June 9-11. Organizers expect to pour more than thirty beers and ciders made exclusively for the festival, our premier fruit-oriented beer event.

They're returning to Burnside after a one-year stint at the North Park Blocks. Why? Well, there were additional costs involved in holding the event downtown. When the weather was uncooperative, the attendance necessary to justify those costs didn't materialize. Thus, the return to Burnside.

It's a reasonable move. The Burnside campus is centrally located, with easy access from all quadrants of the city. One of the reasons for the Park Blocks experiment is limited space at Burnside. That venue was packed to the gills and overly congested during several past Fruit Beer Fests.

To address crowding concerns, organizers say they'll spread the beer stations out and provide more shade and seating than in past years at Burnside. They'll also have a smaller, satellite venue across the street. It'll be a neat trick if they're able to reduce the crowding issues, and I hope they can.

When I first realized fruit infused beers were gaining favor a few years a back, I was mesmerized. It's not something I was exposed to growing up, a time when macro lagers were king. I wondered if fruit beers weren't maybe some kind of strange fad connected to the growth of craft beer.

Of course, that isn't really the case. Fruit has been used in brewing for centuries. As local author and blogger, Jeff Alworth, told me, "Except for lager-brewers in Bavaria, basically no one in the history of civilization ever thought using just grain was somehow proper."

What's happened in modern American craft beer is that tastes have expanded to embrace practices employed for centuries and abandoned during the macro lager era. Fruit is part of that and the Fruit Beer Festival has helped build interest in fruit-centric beers, a positive thing.

The beer and brewery list for this event is extensive. I arrived late to the media preview and tasted only a few of the beers. That isn't all that big of a deal since they weren't sampling the entire festival portfolio. You can view the list of standard beers and ciders on the event site here.

In addition to the standards, there will be 3-4 rotating taps dedicated to rare beers outside the regular lineup. Those beers will rotate at various times during the weekend and most will cost additional tickets. There will be special tappings from Firestone Walker, Great Notion Brewing, Crux Fermentation Project, Cascade Brewing, pFriem Family Brewers, de Garde and others.

Festival days and hours:
Friday, June 9: 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Sat. June 10: 11:00 a.m to  9:00 p.m.
Sun. June 11: 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Advance tickets are available online here, with a small added service charge. Buying in advance may save you time getting into the event venue, though I can't guarantee that. Oh, you have two ticket options, basically a choice between a fancy and plain Jane glass. Up to you.

As always, you can get updated info via the event's social media channels: @FruitBeerFest on Twitter and Instagram, search Portland Fruit Beer Festival on Facebook. 🍻

Gracefully Aging OBF Returns for 28th Year

Once upon a time, young Americans grew up dreaming they might be president someday. Later, those same kiddos dreamed of being rock stars. More recently, they dream of becoming a craft brewer. Or of organizing a beer festival. That's where we are, for better or worse.

As we prepare for the 28th rendition of the Oregon Brewers Festival next week, I can assure you that none of the event's founders had any deep, long-held fantasies about organizing such an event. The reality is, they needed a vehicle to promote their beers in 1988. The OBF provided it.

It's hard to fathom in our present circumstance, but Portland hasn't always been a craft beer-crazed town. There haven't always been daily beer events to distract us from the traditional duties of citizenship. Craft beer would come to rule the hearts of minds of Portlanders. But that didn't happen overnight.

For many years, the OBF was the only significant promotional event on the craft beer calendar. When it finished its annual run, I can remember commiserating with others over the wait to the following year. Today, we just pull out our phones and check social media for the next worthwhile thing.

The truth is, the OBF has aged gracefully. Organizers have faced a barrage of challenges over the years. Ever-increasing attendance is surely the biggest issue. They've addressed it by adding days and spreading things out in the park. Entry has been streamlined and finding the beers you want to try is easier due to improved signage and a better event program, which is free to everyone.

Thank the city for a major improvement this year, which involves closing the northbound lane of traffic on SW Naito Parkway next to Waterfront Park. The vacated lane will provide added space for the public to walk and bike safely for the duration of the event. The gate on that side is typically the busiest and providing additional space there is a positive thing.

There's also the festival's effort to develop a cultural exchange between Oregon and international brewers. This year, the OBF welcomes brewers from New Zealand and the return of some who came last year from The Netherlands. These folks will be hanging out in the International Tent talking beer and other things. They are guests of Art Larrance and the OBF, which paid to get them here so they can see what we have and share what they're up to. Good vibes.

Of course, there's the beer...lots of it. Volunteers will be pouring 90 beers in the main tents and another 15 in the International Tent. The press release says there are 47 styles represented. I'll have to take their word for it because I haven't yet gone over the beer list in detail. Here's a link to the list if you want to take a look.

Prices at the OBF have remained stable in recent years. Oh sure, they went to a 3 oz taste two years ago. Others quickly followed suit. You won't pay a cent to enter Waterfront Park. If you want to drink beer, a festival glass will run you $7 and tokens are $1. Most beers in the main tents will cost a token for a taste, four tokens for a full glass.

It may not be worth reporting here, but the glass glass used the past two years is history. There were some problems with people doing dumb things with the glasses in the downtown area after exiting the park. Portland Police asked organizers to switch to something less breakable. The new glass looks similar to the ones used the last two years, but it's made of polycarbonate plastic.

Expect excellent weather. Last year was the first year the OBF experienced dreadful weather. It was cold and wet the first day before gradually warming for the weekend. I had never seen anything like that in 25 years of attendance. It probably won't happen again for a long time, certainly not in the hot and dry conditions of this year.

Like a lot of people, I'll be posting some thoughts on beers after attending on opening day. Stop back by if you're looking for that information. Otherwise, there's a ton of info on the festival site here. Event dates are July 22-26.

Fruit Beer Festival Turns Five, Expands Venue and Hours

The barrage of summer beer festivals is here. So you can expect to see some sort of festival every weekend and even some weekdays. Some of these are "me-too" events, thrown together in hopes of making a few bucks on the wave of craft beer popularity. Some are more authentic.

This week's Fruit Beer Festival, now in its fifth year, is a favorite of mine. You won't find most of these beers outside the festival. That's not to say every beer is great. Opinions are going to differ on the good and not-so-good. The fun is in trying some unique interpretations of what you can accomplish using fruit in beer.

The other day, I saw some people beating up the Fruit Beer Festival on social media due to overcrowding in recent years. Venue size has definitely been an issue. This wildly popular event probably needs to move to a park or similar location. Organizers, aka Burnside Brewing, prefer to keep it close to home. You can't blame them for a variety of reasons mostly related to cost.

In an effort to lessen the impact of crowds, organizers have made two key changes this year:

• Most importantly, they've expanded the festival footprint by (they say) 40 percent. They'll do this by occupying open space immediately to the west of Burnside Brewing, including 7th Avenue and the lot across the street. Good news.

• Last year's Friday night VIP session is history. They've opened that time slot up to the general public. With the weather cooperating nicely, Friday evening might turn out to be the perfect time to visit. The space for Friday's 4:00-9:00 p.m. session will be limited to the Burnside parking lot, which should be fine. Smart move.

Although the growing popularity of the Fruit Beer Festival will likely force organizers to move it to a larger venue at some point, the changes they've made for 2015 should help alleviate the issues they've seen in recent years. Hopefully. There isn't any additional room to expand here, so the next move will be a move. That much is clear.

The festival brewery roll call is long. You can find the list here if you feel the need. At a media preview Friday evening, we tasted a few of the beers that will be pouring. My favorites included Ecliptic's Ultra Violet Blackberry Sour Ale, Burnside's Peaches of Immortality, Fort George's Pucker Pi and Laurelwood's There Gose the Neighborhood. Fruit of the Garden of Good & Evil, a collaboration between Burnside and Reverend Nat's Hard Cider, features some nicely balanced heat thanks to several varieties of peppers. Don't miss it. 

Ticket prices are about what you've come to expect: $20 for a tasting glass and 12 tickets. Be advised that some beers will cost more than one ticket. You can buy advance tickets on the festival website here if you wish. Doing so may get you in the gate faster, but you'll pay a little more for the privilege thanks to fees. Buy tickets at the gate and you'll likely wait in line a few minutes. Your choice.

All the pertinent information is on the festival website here. It should be another great tasting experience for anyone who likes to see what brewers can do with fruit and beer.

Holiday Ale Festival Hit List

It's that time of year. Time for the 17th Annual Holiday Ale Festival, which runs Wednesday through Sunday  in Pioneer Courthouse Square. I talked about some of the general event specs earlier (here) and there are plenty of other folks talking about it in blogland.

My main purpose here is to list a few of the beers I will be hunting for at the festival. Not that my opinion should really matter. Fact is, there will be a ton of great beers at the HAF, which is a destination winter beer event. Beer fans have come to expect a long list of unique and exceptional beers, because that's what the festival delivers.

About my beer list. There are two tiers of beers at the HAF... Standard Release and Limited Release. All the beers on my list are from the Standard Release list. In case you wonder why, it's because the Limited Release beers will only be available during specific windows of time, not necessarily times I intend to be down there.

Although I will almost certainly taste Deschutes' Lost Mirror Mirror Thursday afternoon, I'm not putting it on my hit list because its availability is so limited. If you want to plan your trip according to Limited Release beers, the list with tap times is here.

Should you wish to get acquainted with the complete list of Standard beers, here's where you can find it. As I write this, the location of the beers in the tents is still TBD. That will likely be shored up by the time the festival opens on Wednesday.

My Hit List (A-Z)
10 Barrel Brewing Frosty's Revenge (7% ABV; 40 IBUs) Belgian Ale
This is a Belgian Christmas Ale, based on a milk stout, with notes of molasses, toasted bread and raisins. Belgian Abbey yeast, with its essence of candied fruit, likely forms the character of this beer. Hops deliver hints of pine and bubblegum, they say. Sounds interesting.

Bayern Brewing Eisbock (13% ABV; 34 IBUs) German Ale
This beer started out as Bayern's award winning Doppelbock, and I'm a big fan of that style. They use a freezing process that lowers the temperature of the beer in the aging tank to the point that some of the water in the beer freezes. Several transfers from tank to tank extract the ice, resulting in a smooth, higher alcohol beer. I'll be interested to how smooth it is and how well the malt backbone keeps the alcohol in the background.

Bison Brewing Organic Cocoa Bretta (7%  ABV; 26 IBUs) Stout

This is organic collaboration combines Bison's award winning Chocolate Stout and Logsdon Farmhouse Ales' Bretta. The stout was brewed with cocoa, multiple yeasts, finished with strains of Brettanoymces, and then keg conditioned with pear juice. I've had both of the base beers. I'm interested to taste the combo and see how the Bretta alters Bison's very chocolate stout.

Breakside Brewery India Passion Elixir (8.7 % ABV; 80 IBUs) Red Ale

This winter hop bomb is a collaboration between Breakside's Jacob Leonard and Bryan Keilty of Lompoc. They used flaked rye and dark wheat for malts. For hops, they turned to Willamette and Centennial. They rounded the beer out with a bit of honey for more body. This was one of the beers I didn't get to taste at Lompoc's Holiday Beer preview.

Crux Fermentation Project Snow Cave (11% ABV; 20 IBUs) Winter Ale 

Crux is one of the newer breweries in Bend and a very impressive operation. Snow Cave evidently doesn't stay within normal style guidelines. Instead, it gives a nod to all winter beer styles. Starting with a heavy dose of wheat malt and ending with a touch of chocolate, this high gravity interpretation of a winter warmer will keep you cozy in the harshest of winters. I can't wait!

Firestone Walker Brewing Wild Merkin (8.5% ABV: 8.5%; no IBU given) Blend

Last year, FW's Velvet Merkin was possibly the most popular beer at the HAF. This time around the Firestone folks have collaborated with the Holiday Ale Festival. In code, that means head HAF organizer Preston Weesner had significant input. It's a blend of one-year-old Bourbon barrel-aged Velvet Merkin that was blended with a touch of young Gueuze from Firestone's sour program. The result is a lighter, brighter, but still barrel-forward Merkin. Sounds excellent.

Gilgamesh Brewing Blitz 'N' Prancer (9% ABV; 6 IBUs) Belgian Ale

A spiced Belgian-style ale was brewed in the spirit of holiday breads. Dark roasted malts and large quantities of molasses make a robust and slightly sweet body. Light hopping and spicing from vanilla, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg create a festive finish. I'm interested to see if the spices can overcome the alcohol in this one.

Lompoc Brewing Franc'ly Brewdolph (7.6 % ABV; no IBU given) Belgian Ale 

If you read this blog at all, you know I'm interested in this beer because when I tasted it at Lompoc's recent Holiday preview, it was freshly blended from barrels, under-carbonated and not ready for prime time. It's a Belgian red ale brewed in October 2011 using Belgian Ardennes yeast, then aged for a year in Cabernet Franc barrels. The resulting beer is malty and creamy, they say. I'm interested to see what the finished product tastes like.

The Commons Brewery Boysen (10.5% ABV; 25 IBUs) Belgian Ale

Any beer from The Commons is worth a try and this one sounds terrific. It's a dark, strong, malt forward Belgian ale with dark fruits added during maturation. Chocolate notes create a foundation for the boysenberries and yeast esters to ride on. Could be amazing!

Widmer Brothers Brewing Brrrbon Vanilla (10.5% ABV; 78 IBUs) IPA

This is a revved up version of Brrrr, one of Widmer's winter seasonals. It's barrel-aged with hints of vanilla, dark chocolate and caramel. They say it has a deep complexity and balance. I honestly think standard Brrrr is a fairly bland winter beer, but the barrel-aged versions are a substantial upgrade. This will be fun.

So that's my list. I'll undoubtedly be tasting other beers along the way, but this is a nice start. I'll post my thoughts on these beers and other finds before the weekend. It's going to be a fun festival. Hope you have a chance to get down there! Please go to the HAF website here to buy advance tickets and/or check event details.

Make Your Holiday Ale Festival Plans Now

We've turned the corner into fall, which means we have mostly exited the outdoor festival season in Portland. That doesn't mean there aren't any outdoor events, but most of what's coming up is small compared to summer. The exception, of course, is the Holiday Ale Festival.

I was temped to wait a few weeks to talk about the HAF, which doesn't happen until the end of November. However, the venue and the growing popularity of the event mean now is a good time to start thinking about your plans for the festival.

This is the 17th year for the Holiday Ale Festival, on tap Nov. 28 through Dec. 2 at Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland. No need to be thinking about the beer list at this point. I'll post a list of target beers closer to the actual event, as will others. Just know that organizer Preston Weesner always features a lot of unique, typically big beers at this festival. This year isn't going to be any different. Trust me.

The size of the venue is the reason you should plan your trip times carefully. They expect around 17,000 people to visit the festival during its Wednesday-through-Sunday run (check the event website for times). Even though this is an outdoor festival, it's held underneath clear, heated tents. You don't have to worry about getting cold, but it can get a little cramped.

The view is spectacular as dusk turns to night

Festival organizers gave out clear attendance advice in the press release announcing the event: "The recommended days of attendance are Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday." There's a cryptic message here, and the message is Friday and Saturday are going to be jammed. A word to the wise.

In my mind, the HAF is one of the best events on the Portland beer calendar. The beer list is generally spectacular and a venue that was once dark and dingy has been transformed by the arrival of clear tents. Hanging out under these tents while sampling great beers is a fine experience for beer fans. If you take some time to mingle, you'll likely meet folks who've come from out of town and out of state to attend the festival. That's the power of a great beer event.

Like all the other festivals, there's a cost associated with the HAF. They make it fairly simple by selling you a $30 package that includes a festival mug and 10 tasting tickets (no wooden tokens here) at the door. If you want a slightly better deal, go to the event website and purchase a package in advance. The price is the same, but you get 12 tickets instead of 10. Additional tickets once you're inside are $1. Remember, some (perhaps many) of these beers will require double tickets for a taste.

A word about pricing. The cost of attending this festival has risen steadily in recently years. Last year, the base package cost $25 and included a mug and 8 tickets. So you were essentially paying $17 for the mug. This year you're paying $20 for a mug if you buy a package at the door. Few connected to the beer community are going to openly say so, but I think the price is a bit excessive.

Light weekday afternoon crowd in 2011

There are all kinds of arguments for why they have to charge more for this festival. They have to pay for the venue, the tents, the lighting, scaffolding and they've got to heat the tents. Plus, these beers cost more. Look...if you have to charge double or triple tickets for rare beers, fine. It makes sense. But charging $20 for a plastic mug strikes me as being over-the-top.

Of course, it doesn't matter what I think. Even though there will be some bitching about cost, the event will be packed every day. Organizers have found that increasing the price has virtually no negative effect on attendance...which they wouldn't mind limiting, anyway. So the cost continues to escalate. This thinking may eventually catch up with them, but it hasn't yet.

One final thing to consider is the Holiday Ale Festival is a 21-and-over event. If you show up with the kids, you'll have to lock them in the car because they won't be allowed under the tents. I'm kidding about locking the kids in the car...and, frankly, I hope you aren't driving at all if you're tasting these big beers. A better plan would be to take MAX (which has stops right next to Pioneer Courthouse Square), the bus or get a designated driver.