The Oregon Brewers Festival is one of the nation’s longest running and best loved craft beer festivals. Situated on the west bank of the Willamette River, with towering Mt. Hood as a backdrop, it is the ideal venue for anyone who loves craft beer. With a laid back attitude and scores of award-winning beers, the festival reflects the essence of the city of Portland.
The Oregon Brewers Festival exists to provide an opportunity to sample and learn about a variety of craft beer styles from across the country. Eighty craft breweries from all parts of the nation offer handcrafted brews to 70,000 beer lovers during the four-day event.
The festival’s focus is craft beer, but there’s more than sampling involved. The event features live music all four days, beer-related vendors, beer memorabilia displays, beer writers and publishers, homebrewing demonstrations, and an assortment of foods from a variety of regions. The Crater Lake Root Beer Garden offers complimentary handcrafted root beer for minors and designated drivers. Minors are always welcome at the festival when accompanied by a parent.
The Oregon Brewers Festival strongly encourages responsible drinking, and urges patrons to take advantage of the MAX Light Rail line, located just one block west of the festival on SW Oak Street. Go by bus, train or taxi, just don’t drink and drive. The festival also offers free, on-site bicycle parking.
The Oregon Brewers Dinner, a ticketed event, is held on July 21; the Oregon Brewers Brunch & Parade, the official kick off to the festival, occurs the morning of July 22.
Located at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon on July 22, 23, 24 & 25, 2010 — “Always the last full weekend in July”. The times are Thurs through Sat, taps are open from Noon to 9 p.m. Sun, taps are open from Noon to 7 p.m. Token & mug sales cease one-half hour prior to the taps closing.
Admission into the festival grounds is free. In order to consume beer at the OBF, you must purchase a taster package. Taster packages are available in $10, $20 and $50 increments. All packages include a 2010 souvenir mug, which is required for consuming beer (mugs from previous years will not be filled); a souvenir program that includes a map of where the beers are located onsite; and various quantities of tokens, which are used to purchase beer. Patrons pay four tokens for a full mug of beer, or one token for a taste. Additional tokens may be purchased at $1 apiece.
$10 package: one mug, one program, four tokens
$20 package: one mug, one program, 14 tokens
$50 package: two mugs, two programs, 39 tokens
Contact Information
www.oregonbrewfest.com or 503.778.5917
Nestled in the fertile Yakima Valley of Washington is a place called Puterbaugh Farms. As a home brewer, it is better known as Hops Direct. Puterbaugh Farms is a fourth generation hop farming family that produces quality hops for brewers.
According to their website, the family forefathers were farmers in France and migrated to Canada and then onto Mabton. Puterbaugh Farms currently produces 11 different hops varieties.
Rogue Ales Brewery was opened in Newport, Oregon, with a small but enthusiastic customer base, made up of curious locals who dropped by to see what was going on and never left. Rogue claims to be a small revolution, which expresses itself through handcrafted Ales, Porters, Stouts, Lagers and Spirits, and this is the way they conduct their business. Rogue ales are currently available in 50 states and 21 countries.
You may have seen a Rogue Ale in a store near you such as Dead Guy or Double Dead Guy Ale. These beers use John Maier’s proprietory yeast strain, Pacman Yeast. The Dead Guy Ale recipe kit is available to Home Beer Brewers through Brewcraft USA. In fact, everything but the yeast can be purchased in these kits. The Pacman yeast can be purchased seperately.
Nestled inside the Rogue Ales Brewery, is a two story brewpub which offers a panoramic view of Yaquina Bay and the marina. You can enjoy the full line of Rogue brews, brewery tours, and 50 taps. The Menu features “the World’s Greatest Burger’s”, the American Kobe beef burgers. If you are in Newport, Oregon, this place is worth a visit! Visit Rogue Ales Brewing website at http://www.rogue.com.
Take a youtube video tour of Rogue Ales Brewery lead by Rogue Ale Brewing tour guide Chris Garret.
After completing numerous home batches of beer and realizing that I did not have any control over my fermentation temperature, I decided to build a simple little device which I labeled the “Fermentation Temperature Control” (or FTC for short).
This device works great for those want to ferment inside a refrigerator or freezer and have digital control over the process. The device pictured is installed on the side of a freezer.
The device consists of an electrical box, an outlet, and a LOVE brand temperature control. The LOVE control comes with a temperature sensor which I place inside the carboy by way of a stainless thermowell. You could also place the temperature probe (in a thermowell) inside a glass of water which is stored inside the freezer or refrigerator. Ambient air readings are not as accurate using the Love style temperature sensor.
The freezer or refrigerator is set to its coldest setting. The Refrigerator or freezer is plugged into the Fermentation Temperature Control outlet. That’s all there is to it. Set the Love Control to the appropriate temperatures and watch your fermentation temperatures hold steady!
Inspired by consumer interest in a more flavorful light beer and the growing popularity of wheat beers, Anheuser-Busch introduces Bud Light Golden Wheat, an unfiltered wheat brewed with citrus, a hint of coriander and the superior drinkability of Bud Light.
From the bottle, this beer rates in at 4.1% Alc/Vol and packs 118 calories per 12 oz bottle. I’m not drinking beer to lose weight so I really don’t care much about calories in comparison to other brands.
This beer gives off the general wheat beer cloudy appearance. The bottle reads that the beer is unfiltered and will settle. I can only assume that this means the beer is somewhat bottle conditioned.
I took a few swigs of this beer and tried to determine if I could taste the coriander. I must say, I couldn’t. Most likely not because it isn’t in the beer, but because I have no idea what it tastes like. I could, however, taste the hint of citrus. I could also taste the traditional American Wheat Flavor.
Overall, I would give this beer a very drinkable rating in the “session beer drinking” category. Go pick up a six pack of Bud Light Golden Wheat today and let me know what you think.
Kona Brewing Company runs its flagship brewhouse in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii’s Big Island. Established in 1995, Kona Brewing Company introduced Pacific Golden Ale (now called Big Wave Golden Ale) and Fire Rock Pale Ale to Hawaii in bottles and kegs on February 14, 1995.
Kona Brewing Company is committed to producing, marketing and serving the finest handcrafted beers and tastiest cuisine with its exceptional team of motivated individuals who are passionate about quality and care about working in an environment where integrity, good will and discipline are the codes.
Beer Sampling at Kona Brewing
During the month of Jaunuary (2009), my wife and I had a chance to tour Kona Brewing in Kona. The staff was very friendly, knowledgable, and informative. During the tour, they spoke of their fermentation temperatures, hops, yeast, and grains. It was a very positive experience for all involved.
Upon completion of the tour, we were treated with samples of their beer. Some of the beer samples were unique at best, but the majority was the high quality beer I would expect from Kona Brewing.
The Oregon Brewers Festival is one of the nation’s longest running and best loved craft beer festivals. Situated on the west bank of the Willamette River, with towering Mt. Hood as a backdrop, it is the ideal venue for anyone who loves craft beer. With a laid back attitude and scores of award-winning beers, the festival reflects the essence of the city of Portland.
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