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In it’s 30th iteration, the Oregon Brewers Festival is already in full swing. As the annual attendance has swelled to over 80,000 rabid craft beer revelers, the length of the event has expanded as well in recent years. It now starts on Wednesday and always foams over the last full weekend of July.
The event was kicked off with the Brewers Brunch and a ceremonial keg tapping, this year hosted by Hopworks Urban Brewery. And of course the grand-poo-bah of OBF is none other than Art Larrance, co-founder of Portland Brewing and Cascade Brewing, not to mention the main instigator in the passage of the Oregon Beer Bill in 1985 and a co-founder of the Oregon Brewers Festival, started in 1988.
Once the traditional kick-off was completed, the 80 taps featuring 91 brewers (from 13 states and the Netherlands) began to flow, not to mention the constantly rotating taps offering 91 different high-end offerings in the Specialty Tent (i.e. the Buzz Tent).
And speaking of high-gravity beers… this year OBF is featuring a Safe Ride Home program sponsored by Great Western Malting, the Portland Bureau of Transportation, Radio Cab, SmartPark and Vision Zero, offering up to $18 in credit for safe rides home.
And there’s not just beer to savor. OBF always features a multitude of diverse food offerings from 21 food and craft vendors, including the official charity, New Avenues for Youth, who’s set to hold their 6th annual Brews for New Avenues fundraiser/beer auction on August 19th. This year OBF donated double the amount they did last year to New Avenues for Youth, presenting them a check for $20,000.
Held in the picturesque Tom McCall Waterfront Park on the Willamette River, OBF also offers live music from 19 bands over 5 days, homebrew demonstrations and a Root Beer Garden for the kids. For the adults, be sure to pick up a program or navigate to their website to keep track of what you’re sampling, or you can follow the Untappd app which provides push notifications of keg rotations in the Specialty Tent.
Entry is free and open to all ages, with wristbands for those of age. If you’re partaking, purchase of a $7 commemorative cup (14oz) is required. Tokens, which can be used from previous years, are priced at $1 a pop. One token gets you a 3 oz taste and 5 tokens gets you a full mug of beer. The festival is open the rest of the weekend from Noon to 9pm Wednesday through Saturday, and Noon to 7pm Sunday.
For more information, check out the Oregon Brewers Festival website.
Beer recommendations and more photos available on my instagram post.
All Photos by the Author
