My highlights of Oregon Craft Beer Month are much easier to recall than some other bloggers who are based out of Portland and are able to hit at least 10 times as many events. This list is Portland exclusive, which doesn't make sense for a blog called, Mid Valley Beer, but I was only able to make it to a few events this year due to work and the money it takes to travel back and forth to them. At worst, I give you a Valley boy's take on what's going on up in Beervana:
Puckerfest at Belmont Station- I was able to make two separate trips to Puckerfest this year, and both were quite pleasant, albeit busy as hell after 4pm. Hanging with Angelo from Brewpublic on the second night made for an even more fun night as I was able to meet lots of cool [Portland] industry folks and share a table full of beers with friends instead of having to wait in line to try each one seperately. Upright's sours/wilds were all on point and fun, but word to the wise, if you see a Rogue beer at a sour fest, avoid it. It was most likely an accident that they wanted to make their money back on. Rogue Puckerwood ALMOST ruined Puckerfest for me. Yeah, it was that blantantly bad.
Oregon Brewers Festival- I have witnessed the genital bashing it takes to get from beer to beer of this fest on a weekend before, and learned from it. This year I went on opening day at noon, and it was a delight. No long lines, beautiful weather, and loads of good beer people without the loud crowd screaming in unison, "Whooooooooooaaaaaaaaa." That doesn't make me feel more connected with the beer community, it makes me want to ditch out and hide in a dark corner at Horse Brass. Anyways, the Beer Buzz Tent was cool except that I didn't know that they were rotating between 8 taps instead of having all of them on every day. This lead to me missing out on lots of beers I wanted to try (mostly Surly 4), but the 1997 last keg of Full Sail Imperial Stout made up for that. Next time I'll plan accordingly. I saw loads of my customers there, way to go Corvallis, and lots of other cool industry folks. This is still my favorite brew fest, as long as you're there at the right time. Beautiful weather, great beer, good people: it's very Beervana.
Bailey's 3rd Anniversary- A very cool event, especially if you go 3-4 hours after it starts. $1, four once pours of rare, delicious (and mostly strong) barrel aged brews for you to enjoy out of the special Bailey's snifter tasting glass (not a plastic mug, yeeeeaaaahhhh!). I never had to wait more than 2 minutes to get a pour, and all of the list was solid for the most part (I won't name names when it comes to the few weak links). My only tip for this event would be not to bring someone who isn't nerdy about craft beer. We had a few companions who didn't find standing around talking to beer geeks and drinking tiny samples of strange beer for hours more exciting than a titty bar. Go figure. Congrats, Geoff. You run a badass beer bar, and deserve such a cool anniversary party.
Bonus fun- I hit up Apex for the first time on the Friday night before Bailey's party Saturday. I really enjoyed their set up. Not sure how cool all the outdoor seating is in Febuary, but it is ideal for summer. Great tap list (listed on a giant LCD screen), and right next to a Mexican joint if you need a fatty burrito to accompany your Consecration. Well played, Apex. I'll definitely be visiting this astablishment again.
