Celebrate Breakside, Brewer, Papa Paul this weekend: the Beer Here for the …
Owner Scott Lawrence shortly after Breakside opened in the Dekum Triangle.
BREAKSIDE’S THIRD ANNIVERSARY
Noon- 7 p.m. Saturday May 18, Breakside Brewing, 820 N.E. Dekum St.; $15 for commemorative tasting glass and five tickets. All ages OK.
Breakside celebrates three years with a big block party featuring live music, special release beers, and barbecue. Theye’ll be pouring from all the draft lines inside plus an addition 8-10 beers outside in he outdoor beer garden, which will be open rain or shine. They’re release three special anniversary
Airbrush artist Cliff Daigle was commissioned to make this jacket for Papa Paul…
beers: Duck Duck Drunk Porter (made with roasted Muscovy ducks. Really! If anyone can pull it off, Breakside brewer Ben Edmunds is the man;) HopfenWeisse; and Blood Orange Cascadian Dark Ale. They’ll also release bottles of two special barrel aged beers: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Aztec and New World Bruin.
CELEBRATING PAPA PAUL
6:30-9 p.m. Tuesday May 21, Lucky Labrador Beer Hall, 1945 N.W. Quimby St.;
The sixth year release of Papa Paul’s Pilsner celebrates more than just one of the Lab’s most popular beers, it’s a toast to namesake, Paul Selle, 76. Papa Paul has won a long, hard round with cancer and a group of his friends are celebrating his remission. His surrogate daughter, caregiver and drummer M’liss Murray and guitarist Christopher Maguire have written a special song about Papa and will perform it and a set of other blues/drinking tunes as Two Pints of Microblue.
503 IPA RELEASE
Friday, May 17Migration Brewing, 2828 N.E. Glisan St.;
Migration Brewing releases its summer IPA, 503 IPA, named for Migration’s geographic location is the dead center of Portland. 503 IPA is a seasonal IPA with notes of lemon, grapefruit, and tropical nuances. Generously hopped with Ahtunum, Meridian, and Sorachi Ace hops provide a depth of complexity to this assertive yet approachable IPA.
BEER CRAFTS BOOK RELEASE
2 p.m. Saturday May 18, Beer Bunker, 7918 SE Stark St.;
Portland crafter extraordinaire Shawn Bowman has written what may be one of the most Portland books ever: as the subtitle says, “Making the most of your cans, bottle caps and labels…” Bowman teaches readers how to make hats, wallets, belt buckles, flip-flops, headbands, fishing lures — even a beercan jacket for the dog. Bowman is a true character and she’ll be on hand to sign books and display craft projects, including artist friend Elizabeth Start’s 30-pound pull-tab dress…
OSU BARLEY DAY
9-11 a.m. Friday May 17. OSU West Greenhouse, 3050 Campus Way, Corvallis; and 1-4 p.m. Friday , Hyslop Farm, 3455 NE Granger, Corvallis; info at barleyworld.org
OSU is looking into all sorts of new barley strains along with their research into hops, and this is the day to catch up withy what’s happening in the most beer-friendly part of academia…tthere’s a hospitality hour at 5 p.m., and organizers say beer will be involved…
The heart and soul of Rogue, brewer John Maier and his late, beloved Brewer the lab…
BREWER’S MEMORIAL ALE FEST
Friday Saturday, May 17. 18, Rogue Ales, Newport.; $10 include four tickets, dogs get in free.
The most doggeriffic of all beer festivals, this one celebrates brewer John Maier’s faithful black lab, Brewer, who died in 2006. Brewer’s memory lives on in the form of a two-day extravaganza that featurs beers from more than 50 breweries and a passel of dog-related events, including dog olympics, freestyle sniffing and recreational barking.
THE DUDE IMPERIAL STOUT RELEASE
1p.m. Saturday May 18, Vertigo Brewing Taproom, 21420 N.W. Nicholas Ct., Hillsboro;
Vertigo’s barrel-aged Imperial Russian Stout is named after Jeff Bridges’ character in “The Big Lebowski,” and the release party includes screenings of the movie at 2:30 and 6 p.m., a Dude lookalike contest, trivia, raffles and sausages from Bro-Dogs.
GLUTEN-FREE BEER FOOD TOUR
4-7 p.m. Sunday May 19, Brewvana Beer Tours; $79, make reservations by Friday at 503-729-6804
Portland may be the best place to be a craft beer fan and gluten-sensitive, because we have two breweries devoted to GF beers. This tour includes Harvester Brewing, which uses roasted local chestnuts to produce gluten free beer. After a tour and tasting, participants will attend a gluten-free food/ beer pairing at Bazi Bierbrasserie with food provided by Nourish NW.
CLASS OF 88 RELEASE
5 – 8 pm Monday May 20, Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House, 210 N.W. 11th Ave.;
Join Deschutes Brewery for flights and small bites in celebration of the release of the next Class of ’88 Collaboration with Great Lakes Brewing Company. Pair Imperial Smoked Porter, Black Butte XXIV and Black Butte Porter with pub inspired specialty appetizers and you can’t go wrong.
CENTRAL OREGON BEER WEEK
Monday – May 27, Bend area; events details here
Bend was just voted the Seventh best Beer Town in the USA by CNN and it’s a fair bet CNN hasn’t yet had a pint of Worthy IPA, or Bend might’ve scored even higher. Central Oregon Beer Week reflects a thriving beer scene, and its dozens of events are compelling reasons for a road trip.
FEARLESS/HAPPYROCK COFFEE PORTER
6 p.m. Wednesday May 22, Green Dragon, 928 S.E. Ninth Ave.;
Fearless Brewing Co. and Happyrock Coffee Roasting Co. worked together to create this rich, roasty porter. “We have always strived to create a rich, smooth, malty Porter that has a chocolaty character and is not too bitter,” said Fearless brewer Ken Johnson, “Happyrock’s Darkness of Divinity roast was the perfect complement.”
– John Foyston
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Beer festivals galore in Gloucester as brewery toast real ale success
THE real ale scene is alive and well in Gloucester – with two more beer festivals in the wake of the hugely popular Blackfriars Priory event.
Gloucester Brewery will be hosting its own event during the Tall Ships Festival from May 24 to 27, while The Pelican Real Ale Festival is taking place on June 7 and 8. This comes just weeks after the Gloucester Beer and Cider Festival attracted hundreds of revellers to its event in Blackfriars back in March.
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cheers: Vernon Amor, MD of Wye Vallery Brewery, Mike Hall, landlord of the Pelican Inn, and Martyn Herbert, of Gloucestershire CAMRA, pictured last year.
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toast of the town: Jared Brown of Gloucester Brewery, with Dockside Dark, which has won a Gold award.
The Pelican, in St Mary’s Street, is holding its first ale festival to celebrate being open for 12 months. Landlord Mike Hall said: “We wanted to do something special so we came up with the idea of having an ale festival.
“We are an ale pub anyway so it will be an extension of what we already do, but a lot bigger. I think the perception of real ale is getting better everywhere and more and more people seem to be drinking it.”
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There will be 22 real ales and eight ciders and perries at the festival with food being served by Peppers, who have a shop in Bull Lane.
There will also be live music from Remi Harris Trio, Flatworld, Rev Ferriday and Owen Bray and Nikki Rous. It will be open from noon to 11.30pm each day and entry is free.
Meanwhile, the city’s very own brewer, Gloucester Brewery is celebrating winning an award as it gears up for a festival of its own.
Owner Jared Brown said: “We recently won gold for our Dockside Dark bottled real ale at the regional SIBA (Society for Independent Brewers Association) Wales and West Beer Competition.
“We’re over the moon. It was a blind tasting competition and we were up against 150 beers in total. We will be holding a festival with all our beers and others from the area too in the brewery and also through into the Coots restaurant during the Tall Ships Festival. It should be really good, we’re all looking forward to it.”
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What’s on tap for Chicago Craft Beer Week? A lot
It has been an ambitious year for craft beer in Chicago — possibly the most ambitious ever.
Virtually every one of our breweries expanded in some form. Revolution added an entire new production facility. So did 5 Rabbit. Solemn Oath established itself as a legitimate player and Atlas, Spiteful, Begyle and several others joined the fray. There are now more craft beer festivals than you have cousins. Wirtz Beverage added craft beer to its distribution portfolio, and brought in major West Coast players Deschutes and Ballast Point. Goose Island turned 25, and expanded distribution to all 50 states.
The reward begins unfurling today, at the fourth annual Chicago Craft Beer Week. Our first craft beer week, in 2010, came and went with barely a whimper. But it has grown every year, and this year’s will be the largest yet: nearly 400 events throughout the city and suburbs during the next 11 days (yes, a week lasts 11 days in the craft beer world; also the sky is sometimes purple and dogs can run backward).
Virtually every brewery in town has saved a special keg or 10 of some rare, extra-tasty stuff that will be tapped during CCBW. Plus, many of the nation’s great breweries are getting involved with tap takeovers and special offerings of their own.
Below are my picks for some of the most exciting and interesting events during CCBW. This isn’t intended to be a “best of” list; plenty of the events not listed here (like things in the suburbs) are worth your time and/or money. Take a look at the full schedule here, see what’s an easy stumble home and what catches your eye. It will be difficult to go wrong.
Thursday
Now an annual highlight on Chicago’s beer calendar, the unlikely duo of craft beer and lush greenery winds up the perfect pairing at Beer Under Glass, at Garfield Park Conservatory (300 N. Central Park Ave.). It’s long sold out, but if you can’t drum up tickets, the pre- and post-BUG parties will be held at Haymarket Pub Brewery (737 W. Randolph St.). Assume there will be some special brews on tap, since Haymarket owner Pete Crowley is also the president of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, which is one of the forces behind Chicago Craft Beer Week.
Another non-BUG option is at Fischman Liquors Tavern (4780 N. Milwaukee Ave.), which is staging a local beer festival featuring familiar names (Revolution, Metropolitan and Two Brothers), newer names (Ale Syndicate, Begyle, Spiteful and Flesk) and, perhaps just as important, food trucks.
Friday
Revolution Brewing’s tap takeover at Village Tap (2055 W. Roscoe St.) includes a bounty of barrel-aged delights, including one of my favorite beers from the last year: 3rd Year Anniversary Ale, a wheat barley wine with piloncillo sugar added that was aged for four months in rum casks. Silky, rich and boozy, what it lacks in name it makes up for in taste (seriously, Revolution, couldn’t it have been called Zombie Vampire Dystopian Space Planet?). Bonus: Village Tap is hosting a Firestone Walker tap takeover the night before, and anything still remaining will also be available Friday.
Saturday
If you’re not hungover, or even if you are, an 8:30 a.m. 5K through Wicker Park ending with five four-ounce beers at Haymarket Pub and Brewery sounds like a good idea. Occasional exercise during CCBW will help you drink more beer throughout the week. I swear.
Fountainhead’s local cask day has become a CCBW staple. For the first time, it is adding a $20 VIP hour that earns you an extra hour at the taps and two pours on the house. Casks will be on hand from Revolution, Metropolitan, Half Acre, Brickstone, Greenbush and Brewery Vivant.
I think I have literally tried every Solemn Oath beer I’ve come across during the last year, and I’ve yet to be disappointed. The beer isn’t just clean and tasty; by refusing to brew to style guidelines, Solemn Oath is also one of the area’s most interesting breweries. It celebrates its first year of existence at Bangers Lace (1670 W. Division) with 16 brews on tap. There will also be 16 brews available from Southern California’s Port Brewing/Lost Abbey.
Sunday
Goose Island celebrates its 25th birthday with a block party at its Fulton Street brewery. Among the offerings are seven different kinds of Bourbon County Stout. What else is there to say?
Monday
Drink barrel-aged beer while learning about it at Schuba’s (3159 N. Southport Ave.). An expert panel of Cory King of Perennial Brewing in St. Louis, Tim Faith of New Holland Brewing in Holland, Mich., John Laffler of Chicago’s Off Color Brewing and Kyle Henderson of Angel’s Envy Bourbon will discuss the practice and merits of barrel aging. As I write this, 22 tickets remain.
Tuesday
Some people write off Rock Bottom for being a chain, but plenty of great brewers have called it (and still call it) home. Haymarket – whose owner, Pete Crowley, is a Rock Bottom alum – hosts an evening dedicated to ex-Rock Bottom brewers, withbrews from Solemn Oath, Oskar Blues, Sun King, Gigantic Brewing, Three Floyds and, naturally, Haymarket.
The South of 80 tap takeover returns as beers made downstate or by St. Louis-area breweries are celebrated, including some not usually seen in this area. Breweries on hand will include Scratch Brewing Company (Ava), Rolling Meadows Brewery (Cantrall), Destihl (Bloomington), Six Row Brewing Company (St. Louis) and Urban Chestnut (St. Louis).
Wednesday
The $175 Little Goat beer dinner this night is booked (there’s a wait list; call if you want to be on it), but a cheaper alternative can be found at Fountainhead, where brand new BegyleBrewing will pair four of its beers with grub from chef Cleetus Friedman, formerly of City Provisions.
Three of the better beer bars on Division Street, if not the city, team up for an IPA crawl. Bangers Lace (1670 W. Division St.) will pour East Coast IPAs, Jerry’s Sandwiches (1938 W. Division St.) will handle Midwestern IPAs and Small Bar (2049 W. Division St.) takes on West Coast IPAs.
Thursday, May 23
Stout fans, head straight to the other Jerry’s Sandwiches (5419 N. Clark St.) for all five of the beers in Dark Horse’s numbered stout series. At least two more of the brewery’s beers will also be available, including something as yet unannounced that is usually only available at the Dark Horse brewpub.
The annual Bowling with Brewers goes down at 10 p.m. at one of the oldest-school bowling alleys in town, Timber Lanes (1851 W. Irving Park Road). Bowl with a local brewer, and for free.
Friday, May 24
I never knew what to call the rush of joy resulting from drinking lots of Allagash, but Bar on Buena (910 W. Buena Ave.) seems to think it’s an “allagasm.” Anway, that’s the name of the event that will include “some extra special Allagash offerings, including a few things never before seen in these here parts.” Allagash is one of the nation’s great breweries, so be optimistic.
The nearly year-old Atlas Brewing (2747 N. Lincoln Ave.) will tap three of its barrel-aged projects: a saison aged in a FEW gin barrel, a barley wine aged in a Koval rye barrel and an imperial stout aged in a Koval whiskey barrel. Local beer aged in barrels from local distilleries? Chicago booze has come a long way.
Black Rock (3614 N. Damen Ave.) pours six beers from Danish gypsy brewer Evil Twin, whose brews are never boring.
Saturday, May 25
Haymarket Brewery (737 W. Randolph St.) hosts another CCBW staple, Beerfly Alleyfight!, which is a homebrewing-food-art competition. Sound strange? It is.
This day will see the inaugural West Loop Craft Beer Fest, which is also CCBW’s official closing party (no matter that Craft Beer Week actually ends the next day — who wants to be hungover on Monday?). More than 25 breweries will be pouring at “the city’s largest craft beer outdoor block party,” which will likely be the CCBW closing event for years to come. Tickets remain, but seem likely to sell out.
Sunday, May 26
Just when you think you can’t handle any more, it’s time to make up for all those double IPAs and barrel-aged stouts with Delilah’s annual lambic and sour beer festival, where $20 gets you 20 samples.
And on Monday, drink whiskey.
jbnoel@tribune.com
Twitter @traveljosh
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Open Wide For These Upcoming Beer Festivals
Beer week means every week for most of us, but the official American Craft Beer Week celebrates the sudsy stuff beginning today through May 19th. The Brewers Association organized tons of events happening all across the country, including several local tastings and other beer-centric gatherings. There are also upcoming festivals at Eataly and the craft beer and food festival Savor on the horizon as well.
The headliner event in New York City goes down Thursday, May 16th at the New York Beer Company, where the first ever American Craft Beer Week Coast to Coast Toast brings together NYC Brewers Guild members for drinking and toasting. Pints will be poured from local breweries like Bronx, Chelsea Brewering Co, Sixpoint and Shmaltz starting at 7 p.m., with everyone raising their glasses for the big nationwide toast at 8 p.m.
From May 17th through the 27th, brewmaster and Birreria Partner Teo Musso will put the spotlight on Italian craft beers with the Eatalian Beer Festival. Musso will offer four beers named for their alcohol content—4, 6, 8 and 10 % ABV—for $5 with unique dish pairings at most of the Eataly restaurants. The restaurant-market is also offering a beer and cheese pairing at their Eccellenze Corner for $10 during the beer festival.
Fast forward to June when Savor comes to town, bringing together brewers and chefs for two days of drinking and dining. Try out barrel aged fruit beers or explore different types of lager beers at the many events taking place at the Metropolitan Pavilion on June 14th and 15th. You can also check out events going on around the festival, like a Meet the Brewers from Long Island event at Jimmy’s No. 43 on Saturday, June 15th.
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American Beer Classic: Microbrews meet the mainstream
For many, a beer tasting festival conjures an image of an older, largely male crowd of beer lovers, noses firmly entrenched in tulip glasses or swirling their suds in the light and remarking on their beer’s particular flavors and finish. Like a group of oenophiles, except with fewer sport coats and more The Who t-shirts.
Not so in the case of the American Beer Classic which was held Saturday at Soldier Field. A large and diverse mix of people from self-described beer geeks to those just looking for a party mingled on the Bears’ home turf, sampling the offerings of over 90 breweries from across the country. Chicagoland’s local purveyors included Finch’s, Metropolitan, Ale Syndicate, Hopothesis, Two Brothers and Flossmoor Station, among others. But it wasn’t all independent craft breweries taking the field. The big boys came to play as well. Anheuser Busch-InBev’s Shock Top and MillerCoors’ Blue Moon brands had tents alongside their craft competitors.
So while the aficionados (the sort who brought their own tasting glassware and home baked pretzels) swapped notes with brewmasters, a decidedly less wonky set of attendees, perhaps drawn by the sex appeal of coiffing beer on the same 50-yard line Lance Briggs coifs his Gatorade, sampled as well.
“The fact is there are so many true craft breweries nowadays that everyone has a choice to drink whatever they want to drink,” said Doug Hurst, brewer and founder of Metropolitan Brewing. “That’s the great thing about this festival. They’ve somehow appealed to a wider audience, which is great for us because it gets our name in front of not the usual suspects. People who would probably like our beer if they knew about it.”
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New Brew Alert: Ten Ninety
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New food items coming to Soldier Field?
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So where is that Three Floyds Chicago brewpub anyway?
Which sort of begs the question: Is craft brewing, like, mainstream now? So many breweries are offering so many products at bars, bodegas and at ever more ubiquitous beer festivals, including one with the pull to rent out Soldier Field for the day. Is craft beer drinking becoming just, well, beer drinking?
If so, the brewers are excited. Several said they see events like the ABC that attract a larger and more diverse crowd as great opportunities to grow the visibility of their products beyond the much expanded, but ultimately small, subsection of craft beer drinkers. They’re after the sort of person who might drink Miller Lite one time, but they also might splurge on a bomber of Firestone Walker the next. With roughly 94% of the beer market dominated by large breweries and brands, there’s plenty of market share up for grabs.
And as for the big breweries getting a seat at the craft beer table at these events?
“Hey, that’s beer, too,” said Hurst. “Even if Shock Top wasn’t here, someone would be looking for it.”
–
charjohnson@tribune.com
@charliemagne
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North American Beer Festivals
Summer is quickly approaching and that means festivals will begin throughout North America. Music festivals, cultural festivals, food festivals, and – our favorite – beer festivals.
Beer festivals are a great way to introduce you (or your friends) to new beers from all over the country.
Below are a listing of some of the best beer festivals in North America.
Great American Beer Festival – Denver Colorado
The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is a three-day annual event hosted by the Brewers Association. The GABF has more than 2,800 beers to sample from 600+ breweries. The size of the GABF makes it one of the more insane beer festivals – expect around 50,000 visitors. Get your tickets and hotel reservations early. This year’s festival is Oct. 10-12.
Oregon Brewers Festival – Portland,OR
Featuring more than 80 different craft beers from around the country, the Oregon Brewers Festival takes place on the west bank of the Willamette River, with towering Mt. Hood as a backdrop. The Oregon Brewers Festival is always the last full weekend in July, and spans for five days and draws more than 80,000 beer fans. Unlike some beer festivals, the Oregon Brewers Festival is fine for children.
Great Taste of the Midwest – Madison, WI
The Great Taste of the Midwest is an outdoor affair that offers beer from more than one hundred brewpubs and microbreweries. On the second Saturday in August, more than 6,000 fans coming to Olin-Turville Park on the shores of Lake Monona to enjoy beer and music.
American Craft Beer Fest – Boston, MA
A two-day affair, the American Craft Beer Fest (ACBF) is the east coast’s largest celebration of American craft beer. It features 600+ craft beers from 135+ American brewers. This year’s festival is on May 31 and June 1.
These are just a few of the great beer festivals around the country. We recommend visiting www.beerfestivals.org to find a festival near you.
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7 don’t-miss US beer fests
Editor’s note: Nathan Berrong works at CNN’s satellite desk and writes Eatocracy’s beer column, Berrong on Beer. He tweets at @nathanberrong and logs beers at Untappd.
(CNN) — Forget the tuba and accordion. Put away the lederhosen, and keep the beer steins on the shelf. The vast majority of today’s beer festivals have little in common with the traditional Oktoberfest celebration.
As craft beer continues to rise in popularity, the trickle-down effect of that growth means more beer festivals popping up all over the United States. And the beer festivals of today offer a lot more than just drinking ales and lagers. Many offer live entertainment, educational workshops and even food pairings. Below are seven upcoming beer festivals that are setting the standard by which to measure all others.
Savor
New York
Savor stands out from the pack with its thoughtful pairing of great food with exceptional (and often rare) beer. The festival takes place in New York this year, and apart from the chance to try great beer and food combinations, it gives attendees an opportunity to hang out and chat with the “rock stars” of the beer world. Chef Adam Dulye leads a team of culinary professionals who create the food pairings based on the flavor profiles of each beer being served. But perhaps the coolest thing about this event are the tasting salons, intimate educational (and drinking!) sessions where brewers speak on topics like “blending a barrel-aged sour beer” and “a taste of Virginia from the Brew Ridge Trail.” The event takes place June 14 and 15, and tickets are on sale now.
American Craft Beer Festival
Boston
The American Craft Beer Festival is put on by the folks behind BeerAdvocate magazine. It’s considered one of the best beer festivals in the country, and beer lovers flock from all over the world to attend this two-day festival in Boston. The festival serves more than 600 beers from 135 breweries and includes several beers that are brewed exclusively for the event: Once the beer is gone, so is the chance to ever have it again. It takes place on May 31 and June 1, and tickets are available online.
Firestone Walker Invitational
Paso Robles, California
When people ask me “what’s your favorite brewery?” my answer is inevitably either “the one I’m drinking right now” or “Firestone Walker.” The California brewery has won several medals at beer competitions and has raked in numerous “brewery of the year” awards. But instead of resting on its laurels, it continues to champion craft beer with the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival. The festival is described as “a day where we can all put down our sales and marketing pitches and simply commune and share our beers and stories with people who are truly interested in craft beer.” The festival takes place June 1. Sadly for many, tickets sold out in a matter of hours. Mark your calendars for next year, beer lovers.
Oregon Brewers Festival
Portland, Oregon
The 26th annual Oregon Brewers Festival is one of the longest-running and largest beer festivals in the country. It takes place in Portland over five days in July and draws more than 80,000 beer drinkers every year. The festival also includes live music, home brewing demonstrations and beer-related vendors. The all-ages festival is free to attend and even includes the Crater Lake Root Beer Garden, so the kiddos can get their drink on, too. For those consuming beer, this is a “pay as you drink” festival, and beer pours range from $1 to $4. I like this option because I rarely drink enough beer at a festival to justify the price of admission (that can hit upwards of $75).
Burning CAN Beer Fest
Lyons, Colorado
For all the canned beer lovers out there, there’s the Burning CAN Beer Fest in Lyons, Colorado. This can-only beer fest is put on by the pioneers of the craft beer can movement, Oskar Blues. The festival features more than 30 breweries, a BMX dirt bike competition and live music. Oh, and it’s all set against the backdrop of Rocky Mountain National Park. Go for the scenery and stay for the beer and entertainment. Tickets for the June 1 Burning CAN fest are available online.
Paste Untapped
Dallas
Paste magazine has taken its love for indie music and craft beer and turned it into a series of festivals taking place throughout the country. Other beer festivals have live music, but let’s be honest, it’s usually local bands that provide background noise. Paste Untapped brings musicians and bands that are worth the price of admission alone. Add an awesome selection of craft suds, and it’s easy to see why this is one of the most talked-about festivals of 2013. According to Paste, the next Paste Untapped is set for Dallas in September. Road trip, anyone? Nashville and Atlanta are slated to follow in October and November.
The Festival
Portland, Maine
No fancy or clever name is needed for this Portland, Maine, beer fest that’s simply called The Festival. Most of the aforementioned beer festivals highlight American craft beer, and this one slightly deviates from the norm and offers mostly international beers. Presented by Shelton Brothers and 12 Percent Imports, this two-day beer festival includes limited releases like Cantillon Zwanze, an extremely rare beer out of Belgium. The Festival takes place on June 21 and 22, and tickets are still available for purchase online.
Lastly, here’s some tips to make sure you get the most out of your beer festival experience:
• Eat before (and during) the festival. Drinking on an empty stomach is never a good idea.
• Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. A good rule of thumb is an ounce of water per ounce of beer.
• Have a game plan before you attend. Or else you risk spending too much time wandering around looking for the Founders booth.
• Try beers you’ve never had/cannot easily get. And make sure to hit those booths first before the beer runs out.
• Get home safely. Many festivals offer free or discounted admission for designated drivers, and car services like Uber will sometimes offer discounts to festival attendees.
What beer festivals are you most excited about this year? Let me know in the comments below. Cheers and happy drinking!
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7 things not to miss in Portland, Ore.
PORTLAND, Ore. — When visiting this eclectic city, respect the locals and they’ll spill the beans about its offbeat pleasures. Here are seven mind-tingling things to do between those farm-to-table meals and strong brews.
■ Bike or hike the Banks-Vernonia Rail Trail. The 21-mile paved path — Oregon’s first linear state park — connects rural towns west of Portland. Sights include year-round color, 13 bridges (two spanning 80-foot-high railroad trestles), waterfalls, trees draped with phosphorescent moss, and rufous hummingbirds. Public transit (trimet.org/destinations/transittotrails.htm) with bike racks runs between Portland and Stub Stewart State Park, a repurposed logging camp along the trail. You can rent bikes from Waterfront Bicycles (www.waterfrontbikes.com) and Banks Bicycle Repair Rental (www.banksbicycles.com). Free. 503-324-0606,
www.oregonstateparks.org/park_145.php
■ Time-travel in Kidd’s Toy Museum. This amazing vault of social history in an industrial building, marked only by a paper sign, bulges with Frank Kidd’s estimated 20,000 windup toys, spinning tops, puzzles, and other playthings. “My father didn’t have toys growing up,” explained Julie Kidd, who manages the museum. Myriad model trains, planes, spacecraft, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, and cars hint at the influence of the family’s auto-parts business next door. The artifacts, dating from 1869 to the 1950s, include spring-powered mechanical banks that do tricks when fed coins. Two depict Jonah being swallowed, and then spit out, by the whale. Mon-Fri, free.
1301 Southeast Grand
Ave., 503-233-7807, www.kiddstoymuseum.com
■ Find zen at Lan Su Chinese Garden. Built by hand by 65 artisans on an abandoned parking lot, it’s possibly the most authentic Chinese garden outside China. Walkways pass rock gardens, waterfalls, bat-shaped drip tiles, and penjing, living sculptures of tiny trees. Lan Su’s design, based on scroll paintings and ancient blueprints, required 500 tons of rock shipped from China.
During a free drop-in tai chi session, I move in slow motion, seeking physical and spiritual balance. The teacher suggests: “Think of each moment as preparation for the next.” Other classes include Shibashi and Wild Goose Qigong (movement art that taps the body’s “qi,” or vital energy), 10,000 Blessings Feng Shui (creating spaces that foster health and happiness), mahjong, and in the Tea House, calligraphy and concerts. Daily. Admission $9.50, children age 5 and under free. 239 Northwest Everett St., 503-228-8131,
www.lansugarden.org/things-to-do
■ Tour a submarine. The USS Blueback — the US Navy’s last nonnuclear, fast-attack sub — rests in the Willamette River behind the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The tour guide, a submarine veteran, recounted life underwater, where tight quarters, 2-minute showers, and no water for laundry tested the 85 crew members’ endurance. Privacy could be had in the weapons chamber — sleeping on torpedoes. The tour provides up-close views of the controls, bunkrooms, kitchen, and decommissioned missiles built to sink battleships. The sub’s teardrop hull — designed for maximum speed and stealth — appeared in “The Hunt for Red October.” Daily. $5.75. 1945 Southeast Water Ave., 503-797-4624, www.omsi.edu/submarine
■ Do tastings at a beer festival. Portland holds at least 16 brew fests a year — and they’re the most time- and cost-effective way to sample the bounty of this craft-beer capital. What’s on tap? The likes of Buckman Botanical Brewery’s Fruit Cake infused with candied fruits, nuts, and spices; Cascade’s sour red ale fermented with cherries; and Hopworks Urban Brewery’s Noggin Floggin barleywine. Sparkling Portland water gives its beers a great start. www.portlandbeer.org/events/portland-beer-festivals
■ Nosh at Mississippi Marketplace’s food carts. Beloved for its flavors and allegiance to local farmers, the pod’s standouts include Home Grown Smoker’s applewood-smoked soy-curls and Native Bowl’s swoon-inducing chocolate cake. Tue-Sun. North Mississippi Avenue and Skidmore Street, www
.facebook.com/pages/Mississippi-Marketplace/170578051223
■ Shop the Portland Saturday Market. Since 1974, the nation’s longest-running outdoor arts and crafts fair has been the place to see the city’s creative culture. The bounty spans Brian Smith’s otherworldly carved glass pendants (“I just apply heat and see what happens”), artisan foods such as multigrain Elephant Ears funnel cakes, local-roasted Cloud Cap Coffee, and Rogue Brewery’s new Portland Saturday Market IPA. Sat-Sun. Free. Waterfront Park and Ankeny Plaza down-town, www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com
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Is Dallas now a certified beer city? CNN names Untapped as one of the country …
Posted on May 10, 2013
Justin Townes Earle performs during The Untapped Festival at Panther Island Pavilion in Fort Worth, TX on April 20, 2013. (Kye R. Lee/The Dallas Morning News)
We’re pretty darn proud of the growing brewery and craft beer scene in North Texas. It’s a beerevolution around here. But did anyone else notice?
Today, CNN posted a list of its “7 don’t-miss U.S. beer fests,” and our homegrown indie music and craft beer festival Untapped made the list.
Says CNN, in part: “Other beer festivals have live music, but let’s be honest, it’s usually local bands that provide background noise. Paste Untapped brings musicians and bands that are worth the price of admission alone. Add an awesome selection of craft suds, and it’s easy to see why this is one of the most talked-about festivals of 2013.”
Sarah Jaffe was one of the performers Saturday at Fort Worth’s 2013 Untapped Festival.
(CNN refers to it as “Paste Untapped.” Here’s the back story: The fest started in 2012 as Uptown Untapped, which became Dallas Untapped when it outgrew the Uptown Dallas venue and relocated to West Dallas. It’s put together by Arlington-based company Spune in partnership with Paste Magazine. This year’s a biggie for the growing fest: There was a Fort Worth festival in April, and three events have yet to happen — a Dallas one in September, and expanded events in Nashville and Atlanta in late 2013.)
CNN’s accolade for Untapped is certainly worth celebrating, for the breweries involved, the local bands who played, and the North Texas company who put it all together. Cheers!
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Beer festivals are big business and last several days in cities across the country
CNN – Forget the tuba and accordion. Put away the lederhosen, and keep the beer steins on the shelf. The vast majority of today’s beer festivals have little in common with the traditional Oktoberfest celebration.
As craft beer continues to rise in popularity, the trickle-down effect of that growth means more beer festivals popping up all over the United States. And the beer festivals of today offer a lot more than just drinking ales and lagers. Many offer live entertainment, educational workshops and even food pairings. Below are seven upcoming beer festivals that are setting the standard by which to measure all others.
Savor New York
Savor stands out from the pack with its thoughtful pairing of great food with exceptional (and often rare) beer. The festival takes place in New York this year, and apart from the chance to try great beer and food combinations, it gives attendees an opportunity to hang out and chat with the “rock stars” of the beer world. Chef Adam Duyle leads a team of culinary professionals who create the food pairings based on the flavor profiles of each beer being served. But perhaps the coolest thing about this event are the tasting salons, intimate educational (and drinking!) sessions where brewers speak on topics like “blending a barrel-aged sour beer” and “a taste of Virginia from the Brew Ridge Trail.” The event takes place June 14 and 15, and tickets are on sale now.
American Craft Beer Festival Boston
The American Craft Beer Festival is put on by the folks behind BeerAdvocate magazine. It’s considered one of the best beer festivals in the country, and beer lovers flock from all over the world to attend this two-day festival in Boston. The festival serves more than 600 beers from 135 breweries and includes several beers that are brewed exclusively for the event: Once the beer is gone, so is the chance to ever have it again. It takes place on May 31 and June 1, and tickets are available online.
Firestone Walker Invitational Paso Robles, California
When people ask me “what’s your favorite brewery?” my answer is inevitably either “the one I’m drinking right now” or “Firestone Walker.” The California brewery has won several medals at beer competitions and has raked in numerous “brewery of the year” awards. But instead of resting on its laurels, it continues to champion craft beer with the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival. The festival is described as “a day where we can all put down our sales and marketing pitches and simply commune and share our beers and stories with people who are truly interested in craft beer.” The festival takes place June 1. Sadly for many, tickets sold out in a matter of hours. Mark your calendars for next year, beer lovers.
Oregon Brewers Festival Portland, Oregon
The 26th annual Oregon Brewers Festival is one of the longest-running and largest beer festivals in the country. It takes place in Portland over five days in July and draws more than 80,000 beer drinkers every year. The festival also includes live music, home brewing demonstrations and beer-related vendors. The all-ages festival is free to attend and even includes the Crater Lake Root Beer Garden, so the kiddos can get their drink on, too. For those consuming beer, this is a “pay as you drink” festival, and beer pours range from $1 to $4. I like this option because I rarely drink enough beer at a festival to justify the price of admission (that can hit upwards of $75).
Burning CAN Beer Fest Lyons, Colorado
For all the canned beer lovers out there, there’s the Burning CAN Beer Fest in Lyons, Colorado. This can-only beer fest is put on by the pioneers of the craft beer can movement, Oskar Blues. The festival features more than 30 breweries, a BMX dirt bike competition and live music. Oh, and it’s all set against the backdrop of Rocky Mountain National Park. Go for the scenery and stay for the beer and entertainment. Tickets for the June 1 Burning CAN fest are available online.
Paste Untapped
Fort Worth
Paste magazine has taken its love for indie music and craft beer and turned it into a series of festivals taking place throughout the country. Other beer festivals have live music, but let’s be honest, it’s usually local bands that provide background noise. Paste Untapped brings musicians and bands that are worth the price of admission alone. Add an awesome selection of craft suds, and it’s easy to see why this is one of the most talked-about festivals of 2013. According to Paste, the next Paste Untapped is set for Fort Worth in September. Road trip, anyone? Nashville and Atlanta are slated to follow in October and November.
The Festival Portland, Maine
No fancy or clever name is needed for this Portland, Maine, beer fest that’s simply called The Festival. Most of the aforementioned beer festivals highlight American craft beer, and this one slightly deviates from the norm and offers mostly international beers. Presented by Shelton Brothers and 12 Percent Imports, this two-day beer
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