Back for another round: The North American Organic Brewers Festival

Last weekend, K and I once again ventured up to Overlook Park to attend our favorite beer festival of the year, The North American Organic Brewers Festival.  I love Overlook Park.  I love that tree. That magnificent tree. I love NAOBF.  Since K and I discovered it we have only missed it twice.  Once, for our daughter's wedding and once for an out of town family function.  The wedding was forgivable, after all, we were DIY catering the event.  After the second miss however I vowed, Never again.  It's that wonderful.

The  tap volunteers are conscientious and kind and willingly share their knowledge or honest lack thereof of any beer they are pouring.   Other volunteers at the event are warm, welcoming and keep the park in the tidiest condition. Keeping the beautiful park beautiful.  There have been vicious rumors that the event may change venues next year.  I pray not.  I feel like they have finally gotten into a sweet pattern with this place.  The layout is un-crowded and convenient. The giant Elm in the middle of the park is glorious. Yes, parking sucks but the Max train is RIGHT THERE.  Park at a Park and Ride and take the train.  That being said, I do not run the event and am not aware of any issues they may have with power, water, sanitation, etc.  But isn't that the point?  If I can't tell if there are problems, then someone, somewhere is doing a bang up job.  That's a good thing.

Farm to Fire folks working their tails off

We went on the busiest day, Saturday, and the only inkling of an issue that we were aware of was vendors running out of food early.  They were getting slammed and doing a killer job of feeding the hungry masses.  Lines never appeared too long and that is one of the reasons I love this festival. Even beer lines are moving quickly and efficiently.  Or perhaps I have just acclimated myself to the beer line.  Grab a taste, move on to next line, enjoy taster and the company of other patrons while waiting for next taste.  Seems simple enough.

Back to the food for a second.  Let's talk delicious options this year.  Vegan satay from Viva!Vegetarian?  Yes, thank you but wait- that  German Schweinbraten from Urban German Grill looks as amazing as the Wood-fired pizza from Farm to Fire.  And pork sliders from Bottles?  Forget about it.  I'm going to consume as many calories in food as I do in beer, it'll be a banner day.  I promise it was not I, who was responsible for the food selling out, although grabbing the second-to-the-last pizza was quite a score.

flying high pizza pie

Fellow beer lover putting her best fist forward

Now, for the beer.  This is a beer festival, after all.  Working my way through A-Z  I'm going to hit on my highlights.  Because I had tasted a lot of beer.  And some of it was just good beer.  And some of it was not so terribly good beer.  But some of it was stand out yummy beer. So here goes.

Ambacht Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged G++  I really wanted to like this beer.  You know I love Bourbon barreled beers.  Love 'em.  This one was not to love.  Too much cherry?  I wouldn't have believed there could be such a thing but with the extra cherry and the bourbon aging this Strong Golden was just too much.  And too much is usually just right by me.  Sadly not this one. 8.5% abv 18 ibu

Bison Brewing I admit, I've reviewed the Honey Basil Pale Ale (6% abv) before and loved it.  Still do.  The floral notes of the Hop Cuvee (5.5% abv) west coast style ale was also remarkable. Bison brings it, again.  

Ft. George Brewery from Astoria offered up their yummy Spruce Budd Ale (4.9% abv).  I'm a big fan of Spruce and this Pale Ale packs a refreshing pop.  Could be the hand picked 550 lbs of spruce tips they used for the 30 barrel batch.  Hug a tree, friend. 

800 lbs of organic sweet potatoes and 400 lbs of organic rye married and produced a Belgian Pale Ale, Sweet Potato Rye (6.4% abv 32 ibu), that is smooth and delightful.  Well, actually Gilgamesh Brewing out of Salem, Oregon produced it but you know what I mean.

Loowit, our lovely neighbors to the North unleashed Gaiabolical (5.3% abv 45 ibu).  With fury and form, this goddess of beers proves to be more seductive than destructive.  

The only dark I had at the festival was McMenamins'  Pavol, the Collector.  This Baltic Porter was boozy chocolate yum but a little heavy on this humid summer day.  Hopefully, I'll be able to find it in October.

German import Neumarkter Lammsbrau was a simply refreshing pilsner (4.7% abv) that paired wonderfully with the German food we had and was delightfully hoppy and floral.

Old Town Brewing served up one of my favorites of the day, Chemtrails are real, man! (5%abv, 65 ibu) No really, that is the truly given name of one fine wheat Ale with an amazing hoppy-ness and the cloudy citrusliciousness of a heffe.

That was one of my favorites but Thirsty Bear from San Francisco had the beer that stole my heart, PandaBear Ale (5% abv 20 ibu).  Dry-hopped with organic vanilla beans and cocoa nibs this is a deep, rich ale with amazing aroma.  I will search for this one.

Two Kilts from Sherwood, Oregon, brought out a French style Saison.  Now I know it was getting warmer and a little sticky and nothing adds to sticky like a deep, sweet, warm Saison but I decided to try it anyway.  Glad I did.  This particular saison was crisp and light and peppery.  Happy surprise!

The day then turned to night and I realized that with all of our eating and drinking and talking to marvelous people and listening to fabulous music we had been at the festival a total of six hours.  Not a terrible way to spend the day.  Highly recommended.

NAOBF 2012: Saving the planet, one beer at a time

I'm going to come right out and say it now, The North American Organic Beer Festival is the best beer festival in Portland. OBF folks, take note. There are many reasons why people will tell you this is their favorite festival of the season.

Great venue: The view of P-Town from Overlook Park is awe-inspiring. The park is home to one of the prettiest trees in all of Portland. I can't be there and keep from thinking how much I love where I live. Just enough space to give you elbow room but cozy enough to make you feel like your simply at a friend's backyard bbq.
 Great volunteers: Now I believe the volunteers at all of the Beer and Wine Festivals are awesome so maybe it's just the general feel of this festival that puts people in such a great mood. They run short, fast lines without making you feel rushed. There doesn't seem to be a large ensemble of DB's looking to get drunk on PBRs and puke on the lawn and so the people here are just happy to take some time and talk about good beer and what that entails. Of course, "the more I drink, the more I think" is sometimes the logic as stated by the man wearing the bright yellow Caution! My awesomeness can cause blindness t-shirt.
 Great food: I have to admit, I'm a big fan of Violetta, the little cart that could. Nut Love! otherwise known as Family Tree Nut Co. serves up my favorite beer snack, Apple Rosemary Roasted Hazelnuts. This year, we also tried some fare from Zuppa! Yummmy curry and masala but lacking a little of the "heat" that I require when going for Indian. The addition of Bottles pulled pork sliders was a good call.
 Great music: Caught a couple of the acts on the Roots stage and they were a sweet addition to the day. Left Coast Country's brand of bluegrass was extra tasty but the festival likes to mix it up a bit and you'll hear anything from Acoustic Blues to Rock/Soul to Zydeco.

OK, so we all know it's a great festival. Craig Nicholls and his amazing crew work hard to make it so. Let's talk about the beer. Great beer. Organically and Sustain-ably produced beer.
 Ambacht Brewing out of Hillsboro, OR brought a couple of tasty treats including the Bourbon Barrel Aged Honey Triple 8.6% ABV. Sweet, floral, rich and tasty. I enjoyed this one and I am sad I didn't go in for the Golden Rose Farmhouse style. Yes, I did go for the Bison Organic Beers Chocolate Stout 5% ABV. It is, after all, one of my first loves in the organic beer world. This and the Honey Basil Ale 6% ABV are a given for me at NAOBF. Every year.

 I've been waiting to taste some brew from Captured by Porches out of St. Helens. This weekend, I got to try two. The first was the Bavarian Hefeweizen 5.7% ABV. Yummy, fruity, light. Followed by the Invasive Species IPA 6.3% ABV, one of my favorite IPAs. Not overpowering, hoppy malty balance. Enjoyable.

The Commons Brewery offered up an Oat Saison, Haver Bier 5.6% ABV. Creamy and delicious, this is one of my new go-to styles. I like the slightly sweet spice of the malt which makes for good drinking whatever the weather. For warm weather drinking only, I would maybe recommend the Eel River Acai Berry Wheat out of Fortuna, CA. It was super light, not too fruity and boosts a "great taste that is great for you". Had to smile at that one. Another fun addition to the festival was the Elliott Bay Olde Burien 600 Malt Liquor 7.4% ABV. Sweet, smooth, lageresque. Is this really Malt Liquor?

Oh! I just came across my notes for the Finnriver Farm Ciders, Chimacum, WA. Both the Dry Hopped Sparkling Cider 6.5% ABV and the Black Currant Cider 6.5% ABV have one simple word jotted down next to them...YES! I guess I liked them but as I recall the Wandering Angus Dry Oaked Cider 7.5% ABV was delicious as well...time to admit I'm a fan of cider.

 At one point during the day I asked Craig what were the "must try" beers of the weekend. He had mentioned the Belgium imports, Brunehaut Amber and the Brunehaut Blonde which I, regrettably, did not get to. Not sure why I was saving the 3-token tastes for the end but by the end, I didn't have the 3-tokens. Poor poor planning on my part. Why am I so cheap with the tokens? Craig also pointed me in the direction of the Logsdon Farmhouse Ales, Hood River, OR. The Seizoen Bretta 8% ABV was a delicous Saison style. Crisp, spicy, dry, keg-conditioned with pear for that sweet, sparkly finish. One of my favorites as well, thank you Sir. The Kili Wit 5.5% ABV, an organic White, had a sour/soft mouth-feel that I really enjoyed. Fuggles hops, barley malt, wheat and a coriander kick made for a very unique beer. I'll have another. Another brewer touting Fuggles Hops this year was Lompoc. Now I'm usually a fan of anything Lompoc but I didn't really care for the Cluster Fuggles IPA 6% ABV that they were offering. It had a strong metallic aftertaste that actually had me wanting to rinse out my mouth after tasting. I don't usually like to rinse after beer.

 At this point, I may have been a little sleepy so I opted for the Mateveza Brewing Co. and their Yerba Mate IPA. Yerba mate is a South American herbal tea that holds a slight caffeine kick. Brewed with organic Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe hops and you get a fine, dry IPA with a minty herbal bite. I like. I've probably told you about my love/hate relationship with McMenamin's Brewerys. I love their style, their venues, their golf courses, pool tables, hotels. Their food is so-so and their service is ridiculous to the slowest level. I still love their beer. I hate the fact that I can never find a good pint of brewer Dan Black's Purple Haze when I want one. I love the fact that they have several brewmasters at various locations and they aren't afraid to compete with themselves. This time around they offered no fewer than four different brewery offerings. Concordia, Crystal, Oak Hills and Old Church. I settled for two. Old Church's Dark Knight Dunkelweizen 5.3% ABV was dark and delicious and everything I want in a dark beer. Spicy, sweet, malty. Dessert in a pint glass. McMenamin's Concordia Brewery showed up with my favorite name for a beer, School's Out IPA 7.2% ABV. A really refreshing IPA that enchanted a few of my friends with it's crisp evergreen high notes and citrus/ fruity undertones. Super summer drinkable. Of course there were many other delicious offerings with the catchy organic names we all anticipate~ Rockbottom's Dirty Hippy 5.3% Kolsch and Upright's Reggae Junkie Gruit 5.3% ABV to name a couple. Some were hot, some were not. I found myself writing "meh" on my notepad a few times.

 All in all, another amazingly fun and delicious way to introduce yourself to some new brews, re-introduce yourself to some old favorites, and spend another fantastic Portland day in a fantastic Portland way. Enjoy!