Oregon Brewers Festival

Oregon Brewers Festival

The festival in 2007
Begins Wednesday before last full weekend in July[1]
Ends Last Sunday in July
Frequency Annual
Location(s) Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon
Years active Since 1988
Participants 80,000 (2011)[2]

Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF) is a five-day craft beer festival held annually since 1988 at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, Oregon.[1] Each brewery brings one beer.[1]

Admission is free, but to sample the festival's beers, attendees must purchase that year's OBF tasting glass as well as $1 beer tokens each token is good for a sample that has varied in volume over the years,[3] while a "full pour" costs four tokens.[1][4]

OBF features a root beer garden, which offers free root beer for designated drivers and minors; the latter must be accompanied by a parent.[4]

History

Year Sample
size[3]
1991 6 oz
1994 6 oz
1996 5 oz
1997 6 oz
2001 5 oz
2002 4 oz
2003 6 oz
2005 4 oz
2007 4 oz
2010 4 oz
2012 4 oz
2013 3 oz
2014[5] 3 oz

Live music was introduced in 2001.[6]

In 2005, OBF expanded from a three day schedule (Friday to Sunday) to four, adding Thursday.[7]

The 2011 Oregon Brewers Festival featured 85 craft beers from 14 states; it attracted 80,000 people over four days.[2] Nearly 2,000 volunteers worked at the festival, selling tokens and pouring beer, among other tasks.[2]

In 2013, OBF added a fifth day, moving the opening to Wednesday; they also replaced the annual plastic mug, which had been used since the festival's beginning, with a tasting glass, which for 2013 costs $7.[7] The previous year's 14-US-fluid-ounce (410 ml) mug was replaced by a 12.8-US-fluid-ounce (380 ml) glass, which reduced the size of a full pour.[3] For 2014, there are 88 beers available, in 30 styles; that does not include the more than 100 available separately in OBF's Specialty Tent.[8]

Related events

In recent years OBF has anchored a month of beer-related festivals in Portland, including the North American Organic Brewers Festival, the Portland International Beerfest, and the Great American Distillers Festival.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "FAQ". Oregon Brewers Festival. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Culverwell, Wendy (August 2, 2011). "Brew Fest breaks attendance record". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Dunlop, Pete (July 21, 2013). "What's Up with OBF Pour Sizes, Anyway?". BeervanaBuzz.com. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Perry, Douglas (July 24, 2008). "Brewers Fest FAQ: What you need to know". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  5. Cheney, Cathy (July 14, 2014). "Oregon Brewers Festival fans: It's that time again". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  6. Miller, Trisha; Schrag, John (July 11, 2001). "Beer Wars". News Buzz (Willamette Week). Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Foyston, John (February 5, 2013). "Wednesday is the new Thursday: Oregon Brewers Festival will grow to five days this year". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
  8. Harrison, Lacey. "Hopped Up Eugene – The Oregon Brewers Festival". EugeneDailyNews.com. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  9. Watts, Joseph (June 25, 2008). "Brew Fest breaks attendance record". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2011-10-14.

External links