If you’re a beer lover, this post is for you! The coastal state of Oregon has a yearly Brewers Festival that flocks in locals and tourists from all over. The event started since 1988 and was the brainchild of the founder of Portland Brewing Co. – Art Larrance.
Table of Contents
How did the Oregon Brewers Festival start?
Larrance initiated the Oktoberfest in Munich and wanted a similar atmosphere to promote local microbrews. At that time, there were only four microbreweries in Portland and two more within the state.
Larrance approached the Portland brewers to express his interesting in participating in the festival. McMenamins allowed him to participate but didn’t let him be one of the organizers. The remaining ones of Bridge Port, Widmer, and the Portland Brewing were established by Portland Brewers Festival Association of Oregon and that’s how they set out to have their first-ever brewer’s festival.
At that time, the founder did not know that it would be great concept. Currently, the Oregon Brewers Festival is one of the longest-running beer festival and largest of its kind.
How is the Oregon Brewers Festival celebrated?
Every year, beers lovers congregate on the western bank of Willamette River with the Mt. Hood as a backdrop. It brings in the laidback atmosphere along with lots of beer adorned by the city of Portland. Between the months of July and August is the Oregon Craft Beer Week, and plenty of people come over to be a part of this exciting event.
Do you know that many people refer to Portland as Beervana? It has become the one-stop destination for beer tourism according to Beer Tourism Index by Travelocity. This is also the reasons why Oregon Brewers Festival flocks in plenty of people across the globe.
The state gets more than 50,000 annual travelers who only come here to sample types of beer and can happily drink up anything they have to offer. The Oregon Brewers Festival itself pulls in more than $20 million every year and makes a huge economic impact.
The Oregon festival is an age-old beer festival and considered the ultimate destination for craft beer. It attracts more than 70,000 people who flock in likes it’s a pilgrimage to come to Beervana.
Why visit Portland’s beer festival?
Come over to Oregon on a sun-soaked afternoon in July to sip 80 kinds of independent craft beer. Every group of friends in the US wishes to visit this place at least once in their lives and indulge in the amazing picturesque destination. You might prefer Belgians over Blondes, Saisons over Sours, and Pales over Pilsners – this place covers for all.
When traveling to Portland on a vacay, you will also want to do more things than just drench in beer. Plan your itinerary for a few days so that you can stay a luxury hotel, visit the Oregon Convention Center, find the best places to eat, and things to do. Oregon is a beautiful city and that’s why most people plan a complete trip every July.
Oregon Brewers Festival 2020
Next July, the Oregon Brewers Festival will see its 33rd annual event. It will take place in the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. It will have four entrances – SW Pine St, SW Oak Street, under, Morrison St Bridge, and along the sea wall at Pine. The event will last between July 22 and July 25. Join in during the afternoon and stay till it ends at 9 pm. Note that the ticket sales end by 8:30 pm. Check out some more facts you need to know about this event:
1. Cost
There are no tickets or admission charges to enter the event of Oregon’s festival grounds. To be able to consume beer and cider, you need to buy a tasting package for $20. It will include a souvenir mug of 2020 with 10 tasting tokens. The mugs are also available for $10 and tokens are $1 per piece.
Patrons pay for four tokens for a full 12-ounce mug of cider or beer or one token for 3-ounce sample. You need to get additional tokens for $1 if the ones you have are over. You can get mugs and tokens onsite, but there are more places where these are sold before the festival. Some of these places are Lodge at Cascade Brewing, Cascade Brewing Barrel House, Belmont Station, and more.
Note that all the purchases need to be made in cash and not credit. You will find an ATM machine on the premises of the event.
2. Age
Minors are allowed in the festival along with their parents. But the parents need to sign a form that acknowledges their responsibility to prevent their kids from consuming alcohol. Both parent and child can face a penalty if found guilty. Thus, if your child is between 14 to 20 or less, they can attend the event but not consume alcohol.
3. Pets are not allowed
To ensure safety and cleanliness, no pets are allowed in the event. Only service animals are welcome but others must be kept comfortably at home.
4. Offerings
The event opens you up to a Meet the Brewer area, beer vendors, Brewer Dunk Tank, home brewing demos, games, food vendors, and so on. You can also come over to the Crater Lake Soda Garden for having handcrafted soda if you’re not alcoholic or if you’re a minor.
5. Volunteer
From March 2020 you can apply as a volunteer for the Oregon Brewers Festival. Check their official website for details on this.
Taking a safe ride back home
The beer festival at Oregon promotes responsible drinking and encourages patrons to offer ‘Safe Ride Home’. You can save almost $20 on taxi rides to $5 on TNC rides to get back to home or hotel.
You can buy a poster with scannable QR code from the venue and use it for your ride back home. They promote Tri-Met or MAX Light Rail from the festival entrance. People who will come to the event on their bikes can park them for free at the Hopworks Urban Brewery secure bike corral. However, you might not be allowed to ride if found intoxicated but can collect the bike later.
