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Oregon Brewers Festival

Coordinates: 45°30′58″N 122°40′21″W / 45.516°N 122.6726°W / 45.516; -122.6726
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Oregon Brewers Festival
The festival in 2007
BeginsThursday before last full weekend in July[1]
EndsLast Sunday in July
FrequencyAnnual
Location(s)Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon
Years active1988–2019, 2022, 2024-
Participants85,000 (2014)[2]

Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF) is a four-day craft beer festival held annually from 1988 to 2019 and 2022 at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, Oregon, except in 2020-21 when the COVID-19 pandemic and 2023 when low attendance and hot weather from last year caused it to be cancelled.[1] OBF has become the most popular outdoor beer festival in North America, based on attendance.[3] Each brewery brings one beer.[1][4] The attendance peaked in 2014, however it has been declining since.[5] There is a Root Beer Garden for those who are under 21 or loathe alcohol.

History

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Founder of Portland Brewing Co, Art Larrance,[6] launched the Oregon Brewers Festival in July 1988, after visiting Oktoberfest in Munich and wanting to create a similar atmosphere and experience.[7]

Year Sample
size[8]
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[9] 3 oz

Live music was introduced in 2001.[10]

In 2005, OBF expanded from a three-day schedule (Friday to Sunday) to four, adding Thursday.[11]

The 2011 Oregon Brewers Festival featured 85 craft beers from 14 states; it attracted 80,000 people over four days.[12] Nearly 2,000 volunteers worked at the festival, selling tokens and pouring beer, among other tasks.[12]

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.[11] 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.[13]

After two years with tasting glasses made of glass, for 2015, OBF switched to a polycarbonate tasting glass; the change was in response to safety concerns raised by the Portland Police.[2]

In 2018, OBF changed back to a four-day festival, moving the opening to Thursday. That same year, the festival added two hard ciders to the lineup, and four wines –– 2 red and 2 white –– for the first time in the festival's history.[14]

In 2020 and 2021, the festival went on hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic;[15] although it resumed in 2022, it was cancelled in 2023.[15]

[edit]

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.[16]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "FAQ". Oregon Brewers Festival. Archived from the original on 2011-10-28. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  2. ^ a b Hale, Jamie (April 17, 2015). "Oregon Brewers Festival will stop using glass after Portland police cite safety concerns". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2015-07-09. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
  3. ^ Foyston, John (July 23, 2014). "Beer begins flowing at 'America's Oktoberfest'". CNN. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
  4. ^ Perry, Douglas (July 24, 2008). "Brewers Fest FAQ: What you need to know". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  5. ^ "Has Portland's Beer Festival Scene Been Tapped Out?". New School Beer + Cider. Archived from the original on 2021-02-21. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  6. ^ "Beer Birthday: Art Larrance - Brookston Beer Bulletin". brookstonbeerbulletin.com. 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  7. ^ "About". Oregon Brewers Festival. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  8. ^ Dunlop, Pete (July 21, 2013). "What's Up with OBF Pour Sizes, Anyway?". BeervanaBuzz.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  9. ^ Cheney, Cathy (July 14, 2014). "Oregon Brewers Festival fans: It's that time again". Portland Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2014-07-20. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  10. ^ Miller, Trisha; Schrag, John (July 11, 2001). "Beer Wars". News Buzz. Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  11. ^ a b Foyston, John (February 5, 2013). "Wednesday is the new Thursday: Oregon Brewers Festival will grow to five days this year". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
  12. ^ a b Culverwell, Wendy (August 2, 2011). "Brew Fest breaks attendance record". Portland Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2023-01-14. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  13. ^ Harrison, Lacey. "Hopped Up Eugene – The Oregon Brewers Festival". EugeneDailyNews.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  14. ^ Meunier, Andre (2018-07-27). "Oregon Brewers Festival 2018 hits Waterfront Park on Thursday". oregonlive. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  15. ^ a b "Another dry summer in Portland: Oregon Brewers Festival canceled with no clear return". opb. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  16. ^ Watts, Joseph (June 25, 2008). "Brew Fest breaks attendance record". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
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45°30′58″N 122°40′21″W / 45.516°N 122.6726°W / 45.516; -122.6726

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