No Panic at a Great Beer Festival!

Forget how many great beer festivals there are in Oregon. Okay, it's hard to considering how awesome it is to live here in the Pacific Northwest. Try to also forget the all the cool music festivals there are in this area. Put the two together and you've got one heck of a festival. Period.

The Roots crew since putting Oreganics in full effect a few years ago by being the state's first certified all-organic brewery, have also oregonized a killer festival with some sustainable malted treats from Beervana and around the globe.

Some favorites:

Butte Creek Mateveza Butte Creek gets points from me by consistently being inventive, even when that means being weird or untraditional. At first I was skeptical of this beer infused with yerba mate, but as a fan of yerba tea, I gave it a go and was quite surprised how much I liked it. Tangy citrusy finish with a foundation of earthy smokiness and hoppy crispiness. I felt like I was saving the Amazon rainforest when I was partaking in this joyous organic pale ale. Great beer!

New Belgium Mothership Wit Initially I wrote this organic wit off as just another quirky golden wannabe Belgian, but it was quite pleasant with just the right balance of added coriander and orange peels. Bolstered by a medium sized bright head, I could imagine this to be a nice summer session beer.
Beam me up!

Hopworks India Pale Ale As a devout Christian, I had big expectations for this beer. I heard it was brewed at McMinville's Golden Valley Brewing. Perhaps the most anticipated beer at the festival and rightfully so, it poured a tawny golden copper color with a bustling white head. Sharply bitter, but not overly so. Crisp and fairly balanced for the style (PNW IPA). British ale flavor in delicious finish. If this is what Hopworks is about, I want more now!

Eel River IPA Brewed with whole cone hops says the label on the beer bottle. Definitely possesses a noticeable caramel presence. Malty, hoppy and quite yummy. Here’s an IPA for IPA drinkers.

Roots Epiphany IPA This beer is sooo bitter it rivals Dick's IPA. Floral brew with four hops and dry-hopped with two varieties. Craig and Jason don't mess around and follow the Butte Creek philosophy of "Go Big or Go Home!" Right on!

Roots Chocolate Habenero Stout Dark with a hearty off white head. Spice in the nose and front, but no where near as spicy as I would have imagined. The chocolate definitely cooled off this enjoyable beer. Jah, Mon!

Alameda El Torero Indian Pale Ale Alameda rocks one of their best brews to date and in organic fashion. Bustling with hops, El Torero is a plush orange-tawny hue that screams "Drink me!" Fruity and luxurious is this beer that this beer drinker prays will be a perennial brew for Beaumont's pride and joy.

Crannog's Hells Kitchen Potato Beer A well-balanced dark ale that I would never have guessed was made with potato. My Polish friends loved this yummy beer that was decently hopped. Who could resist a potato brew? Not me, and I am glad I tried it!


Pinkus Alt As far as I know this is Germany's only all organic brewery. And depending on your definition of organic, it is arguably the world's only purely organic beer (water source included, Pinkus obtains its water from an underground stone well). Any ol' way, forget Taco Bell, after a weekend of beerfesting, this mealy malt is fourth meal. Try it again for the first time.

These beers are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the NAOBF. Make sure to support you local, sustainable brewer and don't panic! See you next June!