Nation’s economy is down, but it’s not reflected in beer sales

Attendance at the 13th annual Holiday Ale Festival stays consistent, bringing in 17,000 beer lovers

from organizer Chris Crabb

PORTLAND, Ore. – Dec. 12, 2008 – Sunny skies and mild temperatures set the mood for the 13th annual Holiday Ale Festival, which witnessed attendance consistent with the year prior: final numbers reached 17,000. The West Coast’s most prestigious winter beer festival took place Dec. 3 through Dec. 7 at Pioneer Courthouse Square.


Organizers added a fifth day to the event this year, which was well-received by the public. According to event manager Preston Weesner, the goal was to have 500 attend on opening day: more than 1,000 turned up, many to sample an additional eight special beers that weren’t available the rest of the weekend. A new annex with a third bar was also deemed a success, as it helped to alleviate the crowds in the main tent.

The Belgian Beer and Brunch, an auxiliary event held on the Sunday of the festival, sold out, with more than 80 people sampling prestigious beers and noshing on pastries, meats and cheeses.

The Holiday Ale Festival presented more than 50 robust winter craft beers on draught, all of which were either created for the event, or were rare or vintage beers not readily available in the state. These winter warmers were all designed to ward off the chill of winter and warm both the palate and soul. Complex in aroma and flavor, these beers were rich in color, big in body, and high in alcohol.


The People’s Choice winner, which was determined by the beer that went through the most kegs, was Collaborator’s Hallucinator Olde Ale, followed by the Holiday Ale Festival/Hair of the Dog Commemorative Blend Jim II.

Festival attendees stayed warm and dry under a large clear-topped tent that covered the venue while allowing for views of the city lights. Gas heaters created a cozy ambiance under the boughs of the city’s Christmas tree.

In addition to beer tasting, the Holiday Ale Festival also featured on-site food from Rogue Ales, event merchandise, complimentary Crater Lake Sodas for designated drivers, organic cheese pairings, mead sampling, and seasonal background music.

Next year’s Holiday Ale Festival will take place Dec. 2 through 6, 2009. For more information about the Holiday Ale Festival, visit www.holidayale.com or call 503-252-9899.

New Arrivals and Event Notices

It's always a pleasant surprise when something arrives when we're told to expect it, so I was pretty darn pleased when the Laurelwood Green Elephant and Bridgeport's Stumptown Tart both rolled off the trucks this morning. Throw in a couple of new lagers and you've got a nice list of stuff to drink this weekend.

New Beers!

Laurelwood - Green Elephant: Mmmm....Green Elephant. Big, crisp, and chock full of citrusy, floral goodness. This is my second favorite IPA from the 'Wood, right behind the delicious Workhorse. As I mentioned yesterday, they only bottled a couple hundred cases, so snag some while you can.

Bridgeport - Stumptown Tart: Much has already been written about the Tart, so I'll let Angelo, Jeff, and John wax poetic about the brew. All I'd like to add is that I'm amazed how inexpensive it is. At 8%abv and loaded with marionberries, I didn't expect it to hit the shelf at less than $5 per 22oz bottle, but here it is. People keep asking me, "How long will it age?", and even though I'm sure it's got some staying power I'd wager that the good folks at Bridgeport would prefer you drink it fresh and soak up all the marionberry goodness.

Mt Shasta - Lemurian Lager: Given the recent trouble that Mt. Shasta has been having with the TTB, I just shook my head and grinned when their new Lemurian Lager came in this morning. Printed in 80pt block font on the front of the label is the word WEED, and on the back side there's a curious little story about the mythical creatures that inhabit the wilds of Mt. Shasta. Cap it all off with an enthusiastic recommendation to "Celebrate Weed!" and you begin to see why they've run afoul of our ever-protective government. In any case, the beer is brand-spanking new, so there's not much info to pass on until we have a chance to try one. Show the TTB what you think of their decision and go "Try LEGAL Weed!"

Lakefront - Cherry Lager: Light and smooth, the Lakefront Cherry Lager is loaded with essence of Door County Cherries for a nice tart balance. If it ever warms up around here, this will make a nice afternoon sipper while you sit on the porch. If current trends continue it'll make a nice beer to sip while you sit on the couch and wonder why your PGE bill is so high...

Event Notices:

Hair of the Dog Earth Day Sale: Twice a year Alan Sprints opens up his brewery to the public for a dock sale, and the Earth Day sale is always popular. He'll have a fresh batch of Blue Dot IPA, a couple hundred cases of Fred From the Wood, and probably an assortment of other vintage offerings (Doggie Claws, Rose Cassis?) as well. The official start time is 10am, but get there early or you'll be standing in line for a while. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m, Saturday April 26th at the brewery, 4509 S.E. 23rd Ave

Concordia Alehouse Beer Brawl: I'm going to pass this one off to Mr. Foyston again because he's already given a more in-depth description than I could have. Taste the best that Oregon and Washington have to offer, and vote on your favorites. Starts 11:30 a.m. Friday, runs through Sunday at the Concordia Ale House: 3276 NE Killingsworth St.; $10 per taster tray, $20 with a cool commemorative t-shirt.

Lucky Lab Barleywine and Big Beer Fest

The Lucky Lab's annual big beer and barleywine festival seems to be coming together nicely. Dave Fleming just confirmed (via the Oregon Brewcrew listserv) that this years' event will be held Friday and Saturday, March 7th and 8th, at the Beer Hall on NW Quimby, and the beer starts flowing at noon each day.

The entire list hasn't been publicized yet, but here's the list of things that have been confirmed thus far:

Hair of the Dog - Adam 2007

Bend Brewing - Outback X 2006

Terminal Gravity - Barleywine 2005

Great Divide - Old Ruffian Barleywine

Caldera Brewing - Imperial Stout 2004 and 2005

Stone Brewing - Old Guardian 2005

More to come...

Holiday Ale Fest Recommendations

Well, considering the fest started at 11am I'm a wee bit late, but for those of you who haven't made the trek down yet I'd like to offer a few thoughts on beers you really need to try. Extra special thanks to Preston Weesner (GM of the fest) for inviting me down for a preview tasting last night.

My Top 5 from last night:

Hair of the Dog - Jim II: Wow. Just wow. The story behind this brew is almost as great as the beer itself. Here's the low down from Alan Sprints (via Beervana):

"This year's Jim is a blend of Adam, Fred and Doggie Claws, all barrel aged for 6 weeks. Along with the base beers I have added about 10% of a German Pilsner (Spaten), a 9 liter bottle of Val Du Trippel, 1989 Thomas Hardy's--the year I met Jim--a 1991 Rodenbach Alexander that I bought from Jim, and a 1994 Maredsous 10 that Jim enjoyed drinking. I am drinking a glass now; I smell Plums, Almonds and Oak, the Beer is a deep copper color and the lace sticks to the sides of my glass. The beer has a strong hop backbone with notes of chocolate, wood and crusty bread, a firm mouth feel and a complex finish that continues to evolve after the Beer is gone. I am guessing it is 8% abv. I made 16 kegs for the festival this year, only four last year.

Some of you may remember the frenzy caused by last year's version of Jim, hopefully the increase in production will allow the beer to make it through a couple days of the festival before blowing. Cross your fingers, and make sure to hit this one early.

Scaldis - Noel: Unless I'm mistaken, they aren't having the spendy "Big Boy Bar" this year, which means you can score a full mug of this ridiculously delicious Belgian delight for only four tickets. Just for perspective, an 8.4oz bottle retails for just under $5, making this the best value under the tent. It's incredibly nuanced and delicate for a beer that comes in at 12-14% abv, so you'll want to quaff this one before you start hitting the hop monsters.

Speaking of hop monsters, Max's Fanno Creek has sent O'Holy Hops, an aged IPA that tastes like it's fresh out of the brite tanks. I haven't had too many of Max's beers, but this is easily the best thing I've ever had from the nascent Tigard brewery. This is off the charts hoppy. So hoppy that the finish is almost minty. I don't mean mint flavor, I'm talking about the cool, refreshing feeling that hits you after eating something minty. That might not makes sense, but try the beer and I think you'll understand.

Ft. George "North": Billed as a "red wheat wine", and brewed with 11 different malts, this is a hard brew to wrap your brain (and palate) around. It's sweet, wheaty, slightly boozy, and chewy. I was suffering a bit of palate fatigue by the time I got to try this one, so I can't offer any more tasting notes, but it's far enough off the beaten path that I'd suggest getting a sample first before you commit to a full mug of this nectar. Fans of extreme experimental beers should definitely give this one a shot.

Golden Valley - Oaked Tannenbomb: I was looking forward to this one, and even though it didn't taste anything like what I was expecting, I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. The delicious roasty malt base is still there, but some of the hop presence was exchanged for a bit of oaky goodness. Seems like a good trade to me.

Stay tuned for more as we have a chance to sample them. Also be sure to check back tomorrow for a list of truly exciting new beers.

Beer List For FredFest 2007

You may recall my previous post about FredFest 2007, and I promised an update when I knew which beers were pouring, so without further ado I present the initial list of beers scheduled to make an appearance during the fest.


1- BridgePort Brewing - Cask Old Knucklehead
2- Deschutes - Coffee infused 20K Imperial Bourbon Porter
3- Full Sail - TBA
4- Hair Of The Dog - Cask Fred
5- Laurelwood - TBA
6- Lucky Lab - Russian Imperial Stout
7- New Old Lompoc - Oak aged LSD
8- Max's Fanno Creek - Belgian Dubbel
9- Pelican Brewing - Gran Cru
10- Racoon Lodge - Sour Wild Blackberry aged in oak
11- Rock Bottom - Ned Flanders Red. ( the original!)
12- Rogue - Dad's Little Helper Malt liquor
13- Roots Organic - Pinot-barrel aged Epic
14- Widmer - Collaborator Continuum Brown

Whoa. Seriously, if that list doesn't get you excited enough to drop $20 I don't know what would. Remember, all the proceeds from the event go to help longtime craft-beer supporter Merle Gilmore, who has been battling leukemia and faces astronomical medical and prescription bills. Gilmore has been an inexhaustible volunteer at beer fests and often assisted Hair of the Dog owner Alan Sprints in bottling and other duties around the brewery.

Cost for the event is $20 in advance or $25 at the door and includes a souvenir glass. To get on the list for advance-purchase tickets, e-mail fredfest@comcast.net.

Go. Buy tickets. Now.

Special Thanks to John Foyston for the great picture of Fred!

EDIT Tuesday, May 8, 2007: Just Announced! Laurelwood is featuring Green Elephant Organic IPA (2006, I believe) and Full Sail will be pouring the 2006 GABF silver-medal winning Black Gold Imperial Stout.

Random Notes For Friday

~Effective Saturday, April 28, the Cafe will begin opening for lunch. The hours will be Monday through Saturday from 11:30-10 and Sunday from 12-9.

~The Oregon Trail Bourbon Porter Batch 3 has returned. We received 8 cases on this load, and there's no telling when or if we'll be able to get any more, so stock up while you can.

~We got more Hair of the Dog Blue Dot IIPA. I know a lot of people have been frustrated by the unavailability of this brew, but we finally managed to get some more so don't miss this opportunity.

~We acquired a slew of new beers this week:

• Sterken's White Ale
• Sterken's Dubbel
• Sterken's Poorter
• Bojkirks Kruikenbier
• Chapeau Banana
• Chapeau Peche
• Chapeau Framboise
• St. Sebastian Golden Ale
• St. Sebastian Dark Ale
• St. Sebastian Grande Reserve
• J.K. Scrumpy's Organic Hard Cider

I think that's about it. As always, call if there's anything we can do for you, or if you have questions regarding anything mentioned on the blog.

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