This weekend, the Lane County Events Center of Eugene, Oregon is host to the annual KLCC Brew Fest.  In addition to being a fun filled event featuring the beers of more than 50 breweries from the Pacific Northwest and beyond, the festival is the fundraiser for KLCC Public Radio of Eugene.

We arrived Friday at 5PM as the event opened its doors to anxious festival goers in line out front.  Upon entering we received our commemorative sample glass and tokens as well as a guide to the featured brews.  Many of the beers on hand were the usual suspects found around Oregon specialty brew shops, however, there were some noteworthy rarities including five different versions of Sasquatch Strong Ale, a collaborative, commemorative brew originally brewed by Eugene’s Wild Duck Brewery.  The brewery ended when a fatal accident took the life of Oregon beer icon and friend Glen Hay Falconer.

Beach dunes of Florence, Oregon

Okay. Here’s where I spot a rare event on our favorable beer calendar.  The Wakonda Meet the Brewer event at the Green Dragon (now run by Rogue) is a rare chance to palate the Central Oregon Coast brewery’s offerings. Formerly of Alaska, the somewhat obscure Oregon production brewery will make a trip to Portland, a three hour drive from Florence. We received the announcement from Ross Baechle at Rogue about this event.