Here in Portland, Oregon aka Beervana, we can attribute being at the pinnacle of the craft beer world thanks to a number of variables. The region’s climate goes unmatched for the growing of the choicest hop varietals (somewhere in the ballpark of 30% of all grown on the planet); betwixt the equator and the North Pole and how we are impacted by the Pacific currents, Cascadia’s cool and cloudy months might be a mainspring to our taste for a variety malty styles; the rich history of founding brewers such as Henry Saxer and Henry Weinhard. Whatever it is that instills this affinity for great beer, one thing is undeniable, and that is that the driving force behind our great beer and all its glory is an ever-growing community of dedicated and passionate human beings. Obviously, there’s the brewers making it and the pubs selling it, but we should not forget the people who have dedicated themselves and their lives to advocating of brew, people like Ms. Chris Crabb.

Crabb is the humble force behind Portland and the nation’s greatest and most attended beer festivals. These include the Oregon Brewers Festival of which she has been the head of media relations for the past 16 years, and the Holiday Ale Fest, which has also been reoccurring for the past 16 years. In addition to running these, Crabb has recently assumed the responsibilities of promotion and organization of the popular North American Organic Brewers Festival. On top of helping to orchestrate some of the largest beer events on the West Coast, Crabb is also dedicated to promoting a few breweries around Portland, providing public relations and social media services to the likes of New Old Lompoc Brewing and Cascade Brewing.

Recently we had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Crabb, the woman you can thank for much of these exceptional events. Read More…

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer events

The biggest brew fest on the West Coast is unquestionably the Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF). Each year crowds of beer enthusiasts from the novice greenhorn to the uber-geek head to Tom McCall Waterfront Park to take part in this truly amazing spectacle. It is estimated that now, in its 24th year, the OBF will see around 80,000 attendees in its four days (Thursday July 28-Sunday July 31).

Always the last full weekend in July, the OBF takes advantage of the region’s incomparable passion for craft beer. Some credit this to the proximity to hop fields and the exceptional Bull Run watershed. Anyway you cut it, this is the mother of all West Coast beer events. And, as craft beer continues to burgeon into its own distinct entity, with more than 1,700 breweries in operation in the United States, it’s easy to see why people so love such an event. Portland, now with at least 40 commercial breweries, is the world’s leading city in this category. In fact, it has been a few years since we’ve passed Munich as the brewery leader.

So, the next time you hear some half-cocked story about how Asheville or San Francisco or Philadelphia is the best beer city in the United States, just think of the Oregon Brewers Fest and the day in and day out love we have for great beer here that those places can just dream of. Would this madness even fly in these other “champion” cities?  What other region could support such an outburst of love for great beer?

Look for more than 85 breweries, many who are local, to represent at this year’s OBF. In recent years a “buzz” tent has been added to accommodate the biggest and baddest of beer geeks. Here you will find some stuff that will wow even the grandest of beer nerds (like us!).

Here’s the important details: Read More…

Posted under beer awards

Posted under beer events, events