19th Annual Barley Cup Brewfest Returns to McMenamins Thompson Brewery

Now 19 years strong, McMenamins annual Barley Cup Brewfest returns tomorrow, Saturday, June 11th to McMenamins Thompson Brewery & Public House in Salem, Oregon. The daylong festival begins at 11:00am and goes until closing time.

Barley Cup Brewfest will feature both McMenamins breweries and a few guest breweries mainly from the Salem area. The McMenamins breweries include John Barleycorns, Oak Hills Brewpub, Cornelius Pass Roadhouse, Thompson Brewery & Public House, Old Church & Pub, and High Street Brewery & Café. The guest breweries include Sasquatch, Calapooia Brewing, Salem Ale Works, The RAM, Seven Brides Brewing and Gilgamesh.

During the daylong festival McMenamins will feature a special taster tray, $12 for 12 tasters. At the end craft beer fans will determine which one is their favorite beer. The brewers will be on hand to answer questions and plead their cases for their own brews. The winner of the Barley Cup will be decided by a popular vote among all Brewfest attendees. The proud winner will have his or her name and beer name forever engraved on the coveted Barley Cup Brewfest trophy.

Here’s a rundown on the beers that will be pouring during Saturday’s Barley Cup Brewfest.

Cornelius Pass Roadhouse
Hillsboro, Ore. Brewers: Brady Romtvedt & Chris Oslin
Oaken Apricot IPA
Hold your golden goblet to your nose and inhale the sweet, rich aroma of our Billy Whiskey Barrels, impregnated with fruit and hops. Sip and marvel at the dry complexity of citrus and wood. Exhale and enjoy the refreshingly tart finish and promised kiss of apricot.
Special Techniques: Aged in Billy Whiskey Barrels
Fruit: Apricot Puree
Malts: 2-Row, Flaked Barley
Hops: Simcoe, Citra
OG: 1.063 TG: 1.009 ABV: 6.97 IBU: 80 SRM: 4

Thompson Brewery & Public House
Salem, Ore. Brewer: Jen Kent
Bastille Imperial Stout
With a structure whose stone architectural history is strong and
powerful, we give you Bastille Imperial Stout. The addition of rolled oats brings forth a silky tone to blend with the added flavors of fresh vanilla, and coffee beans soaked in Bastille Whiskey. The added oak and rye malts help balance out unique palate flavors by bringing a slight dryness to the mouth. By blending all of these flavors, this is a pint to be raised in honor of strength. Be it in architecture, life, or lessons. It is within us all.
Special Ingredients: American Oak, Bastille Whiskey, Fresh Vanilla Bean, Whole Coffee Beans Malts: Halycon Pale, Rolled Oats, 136/165, Melanoidin, Roasted Rye, Kiln Black Malt
Hops: Chinook, Cascade
OG: 1.083 TG: 1.016 ABV: 8.64 IBU: 19 SRM: 40

McMenamins Old Church & Pub
Wilsonville, Ore. Brewer: Justin Azevedo
Blue Ribbon ISA Blue Ribbon India Session Ale combines the drinkability of your favorite light Lager with the rich complexity of your favorite IPA. A bouquet of citrus, berry and pine float atop the dense white head of this quaffable creation. Each sip overflows with delectable hop flavors, juxtaposed with a crisp Pilsner maltiness before fading to a dry, spicy finish. Put down that can of watery Lager and reach for a pint of Blue Ribbon ISA instead. You won’t regret it!
Malts: Superior Pilsen, Dextra Pils, Flaked Rice
Hops: Chinook, Mosaic, Simcoe
OG: 1.050 TG: 1.006 ABV: 5.68 IBU: 60 SRM: 3

John Barleycorns
Tigard, Ore. Brewer: Tim Proctor
Sailing the C’s Double IPA
You may want to batten down the hatches before trying this strong Double IPA. Let your taste buds set adrift while you try and navigate through seven different hop varieties, all starting with the letter ‘C’. You’ll notice lots of hop flavors and aromas thrashing about, like strong fruit and citrus character with spicy, earthy overtones. There’s a mild malt background that allows the hops to shine. One sip and you’ll yell “ahoy!”
Malts: Gambrinus Pilsen, Caramel Munich
Hops: Cascade, Chinook, Citra, Cluster, Centennial, Crystal, Columbus
OG: 1.082 TG: 1.012 ABV: 9 IBU: 70 SRM: 6

Oak Hills Brewpub
Portland, Ore. Brewer: Dan Black
Flocon De Mais
A 400-year-old Belgian beer style that almost died out is now gaining in popularity. Flocon De Mais is a Belgian Witbier made with Wheat, 2-Row and Corn Flakes. This tasty brew is lightly-hopped with Ultra Hops and spiced with Sweet Spanish Orange Peel and Grains of Paradise, for added complexity. A Belgian Witbier Yeast was used to complete this ale. This brew is pale with a medium-body mouthfeel. It’s light and drinkable with lots of pleasing, complex flavors.
Special Techniques: Belgian Witbier Yeast
Special Ingredients: Sweet Spanish Orange Peel, Grains of Paradise
Malts: 2-Row, Wheat, Corn Flakes
Hops: Ultra
OG: 1.052 TG: 1.010 ABV: 5.5 IBU: 25 SRM: 4

High Street Brewery & Café
Eugene, Ore. Brewer: Hanns Anderson
Ma Donna Coffee Porter
Behold, the Mother of all Coffee Porters. Copius amounts of our own McMenamins Roasted Coffee have been added to this already rich and roasty Porter.
Special Ingredients: McMenamins Roasted Coffee
Malts: 2-Row, Crystal 120, Chocolate, Blackprinz
Hops: Ultra, Perle
OG: 1.055 TG: 1.015 ABV: 5.16 IBU: 51 SRM: 42

Sasquatch Brewing Co.
Portland, Ore. Brewer: Mike Paladino
Sister Skookum Imperial Saison
This is our house blend of two Belgian yeasts. Malty Imperial Saison with fruity notes from use of rose hips and Grains of Paradise add a finishing zest.
Special Ingredients: Rose Hips, Grains of Paradise
Malts: Belgian Pilsen, German Wheat, Vienna, Flaked Barley, Acidulated
Hops: Merkur, Saaz, Willamette
OG: 1.082 TG: 1.001 ABV: 10.6% IBU: 35

Seven Brides Brewing
Silverton, Ore. Brewer: Josiah Kelley
Cosmic IPA This is our latest in an all-draft IPA series using the Cosmic Blend of hops for late kettle additions and dry-hopping. The Cosmic Blend comes from Crosby Hop Farms in Woodburn, Oregon.
Malts: Rare 2-Row, Crystal, Vienna
Hops: Nugget, Crosby Hop Farm Cosmic Blend
OG: 1.056 TG: 1.004 ABV: 5.41% IBU: 55

Gilgamesh Brewing
Salem, Ore. Brewer: Jason Rowley
Tropic Blunder Tropical Wheat
Everyone makes mistakes. This time it turns out that one of our brewers (ahem… Jason) at the end of a long shift wound up dry-hopping a tank of DJ Jazzy Hef, rather than the Oedipus IPA. Oops. We decided it was the perfect opportunity to release a seasonal, so we added pineapple and passionfruit to the tank for an extra zing and Bam! Tropic Blunder was born. This semi-tart wheat beer has a distinct punch from the fruit, backed up with all the body of our Hef, and a touch of hops to round it all out. Nice job, Jason.
Special Ingredients: Stash® Dragon Phoenix Pearl Jazmine®, Pineapple, Passionfruit
Malts: Malted White Wheat, Carapils
Hops: Mt. Hood, Mosaic, Galaxy
OG: 1.061 TG: 1.012 ABV: 6.4% IBU: 9

Ram Brewery
Salem, Ore. Brewer: Dustin Reed & Jeremy Borde
Marion Berry Saison
This summer-style Saison is crafted with Munich and Wheat Malts and fermented with the subtle complexity of Belgian Yeast to create a mix of spicy and fruity flavors that are then topped off with the awesome sweet and tart flavors of Oregon Marionberries. Cheers!
Special Ingredients: Belgian Yeast
Fruit: Oregon Marionberry
Malts: Munich, Wheat
Hops: Bravo
OG: 1.064 TG: 1.008 ABV: 7.5% IBU: 30

Salem Ale Works
Salem, Ore. Brewer: Justin Ego
de Laurier Explosivo Bay Leaf Saison
In the immortal words of the best Batman, Michael Keaton: You wanna get nuts?! Come on! Let’s get nuts! Whilst sitting around the proverbial campfire, I asked, “Self, what is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?” I instead thought about the oil content of different herbs and spices… Like an egg timer going off, I had an idea. What we have here is a concoction of bay leaves, malt, Calypso Hops and Saison Yeast. The finish is as dry as my analogies are dumb. The hops accentuate the light malt character. The bay leaf adds delicate yet forward flavor.
Special Ingredients: Imperial Organic Saison Yeast, Bay Leaves Malts: Pilsen, Vienna, Sugar
Hops: Calypso
OG: 1.046 TG: 1.004 ABV: 5.5% IBU: 22

Calapooia Brewing Co.
Albany, Ore. Brewers: Joe Clark & Matt Maller
Barrel Hound ESB This ESB is a true gem, aged for three months in Bourbon barrels. Rich in color and taste; heavily hopped with Cascade and Willamette hops, but so smooth that even non-hopheads love this beer!
Special Ingredient: Dry English Yeast
Special Techniques: Bourbon Barrel Aged
Malts: 2-Row, Crystal 40, Crystal 75, Kiln Amber Hops: Cascade, Willamette
OG: 1.059 TG: 1.011 ABV: 5.5% IBU: 40

Beyond the craft beer, McMenamins will be hosting a McMenamins Spirits Tasting from 3:00 to 7:00pm. There will also be food specials that includes the following:

• Hammerhead BBQ Pork Sliders, $9.20
• Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Kettle Chips, $8
• Verde Chicken Burrito, $13.75

There will also be live music from Adam Michael Goldthwaite that will take place from 2:00 to 4:00pm. Then at 7:00pm Tommy Hogan takes the stage with his Americana and blues sounds. Tommy Hogan is said to be matched to the sound styles of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Bonamassa, Ben Harper, Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker ,Howlin Wolf to the legendary Robert Johnson but combines it all into his own original voice, music, heart and soul.

McMenamins Thompson Brewery & Public House
3575 Liberty Road S.
Salem, OR 97302