Scenes From the 1st Annual Portland Fruit Beer Fest
The First Annual Portland Fruit Beer Festival (PFBF) was a huge success. Slated for the second weekend of June each year from here on out, if the first year’s turnout and selection was any indication, we can foresee that the only problem the fest will face in the future will be that it is too popular. Hosted by Burnside Brewing, the PFBF featured a vast array of beer styles infused and brewed with a spectrum of flavorsome fruit varietals. Some highlights from the 2011 PFBF included: 
Block 15’s Psidium, a rustic farmhouse ale brewed with guava fruit; Burnside Brewing’s Marionberry Berliner-Weiss, a low alcohol, bright red hued tart ale; Widmer Brothers’ Himbeere Gose mit dem Eibisch, a spin on the traditional Gosebier with raspberries and hibiscus (probably the most beautiful looking brew of the festival); Upright Brewing’s Gin Barrel-Aged Four with Strawberries, a complex and savory selection made with a healthy heap of brixous berries; Oakshire’s Gin Barrel-Aged Blackberry Imperial Stout, one of the most anticipated beers to tap at the rare beer portion of the fest; Hopworks Chupacabra Chili Stout, a special rendition of HUB’s Seven Grain Stout made with four different chili varieties; Double Mountain Devil’s Kriek, an annual favorite from the Hood river brewers, this particular 1/2 barrel keg blew in under an hour; New Belgium Peach Love, thanks to Ezra for a sneak sample of this wonderfully sour and mouthwatering single barrel brew; Breakside Whiskey Ginger, designed off a cocktail known as Six Lengths Ahead from the Beaker and Flask, this beer highlighted blueberries, ginger, limepeel, and grenadine aged in a Whippersnapper barrel; Cascade Apricot, many repeat patrons returned for this wonderful tart wild ale showcasing lactobacillus and bright apricot fruit. Click HERE to read some of our picks from the media preview.
In total, all of the beers were at very least interesting and worth a try. It is apparent that the staff at Burnside Brewing along with co-organizer Ezra Johnson-Greenough and volunteer staffer Jeremie Landers worked very hard to make this festival a great success. Kudos to them! We can’t wait for next year’s PFBF!
Here’s some pictures from this year’s Portland Fruit Beer Fest:
About The Author
Angelo
Angelo grew up in Maine and is proud to call New England his original home. Cascadia is now his home. He fell in love with great beer in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California. He has been a correspondent for the Portland Tribune's Guest on Tap column, LivePDX.com, and has been featured in publications such as Beer Northwest and PDX Magazine. Angelo also has a great interest in independent music, and has been a booker and organizer for shows around the Portland under the name Pop Tomorrow! Angelo garnered much knowledge regarding beer from his experiences homebrewing, working at Belmont Station, Pyramid Brewing, Upright Brewing, By the Bottle, Beer Revolution, Olde Depot Public House, Falling Sky Brewing, Cascade Brewing, and from many many knowledgeable, passionate, and loving people along the way. It is Angelo's mission to bring "infotainment" and "edumation" to the readers of this website. If you have any questions or comments, or would like to contribute, please contact me at angelo@brewpublic.com
Totally disagree it was a huge success. I got there at 5PM, they were already out of more than 1/2 the beers, the ‘rare beer room’ only included Burnside’s own brews, the lines were long…
At the very least they should have given heads up on the way in: fair warning we’re out of most of the beers, do you still want to come?
Totally dishonest to presell with that great list of beers, then take money from people knowing that only Burnside’s own beer remained.