North American Organic Brewers Festival

More than 15,000 beer lovers will converge upon Portland to take part in the sixth annual North American Organic Brewers Festival (NAOBF), the world’s largest all organic beer festival.  Designed to raise awareness about organic beer and sustainable living, the NAOBF serves up more than 50 organic beers and ciders from around the nation.  There’s also live music, organic food, sustainability-oriented vendors and non-profits, secure onsite bike parking, a root beer garden with complimentary Crater Lake Root Beer for minors and designated drivers, and a children’s area, all in a beautiful park setting.

The festival goes beyond beer tasting by striving to be the most earth-friendly beer festival in North America. Festival attendees sample beer from reusable and compostable cornstarch glasses made from domestically grown corn by a zero-waste, solar-powered company. Onsite composting and recycling stations are provided for festival waste, and food vendors are required to use compostable cutlery and plates. Electricity needs are met with a combination of biodiesel and solar generators. Volunteers wear organic cotton and hemp t-shirts, and all event signage is reusable.

Admission into the event is free.  The purchase of a $6 reusable, compostable cornstarch tasting glass is required for tasting beer, as are tokens, which sell for $1 apiece.  A full glass of beer costs four tokens (more for select beers), and a taste costs one token. Patrons receive a $1 discount toward the tasting glass with a validated MAX ticket, a ticket from the on-site bike corral, or three cans of food for the Oregon Food Bank.  The festival benefits the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and the Oregon Food Bank.  For more information, visit www.naobf.org.