2010 Oregon Brewers Festival

What you need to know

On a sun-soaked July afternoon, there’s no better place to sip suds with friends than the Oregon Brewers Festival, one of the nation’s longest-running and best-loved craft beer festivals. More than 70,000 fans will travel from points around the world to take part in the 23rd annual event, July 22 through July 25 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland. Event hours are Noon to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and Noon to 7 p.m. Sunday.

WHAT? FREE?

Yes, PDX Pipeline is giving away $50 packages (two mugs, 40 tokens, one program!) to the Oregon Brewers Festival. Check out the contest and get Creative Portland!

From Ambers to Belgians, Pales to Pilsners and Ryes to Stouts, the Oregon Brewers Festival serves up more than 20 beer styles from 81 craft breweries from around the country. The event also features four days of live music, food booths, craft vendors, and industry displays. The Crater Lake Soda Garden provides complimentary handcrafted root beer to minors and designated drivers. Minors are allowed into the event when accompanied by a parent.

Admission into the festival grounds is free. In order to sample beer, a taster package is required. Taster packages are available in $10, $20 and $50 increments. All packages include a 2010 souvenir mug, which is required for consuming beer (mugs from previous years will not be filled); a program; and various quantities of tokens, which are used to purchase beer. Patrons pay four tokens for a full mug of beer, or one token for a taste. Additional tokens may be purchased at $1 apiece.

Alternative modes of transportation are encouraged, with free monitored bicycle parking available each day. The main entrance is at SW Oak Street and Naito Parkway, one block from the MAX Light Rail line.

The Oregon Brewers Festival takes place during Oregon Craft Beer Month, a celebration of craft beer by Oregon’s specialty breweries. A variety of special events will take place at craft breweries throughout the state, culminating with the Oregon Brewers Festival. The festival also hosts two ticketed auxiliary events: the Oregon Brewers Dinner, held on the eve of the festival opening, and the Oregon Brewers Brunch and Parade, a kick off to the festivities held the morning of July 22.

The Oregon Brewers Festival was founded in 1988 as an opportunity to expose the public to microbrews at a time when the craft brewing industry was just getting off the ground. Today, that industry has succeeded, especially in Oregon, and particularly in the city of Portland. There are currently 106 craft brewing facilities in Oregon, and 35 breweries operating within the Portland city limits – more than any other city in the world.

For more information about the Oregon Brewers Festival, visit www.oregonbrewfest.com or call the event hotline at 503-778-5917.

WHERE?

Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon
Main entrance at S.W. Oak Street and Naito Parkway

WHEN?

July 22, 23, 24 & 25, 2010 – “Always the last full weekend in July”
Thurs through Sat, taps are open from Noon to 9 p.m.
Sun, taps are open from Noon to 7 p.m.
Token & mug sales cease one-half hour prior to the taps closing

HOW MUCH?

Admission into the festival grounds if free. In order to consume beer at the OBF, you must purchase a taster package. Taster packages are available in $10, $20 and $50 increments. All packages include a 2009 souvenir mug, which is required for consuming beer (mugs from previous years will not be filled); a souvenir program that includes a map of where the beers are located onsite; and various quantities of tokens, which are used to purchase beer. Patrons pay four tokens for a full mug of beer, or one token for a taste. Additional tokens may be purchased at $1 apiece.

$10 package: one mug, one program, four tokens
$20 package: one mug, one program, 14 tokens
$50 package: two mugs, two programs, 39 tokens

THE FACTS?

The Oregon Brewers Festival is one of the nation’s longest running and best loved craft beer festivals. Situated on the west bank of the Willamette River, with towering Mt. Hood as a backdrop, it is the ideal venue for anyone who loves craft beer. With a laid back attitude and scores of award-winning beers, the festival reflects the essence of the city of Portland.

The Oregon Brewers Festival exists to provide an opportunity to sample and learn about a variety of craft beer styles from across the country. Eighty craft breweries from all parts of the nation offer handcrafted brews to 70,000 beer lovers during the four-day event.

The festival’s focus is craft beer, but there’s more than sampling involved. The event features live music all four days, beer-related vendors, beer memorabilia displays, beer writers and publishers, hop growers, homebrewing demonstrations, and an assortment of foods from a variety of regions. The Crater Lake Root Beer Garden offers complimentary handcrafted root beer for minors and designated drivers. Minors are always welcome at the festival when accompanied by a parent.

The Oregon Brewers Festival strongly encourages responsible drinking, and urges patrons to take advantage of the MAX Light Rail line, located just one block west of the festival on SW Oak Street. Go by bus, train or taxi, just don’t drink and drive. The festival also offers free, on-site bicycle parking.

The Oregon Brewers Dinner, a ticketed event, is held on July 22; the Oregon Brewers Brunch & Parade, the official kick off to the festival, occurs the morning of July 23.

  • Oregon Breweries directly employ more than 5,200 people, many at family wage jobs.1
  • Total economic impact from the beer industry on Oregon’s economy is $2.25 billion.3
  • Over the last 5 years Oregon Breweries created 2300 jobs.1
  • Over the last 5 years Oregon Brewed beer consumed in Oregon rose from 9.9% to 12%.1
  • Over the last 5 years for every 1,000 barrels Oregon Brewed beer consumed in Oregon, more than 30 jobs were created. 1
  • Over the last 10 years per capita consumption of beer is down in Oregon.1,5,7
  • Oregon is the second largest producer of craft beer in the US. 1
  • Oregon is the 4th largest craft beer market in the US in supermarket sales.2
  • 37% Percent of all draft beer consumed in Oregon is brewed in Oregon.1
  • Oregon has the 4th highest percentage of beer draft sales in the US.2
  • Oregonians consumed 2.72 million barrels of beer in 2008, of that more than 327,000 barrels were made in Oregon or about 12 percent of the total beer consumed in Oregon – the highest percentage of local craft beer consumption in the country.1,3
  • Oregon is the No. 2 hop growing state in the country with a 2008 crop value of $38,000,000 which ranks 18th in Oregon’s five billion dollar agricultural economy. 4
  • There are currently 81 brewing companies, operating 106 brewing facilities in Oregon.1
  • There are 35 breweries operating in Portland, more than any other city in the world.13 of these breweries are working on making their first beer.
  • The Portland metro area is the largest craft brewing market in the US.2
  • The national average for total craft beer consumption by volume is 4.0 percent. 2

Sources 1 Oregon Brewers Guild; 2 Brewers Association; 3 John Dunham and Associates, 2005; 4 Oregon Hop Commission;
5 U.S. Census Bureau; 6 Brewers Almanac; 7 Oregon Liquor Control Commission

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