The 25th installment of the Oregon Brewers Festival kicks off at Portland's Waterfront Park tomorrow! Chris Crabb and Preston Weesner, two of OBF's key organizers (and busiest people in the State of Oregon), were kind enough to spend some time answering my questions about the festival...
For
those already familiar with the festival, are there any notable changes to the
25th installment of OBF?
Chris Crabb: We've
added a Sour Tent, based on the popularity of the Buzz Tent and the trending of
sour beers. That should be a huge hit with the attendees. We also have an
amazing music lineup this year, including the Cherry Poppin Daddies on Friday
night! But otherwise, no changes. Prices are the same as the past couple years:
$6 for a tasting mug and $1 for tokens. Four tokens to fill the mug, one token
for a taste. This is a festival that draws 80,000 people from all over the
world. If it isn't broke, why fix it?
The
Buzz Tent was a huge hit last year—so much so that beer was gone and the tent
was closed before the weekend started.
Will anything be different this year?
How can fest attendees find out what's pouring at any given time?
CC: Last year, we were promised beers that we
promoted (and counted on) that weren't delivered. At the end of the day, we
didn't have enough beer. This year, we purposefully have not shared what will
be in the tent, because we want it in our hands before we promote it. Preston did release a bit of info on an interview with Lisa Morrison on Beer O'Clock that can be listened to here.
Preston
Weesner: We will post a starting list each day of the event, and we have a
dedicated Twitter feed (@OBFBuzzTent) to get the tappings and changes to the
masses at they happen,.
How did the decision to open the Sour Tent come about? While sour beers
are popular among beer geeks, do you think craft beer drinking masses area
ready for them?
PW: This came about for two reasons. 1: The Buzz
tent ran low last year and we filled with Cascade Sours, which were extremely
popular. 2: The director of the OBF, Art Larrance, also owns Cascade Brewing,
which has developed a national reputation for its Northwest Style Sour Ales,
and he believes it's time to let the secret of Sour out. We also have a
dedicated Twitter feed for that (@OBFBSourTent).
For
those that missed the OBF movie, will it be shown again? Where can we see it?
CC: There will be a second showing on the big
screen on Wednesday, July 25, at 7 pm at the Living Room Theaters. Tickets cost
$5 for the movie, or $10 with an official poster. The film will star at 7:30pm
with the short film "Weathering Spring" playing beforehand. After that,
we will upload to You Tube and possibly Netflix. It's important to note that
this is not a documentary of the festival, it's more of a promotional piece for
those who have never been before to get a feel for what the festival is all
about.
How
many breweries submitted applications to join the festival? Can you provide any behind-the-scenes
insights into how the breweries are selected?
CC: More than
100 submitted applications this year. Applications are sent out the first week
of January, and due back, with payment, by the third Friday in February. The
"with payment" clause is important, because if more than 82 breweries
apply, we have to start making cuts, and the first ones cut are those that
didn't play by the rules. After those are culled, we go to a lottery. However,
if a brewery is on the wait list this year, they will be given priority the
following year.
How has
the craft beer culture grown and changed in the last 25 years?
CC: Craft
beer culture has changed in so many ways. In 1985, there were 21 craft
breweries in America. In 1988, there were only 8 craft breweries in Oregon -
today we have 148! The festival was started to bring attention to these craft
beers (back then they were referred to as microbrews, a term not really used
anymore). The founders wanted to get some press about their beers. And
speaking of press, that has been one of the biggest changes. In the beginning
there was one reporter covering beer in Oregon: Fred Eckhardt. Eventually a few
more signed on, including Jeff Alworth and John Foyston and Alan Moen. But it
was all print journalists, there was not such thing as a blog. I used to do a
media preview on Friday of the festival that involved a group of maybe 12 media
walking from tap to tap for tastes. This year, my media list is at about 80.
The festival
has gone from a 2-day to a 3-day to a 4-day event, and there are rumors it may
expand even more in the future. Only time will tell!
A huge thanks to Chris and Preston for taking the time to chat! I can't wait...
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