Celebrating its 29th year this summer, the Oregon Brewers Festival is one of the oldest and best-loved craft beer festivals in the world. Nearly 80,000 craft beer lovers from all over the world will make the pilgrimage to beautiful Waterfront Park over the five days to drink up what the festival—and the craft beer industry—has to offer. As always, it falls on the last weekend of July from Wednesday, July 27th through Sunday, July 31st.
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 picturesque 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-five craft breweries from North America offer more than 30 styles of handcrafted beers to 80,000 beer lovers during the five-day event; an additional two taps are dedicated to gluten-free beer, and one tap is reserved for the Oregon Brew Crew Collaboration project. The International Beer Garden will feature another 14 beers served by breweries from Japan, The Netherlands and Belgium.
The festival also features live music, food vendors, beer-related vendors, homebrewing demonstrations, and the Crater Lake Soda Garden (complimentary handcrafted soda for minors and designated drivers). Minors are welcome at the festival when accompanied by a parent. Pets are not allowed unless ADA.
// EVENT DETAILS //
- Where: Tom McCall Waterfront Park
- When: July 27 – 31
- Wednesday – Saturday: gates open at 11:30am, taps are open from 12-9pm
- Sunday: gates open at 11:30am, taps are open from 12-7pm
- Token & mug sales close 30 minutes prior to the taps shutting off (8:30pm daily, except 6:30pm Sunday)
// ADMISSION //
The OBF is not a ticketed event; admission into the festival venue is free. In order to consume beer, a one-time purchase of a 2016 tasting mug is required and costs $7. Beer is purchased with wooden tokens, which cost $1 apiece. Patrons pay four tokens for a full mug of beer, or one token for a taste. Cups and tokens are sold on-site; they are also available up to two weeks prior to the festival at select local locations, including Raccoon Lodge & Brew Pub, Cascade Brewing Barrel House, Belmont Station, Deschutes in the Pearl, Rogue Ales Public House and the Green Dragon. The festival is cash only, and there are eight ATMs on-site.
The Oregon Brewers Festival 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 monitored on-site bicycle parking, courtesy of Hopworks Urban Brewery.
// ABOUT //
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, Portland has more breweries than any other city in the world, and the Portland metropolitan area is the largest craft brewing market in the US. A study estimated the economic impact of the 2015 OBF at $30.2 million for the local economy.
Photos by Tim Horn.
Oregon Brewers Festival | Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland | July 27 – 31, 2016
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