Spring Beer Fest
www.springbeerfest.com
Portland Expo Center
2060 N Marine Drive, 248-5144
2-11 pm Friday, noon-10 pm Saturday, April 16-17
Admission $5; glass and four tokens $5; additional tokens
50 cents.
Parking at the Expo Center is $4, but crafty cheapskates can
park for free nearby.
Editor's note: The authors of the Crush have
graciously stepped aside to allow for this week's Spring
Beer Fest preview in the Mash. Watch for Crush columns in
the next two issues, after which we will return to our usual
alternating schedule.
This weekend marks the fifth year of the Spring Beer Fest,
the first of three local beer festivals held each year.
It's not the biggest of the fests, but for the true beer
lover, nothing can match the SBF.
The hallmark of the fest is diversity. Organizers have
expanded the selection this year to nearly 100 beers from
50 breweries. Depending on how you slice it, there are around
two dozen styles represented, with everything from the common
amber ale to exotica like framboise and smoked porter. Combine
that with glass tasting mugs (better than plastic for seeing
what you're drinking, and with no petrochemical aroma),
small crowds and knowledgeable servers--including, occasionally,
a brewer--and you've got the best event for reveling in
the joys of malt and hop.
Starters
When tasting a number of beers in one session,
you have to have a strategy. The cardinal rule is to start
with light, subtly flavored beers and work your way toward
dark or hoppy ones. Your tongue will stay sensitive to the
beers longer that way, whereas if you go straight for the
stouts, everything else will seem thin by comparison. (It's
also wise to keep an eye on beer strength; the flavor of
alcohol won't destroy your palate, but getting blasted will.)
There's a fairly broad array of milder beers, many of them
bearing familiar names. But if you want to try something
new, the SBF offers the opportunity to sample beers from
farther-flung breweries, particularly brewpubs from across
the Northwest. An example is Astoria's Pacific Rim Brewing,
which will be bringing Frenchie's Scottish Ale, a fine starter.
It's malty and nutty, tasty without being too assertive.
Rumor also has it that brewer Dirk Beaulieu will be on hand
to chat about his beers. Ice Harbor Brewing from Pasco,
Wash., is bringing another good starter: Columbia Kölsch,
a style combining a slightly sweet palate with a dry finish.
For something a little more aggressive, Full Sail's tap-only
Black Pilsner is a light-bodied dark lager with a crisp
hop flavor that's not overly bitter.
The Belgian Influence
A tradition linking the Spring
Beer Fest and Belgian ales continues this year. For the
past two years, festgoers selected lambic-style ales from
Wisconsin's New Glarus Brewing as the festival favorite.
Although New Glarus won't be returning to defend its title
(because of a scheduling conflict), other breweries have
filled the void. The beers, which get their strange and
wonderful flavors from yeast, should be tasted fairly early
on to be appreciated.
Fest organizers have invited importer Merchant du Vin,
who will be bringing Lindeman's Framboise, an authentic
Belgian ale. Framboise is a style of lambic, a spontaneously
fermented ale (au naturel, with no yeast cultures
added). It's unlike any other beer; the wild yeasts produce
a tart, sour flavor. Left on their own, they can be overwhelming,
but when combined with fruit, like the raspberries in framboise,
the result is light and refreshing, bearing closer resemblance
to wine than beer.
Another foreign brewery that has made a splash with its
Belgian ales is actually from Quebec, not Europe. Unibroue
brings two Belgian-style beers to the fest: Blanche De Chambly,
a white ale, and La Fin du Monde, a triple. White ales are
among the most delicate of beers; brewed with wheat and
flavored with orangey coriander, they have a creamy, sweet
flavor but finish crisply--excellent on a hot summer day.
Triples are on the opposite end of the spectrum; alcoholic
and lactic, they encourage small sips and warm the mouth
and belly quickly.
Finally, Elliot Glacier Public House brings a double, Cathedral
Ridge Belgian Ale. Only slightly less alcoholic than triples,
doubles are typically darker and maltier. Elliot Glacier's
uses authentic candi sugar to produce the characteristic
sharp flavor of abbey-style ales.
Bigger Beers
Once your palate is warmed up, you'll
want to move to more assertive beers, which are plentiful.
Lucky Lab is bringing Crazy Ludwig's Alt, a wonderful brew,
however little it has in common with other alts. Very hoppy,
it bears the Northwest signature of Cascade and Centennial
hops and is creamy smooth. Hair of the Dog is introducing
a new beer named for F.H. Steinbart owner John DeBenedetti.
JD is on the milder end of the Hair of the Dog spectrum,
a slightly smoky, malty ale, it defies categorization, as
is usual for the brewery. The Snake & Weasel is bringing
Spike Driver, an ale as strong as its name, around which
a small cult has developed. There will be several stouts
and porters, including the notable Steelhead Midnight Espresso
Stout, one of the few stouts actually made with espresso.
And if you're feeling particularly bold, there's a separate
tent devoted to cigars, single-malt scotch and very big
beers.
Of course, this is just a tiny sampling of the bounty.
In between samples of alien beer, it's always nice to cleanse
the palate with a familiar flavor, and they'll all be here.
But don't be afraid to try something new--it'll be another
year before you get a crack at a selection like this.
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Willamette Week | originally
published April 14,
1999
|
