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Yes, you can drink a pint in the glow of the Christmas tree in the center of Pioneer Courthouse Square the first week of December.
Since the 1990s, Portlanders had done just that at a much-beloved annual event called Holiday Ale Festival, which shut down during the COVID pandemic and never came back. Local promotion and production company True West has filled the void for the second year in a row with Portland Holiday Brew Fest, which will be held Dec. 6-8.
Last year was a bit of a scramble. The Holiday Ale Festival announced its cancellation a month before the event, citing downtown crime concerns. The Square reached out to True West, who runs the PDX Live concert series there every summer and lots of other beer festivals such as Oktoberfest, to see if they could fill the void in a scant 6 weeks.
“It was wild,” says Lee Perry, director of special events at True West. “We were able to pull it together but it was probably one of the fastest event turnarounds we’ve ever done.”
Due to the time constraints in 2023, True West worked primarily with distributors to provide the beers just to keep it simple. This year, they have a more traditional beer fest model with 33 breweries signed up. A sampling: pFriem will serve a Belgian Christmas Ale, Double Mountain’s got a Fa La La La La IPA and Migration will keep it festive with Old Winter Hammer (which packs a hefty 10.5% ABV.)
Cider drinkers might gravitate toward Bull Run Cider’s Imperial Snickerdoodle Cookie Cider or Portland Cider Company’s Cranberry Mule.
“Everything we’re doing, we’re trying to integrate cideries into the mix since that’s on the rise,” Perry says.
Tickets are still available for all three days of the festival, which will feature heated tents, DJs and, of course, the 75-foot Douglas fir. Santa is scheduled to stop by on Sunday, Dec. 8.
Portland Holiday Brew Fest at Pioneer Square, 701 SW 6th Ave. pdxholidaybrewfest.com/. 5:30-9 pm Friday Dec. 6, Noon-9 pm Saturday Dec. 7 and noon-5 pm Sunday Dec 8. $20-$30 in advance, $25-$35 at the gate. 21+ on Friday and Saturday, all ages on Sunday.