I had a realization walking through the 2016 festival this year: so long as the crowds aren’t insane, I really enjoy it. Because it’s one of the few places in Portland where I see people from different cultures coming to share beer. During an era of American politics where thick lines are being drawn to divide us from them, an event that’s just an “us” is nice to attend.
As always, these are the lightly edited notes. If I don’t think the description does enough, I’ll try to say whether or not I think one should try the beer. If there are mistakes, please forgive me, as I’m hurriedly trying to get these up so they may be of use to other festival goers.
Old Town Brewing, Kentucky Refresh-Mint: It has a mint nose, and a hint of lime at the finish. The goal was to make a mint julep beer and…well, I have to say they did it! I like it-YMMV.
Jing-A Brewing, Eightfold Path imperial stout: nose of chocolate pudding mix, dry, a little sweet. The flavors mostly match this, with a bitter chocolate note on the finish. But…this is a a collaboration with Elysian & 10 Barrel which means one of two things: This is a subsidiary of ABInBev, or it’s a way for Jing-A to get their way into the US. If it’s the latter, then the bummer is that I don’t know what a true-blue JA beer tastes like. If it’s the former…hey, it’s a good beer.
Collaborator, We Rye’d Like Kings, session IPA: This is a pretty subtle beer. Low ABV, lots of hops but nothing overwhelming, a little grainy flavor in the middle. It’s meant to be a really drinkable beer and it is.
North Island, IPA: NW IPAs have really taken a hold across the world, is what I draw from this beer from Japan. It’s pretty solid for what it is though! Grapefruit bent with a little malt in the middle before the hops take over, it’s a solid example of the style.
Shonan, Wiezenbock: This has a bitter finish that I’m not sure should be there. And I don’t get a bit of toasty malt flavors either. I think they overhopped it. There’s a creamy start to this beer that doesn’t quite jibe either; all in all, pass.
Doomsday, Cascadia Fault CDA: nose hints of gasoline and the finish is, once again, emphasizing the burnt roasted quality of the malt instead of the hops. I was hoping for something better, because the name of the brewery is kinda rad, but this beer is just not a good take on the style.
Seaside, Honey Badger Blonde: The honey badger may give no fucks, but this beer is entirely fuckable. That…didn’t come out quite right. This is a light, crisp ale with a solid malt nose and a super clean finish. There’s a nugget of sweetness in the middle and it’s an eminently drinkable ale.
Melvin, 2×4 DIPIA: This is practically the definition of an exceptional juicy double IPA. Grapefruit nose, sweetness on the finish that’s strong enough to meet in a fine handclasp with the hoppy bitterness: have some.
Riverbend, Oregonized Love: It’s difficult to not let the good be the enemy of the great at this moment. Is this a bad IPA? No. But after the Melvin, it has too long a road to climb to meet the standard of the 2×4. I’d say give it a shot-but early.
Pints, Lemon Curd ESB: Lemon and a little spiciness on the nose. The lemon flavors pair quite nicely with the maltiness of the beer, with the lemon touching in enough at the finish to keep the beer really crisp. Recommended.
Squatters, Bumper Crop: this has a great lavender nose and is super easy to drink. Sweet, with a little herbal pulse on the finish; I’m really enjoying this beer.
Brauerei Nothhaft, Rawetzer Premium Export Festbier oktoberfest/wiesn. This is exactly what it say it is. Complaint factor zero. It’s light, drinkable and a pleasant way to finish this festival.
A pint for Dionysus 
I’d put Sunriver’s High Desert Diesel right up there with the 2x4DIPA – I found it more balanced overall, and a better, cleaner finish whereas the 2×4 was rough (imagine where they got the name eh?) I might be biased because I poured the Diesel on Friday afternoon, but it seems many fest goers didn’t realize there was another IIPA/DIPA on tap since my line was almost non-existent until just before shift change at 4. Kermit the Hop, returning from last year, is still a good beer but the team at Sunriver put in a good effort.
Lots of talk about the international tent, the Y Market Yellow Sky Pale was delicious – just perfect for a hot afternoon on the waterfront. I spent most of my tokens in that tent and can honestly say it’s been an enjoyable experience. The Belgian brewers came with their A-game, too. Don’t sleep on the Hell&Damnation ((Hel & Verdoemenis) from Brouwerij de Molen. A classic imperial stout that begs for barrel aging and cold temperatures to enjoy properly, yes please!
I found the Shonan IPA Mosiac to be…predictable, inoffensive, and similar to several of my favorite American SMASH or single-hop IPAs that feature Mosaic. I may have rushed through that sample though so I’ll probably go back.
I was disappointed in the North Island IPA, nothing stood out although I did (apparently) try it. My thoughts resulted in scribbles for notes, so, uh…*shoulder shrug*
Shiga Kogen’s No. 10 stands out as an imperial IPA using sake rice for a large part of the malt bill, and it works. I could really get behind a dry-finishing big IPA without the attendant sweetness of a bigger malt bill, because it means the hops were far more nuanced than in the Diesel. Worth a try if big imperial malty bombs are your thing.
I’ve got to go back and get second thoughts on about 20 different beers for which my notes are…sparse or just not enough so maybe I’ll stop back later today with edits.
That’s interesting. I tried a few different beers from the International tent and found most of them to be nothing special.