Update: Kriekfest is being rescheduled due to heat advisory concerns and will announce a new date soon. More here.

The third annual Kriekfest cherry beer festival returns at the end of this month, on Saturday, July 28, taking place in Hood River Waterfront Park in Hood River. Originating in 2016, for the first two years this fest took place at Solera Brewery in Parkdale, but this year’s move into Hood River (across the street from pFriem Family Brewers) is a nod to convenience and size as it has grown.

So what is “kriek”? It’s the Flemish word for sour cherry, and in beer styles, traditionally refers to sour cherry lambic brewed in Belgium. With that in mind, festival creator Brian Yaeger conceived of a cherry beer festival to take place in Oregon’s Hood River valley region, one of the state’s major fruit growing regions. What could be better than drinking cherry beers in the heart of cherry orchard country?

The lineup of breweries and cideries that will be pouring this year (with the caveat that any of these could yet change) is impressive:

Breweries:

• Ale Apothecary (Bend, OR) – El Cuatro with Ripe Cherries Aged in Cognac Barrels (created for Kriekfest)
• Block 15 (Corvallis, OR) – Kriek
• Brouwerij Boon (Belgium) Oude Kriek
• Bruery Terreux (Placentia, CA) Sans Pagaie
• Cantillon (Belgium) – Kriek
• Cascade (Portland, OR) – Cerise Noyaux (aged on cherry pits only, blended for Kriekfest)
• Cascade (Portland, OR) – Al Nocino (Sour blond, quad & imp. spiced porter aged in bbls with bing cherry, rose hips, hibiscus, & Stone Barn Brandyworks Nocino, blended for Kriekfest)
• Double Mountain (Hood River, OR) – Devil’s Cuvee Kriek
• Firestone Walker (Paso Robles, CA) Krieky Bones 2017
• Firestone Walker (Paso Robles, CA) Krieky Bones 2018
• Great Notion (Portland, OR) – Orchard Reserve
• Hanssens (Belgium) – Scarenbecca Kriek
• Lindemans (Belgium) Oude Kriek Cuvée René
• Logsdon Farmhouse Ales (Hood River, OR) – Kriek Vier
• Lost Abbey (San Marcos, CA) Cuvee de Tomme — Exclusively available in Oregon at Kriekfest
• Lost Abbey (San Marcos, CA) Red Poppy — Exclusively available in Oregon at Kriekfest
• Modern Times (Portland, OR) Revolution of the Moon — (club-only release)
• New Belgium (Fort Collins, CO) Le Kriek Noir — (Exclusive to taproom in Ft. Collins. And now Hood River)
• Nøgne Ø (Norway) Kriek of Telemark
• Odell (Ft. Collins, CO) Friek — Exclusively available in Oregon at Kriekfest
• pFriem (Hood River, OR) Flanders Red Kriek (debuting at Kriekfest)
• pFriem (Hood River, OR) Oude Kriek
• Scratch (Ava, IL) Barrel-Aged Black Cherry — Exclusively available in Oregon at Kriekfest
• Solera (Parkdale, OR) – Kriek
• Upright (Portland, OR) – Hearts Beat
• Wolf Tree (Seal Rock, OR) – Beaver Creek Kriek (Created for Kriekfest)

Cideries and wineries:

• Rack & Cloth (Mosier, OR) – Churr (Created for Kriekfest)
• Reverend Nat’s (Portland, OR) – Sacrilege
• Wildcraft (Eugene, OR) – Pinot Aged Wild Cherry
• Frederiksal (Denmark) – Sparkling Cherry Wine

Kriekfest is family friendly, and minors and designated drivers will get in free. For the cherry beer/cider/wine drinkers attending, there are two tickets options (purchase in advance online here):

• $40 which gets you the commemorative stemmed glass and 25(!) drink tickets.
• $25 which gets you the glass and 5 drink tickets. (More will be available for purchase.)

If you wait and purchase at the gate the day of the event, cost is $45 which gets you 18 tickets.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a better location for a beer festival such as this one, and I think it would be worth your time to head over to Hood River on the 28th. It’ll be cherrylicious!