This Saturday, February 25, the 24th annual Hillsdale Brewfest returns to McMenamins Hillsdale Brewery & Public House in Portland. This is McMenamins Battle of the Brews—special one-off beers from 22 of their breweries face off for a people’s choice with the winner earning the coveted championship belt. The winning brewery will also assist in the development of the beer that will represent McMenamins at the Oregon Brewers Festival in July.

22 of the finest beers from McMenamins’ Breweries will be sent in to battle, their brewers vying for bragging rights as well as the notorious championship belt. Patrons order trays of beer samples, arranged from lightest to darkest. It is our guests’ official duty to decide who deserves the coveted title. The beers cover the spectrum of brew styles – from Hefeweizen to Hazelnut Porter, Golden Ale to Helles Bock and beyond. Each taster casts one ballot that lists their top three choices. (And beware the brewers’ shameless vote-mongering. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.)

There are two taster trays with 11 beers each, which costs $11 per tray. The full beer list (by tray) with descriptions is here; read over the list to decide which of the two you will want to sample. Or if you have time (and the tolerance!), go for broke and order both.

The Hillsdale Pub will have an outdoor heated tent for the festivities, with a merchandise table available from 11am to 6pm, and a spirit tasting from noon to 3pm. The winning beer will be announced on Wednesday, March 1, at an awards ceremony held at their 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop in northwest Portland.

What better place that McMenamins’ original brewery for their premier beer festival? If you’ve ever wanted to sample the beers from nearly every one of their breweries, this is the fest to attend.