Three new beer festivals coming up

Everyone knows Oregon is a great beer state, and the number of beer festivals we have going on throughout the year is but one of many testaments to this. Indeed, it seems like there’s a brewfest of some sort going on every weekend during the summer somewhere in the state, and new ones are popping up all the time. Case in point, here are three new ones to check out, two this weekend and one in September.

Wilsonville Brewfest

The first annual Wilsonville Brewfest takes place this Saturday, August 22, at The Piazza at Villebois in—you guessed it—Wilsonville. It’s running from noon to 8pm and will be featuring 12 breweries, including the new Vanguard Brewing which has yet to open but will be located in Wilsonville. Their beer is a collaboration with Lake Oswego’s Stickmen Brewing, and the other 11 breweries will pour two beers each (for a total of 23 beers).

No, it’s not a big brewfest, but it’s only their first year. It is family friendly, and the cost is pretty standard: $15 will get you the commemorative mug and seven tasting tickets (and I expect additional tickets will be $1). And they will have live music and food trucks as well.

Volcanic Bike and Brew Festival

In Bend, the Mt. Bachelor ski resort is holding their very first Volcanic Bike and Brew Festival, combining two of the region’s great loves—the outdoors and biking, and beer. Lasting all weekend, from Friday through Sunday (the 21st through 23rd), it features heavily on the biking component but also has the “brewfest” portion taking place from 3 to 9pm each day Friday and Saturday, for their beer garden sampling sessions.

Featuring 18 breweries (and cideries, and one winery), many of which are local (of course), the cost for the beer fest portion is $15 which nets you the pint glass plus eight tasting tokens. And if you are into outdoor biking, definitely check out the full schedule of clinics and bike events open to all.

Burns Brewfest

Technically, the Burns Brewfest isn’t new—it debuted last year, so this year’s event coming up on Saturday, September 19 is the second annual Burns Brewfest. But it’s so relatively new and I suspect off-the-radar that I wanted to include it here.

Burns’ own Steens Mountain Brewing Company is a big proponent of this fest, naturally, and back in June they posted some details of what they’ll be pouring:

For the Second Annual Burns Brewfest September 19th we will have two new brews: 1) Chukar’s Revenge- a hoppy Cascadian Dark Ale (SG 1.059; IBU 61.7; color 42.5 ABV 5.6% and; 2) Big Indian ESB a classic English Ale (SG 1.058; IBU 44.5; Color 15.3; ABV 5.1%). Both use heirloom hops found in Harney County!

It takes place in Arrowhead Plaza in downtown Burns, from noon to 7pm, and last year’s Brewfest featured eight breweries pouring samples (with pretty standard festival pricing). This year I would expect to see more.

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