Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF) is a four-day
craft
A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pro ...
beer festival
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
Asia
* Singapore holds an annual Beer Festiva ...
held annually from 1988 to 2019 and 2022 at the
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a park located in downtown Portland, Oregon, along the Willamette River. After the 1974 removal of Harbor Drive, a major milestone in the freeway removal movement, the park was opened to the public in 19 ...
in
downtown Portland
Downtown Portland is the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
, except in 2020-21 when the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and
2023 when low attendance and hot weather from last year caused it to be cancelled.
OBF has become the most popular outdoor beer festival in North America, based on attendance.
Each brewery brings one beer.
The attendance peaked in 2014, however it has been declining since. There is a
Root Beer
Root beer is a sweet North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree '' Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of '' Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla, also used to make a soft drink, sarsaparilla) as the ...
Garden for those who are under 21 or loathe alcohol.
History
Founder of Portland Brewing Co, Art Larrance, launched the Oregon Brewers Festival in July 1988, after visiting Oktoberfest in Munich and wanting to create a similar atmosphere and experience.
Live music was introduced in 2001.
In 2005, OBF expanded from a three-day schedule (Friday to Sunday) to four, adding Thursday.
The 2011 Oregon Brewers Festival featured 85 craft beers from 14 states; it attracted 80,000 people over four days.
Nearly 2,000 volunteers worked at the festival, selling tokens and pouring beer, among other tasks.
In 2013, OBF added a fifth day, moving the opening to Wednesday; they also replaced the annual plastic mug, which had been used since the festival's beginning, with a tasting glass, which for 2013 costs $7.
For 2014, there are 88 beers available, in 30
styles; that does not include the more than 100 available separately in OBF's Specialty Tent.
After two years with tasting glasses made of glass, for 2015, OBF switched to a
polycarbonate tasting glass; the change was in response to safety concerns raised by the
Portland Police.
In 2018, OBF changed back to a four-day festival, moving the opening to Thursday. That same year, the festival added two hard ciders to the lineup, and four wines –– 2 red and 2 white –– for the first time in the festival's history.
In 2020 & 2021, this festival went on hiatus caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
; although it resumed in 2022, it was cancelled in 2023 and could resume in 2024.
Related events
In recent years OBF has anchored a month of beer-related festivals in Portland, including the North American Organic Brewers Festival, the
Portland International Beerfest, and the Great American Distillers Festival.
See also
*
Portland International Beerfest
*
Oregon breweries
The U.S. state of Oregon is home to more than 200 breweries and brew pubs that produce a large variety of beer.
History
Many sources credit Swiss-born Henry Saxer and his Liberty Brewery as being Oregon’s first commercial brewery (supposedly ope ...
References
External links
*
Beer festivals in the United States
Festivals in Portland, Oregon
Recurring events established in 1988
1988 establishments in Oregon
Annual events in Portland, Oregon
Beer gardens in the United States
Beer in Oregon
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
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