2015 KLCC Brewfest

I just returned from Fort George's Festival of Dark Arts - and I'll be writing about that soon - but I realized I hadn't said anything about the KLCC fest yet. Let's remedy that.

The festival was bigger than ever, with 75 breweries pouring over 200 beers, meaning there were lots of excellent choices.

All in all, I was able to sample 13 beers. Here were my favorites:

Oakshire's 8th Anniversary Ale - I was fortunate enough to stop by Oakshire's booth while they were pouring bottles of this. Released in October last year, the 8th is a sour Belgian ale made with cherries and aged in pinot noir barrels, I believe. And it's stunning, though quite a departure from their earlier years. It's acidic but not vinegary, and just sweet enough. I wonder if I could still find a bottle of this somewhere.

10 Barrel Easy Black IPA - This one really wowed me. It's a simple, light ale that deftly balances all of the elements of a great black IPA (roastiness, hoppiness, malt sweetness). So many other black IPAs tend to be predominantly bitter/hoppy or overly roasty. The folks at 10 Barrel behind this beer understand that it's the balance of these flavors that make a black IPA compelling and interesting.

First National Bank Vault Brown - Brewed for First National Taphouse by Vertigo Brewing out of Hillsboro, I wasn't expecting much here. But this brown is really nice - it's both nutty and roasty, with a pronounced sweet malty finish. I'd never had anything from Vertigo before, but I'll definitely be on the lookout for more of their beers.

The biggest disappointment for me? Stone's Bourbon Aged Bastard. Now, I've got a soft spot for Arrogant Bastard - it was the first craft beer I had that really blew me away. I had no idea a beer could be so strong and so bitter. I've since enjoyed the original and many of its siblings - the Oaked, Double, etc. With that context in mind, it's understandable that I was pretty pumped for this beer. But the sample I had wasn't great. The barrel and time have leached much of the characteristic hoppiness. The dominant flavor is wood, with a bit of whiskey caramel. Overall, the base beer is just too thin-feeling to support barrel-aging.

After checking the People's Choice results, I was surprised to see that Sam Bond's Filbert Brown took third place. I wasn't impressed with the beer I had at Sam Bond's over the summer. Perhaps it's time to re-evaluate them?

Once again, I volunteered as a beer pourer, and ended up helping out McKenzie/Steelhead at their richly-appointed booth - complete with a pop-up tent, menus for the restaurant, and several of the brewers on hand to talk with fest-goers. They were unfailingly friendly and polite, and while I'm not always the biggest fan of the beer they make, I was impressed by the people I met.

The festival itself was much busier and better attended than last year's - there was no freak snowstorm to ice the roads and dampen spirits, as was the case last February.

As always, I'm happy to support this festival. KLCC is a great public radio station, and knowing that my time and money are helping it stay on the air is a wonderful feeling.