This really is an amazing town to be in and be part of the craft beer scene. Not 5 minutes from my house, one of my favorite little bottle shops (aptly named
Bottles) was hosting "Going Coastal," a part of
PDX Beer Week. I'm not always able to get to all of the events that I want to, but I try to take every opportunity I can to head out into the world and see what I can find. This event was the only other one of PDX Beer Week that I had my heart set on going to, because
Fort George Brewery was going to be there, and they are one of my very favorite breweries in Oregon. For the better part of the afternoon it looked as if I was out of luck, but an opportunity arose for me to zip up to Bottles for about 45 minutes, and I grabbed it!
These events are going on all over town, and are really spectacular for meeting new people, often the brewers themselves, and Ezra (author of
New School Brew Blog and the founder of
PDX Beer Week) does a great job resourcing breweries, curating events, and really packing a wide variety of experiences in for options!
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| I got to meet Jack Harris from Fort George Brewery (Vortex, people!) |
I only had a little bit of time to run up and meet the brewers, say hi to friends & meet a few new people, but it was so exciting! I love that we have these opportunities to mix and mingle with our local brewers, and it is one of the highlights for me of living where I do, in Portland. I got a chance to sit down and talk to Fort George's Brewer, Jack Harris. (I may have told him about my newest aquisition to the strange items collection, a tiny dead bat, and used it as an intro to asking for the molting of Fort George's pet tarantula, Charlie {Charlotte} the next time she sheds... I know... I make a unique impression). I had the Roscoe's Wild Rice IPA from Fort George, which was as delicious as Vortex, a touch softer on the front end, and pretty damn tasty. There's something kind of cool about sipping a beer with the brewer who made it.
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| Will of Pelican Pub & Brewery & yours truly |
Will Crumpacker of
Pelican Pub & Brewery was fun to talk to as well. The thing that gets me about being here is that these guys (and girls) in the craft beer industry are so dang happy to talk about beer - you can tell they love to share stories, ideas, and beer. Will had a whopping sampler of most of the Coastal beers, which he generously offered up to share, and I took him up on the offer to try, of course, the Pelican IPA. Mmmmm. Soft and subtle, Belgian yeast with mild spice. A lovely, balanced beer. Delicious.
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| FINALLY got to meet Ashley of BrewvanaPDX and saw Tim Ensign of Powered by Yeast |
Nothing beats getting out into the community and making new friends over a pint of great beer. Although I only knew a few people there to begin, I got to do something tonight that, to me, really epitomizes what being a beer geek is all about - meet new great craft beer people, talk to the brewers about their craft, enjoy a fine beer, support my local craft beer scene (and economy) and be friendly. It's my dream job. Now, if I could just get paid to do it!
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| L - R Wakonda Brewery, Rusty Truck Brewing Co, Jack Harris of Fort George, Ashley of BrewvanaPDX, me, Tim Ensign of Powered by Yeast, Will from Pelican Pub & Brewery (front) Ezra Johnson-Greenough of New School Brew Blog & the Founder of PDX Beer Week | |
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Today (Sunday, August 28) is the closing day for PDX Beer Week! If you haven't had an opportunity to come out and enjoy any of the events that Ezra has coordinated, don't miss the final event, a street party in conjunction with the Hawthorne Street Fair - the #pdxbeergeeks crew will be set up at
Bazi Bierbrasserie from 11 - 6 today, so COME ON OUT and say hi! You never know who you might run into, and what kind of new friends you'll make! Cheers!
