Brewfest
Just to answer Todd’s comment on the Brewfest a couple of posts below:
Yes we did go to the Brewfest, but the thing was such a clusterfuck of drunken humanity that we bailed out and met people at Rock Bottom Brewery (home of a kajillion beers on tap, and I’m not kidding: 6 hefeweizens) .
At the Brewfest you had to wait in a huge line for tokens which were a dollar for a quarter of a small beer. In other words, 4 oz. Not the world’s best deal. That wasn’t even the biggest problem though. You then had to stand in a huge line for every beer that you wanted to taste. We didn’t even get to the mug part, so crowded was Waterfront Park.
Seriously, there were easily a couple of thousand people there. All drunk.
So, it was a bust. But maybe if we went early on a Thursday or Friday, it wouldn’t be so bad. 6pm on a Saturday was terrible.
Correction…we went to Henry’s tavern. They seriously do have a bazillion beers on tap. We’ve been known to drink a pitcher or two (or
at Rock Bottom, but this particular day it way Henry’s. They’ve got a fabulous and cheap happy hour if you ever have the chance to stop in. Did I mention it was cheap?
Looks like I need to come up next year and teach you some proper BrewFest techniques.
First off, you don’t show up at 6pm to a brewfest. In Portland you pretty much have to be there at opening to get a table and establish a homebase. Bring a bag of snacks, lunch, games, and cards and be ready to make a day of it.
I agree that the Portland Brewfest model leaves a little to be desired, with their tokens, and only one beer offering per brewery. Pricewise…$1 for 4oz. works out to about the price of a pint in many pubs (especially if you tip your bartender), but in this case you dont have to spend $4 on a pint and find out you don’t like it. You spend a $1 and have the chance of finding a new beer, or beer type, that you might enjoy.
I’ll leave “Lesson 2: Pacing Yourself” for another post.
Oh and hitting a cheap happy hour for beer you know you’ll enjoy is always good, so I can’t argue with that.
When I make it up there I expect a visit to ol’ Henry’s!