Bands and brew bolster rivers

Good bands and good beer equate good, clean water. At least that’s the idea behind the First Annual Alt Brew Festival this Friday, July 27 and Saturday, July 28. The festival, a smaller, more community-oriented affair than the Oregon Brewers Festival, is designed to promote and benefit River Network, a Portland based national nonprofit river conservation group.

Paddy’s Bar and Grill and KINK FM 102 are sponsors of the festival which will play host to over 30 beers and nine bands. Some noteworthy and interesting beers include Guinness Caffrey’s Pale, Morretti’s Dopplebach, Deschutes Springtime Pilsner and Fish Tale Summer Rye. Noteable bands to give a listen while sippin’ are Kerosene Dream, Friday at 8:30 p.m., and Baseboard Heaters, Saturday, also at 8:30 p.m. Other bands include The Superficials, David Andrews Band, Soul Kitchen with Black Angel and The Red Sector.

Greg Schillinger, festival organizer, says, “Clean water is essential for good beer, so donating the proceeds from our festival to a river conservation group makes perfect sense.” Numerous grass-roots organizations around the country look to River Network for assistance in developing programs for water quality and conservation in our nation’s rivers.