When Portland’s Cheers to Belgian Beers started four years ago, the beer festival’s tap list consisted of only 10 beers from 10 brewers. Now, with 28 brewers taking part in the festival and 33 beers on tap this year, Portland’s Cheers is both a popular festival and a striking example of how the Oregon craft beer scene has skyrocketed in recent years.
While the festival originally limited itself to brewers from the Portland metropolitan area, it has since expanded to include all of Oregon. Plenty of local breweries are taking part this year, but there’s also a chance to sample beers from top-notch breweries beyond the city limits, such as Fort George Brewing from Astoria and Cascade Brewing from Bend.
What’s bringing all these brewers together is a specific strain of yeast—Wyeast 3726, to be exact, which is best used for farmhouse ales. It comes from Wyeast Laboratories, located in the Columbia River Gorge. The Wyeast Laboratories website touts the strain’s “earthy and spicy notes,” proclaiming it to be “slightly tart and dry with a peppery finish.” The beers at Portland’s Cheers have all been made using this strain.
Naturally, the beers at the festival are farmhouse ales or Belgian style ales, but brewers are releasing different versions of the ales in order to keep it interesting. After a dart-toss contest between the brewers in January, each brewery was either assigned a particular style or given creative leeway, depending on how they scored at the dartboard.
Ambacht Brewing will pour its Black Gold Porter. This is the second of two beers that Ambacht now offers, the first being Our Golden Ale. The Hillsboro brewery has been gaining recognition since it appeared on the popular BREWPUBLIC blog, which most Portlanders trust to advise their beer choices. Ambacht stands out for its all-organic ingredients and the use of honey for bottle conditioning. The porter is a darker take on a Belgian beer. The tart, fruity notes of a Belgian are coupled with a chocolaty flavor from the chocolate malt. This is sure to be one of the more interesting styles to taste this weekend.
Other slants on the farmhouse ale style at Portland’s Cheers will be IPAs, red ales and even a wheat ale. Brewers who stuck with the traditional Belgian style still found ways to spice up their recipes with unique approaches. Oakshire Brewing’s La Ferme Farmhouse Ale includes rosehips, lemon and grapefruit peel. Lompoc Fifth Quadrant’s Saison the Beach has thrown in some candied ginger and peppercorns for good measure. There will certainly be no lack of choices.
Hopworks Urban Brewery hosts the festival this year and the winner for Best Of Show will get to design and brew a beer with Hopworks. Prizes will also be awarded to winners in the category of Belgian Strong Ale, as well as Belgian and French Ale.
The festival is a sort of in-between beer festival, as it says farewell to the heavy winter beers of the Holiday Ale Festival and happens two months before the onslaught of summer beer festivals begins. There’s plenty more beer to come. Get your mugs ready.