Origin of the species

GABF may be open and running. Biketobeerfest has come and gone. But, the progenitor of all things beer festival(y) kicked off, or tapped on, this past Saturday. Oktoberfest started pouring beer and the oompahs and prosts can be heard nearly across the Atlantic. Thanks to the web, we can experience it visually or virtually or whatever. For some fine, iconic photos of the event, go here.

Oktoberfest revelers consume six (6) million liters of beer at the two week festival. That's about 50,000 barrels of beer or 100,000 kegs, depending upon how you like to count. There are few craft breweries in this country that reach that level of production in a year much less sell that much in two weeks. It's an impressive number.

The festival draws six million visitors from around the world, though one imagines that as many Muenchers abandon their lovely city to avoid the carnival as stay to enjoy the riot. Regardless, Oktoberfest is a touchstone for those of us in the beer festival business.

HUB Biketobeerfest 2009 a delicious success

Hopworks Urban Brewery put together two wonderful crafts: brewing and bicycles. The event, held at the brewery on Saturday, September 19, was well attended without being overrun. No problems getting a beer, unless you spent the extra time in the line where the beer was being served from the Hopworksfiets mobile tap. (See the Photostream and links).

The official blurb can be found here, but the real celebration is the fusion of craftsmanship in two related industries. The connections are obvious. Craft beer and bicycle building are one part science and one part art. Beer is a social beverage and bicyclists have bonds of camaraderie along with many social connections, a sort of "we're all in this together." And, nothing refreshes quite like a good beer after a long bike ride.

But beyond these connections, why put these two industries together? From a promotional standpoint, especially in sudsy Portland, the need for local brewers to differentiate and rise above others is essential. This is not to say that HUB does not have excellent beers that can stand on their own, but they also know that they need to be noticed and get people to the brewery. Frankly, I had never been there even though it is a short bike ride, you can drive if you must, away.

In aligning themselves as craftsman with malt and hops with the craftsman of steel and brazing torch, they have signaled to the market and thirsty consumers that they are serious about quality. One only had to walk through the exhibit of beautiful, locally made bikes to see that. And, the Hopworksfiets custom cargo bike has created a sensation so great that when Dave Barry blogged about it, it nearly took Bikeportland.org down for the count. Such is the power of social media.

The event wasn't all serious craftsmanship, though. There were plenty of games and music and, of course, the incomparable Sprockettes provided their brand of circus and dance.

As a festival, the event succeeded for the guests. As a promotional event for Hopworks Urban Brewery, I cannot believe that they will not reap many rewards. Oh, and the beer was good, too.

A well worn path

It has become commonplace for chefs to write cookbooks. The routine goes something like this: chef opens restaurant, chef builds loyal clientele, chef "writes" cookbook that expands upon or documents his or her recipes enjoyed by customers. Rinse and repeat.

While my tone may be somewhat flippant, there are many examples of this practice. I am staring at Coyote Cafe by Mark Miller right now. The book is 20 years old and is published by 10 Speed Press, a house that seems to specialize in this genre. These books are really quite useful. Readers learn how a chef approaches recipe and meal development, learns a thing or two about preparing favorite dishes and, no surprise, the chef cements, or intends to cement, his or her place in the cooking pantheon.

In a move that seems to piggyback on this approach, a troika of local beer writers and a brewer are proposing a book of recipes from the local scene, Recipes from Beervana.

One complaint often voiced by a minority of beer aficionados is that Portland, and other craft brew havens, lacks a serious and consistent approach to food and beer pairing. It's not clear that the authors of the proposed book intend to uncover this truth or debunk it. The blurb on Facebook reads, Follow Mike DeKalb, owner of Laurelwood Brewing Co., Lisa Morrison, the Beer Goddess and Annalou Vincent, of Beer NW, as they trek across the Pacific Northwest in search of Recipes from Beervana! Then look for the book in Spring 2010 and get ready to get cookin'!

What is interesting about their approach, though perhaps not unique either, is that they are asking us to follow them in social media as they explore the many possibilities for food and beer. Will this interactive approach seek commentary from those who follow? Will their editorial choices be steered by their community of followers? Wait and see.

Good news for advertisers and sponsors

A combination of ideal weather, excellent event management and the charms of a well-established festival made this year's Oregon Brewers Festival a success. Record crowds meant that festival advertisers got more than their money's worth. For those 14 or so sponsors, our promise of 50,000 program guide readers worked out a bit better than expected. Actually, the size of the crowd from an advertiser's perspective is not quite accurate. We did distribute nearly every program printed this year, 50,000. Certainly, there is a pass along rate that we cannot guarantee, but if it were a bit more than "1," advertisers would reach every visitor.

The attendance numbers may be more important to those who are considering next year's event. It just keeps growing and the crowds this year were treated to far more hospitable beer lines thanks to improved operations and planning. What to expect for 2010? The planning begins now, with discussions about web site strategy as well as a round table "lessons learned" with committee members who were instrumental in producing this year's event.

Stay tuned for more as plans are made.

The 2009 Program Guide

Here for those who want to see a complete digital version of the Oregon Brewers Festival Program Guide.

2009 Oregon Brewers Festival Program

A guide to the brews, 2009

The Oregon Brewers Festival is a massive undertaking, certainly for the organizers but also the guests. It takes nearly a year of planning and preparation. For festival guests, it can be a challenge to get to the taps of their favorite brews. This year, with 81 beers featured and a "Buzz Tent" with even more beer, the task of finding what you want can be daunting.

That's where we come in. We have developed two graphical guides to the festival that are published in the Program Guide, the slick, 56-page digest-sized printed program distributed to all festival guests. The Beer-O-Meter and the Tap Map provide a quick reference for the beer at the festival and is locations. In particular, the Beer-O-Meter, gives guests a quick tour of several dimensions of the brews being served: brewery, product name, color, IBU value and, in the online version, tap location. This piece is the handiwork of Holly O'Leary, the Program Guide designer and graphic artist extraordinaire.

This and the Program Guide are available as downloads on the OBF website, www.oregonbrewfest.com. Visitors, you saw it here first.

2009 Oregon Brewers Festival Beer-O-Meter

And now, the Tap Map

2009 Oregon Brewers Festival Tap Map

Bikes and Brews

Synergy is an often misused term, or at least it was in business a few years ago. But, I think this qualifies for synergy and where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Portland is certainly known for its brewing. The city is a leader in the craft brewing scene with more than 30 breweries within the metropolitan area. The Oregon Brewers Festival, one of the largest festivals of craft beer in the country, celebrates that success every year.

Portland is also known nationally and internationally for a growing and robust bicycle culture. Aided by content-rich BikePortland blog, the city's volume of bicycle commuting, racing, touring and just plain bike fun continues to expand.

It's only natural that two of Portland's leading cultural commodities would get together. Enter Pedal Tours of Portland and their latest tour, Oregon Brewery Trail Tour coinciding with the festival.

The festival no doubt benefits by highlighting the connection between Portland's rich bicycle scene, the city's local breweries and the celebration of craft brewing at the festival. Let's hope that Pedal Bike Tours of Portland is rewarded with plenty of folks wanting to learn more about the city's breweries before they settle in at the festival.