McMenamin's prepares for the Oregon Brewers Festival

For the past few days I've had the great pleasure of following a selection of brewers from the vast McMenamin's brewing empire as they contended in "The Battle for the Belt." In addition to bragging rights among their colleagues, the winner of the Belt are assigned the task of upholding McMenamin's honor in the annual Oregon Brewers Festival, which takes over Tom McCall Waterfront Park for the last full weekend in July.

I enjoyed all 20 of the samples available at the Hillsdale Brewery last Saturday, from the lighter offerings like Brady Romtvedt's refreshingly crisp Pitchfork Lager (soon to be available year-round at the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse in Hillsboro) to big, chewy, high-alcohol stunners like Graham Brogan's Bishop's Gate Imperial Red (from John Barleycorns in Tigard). Worth Laflin's Whatawit from the Queen Anne Brewery in Seattle changed my mind about wheat beers: some of the more heavy-handed examples overpower with banana and bubble-gum, but Worth's Whatawit was clean, delicately perfumed with tropical fruit aromas, and tremendously refreshing.

When the winners were announced yesterday afternoon at the Kennedy School's Cypress Room, I was on hand to congratulate and interview the top brewers from the weekend. This year, Ben Nehrling and Tim Proctor of Concordia Brewery (the brewing facility located at the Kennedy School, no less) celebrated their second consecutive victory at the Hillsdale festival. I confess that their Lucky Charms organic Irish red ale left me a little nonplussed on first taste; the grassy character of the hops was almost a shock compared to the usual floral, citrus tang more common in Northwest craft beers. But the great malts (organic Pilsner, Munich, and Crystal malt, with a little Chocolate added for color and flavor) were up to the task of the blend of US Goldings, Amarillo and Chinook hops. Congratulations to both of them.

Next up for me: the Nano Beer Fest at one of my favorite local brewpubs, Max's Fanno Creek in Tigard. Ten small-volume (but high-quality) brewers, from as far away as Ashland and as close as Mt. Tabor, will be present from the 26th to the 28th of this month. (Crikey! That's the day after tomorrow!)

Hope to see you there!