This past OBF weekend was just another all-around fantastic time in Beervana. Below are some brief thoughts on the fest and various beer spots we explored. Head to Flickr to see my photos.

• As always, the fest was pretty fantastic. As an out-of-towner, there were many beers offered that I can’t usually get my hands on. I’d never before heard of the small southern Oregon brewery called Hop Valley Brewing, but their Alpha Centauri Binary IPA was easily the most impressive beer I had at the festival. It was a hopped up 8.5% ABV Imperial IPA with an abundance of citrus and pine hops dominating the flavor. Very nicely put together. The brewery has been around since early 2009, and I hope to see more of them in the future.
• The “Buzz Tent” was a big success in my eyes. They had about 8 rare beers pouring at once and the cost was 2 tokens per sample. The Surly Four was a treat, as the Minnesota brewery’s coffee stout is highly-coveted and they don’t even distribute in the NW.


Apex displays & updates their taplist on a TV, and it also updates on their website in real time.

• Apex is a new bar in SE Portland well-worth a visit the next time you’re in town. A great beer selection plus an outdoor patio that beats any in Seattle makes for another great addition to an already ridiculous beer scene. No food, but there are plenty of options close by that you can bring in, including tacos de cabeza (head tacos) from next door that were pretty tasty. Make sure to stop in to Beer Mongers across the street to check out the selection and grab a beer as well. No markup on bottles drank in the store seems to be a rare treat.
• The new Hair of the Dog brewery is going to be pretty sweet. They are not open yet, but Alan hosted his usual OBF open house on Friday and we were treated to a sneak peak and some great HOTD brews. The Blue Dot tasted particularly good. Cheers to Alan for taking the leap on this next step in the already impressive existence of one of the country’s best breweries.
• We didn’t get to stop by Cascade Brewing’s new location (not open yet), but it sounds like things are still coming along there as well and they are shooting to open next month. The location is walking distance from Hair of the Dog (I think), making it a perfect 1-2 punch.
• Jeanne and I visited Produce Row on our last visit to Portland, but they’ve completely redone the place since then. A very nice beer selection coupled with good food and yet another great patio space and this place is even more impressive than it was before.
• I’d only been to Saraveza once before, but that visit was for a packed Brewpublic event and we didn’t stick around long. This time, it was a nice relaxed atmosphere and there were plenty of great beers to choose from (I think we split a bottle of Black Xantus, among other things).
• I’ve had some solid beers from Upright in the past year or so, and things seem to keep getting better. Their Auld Reekie smoked amber lager was right up my alley. I could have kept drinking it all day at Belmont Station, but there was tons of other stuff to try there as well.
• The scotch egg at Horse Brass is quite possibly the best drinking food in existence.
• On a final note, tequila shots when you’re 8 hours into a 12+ hour drinking session is really not a good idea.