It’s been three years since the last Oregon Brewers Festival was held at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. But this dry spell will end with the 2022 OBF returns to Portland’s waterfront for the 33rd year from Thursday, July 28 through Saturday, July 30.
With the festivals return, this year will see a smaller array of beers, only 40 with all hailing from the state of Oregon. Organizers state that 80% of the beers will either be exclusive to the festival, or making their debut there. One part of the festival that will not be returning this year is the Brewers Parade and likely along with it, the Brewers Brunch.
As always, the 2022 Oregon Brewers Festival will offer a wide variety of beer styles, and attendees will have the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of brews to include Belgians, goses, hazy IPAs, pilsners, saisons, pale ales, sours, fruit beers and more. The list of participating breweries includes larger, established operations as well as some of Oregon’s newest brewers. Two Oregon ciders will also join the lineup, and Crater Lake Root Beer will be on hand for designated drivers and non-drinkers.
34 years ago, in 1988, there were just seven craft breweries in Oregon, and only 199 in the United States. All were invited to take part in the inaugural Oregon Brewers Festival, a two-day event billed as “the first gathering and exhibit of independent brewers in the United States.” Today, there are more than 9,000 craft brewers in the US, with over 300 of them in Oregon, according to the Brewers Association.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Portland – aka “Beervana” – was considered the #1 large metro area for beer tourism, according to Travelocity’s Beer Tourism Index. The Oregon Brewers Festival has repeatedly been named among the top beer festivals in the United States, attracting tens of thousands of visitors from outside of Oregon, including international tourists.
2022 Participating Breweries:
Alesong Brewing and Blending
Boneyard Beer
Breakside Brewery
Buoy Beer Co
Caldera
Cascade Brewing
Coin Toss Brewing
Crux Fermentation Project
Deschutes Brewery
Double Mountain Brewery and Cidery
Ecliptic Brewing
Evasion Brewing
Ex Novo Brewing
ForeLand Beer
Fort George Brewery
Gigantic Brewing
GoodLife Brewing Co.
Gorges Beer Co.
Great Notion
Hammer & Stitch Brewing Company
Hopworks Urban Brewery
Level Beer
Migration Brewing Company
Monkless Belgian Ales
Ninkasi Brewing Company
pFriem Family Brewers
Rogue Ales
Steeplejack Brewing Company
Stickmen Brewing
StormBreaker Brewing
Sunriver Brewing Company
Terminal Gravity Brewing
Three Creeks Brewing
Threshold Brewing & Blending
Upright Brewing
Van Henion Brewing
Von Ebert Brewing
Widmer Brothers Brewing
Wild Ride Brewing
Zoiglhaus Brewing Company
The Oregon Brewers Festival is not a ticketed event, and it is free to enter the festival grounds. In order to taste beer, the purchase of a 12 oz. souvenir tasting mug from the current year is required, which costs $10. Beer is purchased with tickets, which cost $2 apiece. Patrons exchange three tickets for a full mug of beer, or one ticket for a taste. Tickets and mugs may be purchased in advance or at the gate. The event will accept major credit cards, debit cards and cash, and an ATM will be available on site. The wooden tokens from past years are being replaced by paper drink tickets this year. Wooden tokens from previous years may be swapped one-for-one with drink tickets at this year’s festival.
This festival depends on hundreds of volunteers to operate successfully, and each volunteer receives a festival t-shirt, mug and drink tickets. Volunteers may sign up at oregonbrewfest.com/volunteer.
The Oregon Brewers Festival encourages responsible drinking and urges patrons to take Tri-Met; the MAX Light Rail has a station one block from the main festival entrance. Alternately, attendees who ride their bikes can park them for free in the Hopworks Urban Brewery secure bike corral. For those who bring a designated driver, the Crater Lake Soda Garden provides complimentary handcrafted soda (no mug purchase required). Minors, who are allowed into the event all hours when accompanied by a parent, also receive free Crater Lake Soda. Additional event sponsors Travel Portland, Travel Oregon, the City of Portland and Great Western Malting.
Gates open at 11:30am daily, and taps are open from Noon to 9pm Thursday through Saturday. For more information visit OregonBrewFest.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram.
About The Author
DJ
D.J. is a Portland, Oregon based writer that spent his formative years in the Midwest. With over 25 years under his belt of drinking beer at festivals across America and the world, he has developed a strong appreciation and understanding of craft beer and the industry that surrounds it. He can be found in any of the great breweries or beer bars that make Portland the best beer city in the world. His writing can also be found in the archives of Northwest Brewing News and can be followed on Twitter and Instagram at @hopapalooza.
