Review of Oregon Gardens 6th Annual Brewfest

Last Saturday, my husband, a friend of his, and a lot of my mother’s family went to The Oregon Garden’s 6th Annual Brewfest in Silverton, OR. There were 43 different brewers represented with 81 beverages, one of which was a root beer. This year, they gave us a pretty sleek 8 oz beer glass as our tasting mug.

There were six ciders there – Wandering Aengus Ciderworks with their new Anthem line up of apple, cherry, and pear, Classic Crispin Cider, Fox Barrel Pear Cider, and Spire Mountain Cider Dark and Dry (this one has “a hint of molasses and brown sugar.”) I took three glasses and filled them with samples of Wandering Aengus Apple Anthem, Classic Crispin Cider, and Spire Mountain Cider Dark and Dry and had people in our party try them. Nobody cared for Crispin, claiming it was watery in taste. Compared to that, the Dark and Dry was much fuller bodied in the mouth and much more pleasant to drink, and thus was preferred out of the two. Wandering Aengus Apple Anthem was very different from the other two, in which people described as sour, but they liked it. I then put the Wandering Aengus Pear Anthem Cider up against the Fox Barrel Pear Cider, and people all agreed that Wanding Aengus was much better, as it had more flavor and was more dynamic. This was a good tasting panel for me to listen to to help me figure out what kind of products I want to be making.

As far as the beer goes, it was the complete opposite of the Winter Brew Fest we attended. At that festival, so many of the beers were brewed for just that event and would be impossible to fine again. At this brewfest, my husband estimated that we could find 70% of them in bottles or on tap, and I remember a good number of them from last year being there last year. My husband indicated that it was sort of a brewfest for the sake of being a brewfest, but that it didn’t inspire brewers to do new things, but to go with what they have.

This would be a good festival for new drinkers and casual drinkers who want to try a whole bunch of beers in little quantities rather than buy a whole bunch of six packs or 22 oz bottles and discover you don’t like it. For that reason, it also allows someone to try a beer style they might normally not drink. However, the serious beer drinker would be disappointed as they would find they have had much of what is available there, but it does allows for tasting them in one sitting or to try beers back to back or head to head. It might be a few years before we return.

Bonus, though, was that touring the Oregon Gardens was free, and we got some ideas for growing things. For instance, they set up some old ladders as bean poles, but I think they would be kind of neat for growing hops.

Oregon Gardens Bloom and Brew

This Friday and Saturday, April 23^rd & 24^th, is The Oregon Garden’s 6^th Annual Brewfest in Silverton, OR. I attended the 2nd Annual Brewfest, which was called Bloom and Brew at the time, and last year’s festival. I still tend to call it Bloom and Brew, as several places have a brew fest, but there is only one Bloom and Brew that I know of in this region. It makes it unique.

Admission this year is $15, but the price includes a mug and about 10 tasting tickets. My first year, the glasses were small eight ounces done up in a sleak beer style mug. I heard for awhile that they changed to plastic due to broken glass and a change of sponsors, but when I went back last year they gave us a nice clear coffee cup style mug that had a line on it. The line indicates a “tasting” of 1 ticket versus a full glass, which usually runs at least 3 tickets. My husband and I actually use these mugs as our official homebrew tasting mugs, even for my wines.

The tastings are done in a pavilion, and there are slated to be 39 different breweries or brew pubs represented (actual 40 - Wandering Aengus Ciderworks was a late addition), each one bringing two or three of their beers to try, most of which are bottled and distributed if one looks for it in stores. There is a little bit of food to be had, but this is most definitely a place where I have packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for.

This is an event I go to with my aunt and uncle who do not live very far from Silverton. We get there early to avoid the crowds, as when we leave usually around 3pm, it is very packed. There is no seating, and very few small tall tables. It is also very warm at that point.

After leaving the pavilion, we wander around the gardens for a bit or ride the little tram they have. Thing is, it always seems to be a rainy blustery day, so trying not to overdress for inside, but being dressed enough for outside is very tricky.

The first time I went, I drank very little except for the Spire Mountain Apple and Pear Ciders there because I did not like beer at the time. I really had no interest in going back, but then I got engaged to a guy who loved beer, so I thought I should take him. Luckily, a few weeks prior, we finally found a beer I would drink an entire glass by myself, which was a honey orange wheat. The Bloom and Brew Fest last year had quite a number of other fruit wheat beers that I found to be decent and could drink the small samples and also a glass of one, while my fiancé (now husband) was quite happy that several dark stout type beers were still to be found. Spring is a season where you can find both without much hassle as they fade the darker winter beers out in favor of the pale summer beers.

This was a must return to beer festival on my husband’s list.