Beer, Bigfoot, Backcountry

Part 1 -Beer

Finally! A warm, sunny July weekend in the Northwest. While everyone on the East Coast and Midwest has been frying in hell, we've been relegated to that part of hell where it's cold, wet, and gluemy (gloomy + glue = sad and stuck). With the great thawing, Andi and I decided to put on our best weekend warrior gear, load up the truck with camping equipment, and wreak some fun.

Friday afternoon found us at The Oregon Brewers Festival. Although not my favorite Oregon Beer event (see PIB), it is a place to party, see old friends, and find the occasional super yummy beer.

Portland's waking zombies were out in force. As the sun and beer brought life to the city and its people, the crowd roared and swayed in hive-like unity..."beer"..."Beeeer"..."BEEEEEERRR!" The lines were long, the jostling and bumping were annoying, but trying to follow my elfin wife as she weaved through tiny gaps of flesh and shirts raised my anxiety level from blue/guarded to red/severe. A panic attack was narrowly averted with my first beer! In the BUZZ tent I found a very nice surprise: Cascade Brewing's super super sour Porter. Wow! Was it ever sour....mmmmmm. Warning: sour beers are not for everyone. The owner of Cascade Brewing company, Art Larrance, played a role in getting the Oregon Beer Festival started. Cascade is also known for their innovative sour beers. I highly recommend checking them out when in Portland.

Ah...Beeeer. I felt human once again.

However, my humanity was shaken once more when I realized that Dogfish Head's "Black & Red" beer was "OUT." Its style was listed as "Raspberry Mint Imperial Stout." I love Dogfish Head, and I especially love imperial stouts. It was the one beer I really wanted to try. It was the only imperial stout at the festival. Grrrr. When I asked people about it and I got responses like "gross," "yuck," and "weird," I knew that I truly missed out on something special. Alas, our plan was to head out camping Saturday, so there would be no chance to try again. O ye cruel beer Gods!

To be continued (Part 2 - Bigfoot)