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Portland Fresh Hops Festival at Oaks Amusement Park

  • Oaks Amusement Park 7805 Southeast Oaks Park Way Portland, OR, 97202 United States (map)
image courtesy the Oregon Brewers Guild

image courtesy the Oregon Brewers Guild

Oregon’s biggest fresh hops festival is back. The 16th annual Portland Fresh Hops Festival returns to Oaks Amusement Park in September with a few new wrinkles, including collaboration beers from farmers and breweries, conversations with innovative brewers, early-entry tickets, live music, and 60-plus fresh hop beers from Oregon. The festival is open from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, and noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28.

The Cone Wars
New this year, The Cone Wars is a friendly competition featuring Oregon’s world-class hop farms. Each farm is collaborating with an Oregon brewery to craft a fresh hop beer. A crowd vote determines the winner. Collabs include:
• Baerlic Brewing Co. / Indie Hops • Breakside / Crosby Hop Farms • Hopworks Urban Brewery / Goschie Farms • McMenamins / Sodbuster Farms • Ninkasi / Goschie Farms • Wolves & People / Crosby Hop Farm

Bines and Brewers
Brewing with fresh hops presents particular challenges. There are tight timelines, logistical issues and other factors that make it unpredictable, but uniquely rewarding. Who better to share stories from this unique process than brewers themselves? This year, Breakside Brewmaster Ben Edmunds and other Oregon brewers share their favorite stories. This event is only on Friday evening.

Tickets
Admission to the festival is free on Saturday. A tasting package is $20 and includes a souvenir glass and eight tickets. Friday evening tickets are limited, and are $25, including a tasting package. There are also limited Friday/Saturday combo tickets for $35. Additional drink tickets are available for purchase at the event. Purchase event tickets here.

But wait, there's more!
The final beer list will be released in mid-September, but you can find a working list here.

Minors are not allowed on Friday, but are welcome from noon-5 p.m. on Saturday. There will be a small children’s play area – not to mention a huge one next door, as Oaks Amusement Park is open for business through Sept. 29. We will serve craft root beer from Double Mountain Brewery – for the kids and the designated drivers.

What's with fresh hops, anyway?
There are four primary ingredients in beer: barley, yeast, water and hops. The pleasant bitterness and floral aroma in many beers comes from the hop flower, or cone. Those cones are delicate, and most are processed into pellets or dried as soon as they’re picked. There is an oh-so-brief window after they are plucked from the bine (not vine!) when they are suitable for brewing. Fresh hops can create a unique flavor profile that can’t be replicated with dried hops.

“Most Oregon breweries are within a few hours of a world class hop farm,” says Oregon Brewers Guild Co-Executive Director Tony Roberts. “There aren’t many other places in the world where so many brewers have such easy access to hops harvested and delivered on the same day.”

Fair pricing
The Oregon Brewers Guild believes that festival organizers should pay market value for beer purchased for and served at festivals, and opposes the use of “application, booth, or marketing fees” to undercut brewer revenue. Proceeds from the event benefit the nonprofit Guild’s efforts to promote and protect the Oregon craft beer industry.

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About the Oregon Brewers Guild
The Oregon Brewers Guild is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and protect the state’s craft brewing industry and the common interests of its members. Founded in 1992, the Oregon Brewers Guild is one of the nation’s oldest craft brewers associations.

Limited Friday tasting packages are $25, Saturday admission is free, tasting package is $20.
Limited Friday/Saturday combo ticket is $35. Tickets are available at: https://portland.boldtypetickets.com/events/97937956/2019-portland-fresh-hop-festival