It’s never fun being the new guy. That is unless you’re wildly popular with a level of mystery that elicits a large amount of curiosity.
For the four Eugene breweries that shipped their locally brewed beers by the kegs up to the 23rd Annual Oregon Brewers Festival in downtown Portland this weekend, it was a good weekend to be the new guy.
Taking place at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, the OBF featured 80 local and national breweries selling their products to an astonishing 70,000 attendees over a four-day weekend.
“It’s a good way to get our beer to an audience that normally doesn’t have access,” said Trevor Howard, brewer for Hop Valley Brewing in Springfield. “We’re excited to be up here.”
Four local breweries, Ninkasi, Hop Valley, Oakshire and Eugene City Brewery, all relatively new to the festival, had a significant following that was well educated on each of the Eugene beers.
This was seen most from Ninkasi Brewery, based in Eugene’s historic Whiteaker neighborhood and only in existence since 2006.
“I’ve been buying Ninkasi since you could only get Total Domination in kegs,” said Nick Berry, a recent University graduate attending the festival. “Ninkasi is my favorite beer, and I’m happy it’s having the success it is up here.”
Featuring the super-hopped IPA, Maiden the Shade, Ninkasi’s pouring station dominated its section with a constant line of beer lovers waiting for a taste.
“It’s very popular,” said Ninkasi volunteer Paul Vrechek, who has been pouring beer for forty years. “Nobody’s spit it out, nobody’s poured it out, and nobody’s given it back to me.”
Ninkasi’s success was also seen around the festival as fans of the brewery donned its logo on shirts and hats. Portland resident Terry Pierce wore a Ninkasi shirt that his friend Chris Arnold gave him as he underwent treatment for cancer.
“I was such a fan of the brewery that I wanted something to cheer me up while I was in the hospital,” Pierce said. “This shirt and company are great.”
The other Eugene brewers had similar positive reviews.
“They seem to be really loving it,” said Michelle English, a volunteer pouring for Oakshire
Brewery. “We’ve had a long line all day.”
“Huge line. Best IPA,” Hop Valley volunteer Tyler Daily quickly said as he was overwhelmed by the long line of the late afternoon crowd.
Even Eugene City Brewery, which filled a spot at the last moment when an out-of-state brewery dropped out, fared well as volunteers poured pitcher after pitcher into the mugs of attendees.
Each of the four Eugene breweries showed enough success at OBF to solidify a spot at future brewers’ festivals.
“Everybody looks forward to the Eugene breweries,” English said. “We can’t wait to see the next year.”
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