The Sasquatch Brewfest in the Eugene Hilton@@http://www.northwestlegendsfoundation.org/@@ was filled to the brim with people jostling around, making merry with pints of beer. Blues music rang out across the main ballroom as local craft brewers plied their trade. Beers with names like “Trouble Every Day ISA” or “Phil’s Existential Alt”@@alt not ale@@ crossed the lips and touched the palates of those in attendance. But many in the crowd do not know this event was started in mourning of a local craft brewer who died 10 years ago.
In a small, side-dining room, his shirts hang on a rack along the far wall. His face is plastered on large display boards around the giant wooden Sasquatch in the front entryway. His name was Glen Hay Falconer.@@http://glenfalconerfoundation.org/@@
Falconer was killed in 2002 when he was repairing his Volkswagen van at his girlfriend’s house. It accidentally started and ran him over. His girlfriend would find him a few hours later.
“This festival was really set up for us to hang out with each other, drink beer with each other,” said Jamie Floyd, founder of Ninkasi Brewing@@http://www.ninkasibrewing.com/company/@@ and good friend of Falconer’s. “Glen was a ‘one fork, one bowl, one spoon’ kind of guy. He liked to live simply and use only what he needed. He loved blues music, he loved beer and a good time. He was independent and had a lot of respect for others.”
The proceeds of the Sasquatch beer festival go to the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation,@@http://glenfalconerfoundation.org/@@ a nonprofit that has given 15 full-tuition scholarships to aspiring brewers since 2004. Winners of the scholarships have gone to the Siebel Institute of Technology where the World Brewing Academy is located.@@http://www.siebelinstitute.com/@@
Ian Falconer, Glen’s father, helped start the event as well as set up the foundation.
“Glen liked a lot about teaching kids,” Ian said. “He liked swimming and soccer, so the foundation has donated money to Kids Sports, Mobility International — places that help kids learn those skills. The interesting thing is that Glen was enormously open to others sharing. He was dedicated to brewing and to his work, and if you asked him about brewing, he would tell you more than you wanted to know about the subject.”
Back at the Hilton, for $13 admission, you received a pint glass with five tickets going toward the 67 different beers and ciders available in the huge ballroom. Cider, IPA, barley wine, amber ales — nearly the entire spectrum of beer was represented.
Tony Cratty, Gilgamesh Brewing’s sales and distribution manager for the Willamette Valley area,@@http://gilgameshbrewing.com/contactus@@ poured some of the brewery’s “DJ Jazzy Hef” at Sasquatch.
“Gilgamesh is two years old, and it’s a family-owned business,” Cratty said. “All of our ingredients are local. We have a Mint Kolsch, so we get our mint from Jefferson. We have a Vader Coffee CDA, and we get our coffee locally, too. We were happy to be invited to this event. Glen was really responsible for getting Oregon beers known.”
The blues music played all night long, including some by the Lionel Young Band.@@http://lionelyoung.net/@@ Young played electric blues on an electric violin — at time pizzicato and other times with the bow. He wowed the crowd in the middle of his set by playing his electric violin behind his head with his back turned to the crowd.
The Glen Hay Falconer Foundation continues to give out yearly scholarships to those interested in brewing.
“Glen was a very content, caring, giving person,” Ian said. “That’s what people responded to. That’s why we’re here, giving in his memory.”