Brewfest is a Bust
Ok, so I like beer as much as anybody, but let me tell you why I think the waterfront Brewfest is lame:
* Poor value: The mandatory $4 buck cup is small and it takes four dollar-tokens to fill it up. Depending on how many tokens you buy, a pint of beer costs roughly $8-$10.
* Lines: Just getting in can take 30 minutes or more because the guards have to put a wrist band on everybody. Once in, you’ll have to wait in line for at least 10 minutes to get a beer. Samples for a buck don’t sound too bad, but unless you just want to get back in another line, you fill it up.
The Brewfest continues today at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
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If you’re looking to drink beer cheaply, go to a pub at happy hour and drink PBR or MGD. All the Portland “beer fests” cost about $4 or so to get in or to get a mug.
If you’re looking for an opportunity to taste a few great beers that are not available everywhere, wait the 5-10 minutes in line. The 14oz mugs wil cost you $4 to fill but the idea is to taste a bunch and the 4 oz taste for $1 is fairly priced.
I’ll agree that the ID checks/wristbands could be done quicker if they had a few more folks doing it at each entrance. I assume that its a function of what the organizers are willing to pay for the people. I can’t imagine that OLCC provides the bodies for free.
Weather was beautiful Friday and we really enjoyed volunteering to sell tokens and then sitting around, drinking beer and enjoying the afternoon.
The brewfest gets extrordinarily crowded on Saturday, always. If you’re not into mob scenes I would reccomend avoiding Saturday afternoon at all costs. This year it started on Thursday and I’m happy to report the lack of crowds & high beer availablility Thurs/Fri before 7-ish! Go early.
Whaddya wanna bet those long entrance were by unionized OLCC ID checkers working slowly? I’ve never taken so long to have someone look at my ID! I’m starting an unsubstantiated rumor here.. but it might be true.
Although I have one rant about the OBF: this year parents with minors both had to wear these bright green stickers.. and minors got kicked out at 7pm thanks to some new OLCC rules. So much for “family fun” Europe style. Some of my best beer-going friends have kids & bring them to the fest .. they were very dissapointed to learn about this new rule. Rumor has it next year they won’t allow kids at all. Sigh.
I hate the OLCC. Maybe I should move to Europe, if only I didn’t like Portland so much.