Holiday Ale Fest - The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
The big Holiday Ale Fest was this weekend at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Here’s a handy round up of what went right, what went wrong, and what should never happen again.
The Good - the beer selection was absolutely fantastic. Big, winter ales from all over the Pacific Northwest were to be found. My personal favorites were Deschutes Brewing’s Mirror Mirror, Hopworks Urban’s Organic Kentucky Christmas and Lagunitas’ Old Brown Shugga (is there a beer that Lagunitas makes that ISN’T awesome?). There was an amazingly wide variety of styles, and it was great to see such depth represented. The move from cash to tickets was also greatly appreciated.
The Bad - Even given 20% more space, this festival has simply outgrown its Pioneer Courthouse Square digs. Sure, it’s nice to see the big tree, and the heaters give the fest a homey feel, but by 3:00 P.M. on Saturday the place was uncomfortably full. Lines for beer ran past the seating area and were in danger of bumping up against the opposite wall. That was my cue to leave. I can only imagine how bad things were in the evening. It’s time to move this festival to a new location.
The Ugly - A television showing college football. Absolutely unnecessary. I know people wanted to check the score on the civil war game, but this is not the place to do it (especially since the TV wasn’t wired for cable, and only showed the score periodically during a completely non-Oregon-related game). This is a place to appreciate craft brewing, big beers, and the holidays. The television killed the atmosphere, bringing in an unnecessary sports bar vibe. There were dozens of places showing the game on Saturday. If one absolutely HAD to see it, one could have chosen such a venue. A beer fest is for appreciating beer, not for feeding one’s television addiction. Whoever thought this was a good idea was sorely mistaken.
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I’d like to add that that was the Oaked Brown Sugga, giving it a little extra bourbon-y goodness. And don’t forget the Ninkasi Otis Oatmeal Stout or the Pelican Black IPA entries - perfect beers for drinking outdoors in wintertime.
And I’ll agree 100% on the “Ugly” there. Very stupid idea.
But where should they move this ‘fest to then? Where would be a good alternative that’s still centrally located to PDX but has the space? I dunno - I’m just askin’ ‘cuz I think somebody needs to get this going…
This might be a stretch, but how about relocating the area to Tom McCall Waterfront Park?
I agree with everything said here — it’s a small space for the huge crowds this event attracts.
But DO not move a winter beer fest to Waterfront Park. I do not want to have to wear rubber boots to attend this event. This is Oregon, folks. Dirt turns to mud in the winter when thousands of people walk on it.
I, for one, would not mind seeing this event move to the Oregon Convention Center, where the spring brewfest takes place. It’s warm, it’s a large space, and right on the MAX line.
OR, they could make more room for people if they simply ditched the vendors selling tchotchkes like metal sculptures and glass art. Totally unnecessary, and takes up much-needed space.
Yeah - the Waterfront is not the space, the mud will do you in - but the Convention Center is a bad idea as well. That’s the reason that the Spring fest is the worst of all the beer festivals. It’s just way to much of a tradeshow atmosphere. The fact that it’s semi-outside in winter is part of it’s charm.
Any big parking lots downtown that are larger than the square area?
I actually like the Spring Beer Fest - although, I haven’t been since it’s been moved to the Convention Center, but I liked it at the Expo Center a lot. Sure, it looks like a trade show - but it’s a BEER trade show! There was plenty of room for people to walk around, and enough space for the brewers to provide beer AND free schwag!
But I agree that the Holiday Ale Fest would be lacking that special feel if it was moved to the Convention Center. I honestly don’t know where it should go. Pioneer Courthouse Square is definitely too small. Waterfront Park is too muddy. The Convention Center is a little too sterile, but, outside the parking lot of a large shopping center, I’m having troubles thinking of an outdoor location that’s suitable. I think that, for better or worse, the Convention Center or Expo center is the logical choice. It’s not quite as festive, but I’ll trade festivity for comfort.
Ha, ha, I got there early enough on Thursday to get some of the Hair of the Dog Jim II.
But while I was waiting in line, some tool with a video camera was standing behind the servers and trying to get the drunken idiots to lift their glasses and ‘Woooo!’. He kept gesturing at me to do it, too (I think because I was the only female in the field of view). I rolled my eyes at him instead. I mean, really, for $4 a teeny-tiny glass, I’m not going to this thing to get trashed and stupid, I’m there to drink good beer.
And yay! There was good beer!
Not the place for college football? An Oregon festival with two major Oregon teams playing? Its the perfect place!
I’m not sure about changing the venue for this one. There’s something really nice about it being right in the middle of downtown, under the tree, under a clear plastic tent in the pouring rain. Move it and it will just grow to the size of the new venue - lines at the OBF in the summer are just as bad, and it has tons of space. If you really want to go when it’s not asshole to elbow, take a half-day off work on Thursday or Friday and get your drinking in between noon and 6pm.
About the beer, though - the Scaldis Noel was awesome, especially at $1/taster. That stuff’ll run you $5-6 for a tiny bottle. The North Wheat Wine from Fort George was interesting and quite tasty, although I don’t have much experience with that style. And the Oaked Tannen Bomb was great, much better than this year’s offering in the bottle.