2006 North American Organic Brewer's Festival: done right

I woke up at 7:15 this morning with a 100% organic hangover, a souvenir from last night when Felecia, Patrick, and I celebrated Jennifer’s birthday by getting pleasantly sloshed at the North American Organic Brewer’s Festival. Happy birthday, Jen (it’s almost as if it were my birthday).





The Forestry Center was packed by the time we showed up around 7. The elevator from the MAX station was full of dreads and patchouli, forecasting the demographics at the festival above. As we waited in line, pleasant traces of burning buds wafted over us. The band, Adair Village, played some hip-hop/reggae hybrid with a wicked bass groove.

I wonder if the guys at Roots were surprised by the turnout. The space was clogged with brewery reneges, rebels of funk, and my giddy drunk ass.

The beers and the atmosphere were great. My only suggestion for the next NAOBF is overhead signs above the taps, because its hard to tell which line your getting into at first. But who can complain?

While the keg taps were hard to reach sometimes, the soft-drink area was slightly less popular. Har, har.

As 9 approached the beer variety grew sparser; no one wanted to tap a new keg so late. Red shirted alcohol monitors stalked around all evening like they were expecting an insurrection and cut off the beer at 8:45. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that the OLCC is an institution of our homey little state, they carry an air of federal goon-ery.

I made some new friends I’ll never speak to again and even got to meet Laurelwood brewers Chad Kennedy and Dustin Kellner, as they closed the taps. Chad looks pissed either because I’m a truly pathetic drunk or he can’t wait to get out of there and have a beer himself.

My first sample was an awe-inspiring IPA by Alameda Brewhouse, which is so bitter it dominated my palette through the next beers. And eventually at these things everybody gets wrapped up in having a good time, tasting beers gets usurped by drinking beers as beer festivals soon turn into an exploration of who pours the most generous samples. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble but there’s one particular brewery that one might call a ‘Fortunate Companion’ that's mucho bueno. There’s a particular brewer for said brewery that’s my new personal hero.

Patrick got the last glass of Lucky Lab’s No Pity Pale, it was all head but pleased him all the same.

Finally, here’s proof everyone had a good time; some dude is shaking his ass at the alcohol monitors; a good way to fight the system after 10 beers.