Post II- Zwickelmania- There Will Be Beer

On Saturday, February 19th, I got to enjoy one of the finer aspects of Portland- the beer. Zwickelmania is a state-wide event organized by the Oregon Brewers Guild, where the participating brewers throw open the doors to the back room and offer tasters of some of their featured products. While The Apprisal strives to provide unbiased reviews and information to the valued reader, There wasn't much to complain about this fairly well organized and fun event. This is due in part to a GOLDEN RULE- it's hard to complain about anything when free beer is involved. Unless, for example, someone gives you a free beer by throwing it through your car windshield.




An awesome weather day in Portland

Zwickel-whaaat?

A Zwickel refers to the spout on the large tanks used by brewers to sample the beer batch prior to bottling. Hence, the name of the event. I was thoroughly blown away about many aspects of this joyous, beer-filled day. The aforementioned Oregon Brewers Guild simply to say, just laid down probably the best beer event in Portland- which is saying something. Only now in it's 3rd year, this event is staged to become the PREMIER beer event in Oregon and gain more notoriety around the country. Similar large scale beer-oriented festivals- such as the Oregon Brew Fest, International BeerFest, etc. offer an average, impersonal experience in comparison. While offering some unique opportunities to taste beers (especially at the International), these events are commercialized, resulting in overcrowding, lengthy wait times, and are pricey. With 28 participating breweries in Portland metro, you can make follow their suggested routes or design your own tour. Zwickelmania offers a great day in Portland, beer tasting aside. Did I mention everything was free? Free shuttle, free tasters, and HUB went big and gave everyone a free pint glass! This event truly is about the beer, not making money hand over fist in a carnival atmosphere on the water front.

Suggestions

If eyeing to take advantage of Zwickelmania next year, consider planning the route in advance. Wear comfortable walking attire. Our day consisted of about 3-4 miles total walking. Bringing a backpack is advised (When we were presented the pint glasses, we luckily were able to slam them into one backpack). Also, many of these places have food offerings but will be quite busy due to the increased foot traffic. Electing to stop at a non-brewery or packing something for sustenance are great options as well. Realistically, you will only be able to get to a portion of the 28, so select wisely where you want to go. As a recreational biker (this is Portland, after all), this event is built for biking and I will probably elect to pedal power around next year's event.

The Journey
Being a proud resident of Southeast Portland (Stand up!), myself and 7 other friends founds ourselves traipsing through this part of town for most of our journey. No one in our group I would call "Beer Connoisseurs", but definitely the majority are big beer fans. Despite our large group size in ratio to shuttle size (8 in our group, vs. the approx. 16 it seats), we were able to fit onto the shuttle the one ride we did take. This event is definitely for anybody over the legal drinking age, and most people seemed to be over 30. As you can see from the picture, it was a beautiful February day in Portland, especially considering we had rain the day before and after. It was surely a sign the gods wanted us to enjoy our beer bathed in beautiful sunlight.

Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB)

I have a confession to make- I have yet to visit Hopworks, despite living 1/4 mile walk away. This was our 1st destination, due to proximity and shuttle schedule. We were planning to ride the shuttle around to a lot, and arrived to coordinate with it's arrival time. We arrived to a mini-beer garden setup with two beers flowing on tap, a walking tour sign-up sheet, and were bestowed with a pint glass and tickets for tasting. With the lighting up the backside of the building where we were standing, it was at this point that I realized today was going to be awesome. Our plan was to finished at Hopworks, take the tour and taste some of the offerings only available through that method. With this, we set-off on the small shuttle to inner-SE.







Green Dragon

With Green Dragon, which no one in our group had visited before, I didn't know what to expect. We found ourselves in a side room to their main entry where they were sampling hard alcohols. Whoa! Chamomile and hazelnut vodkas, and Trillium Absinthe. I elected to not sample the vodka's, but couldn't resist the Absinthe. It smelled and tasted like black licorice, and with that we went inside their actual business. It had a nice atmosphere, but did not try any of their offerings. Although no beer samples, they seemed to have some unique ones on tap. We hopped across the street to Cascade, and were planning to make it back in time for the shuttle.








Cascade Barrel House

Cascade from what I hear is a fairly new place, and apparently many others had heard this as well. It was pretty packed, but were still able to try all three of their offerings, check out their cooler, in a very reasonable amount of time. With Cascade, it definitely wasn't just hype, as they had 3 sour mash offerings straight out of the barrel (un-carbonated). They had complex names I did not remember (maybe the .2 oz of Absinthe), but basically one was a honey rye, a "spiced" variety in a barrel previously used for bourbon, and the last was raspberry. They were all delicious and very unique. "Sour" may scare some away, but it was a little tart, and somewhat fruity. The Apprisal shall hath not print half-truths. We crossed back over Belmont to Green Dragon to find the shuttle had already left. We decided to take the small jaunt down to Hair of the Dog. At this point, the last traditional beer I had was back at HUB!

Hair of the Dog

We arrived at Hair of the Dog to find it nestled in a very multi use zoned area, and quickly grabbed some seating and made our way into their back room. We were disappointed to find out they didn't start serving food till 2p.m. as many in our group were starting to crave some food to go with the drink. However, the IPA they served was right up my alley. Not overly hopped, as with some IPA's. We departed, crossed over the Willamette and headed a little less than a mile to our next location.

Rock Bottom Brewery

I was a little skeptical of Rock Bottom's participation, as they are a national chain. They however, had a great three beer selection, including a pale ale straight from the tank, pre-carbonation. We had a great time talking to the brewer handling the sampling, and was very accessible. Despite being around lunch time and having a lot of people in the restaurant, not many took advantage of their Zwickelmania participation. This will probably change as this event grows and gains more traction. We enjoyed lunch, actually drank some full size beers, and rested the feet for a minute.

Full Sail

Hidden away is the most secluded brewery of our stop, Full Sail. This satellite location is in the south waterfront area, which features a lot of high-rise and new development. They had two beers on tap, and offered some chocolate to complement the beer (as did most other breweries). I have always enjoyed their beers, and most of their offerings have a nice crisp finish. As the event wrapped up, we took cabs back to our side of town.

Review

For a beer and/or Portland fan, this is a must-do. The vast amount of participation and access was a great experience. There is some room for improvement, such as better route communication and capacity. I can see this improving as this event grows momentum and experience. Another thing is timing, expanded hours would be nice and will probably be necessary to handle the increased interest in this event. I recommend starting as soon as possible, and brushing up on your beer knowledge beforehand. Oh, and keep yourself together, nobody likes dealing with a drunk at 2 p.m.