Last week I wrote about my impending trip to the Oregon Brewer’s Festival, the annual trip I make down I-5 (although I took the train this year, fucking gas prices!) to drink the sweetest brews from across the country. So here’s a short round up of some of the beers I at least remember tasting.

Coffee Bender, Surly Brewing Co. - I wasn’t about to throw down 4 tokens ($4), or even 1 token for a taste, of this beer. I can’t stand black coffee, so my opinion on this one is probably a little biased. It had a very strong bitter coffee taste and I could only handle a couple of sips. This beer is probably great if you like coffee and looking for something to give you a jolt of caffeine late at night.

Zon, Boulevard Brewing Co. - Normally you know what you’re getting into by the title of the beer, but all the sign said was, “Zon,” so I figured why not. It’s actually Belgian Witbier and kind of light in alcohol content (4.4%) - but had a great, smooth summer taste with a hint of orange. They even had great placement at the end of one of the tents, which means I could totally jump into the front of the line and get a refill with the quickness. Yes, I am that asshole, deal with it.

Quilter’s Irish Death, Iron Horse Brewery - I tried this on name and alcohol content alone. At 7.8%, I made sure to try this bad boy out early in the evening, before I turned into Irish Death. Iron Horse represented properly for Ellensburg, WA, as I was fearful of a stout…but it’s classified as an Imperial Sweet Stout, therefore it wasn’t too bitter or strong. But you could definitely tell you were getting your tokens’ worth of alcohol.

Dick’s IPA, Dick’s Brewing Co. - Some people may like Dick’s, nothing against its color, size or aftertaste, but I’m just not a huge fan of Dick’s… Dick’s IPA that is, of course. This year, more than the previous ones, I swear it was overloaded with IPAs, and we all know I love my ambers. They claim Dick’s IPA is “hopped to the extreme”, maybe that was my problem with this beer, but it just didn’t sit right with me. Maybe women will like the Dick’s better, who knows.

20th Anniversary Wit, Deschutes Brewery - We hit up the Deschutes Brewery for dinner one night, so I felt it was necessary to check out what they were pimpin’ at the beer festival. They pulled out all the stops for this Wit (my preferred genre for outdoor summer drinking), it was almost like a tastier version of the Zon. More orange and some other spices give it a bit of kick to go along with the refreshing aftertaste. I’ll be searching for this limited brew around Seattle this weekend, as it’s only available through September.

All in all, another successful Brewfest. Woooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

This morning I boarded a train to Portland for my annual pilgrimage to the Oregon Brewer’s Festival. The last weekend of July has become a sacred holiday for a group of college friends and myself - I’ve requested weddings, BBQs and birthday parties to be scheduled around this holiday.

The weekend usually includes drunken debauchery, barbecuing, whiffle ball, drunken jackassery, crashing a random house party, hanging out in the Pearl, and, of course, drinking beer. The Oregon Brewer’s Festival, or as we call it, “Brewfest,” also takes place during Oregon Craft Beer Month this year…like I give a fuck. Brewfest is wall-to-wall people during prime-time drinking hours and the weather is usually hot as balls, turning the river waterfront of Portland into an open-air dive bar.

This year Brewfest is touting the connection of its 21st anniversary with the 21st Amendment. Nerds. Read their whole press release here. Also, there will be 72 craft beers, representing 18 states. I’ll have a full report next week. If you’ll be at the Brewfest, look for me, I’ll be the one drinking drunk.