Are there any special "not to miss" events going on during OBF, that an out of towner shouldn't miss? I'm coming in from Salt Lake & will be in town Friday-Sunday. Prost!
I'd pretty much just skip OBF all together over those days unless you enjoy large crowds, long lines, and lots of woo-ing. It's a total zoo the entire weekend. If you absolutely must go, get there right when it opens on Friday. Even without considering any special events (I'm sure others will chime in), you'll drink much better beer and a have a better time visiting places like Upright, The Commons, Hair of the Dog, Cascade, Belmont Station, Bailey's, Deschutes, etc.
Teddy is right. That is the best week to hit the usual spots in PDX and avoid the drunken fratboy fest at McCall Waterfront Park.
I, on the other hand, have always enjoyed OBF. As long as you know it will be busy and go in with the mind-set it will be a touch crazier then most beer fests, it can be a great time. The beers, while not individually as exciting as other fests, are generally super solid across the board. Try to avoid Friday and Saturday and you should be fine. Also the 'full pour' size is smaller this year, so people who just want to get hammered will be drinking less while waiting in the long lines (normally for Ninkasi, or 21st Amendment Watermelon junk.)
Honestly, the most of the beer at OBF is mediocre at best. If this is your first time in Portland and you want to sample the best the city has to offer I strongly suggest you skip OBF and just hit up all the usual places. On the other hand, if you're just going for social aspects I recommend going early in the day so that you can still hit some quality places in the evening. Either way, check out this thread for a list of good places: http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/visiting-portland-summer-2013-update.97758/ They all have websites so check them out a few days before your trip and see if they have anything lined up for that weekend (or just check their tap list to see if they have anything special you want to try).
enjoy the smaller than normal crowds at the must hit spots around town, like teddy recommended. You will have a much more enjoyable time.
Thanks for the great info, beer festivals always drag me in but it's the flavor of the cities that I enjoy the most.
Time for a contrary view: Benefits of the OBF are free entry then pay $7 for the tasting glass (real glass) and a buck a taste. Not to mention the great setting at a nice park on the river. I've always had a great time there and plan to again this year. But then I've avoided the busiest times. I recommend you check it out. If it's not for you, easy to move on. At the worst, you'll walk away with a nice souvenir glass for seven bucks. From there you can walk a few blocks over to Bailey's. I'm sure they will have something nice going on.
The compromise: Go on Thursday morning/afternoon and Friday morning/afternoon, then skip it the rest of the week. You can then go to some better places, especially since there's no Buzz tent this year and half the beers are ones you can pull off the shelf at a supermarket.
Also, for "anyone else", there's now a Wednesday option... 12noon - 9pm each day (except 12-7pm Sunday).
I'm with you on this Larry. I go every year and always have a great time. Granted, I've long since given up going on the weekends (you couldn't pay me to go on Friday or Saturday evening), but if you can avoid the crowds, OBF is a lot of fun. The weather is usually pretty nice (should be this year as well), the crowds enthusiastic and generally well behaved (assuming you get there early), and invariably I can find a dozen or so beers that are new and/or interesting to sample. Typically I go for a couple of hours, and then shoot on over to Bailey's, Cascade, HOTD or Apex (all of which are within a mile or so of the park). IMHO, I think it's become fashionable to bash the OBF, in much the same way that locals like to bash McMenamins (because it's not some uber craft beer event that caters to connoisseur beer geeks). If one comes to OBF expecting something comparable to GABF or Taste of the Midwest or Belgium comes to Cooperstown, then yes, you WILL be disappointed. It's not that kind of event and it doesn't try to be (and doesn't advertise itself as such). However, there are always interesting beers to sample at OBF, and the location is fantastic. It's great opportunity to wander around, meet and talk to fellow craft beer fans, and just enjoy the day. To the OP... definiitely do yourself a favor and try to get there as early as possible on Friday (opening bell if you can). Crowds do get to be a bit overwhelming by mid afternoon, and I've heard nothing but horror stories about the crowds on Friday and Saturday evening (it apparently turns into something of a drunk frat boy party, with long lines and long waits for a beer). Personally, I plan to go on Wednesday, early afternoon, and expect to experience very short lines and no problems whatsoever. Cheers!
It's also worth mentioning that Sundays are a fine time to go to OBF. I went in for less than hour last year on Sunday, around 12:30-1pm, and there were almost no lines and most (let's say 75-80%) of the beers in the program were still on tap. I believe the organizers have done a better job the past couple years of stretching out the kegs to last all days of the event (although with an extra day added - but, likewise, more kegs being required from each brewer - it will be interesting to see what happens this year).
That's good to know about Sunday. In recent years I've stopped going on Sunday, because it used to be that more than half the beers were "out" if you went over on a Sunday afternoon. Crowds were small (as Brian mentioned), but it hardly seemed worth going given what was left by Sunday afternoon.
I'll be there on Weds. Yeah, it's not the sexiest line-up, and I miss the Buzz Tent, but there's actually a lot of beers on the list that I haven't tried, and they're mostly light enough that I may actually be able to trust my taste buds for more than the first 4 or 5 tastes (something I can't really honestly say for a lot of festivals). Perhaps many of them are available somewhere around town, but there's something to be said for walking over from my office, getting a bunch of 4oz pours, then taking the bus home; rather than driving all over town drinking a pint at a time.
