6/29/2019 -- Kriekfest: Barrel-aged Sour Cherry Beers

4th ann. celebration devoted to barrel-aged cherry elixirs incl. Cantillon, Speciation, pFriem, more

Inspired by the Hood Valley’s abundance of cherry orchards, Kriekfest is the largest celebration devoted exclusively to barrel-aged cherry beverages. Kriekfest returns for its fourth annual inception, harvesting the biggest basket of cherry beers––and cider, mead, and sparkling cherry wine––yet, as well as relocating to a new venue. This year’s event will take at Von Ebert Brewing Glendoveer in East Portland.

New to the festival this year is a five-course kriek pairing dinner, which will be held at Von Ebert Glendoveer the evening prior on Friday, June 28. Dinner tickets are extremely limited and cost $125, which includes the meal and beverages, a commemorative stemmed glass, gratuity, and Kriekfest VIP admission the next day.

Kriekfest 2019 festival and dinner tickets are available now at merctickets.com/go/kriekfest. Advanced general admission costs $30 and includes six drink tickets. Advanced VIP admission is $50 and includes 13 drink tickets and half-hour early admission. GA is $40 and VIP is $60 at the gate. All beverages will be available in four-ounce pours; additional tasting tickets can be purchased onsite for $2 each. Minors and designated drivers receive free admission.

Kriek, Flemish for sour cherry, is a four-centuries-old style of spontaneously-fermented, lambic ales aged on cherries (pits and all). This year’s Kriekfest lineup features more than 30 participating providers, including the festival’s largest-ever (and possibly the globe’s largest) collection of world-class examples imported from Belgium and beyond, including Brasserie Cantillon, Brasserie Fantôme, Brouwerij Drei Fonteinen, Brouwerij Boon, Brouwerij Brasserie De Ranke, and Hanssens Artisanaal.

Cherry-growing regions are natural for such beers, so it’s no surprise Oregon’s Hood and Willamette Valley’s Belgian-inspired breweries make excellent krieks. This year’s lineup features sour cherry beers from both these regions, as well as five additional countries, and five more states. Many of the breweries are making their Oregon debut, including Michigan’s Speciation Artisan Ales and B. Nektar Meads, Wisconsin’s O’So Brewing, New Zealand’s 8 Wired, Australia’s Two Metre Tall, and Ontario’s Bellwoods.

The celebration of cherry-laced libations is family-friendly and features a cherry marketplace and other delicious food. For more information visit Kriekfest.com and follow updates on social media at @Kriekfest.

Breweries featured at Kriekfest*:
8 Wired, New Zealand
Alesong, Eugene, OR
Bellwoods, Canada
Block 15, Corvallis, OR
Boon, Belgium
Cantillon, Belgium
Cascade, Portland, OR
Double Mountain, Hood River, OR
De Ranke, Belgium
Drei Fonteinen, Belgium
Fantôme, Belgium
Firestone Walker, Paso Robles, CA
Hanssens, Belgium
Lindemans, Belgium
Little Beast, Beaverton, OR
Logsdon Farmhouse, Hood River, OR
Modern Times, Portland, OR
New Belgium, Ft. Collins, CO
O’so, Plover, WI
Oud Beersel, Belgium
pFriem, Hood River, OR
Speciation, Comstock Park, MI
Two Metre Tall, Australia
Upright, Portland, OR

Introducing the Oregon Wolf Pack:
Tiny Wolf, Beaverton, OR
Wolf Tree, Seal Rock, OR
Wolves & People, Newberg, OR

Cideries/wineries/meaderies at Kriekfest*:
B. Nektar Mead, Ferndale, MI
Frederiksdal Cherry Wine, Denmark
Rack & Cloth Cider, Mosier, OR
Reverend Nat’s, Portland, OR

*Subject to change