Portland International Brewfest 2010

Friday's Live Report

The crowds are picking up at the PIB.

Picks so far: Double Mountain Devil's Kriek, Mikkeller Bourbon Black Hole and Chipotle Porter, 21st Amendment Double Trouble IIPA, Flyers Kentucky Uberwine.

The vibe is great. Lots of great beers I didn't mention.

Saturday's Thoughts

Seeing Jeff's list of grievances towards the PIB made me realize I should give you some more helpful info about the fest:

• Bring your own drinking water.  The servers will rinse your glass if you want, but there's no free drinking water ($1/bottle).
• The Cantillon Kriek is 6 tickets, not 3.
• These beers are in the program, but not at the fest: Rogue Chatoe OREgasmic, Rogue John John Juniper, Deschutes Black Butte XXII, Firestone Walker Double Jack, Dieu du Ciel Rigor Mortis Abt, Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast Bacon, Haandbryggeriet Odin's Tipple.
• Beers to avoid: Epic Mayhem (OK, but not 4-ticket good), Trois Mousquetaires Imperial Weizen (nasty), Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest (this is not a fresh-hop beer).

There may have been other missing beers, but those are the ones I noticed.  Maybe the Rogue choices have arrived by now.  As for the other ones, there was usually a very decent replacement.  The Dieu du Ciel Aphrodite (replacing Rigor Mortis) was nice and chocolaty; the Mikkeller Chipotle Porter (replacing Breakfast Bacon) was a home run if you like hot peppers and dark beer.

Anyway, the weather is beautiful, have a great time!