Vancouver Spring Brewfest Rachel Pinsky Photo Gallery
“Are you taking notes on how many drunk people you’ve seen? Then you can count me,” a man named Josh told me as I was furiously scribbling in my notebook at this year’s Vancouver Spring Brewfest.
I asked him if counting drunk people was a real job. He wasn’t sure, but shared that he makes tiny furniture inspired by Dungeons and Dragons that he sells on Etsy. His sales are growing exponentially every month. I was going to suggest a “Game of Thrones” line of tiny furniture, but I had work to do and beer to drink.
Vancouver Brewfest is a twice-yearly event organized by the Vancouver Brewfest Foundation. Started in 2012, this celebration of craft beer and other artisan boozy concoctions raises money for the local chapter of Disabled American Veterans, Second Chance Companions and the Mount St. Helens Institute. The Vancouver Brewfest Foundation also donates special Charity Deluxe tickets to local charities to use for silent auctions. In the past seven years, the foundation has donated $80,000 to local charities. Approximately 3,500 people attended the event on April 12-13 this year.
In full disclosure, Michael Perozzo of ZZeppelin Media gave me a press pass that allowed me free admission, a pint glass and eight tokens. What to do with those eight tokens? There were more than 40 “libation experts” (makers of beer, mead and cider). I ran into my friends from book club, Cheryl Crispin and Cindy Newton. I was hoping to get their assistance navigating this tent-covered city of booze. Alas, after three hours of sipping beer, their ability to assist me had diminished. When I told them I needed some help. Cindy giggled and said, “You’re an hour too late.”
If Washington had a state beer (which it should), it would be IPA. The bitter, tobacco-tinged mythic brew is what the Pacific Northwest would taste like if you added malt and hops, fermented it and poured it into a pint glass. IPAs are great (and well represented at Brewfest), but I was seeking something different.
So I started with the Sour Patch Kids of the beer world — sours. I tried Brothers Cascadia Brewing’s collaboration with Little Conejo, a strawberry and tamarind sour called Sour Siesta (4.5 percent ABV). This is a sour golden ale with cases of freshly peeled and processed tamarind and a fresh strawberry extract added to create a Little Conejo-inspired margarita-like beer. The mix of sweetness and earthiness from the tamarind went well with the fresh berry flavor of the strawberries. The sourness of the beer tingled my tongue like the salt on the rim of a margarita glass.
The deliciousness of Sour Siesta made me want more sour beer. Heathen Brewing Company often has a good variety of sours at its downtown taproom. I’ve had a nice lime-flavored mojito sour there, so I decided to try their Blueberry Pom Yum Berry Sour (6.4 percent ABV). It had a bright berry color and the combination of berry flavors, and the cranberry-like bitterness of the pomegranate reminded me of the nice flavor harmony of Brother Cascadia Brewing’s Sour Siesta, with a bit more booziness.
As I walked to another tent, there were a couple of men in kilts who separately wandered by — one kilt khaki, one camouflage, both worn with combat boots. There was also a man wearing crocheted Viking horns. Booths peddling Olivers Gourmet olives, Silagy hot sauce, upcycled wallets and leather goods were sandwiched between the three beer tents. To the side were two food carts — Foody Blues BBQ and Urban German Grill. You could also bring food in from the Vancouver Farmers Market or anyplace else.
I grabbed a spicy, smoked and sauerkraut-topped Bavarian bierwurst from Urban German Grill — the perfect companion for beer. People spilled everywhere, but were largely concentrated in the center of the tents. There were enough women there that it didn’t feel like a private drinking club for men with beards. During the time I was there (4 to 6 p.m.), the beer lines were short.
Six tokens left. I wanted to try something weird. I follow Trap Door Brewing Company on social media and I’ve noticed their new beer, Hypebeast (8.5 percent ABV), with its faux Supreme-inspired logo, often accompanied by someone dabbing next to it. I thought my son would think the idea was cool, but he quickly let me know that it was “cringey.” I’m old and still use Facebook, so it’s hard for me to tell cool from cringey, but I do know a good beer. This sour passion fruit milkshake double IPA with citra and galaxy hops was a creamy, boozy, tropical mouth adventure. It’s the perfect tropical beer shake for adults who want to chill.
For my fourth and final taste, I went with something darker — a Toasted Coconut Chocolate Porter (6.2 percent ABV) from Ashland, Ore.-based Caldera Brewing. This decadent porter was made with house-toasted coconut chips and natural liquid chocolate. It tasted like Almond Joy in a pint glass — the perfect dessert to a beer tasting.
I wandered out of Esther Short Park, past the clanging of the port-a-potties, with four leftover tokens in my pocket that I will use at Summer Brewfest in August.
Rachel Pinsky can be reached at couveeats@gmail.com. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @couveeats.
Tickets
Brewer’s Apprentice: $25 cash or $27 credit, includes entrance wristband, pint glass and eight tokens.
The Brewmaster: $35 cash or $37 credit, includes entrance wristband, pint glass and sixteen tokens.
The Keymaster: $10 cash or $11 credit, includes entrance wristband and free nonalcoholic beverages.
Disabled veterans get free admission, with $5 for a pint glass and $5 for four tokens. Nondrinking disabled veterans can attend free of charge.
Tokens are $1.25 each. Beer samples are one token, a full pint is four tokens. Tokens never expire and can be used at all Brewfest events.
If You Go
What: Vancouver Brewfest.
Where: Esther Short Park, 415 W. Sixth St., Vancouver.
When: Held in the spring and summer; ages 21 and older only.
