Brewing Bridges Collaboration Festival returns to the Historic Hangar at Pearson Air Museum on Saturday. This is the sixth year for the fundraiser, which serves one-of-a-kind beer made through collaborations between Northbank Brewers Alliance members and brewers from other states.
Proceeds from the festival support the Northbank Brewers Alliance. Formed in 2017, this beer guild represents breweries of Southwest Washington from Seaview to Goldendale by spotlighting the great beer being produced along the north bank of the Columbia River. In the past, Brewing Bridges occurred at the end of Northbank Beer Week. This year that weeklong celebration moved to November with Building Bridges as a standalone September event.
To prepare for this special day, Northbank Brewers contacted out-of-state colleagues of their choice then collaborated on a beer to serve at the event. Thirty brewers including Trap Door, 54-40, Fortside, Brothers Cascadia, Heathen and Irrelevant are participating this year.
Festivalgoers can pick from three types of tickets: beer only ($49); food voucher ($20, must be purchased with a standard beer ticket); and VIP ($69), which includes beer, food and access to the VIP lounge. Heathen Brewing is preparing beer friendly bites, but outside food is allowed. A special T-shirt ($23) created to commemorate the event is available on the Northbank Brewers Alliance website.
Participating brewers will be hanging out in the VIP lounge to chat and offer special brews for those who buy a VIP ticket. Unlike other local festivals, buying a ticket allows for unlimited tastings so there’s no need to buy tokens. Arranging for a ride home — whether from a designated driver, cab, Uber or C-Tran — is a good idea.
Brewery pairings include Trap Door and Salem, Ore.-based Xicha Brewing; Heathen Brewing and Portland craft brewing superstar Gigantic; and Irrelevant Beer and Ruse Brewing.
A wide range of beer styles will be on tap:
- Vice Beer and Seattle-based Fast Fashion brewed a crisp West Coast Pilsner with a blend of modern hops, including fresh Strata from Coleman Agriculture.
- Brothers Cascadia and Portland’s Living Haus Brewing Co brewed a German beer hall classic kellerbier with doughy and subtle biscuit aromatics complemented by classic noble hop varieties and German grains.
- A dark Mexican lager from Fortside and Clackamas, Ore.-based Little Beast Brewing called sombra del sol (shadow of the sun) will also be on tap. This mix of crisp lagers presents an interesting departure from Pacific Northwest’s most popular style, the IPA.
Although a complete list of collaborations brews wasn’t available by press time for this article, the festival will likely feature a variety of IPAs as well.
Tickets can be purchased online through Northbank Brewers’ website or at the door on the day of the festival. It’s a good idea to buy tickets ahead of time because Brewing Bridges’ maximum capacity is 400 people.
“This event bridges the gap not just with Portland. We have one brewer from San Diego,” said Jenny Mann, marketing director for the Northbank Brewers Alliance.
In addition to providing high quality collaboration beer, Brewing Bridges highlights the spirit of cooperation that represents Clark County craft brewers.
“Collaboration is the essence of craft beer,” Mann said.
