Venue
Festival Facts
Overlook Park, Portland, Oregon at the intersection of N Fremont Street & Interstate Ave.
Dates
June 27 – 30, 2013
Times
Noon to 9 p.m. Thurs, Fri & Sat, and Noon to 5 p.m. Sun
Admission
Admission into the event is free. The purchase of a $6 reusable, compostable cornstarch glass is required for tasting beer, as are tokens, which sell for $1 apiece. A full glass of beer costs four tokens and a four-ounce taste costs one token (select beers cost double tokens). Patrons receive a $1 discount toward the tasting glass with one of the following: a validated Tri-Met ticket, a ticket from the on-site fenced bike corral, or three cans of food for the Oregon Food Bank.
Description
Designed to raise awareness about organic beer and sustainable living, the NAOBF serves up nearly 60 organic beers & ciders from around the nation. From summery Saisons to rich and hearty stouts, the festival offers beers to please every palate. There’s also live music, organic food, sustainability-oriented vendors and non-profits, and a children’s area.
The festival goes beyond beer tasting by striving to be the most earth-friendly beer festival in North America. Festival attendees sample beer from reusable and compostable cornstarch glasses made from domestically grown corn by a zero-waste, solar-powered company. Onsite composting and recycling stations are provided for festival waste, and food vendors are required to use compostable cutlery and plates. Electricity needs are met with a combination of biodiesel and solar generators. Volunteers wear organic cotton and hemp t-shirts, and all event signage is reusable.
The NAOBF was established and organized by Craig Nicholls in 2003 at Port Halling Brewing in Gresham, Oregon. The festival then took a two-year hiatus, during which Nicholls founded and opened Roots Organic Brewing, Oregon’s first certified all organic brewery. In 2006, Nicholls resurrected the NAOBF at the World Forestry Center in SW Portland, and in 2007, the event landed at its current home in beautiful Overlook Park.
The NAOBF is a family friendly event, and minors are welcome with parents. The festival benefits the Overlook Neighborhood Assn and the Oregon Food Bank.
Pedal and Park
Ride your bike and park it in the Hopworks Bike Corral, where volunteers from Rotary Cycling 2 Serve will watch over your wheels while you savor some of the country’s best organic brews. Bicycle parking is free, but donations are greatly appreciated. Donations will benefit Rotary International’s “End Polio Now” efforts to eradicate polio worldwide.
Mass Transit
The Interstate Tri-Met/Yellow Line “Overlook Park” Station is directly across from Overlook Park and is the second stop from the Rose Quarter transit mall, heading North. Use the Tri-Met website for directions from your door to Overlook Park (1301 N. Fremont St. Portland, OR 97227).
There is NO PARKING provided for this event. DO NOT park in Kaiser Permanente parking lots or parking garages; you will be ticketed. Please be considerate of the neighborhood when parking for the event – these people live here and are generous enough to allow us to host this event every year.