February 20: McMenamin’s Hillsdale Brewfest and Battle of the Belt

The 17th Annual McMenamin’s Hillsdale Brewfest and Battle of the Belt take place this Saturday, February 20th at the Hillsdale Brewery and Public House (1505 SW Sunset Blvd) from 11am until close.

Twenty brewers from the disparate McMenamins empire bring a specially brewed beer to the festival Saturday to be judged (and enjoyed) by festival patrons. Here’s how it works:

Patrons order “trays” of beer, arranged from lightest to darkest – each of the two trays offers ten 4-ounce samples and costs $8.75. It is our guests’ duty to decide who deserves the coveted title. With seventeen ales from Oregon and three from Washington, these beers cover the spectrum of brew styles – from hefeweizen to oatmeal stout, barleywine to smoked amber ale and beyond. Each taster casts one ballot that lists his or her top three choices.

The winner of the belt Saturday earns the right to represent McMenamins at the 2010 Oregon Brewers Festival this summer.

This year’s beers are listed below:

Concordia Brewery (Portland, OR) * Organic Irish Red
Lucky Charms

Cornelius Pass Roadhouse Brewery (Hillsboro, OR) * German Lager
Pitchfork Lager

Crystal Brewery (Portland, OR) * Czech Pilsner
Pilsner Kristell

Dad Watsons (Seattle, WA) * Wheatwine
Paddle Bender Wheatwine

Edgefield Brewery (Troutdale, OR) * Rye
Hot Lips Chili Pepper Rye

Fulton Brewery (Portland, OR) * Pale Ale
Squirtie Pale Ale

High Street Brewery (Eugene, OR) * Porter
Pedal Power Mocha Porter

Highland Brewery (Gresham, OR) * IPA
Hop Apocalypse IPA

Hillsdale Brewery (Portland, OR) * Imperial Oatmeal Porter
Royal Oats Imperial Porter

John Barleycorns Brewery (Tigard, OR) * Imperial Red
Bishop’s Gate Imperial Red

Lighthouse Brewery (Lincoln City, OR) * American Brown
Captain Neon’s Dark Ale

McMenamins on Monroe Brewery (Corvallis, OR) * Stout
Truck Two Stout

Oak Hills Brewery (Portland, OR) * Vienna Lager
The Viper

Old St Francis School Brewery (Bend, OR) * Belgian Trippel
The Elvis Conspiracy

Queen Anne Brewery (Seattle, WA) * Belgian Wit
Whatawit

Roseburg Station Brewery (Roseburg, OR) * Porter
Au Pear Porter

McMenamins Mill Creek (Mill Creek, WA) * IPA
American Standard IPA

Thompson Brewery (Salem, OR) * Pale Ale
Bumble Blue Pale Ale

Vancouver on the Columbia Brewery (Vancouver, WA) * Stout
The Morning Grind Breakfast Stout

West Linn Brewery (West Linn, OR) * IPA
Hopping the Mash IPA