Brewfest 2008

The quest for the holy spot began at 10 am on this glorious July 26th Saturday morning. Every year we set off on a quest for this spot under a tree that my dad likes. It really is a great spot that hides you from the hot sun or rain (this is Oregon). Out of all the years we've gone to this fest, we've only missed out on this spot once. This year, we got there so darn early that Stacey, Jake and I walked right in with the rest of the volunteer staff while Barb and her friend Cathie waited at the front gate. So once Barb and Cathie got in legally, we all went back out to get our wristbands.

This year's brewfest programs finally were well organized and they listed which trailer had which beer. It only took 21 years but they finally got it right. Got my first beer, Dragon's Milk, and sat down and checked off all the beers I wanted to try. I was very aggressive in the number of beers I wanted to try but, at this point in the day I had hope.

Barb's friend Cathie, Josh Pollinger and Patty the Pollinger cousin all came to visit from California to attend the brewfest with us. Its always nice to have visitors and we all had a great time.

This year the brewfest got busy so fast. On a typical year when the drunken cheers start we know its almost time to go. This year the cheers started only an hour into the fest. And the long lines that come with the drunken cheers also came early making it hard to taste all the beer you wanted. All in all, it was a great year and my favorite beers were the Dragon's Milk and Widmer's Full Nelson. The full nelson was my last beer and I discovered it had a 10% alcohol content. It wiped me out by that point in the day. Really wanted to try Rogue's beer Glen but, didn't get to it. There's always next year.

After the brewfest we headed to my sister Stacey's place for a barbecue and also to celebrate Anna Pollinger's 33rd birthday. All sorts of people were there and a good time was had by all. I learned that my sister's friend Seth is the son of a guy I've worked with at Rockwell for years. What a small world.

We all had a great time but, the busyness of this years brewfest has us all wondering if we want to keep going. Not sure if that makes us old or is just wise?