Being a born and bred Portlander (Defend the Rip City Land) while living in Los Angeles gives me a bit of dual perspective. I see breweries and beers and trends in one that could apply in the other and vice-versa.
Since Portland is further along the good beer curve than L.A, it usually means that I am wishing that we can “borrow” ideas from the north.
In that vein, Los Angeles needs to diversify festival wise before the same tired set of festivals repeat in 2018. Why we don’t have a Holiday Beer Fest yet is a mystery. But maybe due to our heat and lack of seasons a different option would be better….
I would love to push a Gose festival or Fruit Beer Festival (both of which PDX has had) but I think a full-on Kolsch Fest would be great. Break out some logo’d Stange glasses and drink a refreshing light beer under the sun.
As they say on MST3K, “what do you think sirs?”
The ability to have a festival focused on just one style (and not just IPA) is a testament to Portland’s depth and passion. A lot of people in L.A. are still discovering the term “craft beer.”
Depth is the right word. When you have that many breweries you end up doing a lot of different styles.