I’m not doing a regular Theme Week this month but I’m compromising a bit because this week the Oregon Brewers Festival kicks off and I’ve got a ton of stuff to write about it. Sadly I won’t be attending again this year (scheduling conflicts only allow me to attend every few years, basically) but I can watch from afar.

The Fest kicks off July 23rd—Thursday—and runs through Sunday the 26th, from noon until 9pm each day (7pm on Sunday). Admission is free, though you are required to purchase the souvenir mug and tokens ($1 each) for tasting beer. As always, it’s located in Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Check out this year’s beer list; this might be the first year I’ve seen Dogfish Head at the Fest, which is something I’d been hoping for awhile now. Interestingly, no Russian River though.

I’ll run a detailed description of all the beers later (it’s been making the rounds), and I’ll follow that up with a post about the beers I’d pick to taste.

And of course I’ll keep an eye out for “live” updates on blogs and Twitter. I wonder what tag will show up on Twitter: #obf, #oregonbrewfest, #oregonbrewersfestival? If I were Twittering it, I would go with #obf.