The inaugural Kriekfest is coming this July (July 9, 2016 to be exact) in Parkdale, Oregon, and tickets went on sale today. If you have any interest in cherry beers and ciders, this is something you might want to consider attending, and buying tickets sooner rather than later is recommended. Here’s the press release:

When the inaugural Kriekfest was first announced on July 9, 2015, brewers had a full year to procure fresh cherries to go into their sour beers or ciders since cherries are harvested in July and because beverages of this nature tend to take at least a year to produce. It was also announced that tickets would go on sale five months in advance. That day has come. Kriekfest 2016 tickets are now available at merctickets.com/go/Kriekfest. They are $25 [including five (5) tickets for four (4)-ounce pours and a commemorative glass] online and limited to 500. The event is expected to sell-out, but if there are some available they will be $28 at the gate on Saturday, July 9, 2016< in the small, rural town of Parkdale.

The line-up has changed slightly and has grown to include not just one but two beers from Austin, Texas’s famed Jester King Brewery (Detritivore and Montmorency vs. Balaton), a collaboration blend between Portland’s own Cascade and Berkeley, California’s celebrated The Rare Barrel (a sour golden ale aged on cherries and figs), and another new treat from Northern California: an unreleased version of Almanac Beer Co.’s Dogpatch Sour made with cherries (of course) and whole vanilla beans. Festival organizers are working on confirming a couple more Belgian imports beyond the confirmed rarities from Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen. The complete list can be viewed at kriekfest.com/pouring-at-fest.html

Situated between Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge, Parkdale lies sixty miles east of Portland. Highway 35, which runs from Hood River, is nicknamed the Fruit Loop for its fertile farms including abundant cherry orchards. The festival’s setting next to host Solera Brewery offers striking views of iconic Mt. Hood and the surrounding orchards. For more information about Kriekfest, visit Kriekfest.com and follow at @Kriekfest

Disclosure: this fest is being organized by my friend and fellow beer writer Brian Yaeger and I thought it was a cool idea when he first mentioned it to me. Otherwise I’ve had no part in its planning or organization but I’m happy to get the word out.

And if you wanted to know a bit more about Kriekfest itself, here’s the “about” blurb from the release:

An all-cherry beer and cider festival was initially conceived in 2013 over a Solera beer. Awe-struck by the view of Mt. Hood’s glaciers looming over neighboring orchards, Yaeger suggested to [Solera Brewery brewmaster Jason] Kahler that they create their own festival of krieks. Attendees are encouraged to camp in the valley for the weekend and explore the breweries, cideries, and farms along the Fruit Loop highway and throughout the Columbia River Gorge.