6th Annual Belgian Beer & Brunch


Sunday, December 6th, 2009 - 10am to 12pm

This exclusive event features at least four special Belgian style beers that are not available at the regular festival, along with a European-style brunch. Tickets are limited, so register early to guarantee yourself a spot at this exclusive event.

This will take place up above the regular Holiday Ale Festival in a heated tent. You must be 21+ to enter this venue.

Stay tuned for the 2009 update!

Here's the information on last year's (2008) 5th Annual Belgian Beer Brunch to keep you salivating for a little while:

The 2008 Menu included:
    The Food

  • A variety of local award winning cheeses from Willamette Valley Cheese Co.
  • Fresh croissants lightly toasted and served with your choice of either warmed honey ham with Havarti or slow-roasted turkey breast with smoked Fontina
  • A selection of cured Artisan salamis
  • Fresh boiled eggs
  • Mini Pain Au Chocolate (a heavenly puff pastry with a small ribbon of chocolate baked inside)
  • Chouquettes (a puff pastry ball sprinkled with rock sugar)
    • Beer & Brunch Tickets Sold Out!
  • Mini Chausson aux Pommes (a French applesauce turnover)
  • Mini raspberry croissants
  • Fresh yogurts infused with seasonal fruit
  • NW granola with dried apples and blueberries
  • A hand carved fresh fruit platter
  • Fresh orange juice and strong black coffee will also be served

    The Exclusive Beers

  • Scaldis Prestige
    Triple fermented and aged in French oak for at least six months (every batch differs according to its rate of maturation), this is an incredibly complex, balanced and satisfying beer. Deep caramel malt notes are perfectly blended with and balanced by the vanilla and tannin of the oak. All flavors are wonderfully heightened and accentuated by the 13% ABV. You have never tasted a better marriage of wood and beer.

  • Scaldis Noel (2005 Premium)
    At 12.5% ABV, Dubuisson's delightful Premium Christmas offering is a bit stronger than traditional Scaldis. Its burnished ruby-copper color prepares you well for a spicy aroma with notes of caramel and marzipan. The taste is round, with hints of licorice leading to a long, warming finish: A sweet holiday complement to the famously dry and bracing Scaldis. Scaldis Noel Premium has the extra element of being bottle-conditioned. This is a rare treat for Scaldis lovers!

  • Cascade Apricot Ale (2008) from Cascade Brewing Company
    Cascade Apricot Ale is a sour Belgian Flanders-style Ale based on the brewery's Temptor Triple Ale that has undergone more than eight months lactic fermentation and oak barrel aging. Ripe NW apricots are fermented with this beer for three additional months. The addition of a barrel of 23-degree Plato blonde quadruppel makes this year's version slightly stronger than last year's. This normally hand-packaged and bottle-conditioned ale will only get better with age...good luck waiting! This beer weighs in at 9.35% ABV and is only available on draught at the Belgian Beer & Brunch.

  • Allagash Musette (2007) from Allagash Brewing Company
    Musette is Allagash's newest release in its Barrel Aged Series. The beer is inspired by the Scotch Ale style, a traditional and popular style in Belgium. Typically known as a dark and sweet strong ale, Scotch ales are rarely brewed in Scotland anymore but still remain popular in Belgium, where they were originally thought to have been brewed for servicemen during World War I. Allagash's Musette undergoes a caramelization process in the kettle, where the first runnings are condensed and caramelized, imparting a unique and subtle caramel character and amber color to the beer. Following fermentation with a Belgian strain of yeast, a portion of it is aged in oak Bourbon barrels for an additional three months. Musette offers up raisin, ripened banana, and hints of licorice aromas. Its taste is malty and caramel with a hint of roast, and its warm finish strikes a balance between dry and caramel characters with a hint of smoke. 10% ABV.
          ►► And as a special treat, a vintage 9-liter bottle of St. Feuillien Tripel will be opened at 11:00 am.

Special Beer Tappings


Stay tuned for the 2009 update!

In addition to the 36+ winter seasonals at the event, each year we go deep in to the cellar to bring out a few rare kegs. In most cases, these are rare or vintage brews typically limited to just a single keg, so timing is of the essence if you want to get your tastebuds on these. We hope you are here for them all.


Wednesday, Dec. 3rd 2008


► JIM (2006) from Holiday Ale / Hair of the Dog Commemorative

JIM 2006 is collaboration between the Holiday Ale Festival's beer steward Preston Weesner and Hair of the Dog Brewer Alan Sprints. Made exclusively for the event, JIM honors the late Jim Kennedy, founder of Admiralty Beverage and a tireless promoter of craft beer and a major inspiration for many in the NW beer circles. This is a blended beer, made with Hair of the Dog beers Fred, Adam, Doggie Claws, Rose and Belgian Dubbel Maredsous 8, and then aged on oak; it's a beer not to be missed, and the Holiday Ale Festival is the only place to get it.

► JIM (2007) from Holiday Ale / Hair of the Dog Commemorative

JIM 2007 is collaboration between the Holiday Ale Festival's beer steward Preston Weesner and Hair of the Dog Brewer Alan Sprints. Made exclusively for the event, JIM honors the late Jim Kennedy, founder of Admiralty Beverage, a tireless promoter of craft beer and a major inspiration for many in NW beer circles. This is a blended beer made with Adam, Fred and Doggie Claws, some German Pilsner was added to dry it out a little, and a few special bottles were added as a toast to Jim: from Alan a 1989 Thomas Hardy's and a 1991 Rodenbach Alexander, and from Preston a 9 Liter bottle of 2006 St. Feuillien Triple. The blend was then barrel aged for 6 weeks. Only available at the fest and the brewery.

► Old Foghorn (2007) from Anchor Brewing Company

Old Foghorn is brewed strictly according to traditional brewing methods, using only natural ingredients -- water, malted barley, fresh whole hops, and yeast. Old Foghorn is highly hopped, using only Cascade hops. It is fermented with a true top-fermenting ale yeast. Carbonation is produced by an entirely natural process called "bunging," which produces champagne-like bubbles. This barleywine ale is dry-hopped with additional Cascade hops while it ages in cellars.

► Old Knucklehead Batch #11 (2003) from BridgePort Brewing Company

This is the 11th vintage of Old Knucklehead Barleywine. A BridgePort brewery tradition since 1989, Old Knucklehead is described as a classic barley wine, "brewed with double amounts of malts and hops to create a formidable drink that is complex and full of character." The 11th vintage label features Fred Eckhardt, a Portland-based award-winning beer and sake writer who is identified as the dean of American beer writers for his role as being one of the first people in the nation to write about beer (he originally published in 1969).

► Samichlaus Bier (2005) from Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg

Samichlaus Bier is brewed only once a year on December 6th and is aged for 10 months before bottling. Samichlaus is one of the rarest speciality beers in the world and with 14% alcohol by volume, it is the strongest of its kind. It is ideal for aging, and older vintages become more complex with a creamy, warming finish; perfect for the holiday season!

► Saucerful of Secrets (2007) from Firestone Walker Brewing Company

Their 2007 Winter Ale release is an extension of Quercus Alba - the Firestone Walker barrel-aged program - and couples the use of oak barrels with the brew team's first high-gravity Belgian Ale. It was created by Sean Paxton aka The Home Brew Chef and is a tribute to Sid Barrett.

► Scaldis Noel (2007) from Brasserie Dubuisson Freres

Three different malts give Scaldis its complexity, including a caramel malt for a rich, amber color. This beer is dry, with a clean, nutty finish. The nose is characterized by sherry, caramel, and roasted filbert aromas, complemented by some floral, hoppy notes. The finish is long and warming, but remains in balance with the flavors.

► Vlad the Imp Aler from Cascade Brewing Company

Vlad the Imp Aler is a one-of-a-kind blend of barrel-aged lacticly-soured Flanders style beers from Cascade Brewing, one of the most innovative breweries in the NW. Brewers Ron Gansberg and Curtis Bain have broken new ground again with this unique blend which pairs oak barrel-aged 23- and 25-degree Plato sour blonde quaddruppel with sour bourbon barrel tripel and sour strong spiced blonde. It promises to pierce your senses.


Thursday, Dec. 4th 2008


► Alaskan Smoked Porter (2006) from Alaskan Brewing Company

Known as "rauchbier" in Germany, smoke-flavored beers were virtually unknown in the U.S. until Alaskan Smoked Porter was developed in 1988. The dark, robust body and pronounced smoky flavor of this limited edition beer make it an adventuresome taste experience. Alaskan Smoked Porter is produced in limited "vintages" each year and unlike most beers, may be aged much like fine wine. Alaskan Smoked Porter has been credited with helping inspire an American revival of smoked beers. Alaskan Smoked Porter is one of the most award-winning beers in the history of the Great American Beer Festival and a perennial winner at the World Beer Cup.

► Allagash Curieux (2006) from Allagash Brewing Company

In October of 2004, Allagash released the first beer in their series of Barrel Aged beers, Allagash Curieux. To make the Curieux (French for "curious"), they age their Tripel Ale in Jim Beam barrels for 8 weeks in their cellar. During the aging process in bourbon barrels, the beer is totally transformed, and many new flavors and aromas develop. Most notably, the beer picks up soft coconut and vanilla characteristics...and also a hint of bourbon flavor!

► Barrel-Select Baltic Porter (2007) from Cascade Brewing Company

Cascade Brewing Barrel-Select Baltic Porter is blended from 2006 Bourbon barrel-aged Porter and 2006 French oak barrel-aged Porter and has undergone a lactic souring process in the barrel. Rich round malt flavors of toasted toffee, coffee and dark chocolate provide the foundation for a range of hop flavors. Vanilla and Bourbon mingle in the sweet malt finish. This ale is blended especially for the Holiday Ale Festival.

► Big Red Double Cinder Cone from Deschutes Brewery

Deschutes took their Cinder Cone Red recipe and doubled it up; double the malt, hops and alcohol. This beer provides a strong citral hop punch the rides on a blanket of smooth caramel malt flavor. To add to this beers nobility they then aged it on Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon wooden cask.

► Hitachino Nest XH from Kiuchi Brewery

Rarely ever making it outside of Japan, XH is a Belgian-style Dark Strong Ale that is copper brown in color and is made with Pale, Munich, Crystal and Chocolate malts and balanced with Chinook and Strian Goldings hops. Its uniqueness comes from its 3 month aging in Shocyu Sake casks.

► North (2007) from Fort George Brewery & Public House

North is a multigrain red wheat wine designed for shipment to the Great Alaskan Beer and Barley Wine Festival. This extremely complex ale is derived from 11 different international malts, as well as hops from New Zealand and Washington's Yakima Valley. The rich mahogany colored brew has a sweet nose of honey blossom, and a malty yet dry fruity rye flavor, with a creamy texture and a crisp-bitter hoppy finish.

► Parabola (2007) from Firestone Walker Brewing Company

Bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout aged 10 months in retired bourbon barrels.

The Children's Cancer Association Charity Fundraiser


The Holiday Ale Festival encourages responsible drinking and wants your visit to be as comfortable as possible. Don't want to lug that heavy coat or shoulder bag around? Don't waste time going home first! This year we're proud to announce that we now have a coat/bag check available. The cost of checking them is just $2 / item with $1 / item going directly to the Children's Cancer Association.

And as always, for those designated drivers, the Holiday Ale Festival provides complimentary handcrafted Crater Lake Rootbeer. While the rootbeer is free of charge, "tips" in the form of donations are greatfully accepted for the Children's Cancer Association. This year, 100% of all money raised from rootbeer donations will be matched by the Holiday Ale Festival.

The Children's Cancer Association is a not-for-profit organization based in Portland that works to positively impact the care and quality of life for seriously ill children and teens with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses throughout Oregon and the United States.

The Holiday Ale Festival and the Children's Cancer Association thank you for your support of their wonderful organization. For more information, visit: www.childrenscancerassociation.org .