Brewers Summer Games in Pacific City

Due to a packed schedule and an already loaded Portland beer calendar, I often skip very cool events in other regions of Greater Beervana. One that has hovered at the periphery of my imagination is the annual Brewers Summer Games, an event lauded by those who have visited one of the five previous iterations. Here's Tom Dalldorf, writing in the Celebrator in '06:

The Summer Games were conceived by brewer Jon Graber, then of Mt. Hood Brewery, to be a test of brewers’ athletic skills — and mainly to be an excuse to consume each other's beer. The event originally was planned to alternate between winter games on Mt. Hood and summer games at the beach....

The Games consist of several beer-themed events, including Building a Jockey Box (so the event organizers didn't have to), Slalom Course Beer Service with a Smile, Hand Truck Keg Wrestling, Keg Sled Drag Race, Keg Toss, Mash Transfer Relay, Yeast Slurry Balloon Toss, Crappy Industrial Beer Can Toss, the challenging Keg Relay Race to the Ocean and other feats of skill and cunning.

(Incidentally, the winter games were abandoned, and now the tradition is set in Pacific City, by host Pelican Brewery.)

This year's Games are scheduled to begin at noon on Saturday, June 20, and for the first time, I will get to see what they're all about. As it happens, Pelican has invited me to MC the event, no doubt a serious blunder on their part. (When they invited me, I asked, "You do realize that you're a world-famous and decorated brewery and I'm a blogger, don't you?" They claimed to understand the situation.) Former MCs include the illustrious Lisa Morrison, who will be there judging. If I start to tank too badly, maybe she can save the day.

Here's the details. It looks like a fun time, so if you can pull yourself out of the gravity your metro area, head on down.

Brewers Summer Games
Pelican Brewery, Pacific City, OR [directions]
Noon to 8pm

Admission is free, and all proceeds go to the Nestucca’s Booster Club and the Caring Cabin. Nestucca’s Boosters supports athletics and other extracurricular activities in local schools. Supported by the Children’s Cancer Association, Caring Cabin is a lakeside retreat near the Oregon Coast for families of critically ill children and those diagnosed with cancer.

Participating Breweries and Distributors (who'll bring beer!)
Bridgeport, Calapooia, Deschutes, Ft. George, Golden Valley, Gorge Brewers, Hopworks, Laurelwood, Lucky Lab, Lompoc, Maletis, Ninkasi, Pelican, Point Blank, Ram, Rogue, Silver City, Silver Moon, Upright

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PHOTO: Celebrator Beer News / source