9th Annual FredFest

9th annual FredFest celebrates Fred Eckhard’s 88th birthday with rare beers,

infamous food pairings and a singalong for the craft brewing icon

Festival organizers announce second session due to overwhelming popularity

Press Release:
PORTLAND, Ore.  — What Would Fred Drink? That question can be answered at the 9th annual FredFest, which celebrates the 88th birthday of Fred Eckhardt, the Dean of American Beer Writers. This year’s FredFest will take place May 4th at Hair of the Dog Brewery and Tasting Room, ‎61 SE Yamhill St. Attendees will enjoy rare and unique beers, raise money for local charities, and sample, sip and sing with a true icon of the craft brewing world.

Due to the event’s popularity, this year will feature two sessions. The first session will run from 1 to 4:30pm and the second from 5:30 to 9pm. The beers available will be the same at both sessions. Only 300 tickets are available per session; tickets cost $60 in advance and are available at www.hairofthedog.com/goodboy/. Tickets include a tasting glass, access to a rare collection of hand-curated beers, light fare and birthday cake. Cheeses, chocolate, candy and even cereal will be offered in abundance so attendees can experience some of Eckhardt’s more infamous beer-and-food pairings. The event is for ages 21 and over.

This year's event will feature creative brews from approximately 20 breweries, all vying to best answer the perennial question, What Would Fred Drink? (WWFD?). The evolving beer list is available at http://www.fredfestpdx.com/the-beers.

Dubbed "the littlest big-beer festival in the world – or at least in Portland," FredFest has raised tens of thousands of dollars for Eckhardt's selected non-profits in its past eight years. To learn more, visit www.fredfestpdx.com.

About FredFest
What started as a surprise 80th birthday party for the world-renowned Portland beer writer Fred Eckhardt has become a significant fundraiser for a variety of non-profit organizations. This year's FredFest fundraising recipients include Guide Dogs for the Blind, the Hair of the Dog "house" charity; International Medical Corps, in memory of Mark Wilson, husband of Hair of the Dog's Wendy Sprints; and the Oregon Brew Crew's OSU Bob McCracken Scholarship for Fermentation Sciences students. FredFest is all volunteer-driven, which means 100 percent of the net proceeds will be donated to these charitable organizations.