The fabled day approaches, and I just got an e-mail from Preston Weesner, one of the organizers, containing the beer lineup for FredFest 08. You might want to grab some paper towels, unless you have a drool-proof keyboard.

1. BridgePort Brewing, Bourbon Barrel aged Old Knucklehead Firkin
2. Laurelwood Brewing, Bourbon Barrel Aged Olde Reliable Barleywine
3. Widmer Brewing, Altbier!!!
4. Lompoc Brewing, Oak aged LSD
5. Deschutes Brewing, Br. Abe Belgian ale
6. Rockbottom Brewing, Oak aged IIPA
7. Cascade Brewing, 2006 Wild Blackberry ale ( Flanders red style)
8. Lucky Lab Brewing, Double Alt
9. Hopworks Urban Brewery, 2007 Kentucky Christmas
10. Hair of the Dog, Cask Fred from the Wood
11. Full Sail Brewing, Bourbon BBL aged 1998 Old Boilermaker
12. Rogue Brewing, Brewer Ale
13. Roots Brewing, 2006 Pinot Noir Oak aged Epic
14. Ninkasi Brewing, Dry Hopped Cask Tricerahops
15. Firestone, ?????
16. Jim 2007, Holiday Ale Fest Collaboration with HOTD

Bathe the Dog, Enjoy a Beer, and Save a Life or TWO!
DoveLewis and the Lucky Labrador Brewing Company are teaming up again for what’s become a wonderful Portland tradition: the brew pub dog wash! The second annual Tails & Ales Dog Wash will celebrate the second anniversary of the Lucky Lab’s Beer Hall on NW Quimby – which just HAPPENS to be a hop, skip and a jump out our main hospital’s back door.

DoveLewis volunteers will try to wash as many dogs as they can in six hours. Celebrity dog washers include the entire 2008 Rose Festival Court (3:00PM – 5:00PM) while Off the Record, a fun, danceable rock & pop band, energizes the crowd!

Lucky Lab Beer Hall
1945 NW Quimby
Day-of, on-site contact: call Reed at 971.404.5501

Courtesy of the incredibly imaginative people at CadaverBlender (via deadspin)

We’ve all been there, some sporting event or music festival featuring ridiculously long lines with a $6 cup of flat Budweiser waiting at the end and figured there has to be a better way to get a drink.

Well the guys over at CadaverBlender just got back from the infield of the Kentucky Derby where they came up with a great solution: the booze sandwich. While many places will let you bring in your own food, most frown upon bringing your own adult beverage, so the simple solution is make your booze look like a meal.

Here it is in a nutshell: Fill a 16 oz. water bottle with your booze of choice, hollow out a nice, appropriate sized French roll, insert bottle, add some lettuce, possibly some meat around the edge, wrap the sandwich in Saran Wrap and I bet not a single security guard in the country will hassle you at the bag check.

Here’s a couple photos (courtesy of CadaverBlender)

Remember, please drink responsibly.

Uh oh. Sarah’s leaving me to attend this by myself (well, with three other BS’ers), and now there’s this incredible list of auction beers – one of which literally has my name on it … anyone else headed to FredFest on Saturday? I seem to have an extra ticket if you need one, or perhaps I will give it away in a contest …

Online Rare-Beer Auction Supports FredFest 2008
Beer aficionados across the nation will be reaching for their wallets this weekend when rare beers and vertical collections will be highlighted at the first-ever FredFest Online Beer Auction.

The auction starts at 3 p.m. PDT Friday, May 9 and begins to wrap up at 3 p.m. PDT Sunday, May 11. The auction is designed to run concurrently with FredFest 2008 – a celebration of the 82nd birthday of Fred Eckhardt, the Dean of American Beer Writers, which is taking place May 10 at Hair of the Dog Brewing Co., in Portland.

“FredFest started as a surprise 80th birthday party for Fred, but is coming back around in its third year as a fundraiser in the memory of fellow beer scribe and friend, Michael Jackson,” said FredFest co-organizer Lisa Morrison.

Each year, Eckhardt is asked to choose a charity for FredFest. This year, he chose Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon, a local affiliate of the National Parkinson Foundation. Jackson had been battling complications from Parkinson’s disease when he died last summer.

The first-ever FredFest online auction was the brainchild of Hair of the Dog owner Alan Sprints, Ben Love of Hopworks Urban Brewery and Matt Maples of Liquid Solutions bottle shop.

Here is a sampling of some of the lots up for auction:

• Hair of the Dog Dave 1994 (375 ml)
• Hair of the Dog Adam #1 1994 (12 oz.)
• Full Sail Old Boardhead Vertical: 1998 & 1999 (12 oz.), 2001-2007 (22 oz.)
• Pike Old Bawdy Vertical: 1996-1998, 2006-2007 (12 oz).
• AleSmith: Old Numbskull (750 ml), Grand Cru (750 ml), Horney Devil (750 ml)
• Lost Abbey: Older Viscosity (375 ml) Angelâ s Share (375 ml), Lost and Found (750 ml)
• Rodenbach Alexander 1991 (330 ml) and Rochefort 10 1999 (330 ml)
• Westvleteren 12 1997 (11.2 oz.)
• Anchor Brewing Commemorative Michael Jackson’s 60th Birthday Beer (1.5 L)

Other breweries included in the auction are Avery, Midnight Sun, J.W. Lees, Big Time, Fish Tale – and more. An entire list of auction items and more details can be found at www.liquidsolutions.blogspot.com.