Elktoberfest Milwaukie & Fresh Hop Pop-Up Beer Fest

It’s a beautiful time of year: the temperatures cooling, back to school, the trees turning, great sporting events, and so on. But for beer fans, there’s something to be said about September and October when it comes to special seasonal beers you only see at this time of year.

Pumpkin beers not withstanding, this is the time of year where folks yearn for classic German festbiers, darker lagers, and of course our Pacific Northwest specialty, fresh-hop beers. So this weekend feels like a big kick-off for fall events, with two in particular I’m looking forward to: the inaugural Elktoberfest in Milwaukie on Saturday and the 9th Annual Fresh Hop Pop-Up Beer Fest starting Friday at Bloodbuzz/Prost! Portland.

Elktoberfest: Saturday Sept. 21st, 4-9pm

The first inaugural Elktoberfest is happening this Saturday at the Milwaukie-Portland Elks Lodge from 4-9pm!

Believe it out not, I’ll be volunteering at this event where you’ll find me on the other side of the bar for a change. That’s right, I’ll be pouring suds and actually putting in some work for a change, though it’s all for a good cause with proceeds benefitting the Elks #142 Care & Share Program, as well as New Avenues for Youth.

This brand new mini-fest will feature an all-star selection of two dozen beers from the best brewers in the region, along with food, games, music, and raffles. Events will include “Hammerschlagen” (a competitive nail-driving game) and a Stein Holding Contest that is sure to be exciting.

Participating brewers include: Breakside, Brujos, Chuckanut, Foreland, Fort George, Grains of Wrath, Great Notion, Hetty Alice, Little Beast, Living Haus, Oak Union, Ruse, and Steeplejack. Each brewery is slated to provide a lager and an ale. You can’t miss with this epic lineup!

Zenner’s Sausages will be available for purchase, including their delicious Bavarian Bier Sausage, Smoked Bratwurst and Jalapeño Cheddar Franks. The menu will also include German-style pretzels, red cabbage, spätzle and more.

It’s also a chance to get to know the fabulous Elks Lodge, a 63,000 square-foot building on 5.7 acres featuring an 8-lane bowling alley, three bars, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and much more.

Admission is $30 and includes tokens for ten 4 oz. pours and extra tokens can be purchased for $3 each. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Fresh Hop Pop-up Beer Fest:
Friday Sept. 20th – Sunday Oct. 6th

Now the longest-running, independent fresh hop festival in Oregon, the Fresh Hop Pop-Up Beer Fest returns for it’s 9th year in 2024 at Portland’s “top food cart pod” – the Prost! Marketplace on N. Mississippi Ave.

Personally, this fresh hop event is one of the few beer festivals I look forward to each year since it’s spread out over two weeks and has specialty nights featuring specific regions and breweries. The list is ever evolving, just as the harvest windows of hop varietals and the completion of fresh hop beers are unpredictable in their timing.

Here’s quick rundown of the schedule as of today:

FRIDAY 9/20/24 – KICKOFF PARTY
Kickoff the first of the 17 day fresh hop pop-up beer fest.

SATURDAY 9/21/24 – Von Ebert Fresh Hop Showcase
Try the award-winning Von Ebert Brewing’s 2024 fresh hop lineup including all freshy versions of Volatile Substance IPA, Sector 7 Hazy, and Pilsner.

SUNDAY 9/22/25 – Fresh Haze
A Fresh Hop HAZY IPA showcase for the clouds!

TUESDAY 9/24/24 – Bend Fresh Hop Showcase
Fresh Hop beers straight out of Bend, Oregon’s world-class brewing scene from Sunriver Brewing, Bend Brewing, Boss Rambler Beer Club, and Boneyard Beer.

WEDNESDAY 9/25/24 – Eugene/Corvallis Fresh Hop Showcase
A Fresh Hop spotlight on Block 15 Brewing, Oakshire Brewing, Claim 52 Brewing, and ColdFire Brewing beers!

FRIDAY-SUNDAY 9/27 – 9/29: Freshtoberfest
Prost! celebrates Oktoberfest with live music, contests, traditional garb, and German food. The fresh Hop pop-up bar will feature German-style Fresh Hop beers like Kolsch, Pilsner, and Festbier!

TUESDAY 10/1/24 – Breakside Total Fresh Hop Takeover
Breakside Brewery total tap takeover with their entire 2024 fresh hop lineup of 10 beers!

THURSDAY 10/3/24 – Washington Fresh Hop Showcase
Try the fresh Hop beers of Washington all in one place! Featuring Reuben’s Brews, Fremont Brewing, Stoup Brewing, & more TBA

FRIDAY 10/4/24 – Fort George Fresh Hop Showcase
Astoria, Oregon favorite will be visiting Portland to pour their incredible and hard to find lineup of fresh hop beers this year.

SATURDAY 10/5/25 – Yakima Fresh Hop Feature
Yakima, WA is the hop capital of the world! Come try fresh hop beers from the valley breweries like Single Hill Brewing, Bale Breaker Brewing, and Varietal Beer.

SUNDAY 10/6/24 – Closing Party
Final day of the fresh hop pop-up beer fest! Come drink the remaining beers from the pop-up breweries of Oregon and Washington and celebrate the waning days of the 2024 hop harvest season.

The beer garden features ten food trucks and ten rotating taps. Each day of this 17 day fresh hop marathon features rare seasonal beers with special tappings nearly every day, celebrating some of the best and brightest breweries and their regions.

The entire festival is pay as you go, so it’s much more a fresh hop beer garden and food truck pod than a festival. There are no tickets, special cups, or wristbands, just awesome beer and food! Beer prices will vary by the glass or pint.

The Fresh Hop Pop-Up takes place at the Prost! Marketplace which surrounds the Prost! German beer pub on N. Mississippi Avenue. The address is 4233 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97217. The lot is outdoors but mostly covered and an exterior bar called Bloodbuzz will pour the beers while attendees can order from the surrounding 10 food trucks that offer diverse selections.