By Ted Kaye
Originally published in Vexilloid Tabloid #34, June 2012
Portland’s Rock Bottom Brewery hosted the Portland Belgian Beer Challenge on April 10, 2012. It featured a taste-off between beers from Amnesia, Rock Bottom, Roots, Lucky Lab, BJ’s, Concordia, Hair of the Dog, McMennamin’s Crystal Ballroom, and New Old Lompoc—ten breweries in all.
With 46 microbrewers of craft beer, Portland has more breweries per capita than any other city in the world and more than a third of the state’s total. Many have won nationwide and international acclaim. The craft beer industry in Oregon dates from a 1985 reform law allowing small-scale brewing in brewpubs.
The logo of the recent event combines the flags of Portland and Belgium, quartered with images of hops and barley, the main ingredients of beer. However, it uses the narrower blue stripes from the older Portland design, and makes their shade far too dark. (See Portland Code 1.06.010 for the correct design and colors.)
2015 update:
The Cheers to Belgian Beers festival is still going strong, now in its 9th year. But 2012 appears to be the last time it used this logo, after appearing in 2010 and 2011:
Portland Flag Association 