Kriekfest returns for its third annual inception, harvesting an even bigger basket of cherry beers (and ciders and a sparkling cherry wine) and moving to a new home in Hood River. Hood Valley’s abundance of cherry orchards served as the inspiration for this event. The largest celebration devoted exclusively to barrel-aged cherry beverages (each only available in four-ounce pours) will take place at Waterfront Park directly on the Columbia River. Kriekfest 2018 tickets are now available at merctickets.com/go/Kriekfest.

Admission purchased by June 30 is $40 and includes 24 drink tickets, while admission purchased after July 1 will come with 20 tickets. If the event does not sell out in advance gate admission will be $45 and will come with 18 tickets. All paid attendees will receive a commemorative stemmed glass. The festival this year takes place Saturday, July 28 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Kriek, Flemish for cherry, is a four-centuries-old style of spontaneously-fermented, lambic ales aged on cherries (pits and all). This year’s lineup features an even larger collection of world-class examples imported from Belgium for Kriekfest including Brasserie Cantillon, Brouwerij Drei Fonteinen, Brouwerij Boon, Brouwerij Brasserie De Ranke, and Hanssens Artisanaal. Cherry-growing regions are natural for such beers so it’s no surprise the Hood River Valley’s Belgian-inspired breweries make excellent krieks. The breweries in the Gorge featured at the fest include pFriem Family Brewers, Logsdon Farmhouse Ales, Solera Brewery, and Double Mountain Brewing . New Oregon breweries to Kriekfest include small and exceptional wild ale brewers Ale Apothecary and Wolf Tree, both of which created sour cherry beers designed specifically for this event. Combined with the fertile Willamette Valley, Oregon cherry farmers harvest over 13,000 acres of cherries.

The celebration of cherry-laced libations is family-friendly and features a Cherry Marketplace and other delicious food from Hood River caterers including special cherry gelatos created by Cicci Gelato. Follow updates on Facebook at facebook.com/Kriekfest,  Instagram at @Kriekfest, or Twitter at @Kriekfest. For more information visit Kriekfest.com

Breweries featured at Kriekfest*:

Ale Apothecary, Bend, OR

Block 15, Corvallis, OR

Boon, Belgium

The Bruery, Placentia, CA

Cantillon, Belgium

Cascade, Portland, OR

Double Mountain, Hood River, OR

De Ranke, Belgium

Drei Fonteinen, Belgium

Firestone Walker, Paso Robles, CA

Great Notion, Portland, OR

Hanssens, Belgium

Jester King, Austin, TX

Lindemans, Belgium

Little Beast, Beaverton, OR

Logsdon Farmhouse, Hood River, OR

Modern Times, Portland, OR

New Belgium, Ft. Collins, CO

pFriem, Hood River, OR

Scratch Brewery, Ava, IL

Solera, Parkdale, OR

Telegraph, Santa Barbara, CA

Upright, Portland, OR

Wolf Tree, Seal Rock, OR

Wolves & People, Newberg, OR

Cideries/wineries at Kriekfest*:

Frederiksdal Cherry Wine, Denmark

Rack & Cloth, Mosier, OR

Reverend Nat’s, Portland, OR

Wildcraft, Eugene, OR

*Subject to change.