1859 Oregon’s Magazine Beerlandia November/ December 2023

I hadn’t been much of a carnival type since I was a kid, but there I was, running the Drinko game for all the contestants. Drinko is really Plinko, but this version was a 10-foot tall board covered in saran wrap into which people tossed crushed beer cans. I received an exclusive invite to a private beer festival in its 15th year and thought I should volunteer. In case you think you misread “private beer festival,” you got it right. Imagine a bottle share, beer festival, and carnival with a thirty-foot Maypole with streamers, games, music, blind beer tasting challenge, and comedic skits, except in someone’s backyard. Volunteers checked invites at one table and more volunteers sold this year’s T-shirt at another. The entire event was about well-organized frivolity… and beer.

This got me thinking, we really ought to step up our holiday party game. We’ve all been to parties where guests bring some food to share, something good to drink, then spend hours trying to sound interesting or, more importantly, interested. What if we took a page from this backyard beer blast from above and create an event people will look forward to every year?

Imagine a holiday party with a theme, North Pole BBQ, Tropical Thanksgiving, or Christmas Vacation movie, for example, where everyone dresses accordingly. Then, instead of a potluck,

imagine guests bringing food paired with beer to share as a course.

Pairing takes a beer and turns it into something more memorable. And pairing is more intuitive than we think. We inherently know what we like and should have more confidence in sharing it.

The best part is people will generally step up their game to impress, and by the end of the evening, everyone will be feeling merry and bright.