On Saturday, June 10, Ninkasi Brewing hosts the Sasquatch Brew Fest. 18 years after its inception, the storied event features small and one-off beers from breweries near and far.

While it shares similarities with many beer fests, Sasquatch (Sassy, colloquially) directly supports education in the brewing community through the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation. It’s also a microclimate for a distinctive beer style—the strong, hoppy, red ale known as a “Glen Beer”—though the selection goes way beyond that.

Tickets are on sale now, $12 in advance and $15 at the door. The full list of breweries and beers shows a wide range of styles representing the brewer’s best and no “grocery store” labels.

Sasquatch has clout and connections via the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation scholarship program. Dan Russo, Director of Brewing Operations for Oakshire Brewing, is a past scholarship recipient and the beer wrangler for the brew fest.

“I wouldn’t be where I am now without learning what I did,” he says. Applicants can choose between two top brewing programs in the country: the Siebel Institute in Chicago, or the American Brewers Guild in Vermont. To date, 52 scholarships have been awarded.

“The scholarships provide for varying levels of learning resources, from the opportunity to move from homebrewer into production roles to enhancing learning all the way through.”

One of Russo’s goals is to get more scholarship winners to participate in the Fest, and create more visibility for the fest and how the scholarship program benefits the brewing community and improves beer quality overall.

“I want to make it about Eugene and make it about the people who receive the scholarship. The proceeds from the fest go back to the Foundation. I think Ninkasi’s doing a fantastic job of running the festival, and this year’s going to be killer too.”

“I got asked 15 times last year why it’s called Sasquatch. Well, it’s because of this awesome human being [Glen Falconer], and because of him I got this scholarship, and years later I’m the Director of Operations at Oakshire. People have been able to make their living in the industry because of the Foundation and the brew fest, so because of Glen. It betters the community; it’s the Northwest Brewing Community, as recipients can only be from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Hawaii, and Northern California.”

Jamie Floyd, co-founder of Ninkasi Brewing, has been involved since the beginning of the Fest. He emphasized Dan’s appreciation of the Foundation’s mission:

“The brewing scholarships help send brewers to school to learn skills and bolster confidence; it also is a platform for brewers to meet other brewers going through school, and that sets a stage for long term relationships. These brewers bring these skills back to their local community where they share their beers, knowledge and emerging mentoring abilities. All of these scholarship recipients share this knowledge in one way or another with other brewers and this connectedness grows more community.”

Sasquatch seems to have found its home at Ninkasi. This will be the third year the fest has been held in the parking lot at the Better Living Room. Its figure-8-ish layout provides a good space for organic meandering and less crowding around brewery booths. The fest runs from noon-5pm, a very intentional decision.

“Five hours is OK,” says Russo. “We don’t need a 10-hour festival. This is where you get to go and enjoy at a reasonable price. It gives an avenue where the beer drinker’s palate is not worn out. It allows the organizers, who’ve already put in months of work, to relax a little and not be there til midnight. And it makes for a better experience.”

Furthering its participation, Ninkasi is brewing a collaboration beer with Crucible Brewing, whose co-founder Dick Mergens is a Falconer scholarship recipient, the day before the fest; a peach and cara cara orange beer will be on tap in the near future. The beer is a sidelong tribute; Glen Falconer and former Eugene brewer Scott Freitas always brewed a peach beer “that they hated making” for the Oregon Country Fair, according to Floyd. “I thought it would be fun to make a peach beer we really liked and share it with folks at the BLR.”

Food at the Fest is provided by Red 5 Hotdog Company during the fest, and Ninkasi’s Better Living Room, which is open from noon-10pm. There will also be live music, lineup TBA. Volunteers are still welcome.

Sasquatch Brew Fest takes place at 155 Blair Blvd. in Eugene