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Portland's great pastimes are beer and music. Even the staunchest teetotaler—let's say John Lithgow in Footloose—or the most righteous anti-dance preacher—okay, Dennis Quaid in the Footloose remake—would have to agree that Portland wouldn't be the city it is today without the traditions of beer from old Henry Weinhard's pre-prohibition days to the craft movement, or independent music from the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" to the current crop of indie favorites.

So why, when you can't swing a lasso in this city without snaring both a brewer and a musician, hadn't anyone dreamed up a music festival to pair breweries and bands? Sure, people have been getting drunk or better at music festivals in Oregon at least since the Grateful Dead played the 1972 Oregon Country Fair. And of course you can have a craft brew at the Waterfront Blues Festival or see your dad's homebrew club jam band play a backyard beer fest in the suburbs. But we're talking about beers brewed specifically to complement the music of the band on stage (and we don't just mean Heineken with some molly in it at a Katy Perry show).

Enter the Malt Ball. For four years running, the Mercury has teamed with the Oregon Brewers Guild to swing that lasso and bring together like-minded bands and breweries for a night of raucous misbehavior, fueled by the best bands Portland can offer and beer specifically tailored to their music. Or, in keeping with the one-too-many-layered name of the festival, just like a pun on the band name or whatever.

This year the fest is split into two six-band, five-hour showcases at the Wonder Ballroom on Saturday, February 28, at 2 pm-7 pm and 8 pm-1 am. Each showcase comes with five taster tickets for $15, but $25 gets you into both showcases for nearly 12 hours of music and beer and (hopefully) best to second-best behavior. GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Onto the details you actually care about! Band and beer pairings are what makes the Malt Ball the Malt Ball. At time of press, most of these beers were unavailable for tasting. So these descriptions are largely based on the brewers' hopes and dreams—and expertise, of course.

CONTINUE READING>>> (And get your tickets here quick!)