Happy Friday and TGIF! I hope you’ve got a good beery weekend ahead! Here’s the news in Oregon beer for this weekend of the 18th; as usual I’ll be periodically updating this post with the latest news throughout the day, so check back often. And if you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that posted as well.

Starting today is the Portland U-Brew & Pub‘s Winter Warmer Westmoreland/Sellwood Brew Fest in Portland, running today and tomorrow (Saturday) the 18th and 19th, featuring: “5 P.U.B. beers. Heart Barley Wine (for Morgan Miller), Choc/Mint Milano Cookie Ale, Tarieks Winter Ale, Aarons Candy Cane/Juniper Ale, and Bourbon Bbl. Aged Barley Wine. Plus four local winter warmers. Four taps down in the brewery, and great food. Live music Friday night! Come get some strong beers in your belly!” The Fest is from noon to 11pm both days, with kids are welcome until 9. Prices are $5 for the cup/mug and $1 per taster.

Bailey’s Taproom (Portland) is holding their 4th annual CellarFest tomorrow (Saturday the 19th), starting at 4pm, and featuring an amazing lineup of 19 vintage beers (seriously, look at that list!). The 4pm time is the general admission, and it’s going to be crazy busy; but Bailey’s is offering a special VIP package starting at 2: “We have a limited number of VIP tickets for $25. These tickets include six 4oz pours but also allow entrance two hours earlier from 2-4 PM, providing a less frenzied experience as well as guaranteeing a seat somewhere in a far less crowded bar.” You can purchase the VIP tickets at Bailey’s ahead of time, or fill out the PayPal form on the site.

Pelican Pub & Brewery (Pacific City): Do you have tickets to Pelican’s Winter Brewers Dinner for tomorrow? Six courses paired with great Pelican brews for $75. I would image tickets are sold out since it’s only the day before the dinner, but you never know—it never hurts to check.

Worthy Brewing (Bend): Their first beer has hit the market! “You like hops, you say? First kegs of GTX- Go Time Xtra Pale Ale went out yesterday to a few fine beer pouring establishments in Bend. Some headed to Portland this weekend. Keep your eyes peeled.”  And Bend’s Broken Top Bottle Shop is about to tap a keg of it when they open at 11am: “we’re going to be the first place you can taste Worthy Brewing’s new brews! We’re doing growler fills too!! This beer is special; we picked up the 2nd keg to leave the new brewery! It’s called “Go Time eXtra Pale ale” or GTX for short. A dry, hybrid cross between an American extra pale ale and an American IPA. Shimmering reddish copper hue, big rocky head, interesting subtle roasted malt profile with and incredibly fresh, clean finish. Makes you want to have an Xtra one because it drinks so easy. 6.3 ABV…53 IBU…..SRM 17ish.”

Upright Brewing (Portland) is holding their Fantasia bottle release at the Brewery today from 4:30 to 9pm, a fantastic-sounding, highly-anticipated beer to be sure: “The second batch of Fantasia has been resting in the brewery cellar since October and will be available in the tasting room January 18th. The beer is a barrel fermented blend of six oak casks that used a different variety of peaches than the first vintage, sourced from our friends at Baird Family Orchards. With an otherwise similar recipe employing warm aged hops and multiple yeasts and bacteria, the 2013 Fantasia finished with more saison qualities than 2012, and should prove to be a solid beer to continue cellaring for at least two additional years. A limited amount of draft Fantasia will be on tap the weekend of the release at the tasting room. Like last year bottles are $20 each, cases at $225 (limit one).”

The Stone Enjoy By IPA steamroller continues to rumble through Oregon, and Roscoe’s in Portland has some as well, but tonight they’re focusing on something a little different with their Collaboration a Trois event: The Perfect Crime collaboration between Stone, Stillwater Ales, and Evil Twin Brewing. “Roscoe’s will be featuring a rare keg of the three-way collaboration between Stone, Evil Twin, and Stillwater. It is a Black Smoked Saison with a hop kick. We will also be featuring additional specialty kegs from each of the three breweries.” It runs from 5 to 11pm tonight.

Bridgetown Beerhouse (Portland) is celebrating their 4th anniversary tomorrow (Saturday) with a party kicking off at 5pm: “We will be pouring Humble Brewing Saaz Saison w/Brett (a one-off keg of Humble’s delicious Saison with wild Brettanomyces yeast), Stone “Enjoy By 02.15.13 IPA” (a limited and devastatingly fresh double IPA kegged on 1/11/13), Cascade Noyaux (NW style sour ale featuring blonds and triples aged on oak for 18 to 24 months, then additionally aged for 12 months on raspberries and apricot noyaux), Deschutes Abyss (Imperial Stout brewed with licorice and molasses with 33% aged aged in French Oak and Bourbon barrels). There will also be a Stone Double Bastard ’11 toast and a few hundred wings from Fire on the Mountain.” Stop by if you’re in town!

Falling Sky Brewing (Eugene) brewed up a collaboration Braggot with Corvallis’ Nectar Creek Honeywine (a mead maker) and February 6 at 4pm is the official release party: “What do you get when you cross a beer and a mead? Braggot! Come down to Falling Sky, meet the Nectar Creek and Falling Sky brewers, and enjoy the first taste of this historical brew.” I’m sure it’s not the first collaboration between a brewer and mead maker but it’s definitely one to pay attention to; braggots aren’t brewed (commercially) nearly enough so I’d really look forward to trying this (if it makes it to Bend).

The Platypus Pub (Bend) also has Worthy’s first brew on tap today, starting at 5pm! If you’re in Bend, make sure to get some!

Stickmens Brewery & Skewery (Lake Oswego) has inaugurated their new, larger brew system and today they’ve announced new beers on tap brewed on it: “We are releasing the first two Stickmen beers from the big system! We have the Calibration Pale Ale – a simple pale ale using Columbus, Willamette, and Glacier hops clocking in at 5%. The second beer is our American Brown that uses Carabrown for a solid malt character backed with hefty doses of Calypso and Belma hops, 5.5%, 42 IBUs. We are tapping these beers for Happy Hour today and will be pricing our pints at $3.00 from 3-6pm.” I will definitely be making the effort to check them out when I next find myself in Lake Oswego.