Today, February 1, is International Gruit Day, celebrating the historical traditions of brewing with herbs and spices in lieu of hops. I don’t know of any commercial gruits off the top of my head, though I do remember Flat Tail Brewing creating one a few years ago. I’ll have to seek some out; in the meantime, here is the Oregon beer news for this Thursday the first. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day, so check back often. If you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that posted as well.

Bend’s The Ale Apothecary is the guest of honor at The Abbey Bar in Portland tonight, for an Ale Apothecary Night from 6 to 8pm. “This is a rare chance to enjoy a three-beer flight of amazing and hard-to-find The Ale Apothecary beers and meet Paul Arney and his team, the geniuses behind the beer. You will also have the opportunity to buy bottles of the beers in the flight. Don’t miss this amazing event!”

Hopworks Urban Brewery (Portland) is releasing a “Beer for Breakfast” today, in the form of Morning Vibes Imperial Latte Stout: “#Dryanuary is just about over and we have a feeling a lot of folks are really looking forward to that first sip of beer. Good news! We’re releasing Morning Vibes Imperial Latte Stout on February 01 and we’re opening our SE Portland brewpub at 10am, an hour earlier than normal, for a special pancake and beer breakfast. Morning Vibes is an Imperial Latte Stout that clocks in at 9% ABV and is brewed to remind us of our favorite morning ritual – taking those first couple sips of a perfectly poured cup.”

The Salem Winter Brewfest continues today, with Thursday hours from 4 to 10pm and entry only $5. Here’s the list of beers they will be pouring today which looks like a great selection, plus a decent list of ciders as well.

Ninkasi Brewing (Eugene) announced today the release of a Spring IPA Variety 12-pack hitting the shevles. From the press release: “Highlighting an assortment of IPAs, Ninkasi Brewing Company, offers up the perfect way to enjoy this ever-evolving beer style no matter the occasion. Following the release of the first Ninkasi beers in cans, Ninkasi opted to offer even more variety by mixing cans and bottles in its newest Spring IPA Variety 12-Pack. Available February through April, the new variety pack includes 12-ounce bottles of Total Domination IPA, Dawn of the Red IPA, Tricerahops Double IPA, and 12-ounce cans of the brewery’s latest release, Prismatic Juicy IPA.”

The BeerMongers (Portland) is hosting Pacific City’s Pelican Brewing for the release of Beak Bender IPA from 5 to 8pm tonight: “We constantly search for unique and delicious ways to explore the full spectrum of hop flavor and aroma. For Beak Bender we turned to two bold, flavorful varieties and used our proprietary dry hopping device “The Hoppinator” to rend every molecule of flavor and aroma. Bountiful quantities of Citra and El Dorado hops bring aromas and flavors reminiscent of luminous citrus and zesty orange balanced against a lean malt bill with subtle toasty notes creating an astoundingly drinkable experience. It won’t break your beak, but it might bend it a little! We’re excited to launch this bold new beer with our friends at The BeerMongers on SE Division in Portland. Join us!”