I hope you had a lovely Valentine’s Day and are ready for the Presidents’ Day weekend! Here is the Oregon beer news going into the weekend and the last half of the month; as usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day on Friday so check back in for updates.

Friday, Feb. 15

Kobold Brewing (Redmond) kicks off its weekend-long Barrel Aged Beer Fest Friday at 5pm at The Vault Taphouse in downtown Redmond: “Join us for a Barrel Aged Beer Fest! We’re pulling some of our usual selection of beer to have EIGHT barrel aged beers on tap. We’ll be kicking things off Friday at 5:00 with the release of our IIPA aged in a gin barrel from Gompers Distillery ~ and Gompers will be in the house Friday night to get this thing started! See you in Redmond!”

Viking Braggot Company (Eugene) is hosting a Weekend Chocolate Pairing Friday and Saturday at its brewery tasting room in west Eugene: “We are celebrating the Valentine’s Day weekend by pairing 4 of our favorite seasonal and flagship brews with delicious chocolate from our friends at Euphoria Chocolate Company! Plus we will be debuting a brand new small batch “Salted Caramel Brown Ale”!”

Reach Break Brewing (Astoria) has some beer releases this Friday: Double Brownie Stout (17.3% ABV!), Blossom (wine barrel sour blended with fruit), McRea’s Black Pearl Oyster Stout, and Symbiosis Fig Stout (collaboration with 7 Devils Brewing of Coos Bay).

The BeerMongers (Portland) is hosting Sunriver Brewing and Pelican Brewing for the release of Brute Lupes, their collaboration beer that I believe is a hoppy brut IPA with apricot added. The party runs from 5 to 8pm.

Imperial Bottle Shop (Portland): The Alberta Street location is hosting a vertical tasting of The Abyss starting at 3pm: “Join us for a vertical tasting of Deschutes Brewery The Abyss! Get a 4-beer flight for only $12 (2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018)! All also available by the glass.”

Saturday, Feb. 16

It’s the Portland area Zwickelmania day! From 11am to 4pm, breweries in the Portland Metro area are opening their doors to brewery tours, tastings, special events, meet the brewer, and more. The list of participating breweries is here, and be aware of the free shuttle buses that will be running—please don’t drink and drive! And don’t forget you can print out and play Zwickel Bingo for fun too. Cheers!

Portland’s Migration Brewing celebrates its 9th anniversary on Saturday, coinciding with Zwickelmania: “We will be giving tours and beer samples from 11-4 at both locations. Brewvana will be supplying transportation to get to both Glisan and the new Production facility off 181st. We will have an amazing specialty food menu with Poké Nachos, charcuterie and other fun items. We will be releasing 6-8 new sour,hazy and barrel aged beers, with 3 of them in 4-pack and 6-packs to go. And the amazing DJ Queasy will help close out the night starting at 7PM.”

Vagabond Brewing (Salem) celebrates five years with a party on Saturday: “Join us as we celebrate 5 years of making epic craft beers in Salem! We will be celebrating with special beer releases, live music, sumo suits, FREE Photo Booth and a bouncing house for the kids! Come grab a pint and celebrate 5 years with us! First 100 people through the door get a FREE Attack Owl sticker!”

McMenamins 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop (Portland) is hosting a Saturday cider tasting with Woodbox Cider from 2 to 4pm.

Salem Ale Works is hosting Beer + Chocolate on Saturday from noon to 5pm: “Join us for a day of sampling beer and chocolate desserts. We will be releasing 6 SAW beers, including specialty beers made just for the event, and pairing them with delicious chocolate desserts from local Salem artisan Country Cake Shop. Fest ticket includes a commemorative glass, 6 beer tastes, and 6 dessert samples.”

Imperial Bottle Shop’s Division Street location is pouring a vertical tasting of Stone Brewing w00t Stout on Saturday: “Join us for a vertical tasting of Stone Brewing Woot Stout! Get a 3-beer flight for only $8 (2016, 2017, and 2018)! All also available by the glass.”

Sunriver and Pelican will be at The Growler Guys in Portland (South Waterfront location) for their Brute Lupes release party rollout. More about that beer: “Pelican Brewing Company and Sunriver Brewing Co. have teamed up to brew Brute Lupes IPA! They added an abundant amount of apricot for a sweet, tart balance to the low bitterness and massive hop character of this refreshing, spritzy IPA. The apricot provides a fruity aroma up front, while the hops finish citrusy and grape-like. The light toasty malt characteristics complement the slightly tart apricot flavor and the citrusy hops while finishing almost champagne-like. This brew is just as satisfying and stunning as the views traveling from the Oregon Coast to the mountainous terrain of Central Oregon.”

Sunday, Feb. 17

Belmont Station (Portland) is hosting a Girl Scout Cookies & Beer Pairing Sunday from 1 to 3pm: “The Station’s very own Rosalia Porter & Captain Neil Yandow will be here sharing the Girl Scout love. Learn about what Rosalia is raising money for, help her learn a valuable lesson in money management and how to be a small business owner. Cheers to empowering young girls and to a future filled with a strong female work force. We know you can casually grab some Girl Scout cookies while doing your grocery shopping but how many places are sampling beers that have been thoughtfully paired with it too?? Stop in and try some delicious beers paired with your favorite Girl Scout cookie flavor.”

General News

Buoy Beer (Astoria) has a new collaboration beer on tap: “Collaboration with @bridgeandtunnelbottlesandtaps! Hávamál, saying of the High One. Brewed as a tribute to the Norse god Odin, this Nordic Pale Ale with Blood Orange was fermented with kviek yeast. A soft pale with an essence of citrus from the yeast accentuated by Motueka and Equinox hops and blood orange fruit. Best consumed from the skull of your adversary. 6.1% ABV 26 IBU”

Sunriver Brewing has a new beer ready for the weekend: “This is a beer you HAVE to try this weekend! With a three day weekend ahead of us, we know you can find some time for a brew or two… His Dudeness.. a White Russian Inspired ale with a tad bit of inspiration from the Dude himself.”

Modern Times Beer (Portland) has a new beer now pouring: “Underworld Dreams. The newest iteration of this mega-tropical, supremely-refreshing Hazy IPA is packed to the gills with heaps & heaps of Simcoe, Mosaic, Idaho 7, & Amarillo. The result is a 6.2% hop ba-bomb that worships at the divine altar of juiciness. If you want to know what they mean when they say, “this shit slaps,” draft is available today and cans are available to-go as of today.”