Oregon Beer News, 02/19/2018

Oregon Beer, McMenamins Hillsdale BrewfestHappy President’s Day! Cheers to you if you have the day off today, lift a beer in commemoration of our first president (and subsequent good ones). Perhaps a cherry beer to go with some cherry pie? Here’s the other news in Oregon beer for this February 19 and the new week. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news as I find it, so check back often. If you have news to share, please let me know and I can get that updated as well.

This Saturday, February 24, the 25th annual Hillsdale Brewfest is taking place at the McMenamins Hillsdale Brewery! “In celebration of the 25-year mark of this Brewfest, we’re going big this year with an outdoor heated tent in the lot and, for the first time, will feature live music. Catch the indie rock of The Coastline from 4 p.m. ‘til 7 p.m. while tasting the creativity of the 22 different McMenamins Breweries’ offerings. Patrons order trays of beer samples, arranged from lightest to darkest. It is our guests’ official duty to decide who deserves the coveted title. The beers cover the spectrum of brew styles – from Fruited Sour to Coffee Porter, Jasmine Pale Ale to Double IPA and beyond. Each taster casts one ballot that lists their top three choices. (And beware the brewers’ shameless vote-mongering. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.)” This is the event that in the past selected the beer to represent McMenamins at the Oregon Brewers Festival. The fest starts at 11am and runs all day, so be sure to get over there and vote on your favorite!

This Saturday is also Zwickelmania for the rest of Oregon outside of Portland! Obviously this is quite a large and varied area so plan for your region accordingly (and man, I wish Eastern Oregon was better represented than just one brewery… though there are a lot of miles in between the breweries back there). As always plan for a designated driver or transportation; both Central Oregon and the Willamette Valley areas have shuttle services (like the Bend Brew Bus). Stay safe and enjoy!

StormBreaker Brewing in Portland has their 4th annual Brewstillery Festival taking place this Saturday: “Breweries and Distilleries teaming up to create the perfect pairings. Each pairing will consist of a 4oz beer pour and a 1/4 oz spirit taste. Only like beer? Then just drink beer. You can pick and choose, although we strongly recommend going for the pairing. Advanced tickets on sale now! $25 for event branded beer tasting glass and 10 tasting tix. VIP (limited to 75) is $45 for event branded whiskey glass, event beer tasting glass, 15 tix, and one hour early entry (11a). Live music all day!”

The Deschutes Brewery Portland Pub is extending their canned food drive that they kicked off during their can launch over the weekend to last through the end of this week. So be sure to donate some canned food which will go to the Oregon Food Bank this week.

McMenamins Boon’s Treasury (Salem) is hosting a Friends & Family Night fundraiser for Parrish Middle School tonight starting at 5pm: “Our locations are active proponents in their respective communities, striving to keep our neighborhoods vital. Toward that end, we target opportunities that bring our properties, employees and nonprofit organizations together. In addition to this emphasis on supporting local communities in which McMenamins has a presence, we focus contributions on three key areas: education, human support services and community development. So on Friends and Family Nights, bring everyone you know out for burgers, beers, wine, cocktails, salads, sandwiches, tater tots, the day’s specials and more – because at the end of the night, 50% of the evening’s total sales are donated to the beneficiary! The more you order, the more is earned for a good cause!” Stop in for dinner tonight if you’re in Salem!

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