Oregon Beer News, 09/21/2018

Oregon Beer, Occidental OktoberfestHappy Friday! This is weekend is not only the start of fall (the equinox is Saturday the 22nd) but it’s also the official start of Oktoberfest in Munich (also Saturday the 22nd) so there are quite a number of such celebrations going on across the state, this weekend and beyond. Here’s the news for this weekend of the 21st, which I will be updated throughout the day with more as I find it; check back often.

With so many Oktoberfest activities going on this weekend, here’s a roundup rather than trying to cover each individually:

Friday, 9/21

Deep Space Brewing (Hillsboro) is launching the first Westside Beer & Soda Fest which starts on Friday. “The Westside Beer and Soda Fest is a new kind of craft brewer festival – a family-focused festival open to all ages, featuring beers and sodas brewed west of Portland. The Westside Beer and Soda Fest is a passport-style event, with passports for both local craft beers and local craft soda passports, and will also feature food, activities for all ages, music, and entertainment, and the ever-popular Out of This World arcade and play area. A portion of the festival proceeds will benefit Candlelighters for Children with Cancer.” The beer passport costs $20 which gets you the “souvenir logo glass and one taster pour of every featured beer (12 total).” The fest will take place on Saturday as well, and should be an interesting one to check out.

Bend’s 10 Barrel Brewing is teaming up with Bend’s (last) Blockbuster video store to host “The Block Party to End All Block(buster) Parties” featuring a special beer, The Last Blockbuster, all taking place Friday from 6:30 to 9:30pm: “Join 10 Barrel and Blockbuster on Friday, September 21st to celebrate the last still-standing Blockbuster store in America, where an exclusive, limited-time-only beer – The Last Blockbuster – will be officially released. Come to the block party to taste the new beer, grab a bite to eat, and watch some hits on the big screen – with beer in hand, of course.”

Immersion Brewing (Bend) has the fresh hop release of its Rollin’ Freshies on Friday starting at 6pm: “When Fresh Hop beer starts coming around, you know we are getting into the best time of the year. Celebrating the release of our Fresh Hop Beer: Rollin’ Freshies! Lets make this a PARTY! Live Music from local favorite Natty Red! Along with food & beer specials and giveaways that you won’t want to miss. Come down to taste the freshness and enjoy some great music with family and friends!”

Portland’s Cascade Brewing is celebrating the eighth birthday of its Barrel House! “This Friday Cascade Barrel House turns 8 years old. We want to thank all of our loyal regulars, friends, family, neighbors, and anyone else who helped get us to 8 years. Please come help us celebrate! There will be cake, free prizes, and awesome sour beers.”

Broken Top Bottle Shop (Bend): The brew hub’s September Sour Stravaganza continues on Friday and on into the weekend through Sunday the 23rd, featuring a half-dozen excellent sour beers that will be pouring. If you’re a sour aficionado, don’t miss out!

The Portland Fresh Hop Pop-Up Beer Fest continues on Friday at Burnside Brewing, featuring Washington Fresh Hop Night: “It’s Washington Fresh Hop Night at the PDX Fresh Hop Pop-Up Beer Fest on Friday, September 21st. Featuring Cloudburst Brewing, Fremont Brewing, Three Magnets Brewing Co., Reuben’s Brews & Matchless Brewing!”

Saturday, 9/22

The 15th Annual Hood River Hops Fest takes place Saturday in downtown Hood River! This is the big one: “Presented by Jacobs and awarded silver medal for best beer festival from the Willamette Week, Oregon Beer Awards, the Hood River Hops Fest is an annual celebration of beer’s bitter friend, freshly harvested hops. Hood River County is surrounded by world-renowned hop growing regions, and since 2003 brewers have gathered each September in downtown Hood River to share their fresh-hop beer creations. The family-friendly event features more than 50 breweries with more than 60 fresh-hop beers, plus a variety of food vendors, live music, and an awesome collectable mug.” The $15 general admission tickets can be pre-purchased here. And you can find the list of the breweries that will be attending here.

McMenamins 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop (Portland) hosts Ex Novo Brewing for a beer tasting on Saturday from 2 to 4pm: “Ex Novo is coming by to pour samples of their delicious beers. Come on in, have a sample or a pint, and take some home for later. ‘Drink Beer, Do Good.'”

Deschutes Brewery (Bend) is hosting its Farmers Market Dinner Saturday at its Mountain Room in Bend starting at 6pm: “As the last bit of summer lingers in the air and fall is just around the corner we here at Deschutes Brewery are preparing for our Annual Farmers Market dinner!! At our third annual Farmers Market Beer Dinner we will feature great beer and amazing local farm to table fare. Join us on Saturday, September 22nd from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in our Mountain Room. We will be featuring a four-course beer paired dinner inspired by foods from our local Farmers Market vendors. This tasty event is where farmers and community meet to share in the bountiful harvest. We will be featuring local farmers harvest to create a stellar locally sourced menu!”

Boneyard Beer is raising money at its Bend pub on Saturday: “$1 of every pint of RPM sold at Boneyard Pub between 11AM – 3PM will be donated to Down Syndrome Connection of Central Oregon.” Get down there and enjoy one of the region’s most popular beers!

The Fresh Hop Pop-Up at Burnside Brewing is hosting a Northbank Fresh Hop Night on Saturday: “It’s Northbank Brewers Fresh Hop Night at the PDX Fresh Hop Pop-Up Beer Fest. That means breweries from SW Washington including Vancouver and Camas brewers: Grains of Wrath, Trap Door Brewing and Loowit Brewing Company. We will be pouring:
Trap Door Brewing: CO-HOP IPA, 6.8%
Loowit Brewing: Lando Hoprissian Fresh Hop IPA
Grains of Wrath: Fresh Hop E.G.A. IPA”

Crux Fermentation Project (Bend) has PCTA Night on Saturday starting at 4pm: “Join us as we celebrate the Pacific Crest Trail and the folks that help protect, preserve, and promote it, all while hoisting the beer we named after the wilderness path that is in Bend’s backyard. Folks from the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) will be there so chat them up to learn more about the trail and how you can get involved. And as a supporter of the PCTA, we’ll donate a dollar for every pint and six-pack of PCT Porter purchased during the event.”

Salem Ale Works is throwing a Fresh Hop  Celebration Saturday night at 6pm: “Fresh Hop season is upon us! That means hop farms are harvesting and you have an opportunity to taste beer made from the freshest hops! Join us at our brewer taproom in celebration of hop harvest as we release two fresh hop beers, Drip Torch Red IPA (Centennial hops) and Wy’east Blonde Ale (Mt. Hood hops).”

Rogue Ales Pearl Public House in Portland is hosting Hop Harvest in the Pearl on Saturday, and raising money for charity as well: “Experience the excitement of hop harvest right here in the Pearl. We’re taking Rogue Farms on the road and bringing you 3 new Wet Hop beers; one from each of our innovation breweries. Start your day with some Yoga & Beer from 10am-11am; suggested donation of $5 will go to New Avenues for Youth”

The city of Albany hosts the 7th Annual Craft Brew Smackdown on Saturday: “The Greater Albany Rotary Club and the Albany Downtown Association invite you to join us for the 7th Annual Craft Brew Smackdown taking place on Saturday, SeptemBEER 22nd, 2018 from 2pm to 7pm. The Craft Brew Smackdown brings breweries, cider houses, distilleries and wineries into downtown Albany small business storefronts so that the public can “taste” while visiting with local business owners. Tickets are $20 for an event-specific tasting glass and ten tasting tickets; you will be able to buy additional tickets along the route. Purchase your tickets online, and you will receive two extra tasting tickets!” Sounds like a fun downtown event to check out.

Portland’s Saraveza bar is teaming up with Hood River’s pFriem Family Brewers to host a fundraiser for Saraveza chef Dustin Getman on Saturday: “Saraveza’s executive chef, Dustin, who spent several years running pFriem’s kitchen, is a talented leader who works hard, has high expectations and loves what he does and the people he works with. In May 2018, Dustin became legally blind from a rare condition called Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy and is now learning to live legally blind. As a fiercely independent person, Dustin has lots of obstacles in front of him as he adjusts to his new way of life. Dustin has been an integral part in Saraveza’s success and has worked hard to keep our friends, families and customers well fed with a thoughtful menu. In return, we are hoping to provide Dustin with some financial support to help him with living and medical expenses.” Head over to Saraveza and drink pFriem beer to help out!

Sunday, 9/23

Kobold Brewing (Bend): On Sunday at Kobold’s The Vault Taphouse in Redmond, there will be Fresh Hops on the Patio: “We will have our very own Fresh Hop Festival on the patio at The Vault Taphouse this Sunday from 2-6pm. We will release three fresh hop brews: Dragon’s Blood IIRA, Chaotic Neutral IPA and a Fresh Hop Pale ale. We will also have a couple fresh hop beers from other breweries. I will set up outside and sell a flight of five 5oz tasters for $10. Come get the first tastes of the awesome brews, supply is very limited.”

And the Portland Fresh Hop Pop-Up fest wraps up Sunday, with “kill the keg” $13 growler fills all day long.

General News

Worthy Brewing (Bend) has fresh hop beer out now: HopStar! “Introducing HopStar. Our Oregon Hop Celebration Small Batch Series. Brewed with freshly picked Oregon Cascade hops this pale ale showcases the natural citrus and pine character. Limited production.”

Worthy also has its fall/Oktoberfest seasonal, Hoppenwolf, on tap: “On Tap @worthybrewing ! Hoppenwolf. The Worthy spin on a traditional German Oktoberfest beer. Malt-forward lager with notes of caramel, toffee and freshly baked bread. Prost! ABV 5.5% IBU 10”

Sky High Brewing (Corvallis) has a fresh hop beer now on tap: “Fresh Hop Ale now on TAP! ABV: 6.0% IBU: 28. Our brewers, already returning in the early morn from a Crosby Hop Farms run for 120 pounds of fresh Sterling hops. Got to work, 85 lbs straight into the brew after the boil, while the other 35lbs were crammed in the hop back. These delicious, wonderfully fresh hops gave us a spicy, floral, citrusy beer worthy of the harvest. An annual treat! Enjoy!!”

Look Long Brewing (Portland) has a fundraising SMaSH beer on tap to drink: “Remember the SMaSH competition we held? Well Max’s recipe was elected in a tight race to be brewed on our system for some sweet, charitable pint-drinking. Proceeds from each pint sold will go to the Oregon Humane Society. Come get it while it’s still glowing with complex Ekuanot-induced flavors of peppers, melon, and tropical fruit! Teamwork makes the dream work!”

Climate City Brewing (Grants Pass) has fresh hops on tap: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Raptor Creek Fresh Hop IPA is back on tap! Brewed with delicious, locally grown and generously donated fresh hops from Raptor Creek Farm. Come support a local worthy cause – a portion of the proceeds from each pint will be donated to the Josephine County Food Bank.”

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