Welcome to October! It turns out October 1st is World Sake Day, celebrating the fermented rice brew that originated in Japan. We have a sake brewer in Forest Grove, Saké One, but I don’t know if there are any other Oregon sake makers; at any rate, consider trying some if you haven’t.

Of course it’s also still Oktoberfest and fresh hop beers are at the peak of the season so there are still such events and news to cover for this Monday the first. As usual, I’ll be updating this post throughout the day with the latest news, so check back often for updates.

The Tap & Growler (Eugene) is kicking off a Fresh Hop Fest Week today, running through Sunday: “Fresh hop beer blind taste off. Fresh Oregon grown hops showcased in a variety of styles from some of the best breweries into the PNW. Mark your calendars and come join us the first week of October to vote for your favorites.” Sounds like a great week to get fresh hops in Eugene!

Oktoberfest continues at Belmont Station in Portland this week, ending on Sunday the 7th (in conjunction with the official Munich celebration). “Get your Oompah on with us! During all of the official Oktoberfest celebration (meaning, the one in Munich), we will be featuring special liters of Oktoberfest drafts, and Monk’s Deli will be cooking up some tasty German-style sausages in the food cart. Make sure to stop in the bottle shop to grab some Okto beers to take home! It’s going to be a lager-licious good time!”

Likewise Oktoberfest at Beergarden continues this week in Eugene: “Each day will feature a different brewery, host festive activities and live music. All five of our food trucks will be featuring German-inspired dishes. It will be over two weeks of jam packed Oktoberfest festivities. Every year we bring out commemorative glassware and this year we went above and beyond. Who needs another stein when you can have Das Boot? Buy it full of your favorite Oktoberfest beer.” Today’s featured tapping is with Sierra Nevada Brewing and its “Oktoberfest collaboration with Weihenstephan & more!”

Baerlic Brewing (Portland) has a new can release today: Eldo & Friends NW Hazy IPA. “New Can Release: Eldo and Friends NW Hazy IPA – 4-Packs and draft dropping this Friday! Eldo loves Mosaic and Columbus, they are his best friends—the most bestest of friends right to the end. Eldo helps them and they help him…do you have a best friend?”

Hopworks Urban Brewery (Portland): Today is release day for HUB’s Abominable Winter Ale, starting at 5pm: “It’s that magical time of the year when Abominable emerges from his summer slumber to grace us with his tasty presence! To celebrate the return of Abominable, we are doing a giant beer release party where attendees can try not only Abominable Winter Ale, but our newest beer in the hazy lineup – Robot Truckers Hazy IPA, and our latest Win-win series release – Great Gourds of Fire Pumpkin Ale. Starting at 5pm at all 3 pubs you can try all three of these tasty beers and take some of our limited release bottles and cans home to share!”

Kriekfest takes place this Saturday, October 6, in Hood River. You may remember than this event was originally slated to take place in July, but was rescheduled due to the heat. Well this all-cherry beer festival is back, landing in Waterfront Park with over 30 cherry beers and ciders to enjoy. Tickets are $25 to 40 in advance, which you can purchase online here.

Peche Fest returns to Saraveza in Portland this Saturday as well, starting at 3pm: “Oregon’s most delectable single-fruit varietal beer event the Peche Fest returns to Saraveza and the Bad Habit Room this Saturday, October 6th with over 20 peach beers and ciders. Entry is only $10 for a collectible official Peche Fest glass and two drink tickets. The selection is of some of the rarest and tastiest fruit beers in the world from all over the country with an emphasis on the pacific northwest. There will be peach farmhouse ales, wheat ales, sour ales, barrel-aged beers, ciders and Peach IPA’s.” You can pre-purchase tickets here.

Pono Brewing (Portland) released its latest fresh hop beer: “Our third and final fresh hop beer has been released. What a wonderful season for beer creators and drinkers alike. It instills a closer understanding and appreciation of one of the most crucial ingredients for craft beer. Our hat goes off to all the hard working farmers that work around the clock to optimize freshness of these little green cones during harvest season as well as the rest of the year. Come drink a glass of Fire – Hazy IPA with fresh Idaho-7 to celebrate!”