Happy Thursday! Thanksgiving is two weeks for today, so start picking out what beer(s) you’ll be enjoying with your holiday meal. In the meantime, here is the news in Oregon beer for Thursday the 14th of November. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news, so check back often. If you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that posted as well.

Deschutes Brewery (Bend): Today is The Abyss release! All day long starting at 11am at the Bend Pub and Portland Pub they will be celebrating the release of the 2013 vintage of The Abyss: “Grab a bottle, a snifter, or a vertical flight with previous year’s versions at our Bend and Portland Pubs beginning at 11am on Thursday, November 14th. We’ll also have a special food menu that will pair perfectly with this dark, delicious beer!” They have the food specials posted (on the links) and don’t miss out on the chance to sample the vertical flight!

McMenamins Edgefield (Troutdale) has a limited-edition beer tasting today at 5pm featuring Lord Snow Imperial Stout: “Black as a crow, this strong, dark beer was brewed with wintergreen and peppermint candies to give it a hint of the chill of winter, but its massive, thick body and warming strength help to ward that chill off. A huge supporting cast of dark malts- including a hundred and fifty pounds of rolled oats to add a smooth mouthfeel- provide a great depth and complexity of flavor accentuated by the herbal, faintly sweet undertones of wintergreen and peppermint. Grab a pint and bundle up. Winter is coming…”

Swing Tree Brewing (Ashland): Today is the day that Swing Tree is officially open and serving beer from their Taphouse! They will be open from 3 to 8pm Thursdays through Sundays for now, and aren’t offering food (so unfortunately, that means no minors allowed either). They will have their own beers on tap plus regional guest beers, though I don’t know a tap list—I would expect at least Porch Swing Pale Ale, Obligatory IPA, and Lonely Trike Red Ale. I wish I could make it down to Ashland for the big opening! Congrats!

Worthy Brewing (Bend) has their new Powder Keg Winter Ale released today, going on tap at the brewery and in limited draft around Oregon and Seattle, with 22-ounce bombers available as well. Powder Keg is 7.1% abv and 65 IBUs and is a “winter IPA” (not an official style, just a quick term I coined).

16 Tons (Eugene) is hosting the latest edition of Beers Made by Walking tonight from 5 to 9pm. These are beers that were brewed with local, indigenous (and unusual!) ingredients found or inspired by hikes the brewers go on. Make sure to swing by and check out beers from Claim 52, Agrarian Ales, Coalition, Hopworks, Laurelwood, Upright, and tentatively Standing Stone; these will likely be the most unique beers you’ve had in a while!

Double Mountain Brewery (Hood River): Tonight at Nepo 42 in Portland is Double Mountain Night, featuring the seasonal release of their Winter Ale Fa La La La La along with a tap takeover with other Double Mountain favorites. The event runs from 6 to 9pm.

Lompoc Brewing (Portland) has been brewing up a “Rock and Roll IPA” series of beers, and the latest in that series, Satisfaction IPA, was brewed in collaboration with Astoria’s Fort George Brewery. Tonight is the release party for that beer, taking place at NW Growlers in Portland from 6 to 9pm. Also pouring will be Lompoc’s Port Barrel Aged Big Bang Red.

The Commons Brewery (Portland): The announced today that they have partnered with a distributor, Morgan Distributing, which will start distributing The Commons beer as of January 1st. Definitely a good thing for The Commons, who have been growing like a wildfire since starting out in 2010. “The Commons Brewery recently doubled its production capacity by adding two 30 bbl fermentors bringing its annual capacity to 1,500 bbls. The partnership with Morgan will allow The Commons to extend their reach and better serve existing customers.” Congrats!