Happy Monday! Anyone was a squirt of corn syrup in their beer today? Sounds like something appropriate for a pastry stout or funky hazy/milkshake IPA… Or just stick with today’s beer news which is corn syrup-free. As usual I’ll be updating this post throughout the day for this Monday, February 4, so check back often for the latest.

Double Mountain Brewery (Hood River) announced the release of its latest cider—or in this case, a perry (made with pears instead of apples). “Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom is releasing the newest addition to our seasonal cider lineup. With our press fully up and running, we are enthusiastically experimenting with all things apples and pears. Utilizing Starkrimson and Comice pears allows the cider to become lighter more delicate, with tender aromas of ripe pear and tropical lemon, sliding into pineapple and a residual lusciousness in the body. Hood River grows the best pears in the world, and now makes the best Perry. Available in refillable 500ML bottles and draft at our Hood River Taproom, SE Portland Taproom in the Woodstock neighborhood, and throughout the Northwest.” This Perry is 6.3% ABV.

McMenamins Edgefield (Troutdale) is hosting a Friends & Family Night fundraiser at its Power Station Pub to benefit Multnomah Learning Academy starting at 5pm. The company donates 50% of the evenings sales in food and drink to the beneficiary from 5pm until closing, which is fantastic and worth every penny. Be sure to stop in and help out!

pFriem Family Brewers (Hood River) hosted media over the weekend to announce its expansion plans, and Ezra at the New School has details: “pFriem Family Brewers, has announced a much needed expansion that will see them building a new Cascade Locks facility and adding a larger brewhouse to their existing location in the Halyard Building in Hood River. Demand for pFriem’s award-winning beer is off the charts and they are already selling around 75% of their production in Oregon alone. pFriem is working with the Port of Cascade Locks to construct anew secondary production and warehousing facility in Cascade Locks to make room for significant capacity expansion at the Hood River headquarters. The two facilities will work in tandem. In Hood River, pFriem will continue to brew all of its beer, and ferment and package all of its non-barrel aged beers. In Cascade Locks, the brewery will age and package all of its barrel aged beers. Cascade Locks will also be the company’s main logistics hub, and will warehouse all of its raw materials and finished beer.”

Worthy Brewing (Bend) is celebrating its 6th birthday on Tuesday with a special Charity Pint Night featuring Sweet Bites and Brews: “Join us for a fun night of delicious desserts paired with local brew masters’ libations, all supporting The Family Resource Center of Central Oregon. Help Worthy Brewing celebrate their 6th year with a night dedicated to good beer, good food and good causes. Single Ticket $30, Couple Ticket $50 (a $10 savings). There will be raffle prizes (tickets available for purchase at the event) and a grand prize drawing for anyone who completes their tasting passport! Funds raised at this event will go to provide local Central Oregon families parenting education programs that strengthen and support families.” There will be multiple breweries and cideries pouring, and $1 from every Worthy pint sold benefits FRC.

Also in Bend this week, the 6th annual Tetherow Brewery Smackdown takes place on Thursday the 7th. This is a beer dinner food pairing blind taste off featuring a team up of Crux Fermentation Project with Silver Moon Brewing to take on Wild Ride Brewing and Boneyard Beer. Guests try the blind samples of beers paired with each dinner course and vote on their favorites. It’s a fun event, I’ve got an invite to attend; tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased online here.

Interesting in a couple of sweet beer pairing events? Try one of these:

• Deschutes Brewery‘s Chocolate Beer Dinner is a five-course meal of chocolate-themed dishes paired with specialty beers, taking place this Friday, February 8. Cost is $65 and there are still tickets available.
• Three Creeks Brewing is hosting its Beer & Dessert Pairing on Saturday the 9th, with four desserts paired appropriately with featured beers. $25 per person, call 541-549-1963 for reservations.

Ex Novo Brewing (Portland) has a new canned beer release today: “This afternoon we release Brier Brut at our Portland pub! Brier is a deliciously dry and quaffable Brut IPA packed with blackberries. Cans only today, draft coming soon!”

Sky High Brewing (Corvallis) has a new barrel-aged beer you’re going to want to try (I know I do): “Part of our Barrel-Aged brew series, we combined a wort of Northwest grains with Denison Farm’s strawberries and a white wine yeast. We then soaked and aged them for over a year in a Spindrift Cellars Winery’s Pinot Noir barrel to create this tart, refreshingly light treat that is well worth the wait!”