Happy Friday! We have an eventful weekend in store, celebrating both Easter on Sunday and Earth Day over the weekend (though Earth Day officially takes place on Monday). And of course, 4/20 which doesn’t pass without associated dank and snackworthy celebrations. What are your plans for the weekend? Maybe the beer news can help!

As usual I’ll be updating this post throughout the day on Friday with the latest news, so check back for updates. And feel free to contact me with any news or info and I can get that added as well.

Friday, April 19

Pelican Brewing (Pacific City) and Portland’s Elephants Delicatessen are hosting their 1979 Pale Ale release party Friday from 4 to 7pm: “In celebration of our 40th anniversary, we are excited to announce our 1979 Pale Ale! With help from the amazing team at Pelican Brewing, we have joined forces to create a brand new brew. Stop by Elephants on April 19th to help us celebrate our birthday. We’ll supply the beer and snacks. And did we mention T-shirt giveaways and other great beer gear?”

Belmont Station (Portland) is hosting Little Beast Brewing for a beer tasting from 5 to 8pm: “The good folks of Little Beast will be on hand to sample you on some of their Belgian inspired ales. They will be pouring free samples of: Wolf Camp – Hoppy Saison; Hot Break – Dry-Hopped Sour Ale; Wild Island – Hazy Double IPA w/ Brett; Bes – Tart Wheat Ale; and Fera – Brett Saison. We will likely have a special something on draft in the Biercafe so keep an eye on this event list and our up to date draft list.”

Portland Cider Company is kicking off the 4-year birthday party for its Cider House on Hawthorne on Friday, which will run through the weekend: “Portland Cider House turns 4! We’re celebrating with 4 cider-filled days of fun and special tappings, partnering with our local NW cidery friends to bring you some amazing limited release ciders. We pride ourselves on providing cider lovers the opportunity to taste the very best of what the craft cider industry has to offer. We will be featuring unique and delicious ciders you can’t get anywhere else! — 4 NEW Ciders from Portland Cider Co.”

Bend’s Immersion Brewing is holding a Beer & Italian Cured Meat Pairing Friday starting at 6pm: “Chef Morrie is back at it again with another evening of pairings! This time Chef hand picked out a number of Italian cured meats to pair with our finest libations. Our head brewer will also be in the house to talk about the selected beers for the pairing. If you enjoyed our cheese pairing or if you didn’t get tickets before we sold out, you’ll want to jump on this right away! We are looking forward to another evening of full bellies and humbled tastebuds! Tickets $20”

Beachcrest Brewing (Gleneden Beach) is releasing a new beer Friday at 2pm, a small batch Mango Milkshake IPA: “Our Mango Milkshake IPA was a fun experimental modification of our crowd-pleasing Siletz Bay Hazy IPA. Huge hop flavor and aroma combine with mango, vanilla bean and milk sugar to make a fruity, hoppy, creamy delight of a beer. It’s a little sweet, a little bitter, a little tart and a whole lot of yummy-in-your-tummy. This was a one-off experiment, and it’s only available until the keg kicks, so come by and help us drink this celebration of mango-beer deliciousness.”

Rosenstadt Brewery (Portland) has a beer release of its Weißbier at Olympia Provisions starting at 6:30pm: “Come join us and be the first to try our traditional Bavarian Hefeweizen of the season and meet the Rosenstadt Brewers. Weißbier: A wheat beer how they make it in Bavaria. Yeast-forward aromas of banana and clove are joined by delicate, spicy hops in an effervescent, full bodied, deep golden Bavarian wheat ale. 14° Plato; 5.3% ABV; 18 IBU”

Saturday, April 20

The 6th annual Hood River Hard-Pressed Cider Fest takes place Saturday starting at noon: “The Hood River Hard-Pressed Cider Fest gives seasoned and novice cider drinkers alike the chance to sample cider from Hood River County’s very own cider makers, as well as a variety of additional Northwest cideries. More than twenty-five cideries will be participating, with more than 50 ciders on tap. The daylong event also features a lineup of local music, and a kid’s activity area – guaranteeing a great time for the whole family. Spring showers aren’t a problem, as the tasting area takes place in a covered hall. FREE PARKING!” Cost is $15 if you pre-purchase, and $20 the day-of.

Stickmen Brewing (Lake Oswego) is hosting its Earth Day Brewfest and 5k Fun Run at its Tualatin Beer Hall on Saturday starting at 11am: “Participants walk, jog, or run approximately 3.1 miles, then drink beer! Everyone is invited to enjoy the day’s entertainment: live music, great food, giveaways and activities with partners and sponsors. Everyone receives a craft brew, $5 food voucher (good day of only at Stickmen), and collectors pint glass or seasonal swag item. 10% of our proceeds help support our nonprofit partners, the Oregon Brewshed Alliance, Dollar For Portland, and Life Vest Inside.”

Deschutes Brewery (Bend): Saturday the brewery is hosting its Sour Fest at both the Bend and Portland Pubs, featuring six different sour beers to drink (or sample with a taster tray), along with food specials. The beers are Marionberry Lavender Sour, Jalapeño Margarita Sour, Grapefruit Rose Sour, Thai Chile Sour, Light Brunch Sour, and Dark Cherry Sour. In addition, the Portland Pub is hosting a Boozy Brunch at 11am, while the Bend Pub is holding a Sour Fest class in the afternoon.

Worthy Brewing (Bend) is hosting an Earth Day celebration and can release party on Saturday: “Worthy is celebrating Earth Day by releasing its new cans, hosting live music by Precious Byrd & donating proceeds to The Environmental Center. There will be activities all afternoon into the early evening. We hope we get to see you there!” The fun starts at noon.

Also in Bend on Saturday, GoodLife Brewing is celebrating A Day for Curt: “Please join us at the brewery this Saturday for a celebration of what would have been Curt’s Birthday. The biergarten will be open and so will @bigskispierogi. Beers will be $3 for all pints with @backdropdistilling cocktail specials! The lawn games will be out, so come join us and remember one of our best friends.”

The BeerMongers (Portland) is embracing 4/20 with A Celebration of Dank & Smoke from 1 to 4pm Saturday, focusing on (naturally) smoked and dank beers (resinous IPAs presumably).

Meanwhile, both Belmont Station and The Bier Stein in Eugene are hosting releases of Lagunitas Brewing’s of The Waldos’ Special Ale, which if you know anything about Lagunitas then you know that The Waldos is an unofficial beer for the day. Naturally the beer will be tapped at both locations at 4:20 p.m.

Then Bend’s 10 Barrel Brewing has a 4/20 Concert & Dank Beer Release kicking off at… 5pm Saturday. “Dank Beer Series:  Featuring beers from our new Dank Beer Series. Base IPA’s infused with natural botanical Terpenes*. (Mimicking the flavor profile of marijuana strains OG Kush, Sour Diesel, And Durban Poison.) *no marijuana used First 100 people to visit Tokyo Starfish’s booth will receive a special gift.”

And Chetco Brewing in Brookings is celebrating its 6th anniversary and re-releasing its Willa Nelson IPA: “Can you believe it’s been 6 years since we hand-crafted our first beer?! Willa Nelson will be back on tap for a 4.20 celebration! Tiger and friends will spread the good love and peace message with Reggae & Grateful Dead vibes.”

Ninkasi Brewing (Eugene) is hosting Pints for a Cause with Gervais Salon to support McKenzie River Trust on Saturday: “Gervais Salon & Day Spa is bringing their Earth Month celebrations to Ninkasi on Saturday, April 20th with a very special edition of Pints for a Cause. As a special treat, the band Moonlight Jubilee will be performing between 3-5pm! Visit the MRT table between 1 to 5 pm to learn about protecting clean water and enter a raffle to raft the Willamette. See you at Ninaksi for great raffle prizes, local beer, and friends from McKenzie River Trust, Gervais, and Ninkasi!”

Hop Valley Brewing (Springfield) is holding its Stash Fest starting at 2pm: “The 2nd Annual Hop Valley Stash Fest is back for another year full of fun, food, live music, yard games and craft beer (duh). This is a FREE community event and is open to all ages. Stash Fest takes place at our Eugene location in the Whiteaker Neighborhood at: 990 W. 1st Ave.”

McMenamins is releasing Sabertooth Hazy IPA in cans on Saturday, with a chance to score music tickets for the Crystal Hotel: “On Saturday 4/20 we’re releasing Sabertooth Hazy IPA as part of the Sabertooth music and beer microfest at the Crystal Ballroom on May 4! Be one of the first to buy a 4-pack and you also will get a free pair of tickets to the Sabertooth beer tasting where beer and bands collide with eight bands teaming up with our breweries to make their own handcrafted ale.” Check the link for the list of locations you might score tickets.

Bend’s Boss Rambler Beer Club is celebrating the grand (re)opening of its taphouse location on Saturday. The company remodeled the former Aspect Boards & Brews location across the street from Sunriver Brewing’s Bend pub, and has been posting sneak peeks on its Facebook page.