Happy Hump Day! We’re exactly one week away from Halloween so I hope you’re planning your beer and events accordingly. I’m not tracking Halloween-specific events unless they are directly beer related, but they are not hard to find either. In the meantime, here is the news for this Wednesday, October 24, and I will be continuing to update this post throughout the day with the latest news.

McMenamins Cornelius Pass Roadhouse (Hillsboro) is hosting its monthly limited-edition beer tasting today from 6 to 9pm, featuring four beers to try: Amarillo IPA, Billy’s Barreled Black Widow, Black Barrel, and Whiskey Peach Double IPA. Aside from the Amarillo IPA, the latter three beers were all finished or aged in Billy Whiskey barrels—from the CPR’s house-distilled whiskey. Swing by and try all four.

Belmont Station (Portland) is hosting Modern Times for a Devil’s Night Pumpkin Carving night today starting at 6pm: “Bring your own pumpkin (BYOP) for an evening of gourd carving, decorating and great beer with Modern Times! For the occasion, and to inspire you with your pumpkin creations, we will be pouring three Devil’s Teeth Strong Ale variants:
– Bourbon Barrel-Aged Devil’s Teeth with Macadamia Nuts, Coconut & Cocoa
– Bourbon Barrel-Aged Devil’s Teeth with NOLA Coffee & Almonds on Nitro
– Bourbon Barrel-Aged Devil’s Teeth with Hazelnut, Vanilla & Coffee
You can take your carved/decorated pumpkin home or leave it on display at Belmont Station for all to see. The winning pumpkin carver gets a special tour of the Modern Times brewery! Now that’s something to go out of your gourd over!”

The Bier Stein (Eugene) is hosting “Curmudgeon’s Better Half Gameshow” with Founders Brewing tonight starting at 6pm: “How well do you know your better half? (best mate, acquaintance, or stranger across the bar). Founder’s Brewing is hosting the Better Half Game Show on Wednesday, October 24th to celebrate the release of their English Old Ale – Curmudgeon’s Better Half. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will be awarded with brewery swag & all contestants will receive a pint glass and a raffle ticket. Throughout the night, everyone is welcome to enter into the raffle for a Founder’s brewing BBQ set! The winner of the BBQ will be drawn at 8pm and you must be present to win.”

Deschutes Brewery has just tapped The Dissident today! “Today we release our 2018 Dissident, along with variance Marionberry Dissident and 100% Brett Dissident. We are also featuring today a Dissident tasting tray including Dissident 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, Marionberry, and 100% Brett. Come get your sample trays, bottles, and a great meal today only at the pub!”

And Bend’s Boneyard Beer is prepping a fruited sour of its own: “Brewer Bill is racking out our newest beer: STICKY ZWICKEL. Sticky Zwickel is a kettle sour with raspberries & boysenberries that comes in at 4.5% ABV and is bursting with mixed berry goodness. Find in on draft at Boneyard Pub soon!”

OregonLive is reporting that Portland’s Alameda Brewing is closing its Alameda Brewhouse in NE Portland! From the article: “Alameda Brewhouse, a Northeast Portland brewpub that dates back to the early days of Portland’s craft brew scene, is closing Nov. 3, owner Matt Schumacher confirmed Wednesday morning.
The restaurant, in the 4700 block of Northeast Fremont Street, has been a neighborhood fixture since opening in 1996. The Belmont Neighborhood Association announced the closure Tuesday morning.
Schumacher, reached by phone, said legal reasons prevented him from commenting on why the restaurant was closing, but he said he and his staff of 20 employees were devastated.
Schumacher said Alameda Brewing, the pub’s brewery, will continue to operate for a short period, but he couldn’t say when it would close. The brewery has operated a 5-barrel brewhouse in the Beaumont Village pub but done most of its brewing in a 20-barrel facility in Southeast Portland.” This a pretty surprising closure, from where I’m sitting.

The Thirsty Monk in Portland (formerly Bazi Bierbrasserie) has a new hazy IPA out: “Introducing Hazy Monk IPA! There’s a whole lot of flavor lurking in the haze of this Northeast-style IPA. Dry hopped with over 7lb per barrel of Citra, Mosaic and Citra cryo hops to create a juice bomb IPA, pungent and ripe with aromas of tropical and stone fruits. Flavors indulge in fresh, citrus, grapefruit, and ripe mango. Malted oats add a creaminess to the body, and it finishes with a juicy squeeze!”