Friday already, and there’s beer on the horizon! I would have had this post published much sooner, but apparently the web host I use for this site was having maintenance issues today. But, here’s today’s news in beer from around Oregon, for this January 8. This post will be updated throughout the afternoon with the latest news as I find it, so check back occasionally.

New beer from Cascade Brewing

Portland’s Cascade Brewing announced the release of Contemporary Fashion, a sour quad ale aged in Bourbon barrels with bitters from Portland Bitters Project. This cocktail-inspired beer is available in 250ml slim cans as well as on draft.

Contemporary Fashion features sour quad ale aged in Bourbon barrels for up to two years with orange peel, then infused with aromatic bitters made by Portland Bitters Project. A tribute to the Old Fashioned cocktail, this sour beer interpretation captures notes of bourbon and fresh orange peel with a complex botanical bouquet and a soft malt sweetness. The beer is 12.2% abv.

Sip Magazine winter beer recommendations

Sip Magazine offers up six winter beers to drink now, a roundup of beers from Oregon and Washington worth checking out. It’s a nice roundup and includes Farm Quad from Ferment Brewing in Hood River, Orange Giant Pineapple Upside Down Cake from Ecliptic Brewing, Strata Strata Strata from Breakside Brewing, and Tough Love from Bend’s Crux Fermentation Project.

Sunriver Brewing announces new Barrel Aged Beer series

I reported earlier this morning on the new Barrel Aged Beer series from Sunriver Brewing; the first two beers in the series are out now, Bourbon Barrel Ale and Mexican Mocha Stout, with more on the horizon. Full release here.

Portland Brewing… closes?

Mere minutes after hitting “publish” on this blog post, Portland Brewing Company posted on Facebook this message:

It has been an amazing journey helping to shape the Portland craft beer scene! Over 34 years, we have made lots of interesting and creative beers that showcase the heart and soul of our brewers. We have had the privilege to work with many great people…and we’ve served plenty of thirsty and loyal beer drinkers. So, it is with a heavy heart that we will permanently close our Portland brewery doors in early February.
Thank you to all those who have supported Portland Brewing Co. and been with us for so long.

More details pending, obviously, so it’s unclear if this was in the works for awhile, or if covid had bearing on the decision.

Block 15 outdoor dining expansion, new ordering system

Corvallis’ Block 15 Brewing revealed that it has expanded its outdoor seating capacity at both the Pub and Tasting Room locations, and has added a new online ordering system. Some details from the email newsletter:

We’ve utilized portions of the parking zones to allow for us to add more tables—each outdoor space is situated with heaters and protection from the rain. [Still a max group size of 6 people from 2 households.]

You may have noticed already, our team had been hard at work for the last month implementing a new online and in-house ordering system, now through TOAST. We’re really excited about it, and think you’ll enjoy the easy-to-use system too! You can check it out and place an order for either location, accessible through our website at block15.com or via the TOAST app.

Calapooia Brewing now offering cans to go

Calapooia Brewing of Albany has exciting news with its new cans available to go:

We have canned our newly designed/released brews including our famous Paddle Me IPA, Calapooia’s first Hazy IPA, and our newest brew our Black Bog Sour!

Come on down to the Pub and pick up a pack of each while supplies last!!!

16oz 4packs are $13 or 1 can for $3.25

You might recall, if you read the New School’s story on Dave Marliave and his New Spring Brewing, that he is sharing the brewing space with Calapooia and also has cans imminently hitting the market, so my guess is that Calapooia is already reaping benefits from that partnership.

Beer swag for charity with Old Standby Brewing

Did you know you can buy swag from Old Standby Brewing online, and the proceeds are donated to a monthly charity? I didn’t either but it’s a great program from the Salem brewery that raised $10,530 in 2020. January’s charity is Marion Polk Food Share, so if you can, visit the website and buy something!

Fort George Brewery is releasing… wait for it… this year’s 3-Way IPA on Saturday

Beta versions, that is! The Astoria-based Fort George is partnering with Moonraker Brewing of  California and Varietal Beer of Washington for the 2021 release of 3-Way, and will release Beta 24 and Beta 24.1 on Saturday the 9th.

Though we could not get together in person for our traditional recipe building, team building, bonding and drinking hang, we did what everyone else is doing: Zooming and Drinking! We sent each other our favorite hop-forward beers and over two days and many hours, put together our initial recipe for another great 3-Way IPA. We’re getting at it early so we can really dial in this recipe. The first two batches utilize locally malted grains from Linc, Mecca Grade, and Great Western, and an exciting new hop variety from New Zealand called Nectaron.
Initial hop bill is: Nectaron, Strata, Comet and Simcoe. Now for the question you’re all asking. Is it Hazy? Ya. It’s hazy.

New canned beer from Beachcrest Brewing

The coast’s Beachcrest Brewing is introducing its number one selling beer, Siletz Bay Hazy IPA into cans to go, starting Saturday the 9th.

The people have spoken and asked for cans of the taproom favorite and we have listened. Citrusy, tropical notes from Citra, Mosiac, and Eldorado hops create a hop-forward brew perfect for any coastal adventure. Grab a four-pack to take with you next time you visit the brewery.

New beers from West Coast Grocery, Crux

Both West Coast Grocery and Crux Fermentation Project have new beers out in time for the weekend. WCG is offering up Goodnight Soon Triple IPA: “Coming in at 10.7% abv and 65 ibus this is the biggest beer we’ve brewed thus far at WCG. This beer highlights the unique flavors and aromas of Cryo-Simcoe & NZ Moutere hops and drinks as smooth as it’s abv is strong.”

Crux, meanwhile, released Bushy Park IPA in cans:

Sip on some history with our latest IPA featuring Vic Secret and Galaxy hops sourced from Tasmania’s Bushy Park Estates, the birthplace of Australian hops. They’ve been harvesting hops here for over 150 years, and we’d like to think you can taste the tradition in this modern IPA packed with distinctive flavors of passion fruit and pineapple along with a pinch of pine. 6.2% ABV, 50 IBUs