Welcome to 2016 and the first beer news post of the new year! I hope the holidays were great and you’re ready to get back at it! Here’s the news for first of the year; as usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news as I find it, so check back often. If you have news to share, please let me know and I can get that updated as well.

As I reported here last week, Bend’s Oblivion Brewing Brewpub is now closed; the brewpub was a joint partnership of the owners of Oblivion and Jon Sargent, who ran it day-to-day, and it was only this that closed—the brewery itself remains open with plans to expand. As for the space they occupied, another “similar business” will be opening up in there, which I’ll announce when official.

Also in Bend, the Platypus Pub and Brew Shop will have to find a new location: the owner of the building is looking to demolish it and put in a “modern” retail box store/outlet. (I have an opinion on that here.) The owners of the homebrew shop and pub have a bit over a year left on their lease, but as it stands now will need to be out by February 2017. Hopefully all will turn out well in the end, definitely a store I’ll be keeping an eye on.

Ordnance Brewing (Boardman): Their email newsletter issued today outlines big plans for this relatively new brewery for 2016: “After a year and a half of self distribution and steady sales growth, Ordnance Brewing has begun expansion of its brewery located just off I-84 in Boardman Oregon. The expansion moves them from a 7 barrel system to a 4 vessel 50 barrel system raising annual production potential to more than 50,000 barrels annually. The increase in production sets the platform for expanding distribution and support of four core beers in six packs as well as a rotating set of limited edition brews in bottles by Spring of 2016.” No mention of being picked up by a distributor but if they grow as expected I would think we’d see that happening soon.

Ecliptic Brewing (Portland): Coming up this month, on the 16th, Ecliptic will be releasing their Barrel-Aged Oort Imperial Stout for the first time, alongside the “regular” Oort Imperial Stout. “This beer has been slumbering for fifteen months in 12-year-old bourbon barrels, imparting flavors of bitter chocolate, oak, and vanilla. It drinks especially chocolatey, with some heat from the barrel.” The beers will be tapped at noon, and they will have a limited supply of bottles for sale. Plan accordingly!

McMenamins Old St. Francis School (Bend): Coming up on Saturday, January 16, their third annual High Gravity Extravaganza takes place with more that 20 breweries pouring strong beers from 1 to 10pm! “Huddle around the four blazing fire pits while tasting high-gravity, big, bold ales-and new this year, local ciders. We’ll have live music from 3 p.m. ‘til 10 p.m., which will include Sophistifunk as headliner. Brewers will be on hand to chat with as their beer samples are poured. This brewfest will feature more than 20 beers, some from McMenamins breweries and many from local breweries, all of them to offer cold comfort in the dry desert winter.” This features a great mix of Central Oregon breweries as well as a number of McMenamins breweries, and many brewers will be on hand from 1 to 4pm for a Meet the Brewers portion. Definitely a Bend event to check out!