It’s another snow day in southern, central, and eastern Oregon, but that doesn’t stop the beer (news)! Here it is for this Hump Day, Wednesday the 4th of January. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news, so check back often for updates. If you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that updated as well.

Portland’s Culmination Brewing will at Ridgewalker Brewing in Forest Grove this evening for a tap takeover from 5 to 9pm: “Culmination Brewing Company will be coming to Ridgewalker January 4th to share some of their amazing brews! We will be featuring several of Culmination’s beers and they will be here to answer questions, talk brew, and show off the beer!”

And for guest tap takeovers, Portland’s Great Notion Brewing is welcoming San Diego’s Abnormal Beer Company for an Abnormal tap takeover starting at 4pm today: “We’ve got some amazing ABNORMAL BEER CO kegs going on tap this night to celebrate the collabo we did with our good friends at Abnormal! Come and taste the following: Boss Pour IPA, Cherryweisse (Berlinerweiss with Cherries), New Money IPA, and Tummy Cuddles Chocolate Imperial Stout.”

Boardman’s Ordnance Brewing will be at Belmont Station tonight from 5 to 7pm for a beer tasting: “Born out of necessity. This Eastern Oregon brewery produces beer for people not fads, not trends, not corporate initiatives. For people, and because of this you can trust and count on their beer every time you pick up a bottle or draw a pint. They strive to produce distinct, honest beer in diverse styles that goes beyond being merely enjoyable to being damn enjoyable. So come by sample an wide array of honest to goodness beer in the Bottle Shop and enjoy a glass of their Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine in our Biercafe.”

The Green Dragon—or Rogue’s new East Pub, as they are now calling it—has their Green Dragon Brew Crew release tonight, featuring Dragonchlaüs (Doppelbock): “Dragonchlaüs is a special beer that represents significant benchmarks for the Green Dragon Brew Crew. With this release we raise a toast batch number 300 produced by the GDBC! Brewed just over a year ago on New Year’s Eve 2016 with every member of the Crew present, our desire to collectively produce a remarkable beer resulted in the massive Dopplebock-Helles that is Dragonchlaüs. The Crew packed 100 lbs. of premium German Pils, Vienna and light Munich malts into the mash tun. Judicious additions of Magnum and Hallertauer Mittelfrueh to provide balancing bitterness and noble hop spice. A special yeast strain of Swiss origin was selected for its ability to ferment at extremely high alcohol content.” This beer is an insane 14.1% abv! And it’s tapped at 5pm.

Wayfinder Beer (Portland) is hosting the release of four collaboration brews today from 5 to 7pm, all beers they brewed with other Portland breweries: Fathead’s Hookah Juice IIPA, Ecliptic Starfinder Witbier, Zoiglhaus GSD-IPA, and Widmer Spalt Assault Doppelsticke. “Swing down to the Wayfinder to taste our four latest collabs. Drink delicious beers and talk smack with the brewers behind them!” So it sounds like (at least some of) the brewers will be on hand too—check it out!

Plank Town Brewing (Springfield): Every first Wednesday of the month they are offering to “Get Tanked with the Brewers” — tastings and special events. Tonight’s event from 5 to 8pm is featuring the release of Unobtainium IV and a vertical tasting: “Join the brewers of Plank Town for a special tasting from the tanks,
barrels, and limited releases. Hear their stories and ask some questions. Taste something special. Wednesday, January 4th from 5-8PM: UNOBTAINIUM IV RELEASE AND VERTICAL TASTING. $10 – Vertical flight, glass of Unobtainium IV, and other special tastings”

Full Sail Brewing (Hood River): The latest beer in Full Sail’s Pub Series has a tropical theme: IPApaya IPA. They sent out a press release today about the beer: “IPApaya Papaya India Pale Ale, the latest in Full Sail’s Pub Series, blends locally grown hops with notes of papaya creating a well-balanced, refreshing IPA with a touch of the tropics. “We developed IPApaya to complement the tropical aromas found in Northwest hops with a subtle addition of papaya,” says Greg Doss, Full Sail’s Brewing Supervisor and the brains behind IPApaya. “After testing several hop varietals for this IPA we chose to showcase Equinox (aka Ekuanot) – a hop well known for imparting unique fruity notes of melon, citrus, berry, and papaya. And since this beer was all about hops and fruit, we kept the recipe light and simple using only pale and wheat malts.” Those malts, along with healthy additions of Equinox hops, provide the perfect golden base for the addition of papaya. Tropical aromas of citrus, passion fruit, and papaya are well complemented by clean malt notes.” The beer is 6.2% abv and 58 IBUs and will be seasonally available through March.