TGIF! I hope you’re looking forward to having a fun and beer-filled weekend! Here’s the Oregon beer news for that weekend. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news, so check back often. If you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that posted as well.

McMenamins Old St. Francis School (Bend): Tomorrow, Saturday the 17th, is OSF’s High Gravity Extravaganza kicking off at 1pm, for which I wrote a detailed post last night. Read up on the details and get to Bend for this if you can—it’s going to be a great event not to be missed!

Breakside Brewery (Portland) is doing a tap takeover today at Beaverton’s Uptown Market, starting at 5pm: “This Friday, get ready for a tap takeover of epic proportions. We will be debuting Breakside’s Salted Caramel Stout on tap, alongside 4 other taps of Breakside new and special brews, including: Wanderlust IPA, EuroTrash IPL, La Tormenta Dry Hopped Sour, & Amuse Belgian-Style Ale. This is gonna be awesome.”

McMenamins Bagdad Theater (Portland) has a special beer tasting today starting at 5pm featuring Saison Noir, the 6.58% beer that debuted at the Edgefield last week: “Saison is a Belgian ale style that is traditionally brewed to be light, refreshing and spiced. This is a darker and richer version to celebrate the black nights and the cold afternoons. Gather inside with friends and family around a warm fire with a cold pint. Cheers!” Enjoy a pint with a movie!

Culmination Brewing (Portland): Tomorrow is their Taproom Opening Party starting at 6pm: “We will have three beers on tap – Culmination Brewing Company 4 & 20, The Commons Brewery Ciel de Gris, and Cider Riot Never Give an Inch Oregon Blackberry Cider. We are also offering a limited number of Party Package tickets for $20.00 This package includes a 13 oz. Culmination branded tulip glass, one beer of your choice to go into that glass, and a maple smoked pork BBQ sandwich plate from the Vermont BBQ Food Cart.” If you want to check out one of Portland’s newest breweries, head over there tomorrow evening.

Claim 52 Brewing (Eugene): Today they are celebrating the release party for their newest bottled beer, Olivia 9, from 4 to 9pm at their brewery: “2014 Bourbon Aged Olivia 9 are ready to drink! The first in a series of 4 barrel-aged beers willl be available for purchase at the taproom on Friday the 16th. Olivia 9 has been patiently waiting for over eight months in bourbon barrels. Stop in and grab your very own before they are all gone!”

Mt. Hood Brewing (Government Camp): Beer news from the lesser-publicized brewery up near the base of Mount Hood: “Greetings! For a very limited time, we have brought back the Night Climber, Dark IPA on our CASK TAP! This one was held over from June of last year, and it is smooooth! I also caught wind this morning that The Old Battle Axe Barley Wine will be on tap any moment now. This old gal has been aged for 18 months and is sure to be well worth the wait!”

And speaking of beer releases, today is apparently the release for McMenamins seasonal Sleep Hollow Nut Brown: “Today we release our Winter Seasonal Ale: Sleepy Hollow Nut Brown. You’ll know it by its chestnut color, which goes down smooth with a hint of toffee lingering on the palate. Cheers!” This used to be the fall/Halloween-esque seasonal, interesting to see they’ve apparently moved it out with the increase in beers they’ve been brewing in recent years. At just over 5% abv, this one is a nice drinker.

Upright Brewing (Portland) is again brewing up a popular beer: Oyster Stout! “We brewed a fresh batch of Oyster Stout this week! The good news is look for ultra fresh and oily version this year but it will be draft only in 2015.” Sad to not see it in bottles this year, it is definitely one of the more interesting stouts I’ve had in recent years as they use all aspects of the oyster—the meat, the liquor and the shells. Worth seeking out.