It’s the final Monday of January! With February just a week away it’s time to start looking ahead. As such, here’s the news in Oregon beer for this Monday the 25th; as usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news as I find it, so check back often. And if you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that posted as well.

Crux Fermentation Project (Bend): The latest in their new BEER’ducation Series takes place tonight at the brewpub starting at 4pm, featuring barrel-aged education taking place with [Banished] Doublecross vs. “regular” Doublecross: “Our very first barrel aged beer released was [BANISHED] Doublecross— which didn’t see the light of day until after spending a full year banished to pinot noir barrels. Barrel aging results in complex flavors reminiscent of dried fruit, vanilla and sherry. It’s unaged counterpart, Doublecross Strong Dark Belgian Ale, stands on its own as well. Brewed with Belgian malts, Belgian dark candi sugar, Oregon Sterling hops and Yakima Delta hops for flavors that are deceptively balanced. Discover the depths of what barrel aging achieves in this side-by-side comparison.”

Fort George Brewery (Astoria): Looking ahead one week, February is the start of Fort George’s annual Stout Month, their celebration and showcase of this dark roasty style. “Every Monday starting February 1st, new Fort George specialty stouts will be released at the pub. Grab a pint, fill a growler, or sample a blind stout taster tray. At least eight unique stouts will be on tap in every location at the brewery.” And of course the showcase event for the month is the Brewery’s Festival of Dark Arts, taking place on Saturday, February 13 this year. Tickets are $40 and there are still tickets available, so if you want to attend you need to jump right on that!

Also coming up on Saturday, February 23: Zwickelmania! This is the state-wide brewery “open house” when “breweries open their doors to the casual and hardcore beer fans” and offer tours, beer samples, meet-the-brewer events, and more. There are currently over 120 breweries on the books to participate, and it all takes place from 11am to 4pm that day—keep an eye on the Zwickelmania page to see the breakdown of participating breweries by region, and once again I’ll have Zwickel Bingo up and running!

Burnside Brewing (Portland): Their newest canned release is their Burnside IPA, which is on the shelves now—a big step as previously only their Couch Select Lager was canned (other beers are in bottles, of course). From the press release: “Burnside Brewing, who just celebrated their five year anniversary in December 2015, has optimized the recipe of their IPA for this new packaging and is selling the new grey and yellow cans (reflective of their brand’s identity), in select Safeway and Fred Meyers stores throughout the state. Burnside Brewing’s India Pale Ale begins with a complex specialty malt backbone, and then is thoroughly hopped with 6 varieties of the herbaceous perennial Burnside loves. Four separate hop inclusions in the kettle, plus additional dry hopping provides the notes of pine and citrus that shine throughout. Burnside IPA, as all Burnside Ales, is unfiltered.”

PFriem Family Brewers (Hood River): Pay attention—their Flanders Red is coming back next week! “We are excited to announce the return of pFriem Flanders Red! Friday Feb. 5th we’ll be releasing the beer on draft and in bottles. Just in case you forgot, our Flanders Red is aged in French oak barrels for 18-24 months!”

Breakside Brewery (Portland) has their big triple IPA back on tap: “Safeword Triple IPA has made it’s annual appearance on draft! once a year, we release this hoppy behemoth that used over 9 pounds of hops per barrel of beer, gets two separate dry hop additions, and clocks in at over 10% alcohol. you need to have a deeply masochistic streak to desire this much hoppiness in your beer, but the tropical, grapefruit and dank notes of some of our favorite hops make this a pleasure that is hard to refuse. just know when to say stop.”