Happy Friday! I hear there’s a big game of some kind this weekend; hopefully this Oregon beer news roundup will help you get squared away for drinks from the “new beers list” item below. Otherwise it’s the end-of-week roundup of various news and happenings from around the state—enjoy!

Cascade Brewing announces two February releases

Portland’s Cascade Brewing announced today the release of two new beers for February: Cosmosaic and Blueberry 2020. Cosmosaic is entirely new, and Blueberry is the recent vintage. Details from the press release:

Cosmosaic features sour blond ale aged in oak barrels for up to 10 months followed by a late addition of Mosaic hops, bringing hoppy harmony to the cosmic complexity of sour beer. The sessionable ale, which comes in at 4.4% ABV, is packaged in 12-ounce cans.

Blueberry features a blend of sour triple and blond ales aged in Pinot Noir barrels for up to two years with fresh blueberries proudly grown in Oregon’s bountiful Willamette Valley. As one of the United States’ top blueberry producers, Oregon is home to some of the best blueberries grown anywhere in the world. Cascade worked directly with local growers to select the finest, most ripe fruit of the season. Blueberry is available in 250ml slim cans, in 500ml glass bottles and in draft kegs. The beer ranges between 7.8% and 8.3% ABV, depending on packaging.

Rev Nat’s New Moon Mandarin cider returns

Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider is bringing back its New Moon Mandarin cider for the new year.

Seize the advent of The Great Spring God with this heirloom apple, mandarin orange, and chamomile cider. This cider celebrates the new year and offers hope for new opportunities. Available now in a two-pack of 500 ml (16.9oz) bottles at http://shop.revnats.com.

The cider was inspired by a trip to the Tien Shan mountains in Northwest China; this story is fun:

On an overland to the Tien Shan mountains in Northwest China, I checked into in a hostel along the Xingzi River. Having lost my diary a week before during a sudden retreat from a bar, I was unaware of the impending New Year’s celebration. Never one to miss a party, I proceeded to nocturnal wandering and firecracker watching, passing decorated doorways draped in red. I became hopelessly lost as the invisible New Moon rose in the small hours, but awoke at dawn on a snug park bench to find that a reveler had left, atop my satchel at my head, a red envelope containing six gold coins and one radiant Mandarin orange.

New beers list — stock up for the weekend!

Here’s the roundup of new beers being posted:

• Draper Brewing (Tenmile/Roseburg): A single keg of Chateau Lenhart is being tapped: “(Friday Feb 5) we’ll be bringing a new favorite on tap for a limited time! Chateau Lenhart is a wild ale, made with estate-grown Plums and Blackberries, hand-picked by your favorite brewer.” It’s still available in bottles as well if you miss the draft version.
• Oakshire Brewing (Eugene): Planning ahead, the brewery’s Tropicana Cookies Smoothie Sour Ale will be coming out on Saturday, February 13, with presales opening Tuesday the 9th. “A uniquely dank collaboration with local farm, Focus North Gardens!⁠ Tropicana Cookies Smoothie Sour Ale is named and inspired by one of @focusnorthgardens most superbly heady strains – purple in color, with hints of citrus, spice, and shortbread cookies!⁠ Tangerine / Cara Cara Orange / Blackberry / Cinnamon / Girl Scout Cookies / Marshmallow Creme / Vanilla – 5% ABV”
• Bine Valley Brewing (Salem): The next Real Joosy limited release is available for preorder. “This week we are stuffing stupid amounts of White Peach, Strawberry, and Passion Fruit into our lightly tart base. Don’t miss out!”
• Binary Brewing (Portland): Two new cans out today: “Friday never looked so good! Two new cans hitting the shelves so snag the first batch of HTTPale & Ducking Autocorrect today!”
• Modern Times Beer (Portland): Presale on Forbidden Chants: Peach Berry Punch starts Saturday: “PRESALE BEER! Forbidden Chants: Peach Berry Punch is the newest iteration in our series of tropically-influenced Berliner Weisses. We added gobs & gobs of raspberries, peaches, cranberries, and tangerines, whose delightful fruit profiles are masterfully balanced by heaps of decadent coconut & vanilla, yielding a surpassingly sippable beverage. While your physical person may be landlocked for the time being, your taste buds can board this flight to their very own private island. This unmitigated 7.5% fruit-frenzy will be in the online special release presale this Saturday at 10AM.”
• Culmination Brewing (Portland): Weehawk, a kveik-fermented pale ale: “Weehawk is a continuation of our explorations of brewing classic styles with a modern twist. We brewed what would have been a straight forward American Pale Ale featuring Cascade and Loral hops but instead fermented it with Norwegian kveik (yeast) from the Gjernes farmstead. The resulting 5.5% ABV Pale Ale has tons of orange and tangerine notes with subtle floral spice that’s pleasantly balanced by its soft and light malt.”
• Worthy Brewing (Bend): Terpelicious (guava hazy IPA): “Terpene (noun) – Any of a large group of volatile unsaturated hydrocarbons found in the essential oils of plants, especially hops. Also known as, a oneway ticket to Flavortown. This beer bursts with tropical flavors and aroma! With the addition of guava and a hop concotion designed to burst with aromas of citrus and tropical deliciousness.” 6.8% ABV, 40 IBUs.
• Fort George Brewery (Astoria): A new Stout Month brew on tap! “Alert all commands: “May The Oats Be With You” is on draft! This Stout Month brew features a fabled full body oatmeal stout that balances the force of roasted malts, spiced earthiness and enabling even more darkness to flow through than ever before.”

Brewpublic reports that Bailey’s Taproom’s closure is permanent

Sad news from Bailey’s Taproom in Portland, as Brewpublic reports that its closure (along with The Upper Lip upstairs) is now permanent:

When Bailey’s Taproom shut its doors back in September 2020, there was a glimmer of hope that they would eventually reopen when the pandemic was behind us. Well that is not the case as Bailey’s Taproom and its sister bar, The Upper Lip, will not reopen and will shutter for good.

Back in September, Geoff Phillips, owner of Bailey’s Taproom, told us, “I would hope that there will be a time in 2021 that people are comfortable being in a tight space with other people. But I’m not really that optimistic right now and don’t really see that happening next year. If that’s the case, Bailey’s is unlikely to reopen.” Now we know which scenario unfortunately prevailed.