Happy Thursday! Here’s the news in Oregon beer for this pre-snowpocalypse afternoon (though snow is falling right now). As usual I’ll be updating this post through the rest of the day with the latest news as I find it, so check back often (hit that refresh button!). Cheers!

COVID: 10 Counties move out of “Extreme Risk” status

Starting Friday, February 12, ten Oregon counties are being moved out of the “Extreme Risk” COVID category, meaning that breweries and pubs can allow limited indoor dining once again. Morrow County move from Extreme to Moderate Risk (indoor capacity at 50%), and the other nine counties move to High Risk (25% indoor capacity). Those counties are Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Deschutes, Hood River, Klamath, Linn, Multnomah, and Washington. The full list is here.

New collaboration between Ecliptic and Chuckanut

Portland’s Ecliptic Brewing is teaming up with Chuckanut Brewery of Washington to brew a Vienna Lager for release in late March, in the brewery’s second Cosmic Collaboration of the year. Ecliptic brewmaster John Harris teamed up with Chuckanut owners Will and Mari Kemper to craft the beer. Details from the press release:

Ecliptic + Chuckanut Vienna Lager is brewed with Barke Vienna and Pilsner Malts, as well as traditional German hops. Hersbrucker hops offer floral and spicy aromas, while Saphir hops bring the citrus. The result is a crisp, copper-hued lager with aromas of light toast, balanced by some malt sweetness.

Ecliptic + Chuckanut Vienna Lager will be released in 16 ounce cans and draft throughout Ecliptic Brewing’s distribution network on March 24th.

Montavilla Brew Works celebrates Oregon’s birthday with new IPA

February 14 is not just Valentine’s Day, it’s also Oregon’s birthday; Oregon was admitted to the union in 1859 as the 33rd state. For the holiday, Portland’s Montavilla Brew Works teamed up with Heart in Oregon, “whose sticker featuring a green heart in the center of the state is ubiquitous in the Northwest,” to brew Lovin’ Oregon IPA. Details from the press release:

Lovin’ Oregon is a West Coast IPA brewed with pilsner and pale malts that support a medium-light body, easy drinkability and a dry finish. Falconer’s Flight hops impart tropical and fruity flavors while maintaining a restrained yet suitable bitterness. This IPA is dry hopped with Citra and Strata hops with aromas of grapefruit, lime, tropical fruit and dank herb. The beer comes in at 6.5% ABV.

“This collaboration between MBW and Heart in Oregon is what makes this job so rewarding,” said Michael Kora, MBW founder and head brewer. “We’ve always enjoyed partnering with other local businesses that share our vision of keeping things local, serving the community, and supporting each other in good times and bad. 2020 was an incredibly challenging year, particularly for small businesses like ours that had to pivot their business model to accommodate Covid-related safety protocols. It made sense to collaborate with Heart in Oregon, not only to celebrate Oregon’s 161st birthday but to celebrate surviving 2020 in the resilient state we live in.”

Oregon’s official birthday is February 14, but one-off IPA Lovin’ Oregon will be available starting today until supplies run out.

New beers from Boss Rambler

Bend’s Boss Rambler Beer Club has two new brews dropping today: Chill’r Super Fruited Berliner Weisse – Blue Horizon and Tropics Trip DDH HZY IPA.

CHILL’R SUPER FRUITED BERLINER WEISSE – BLUE HAWAIIAN: From the sandy beaches of Hawaii comes our second release in the CHILL’R series. Our play on the famed BLUE HAWAIIAN cocktail has copious amounts of PINEAPPLE + COCONUT CREAM + touch of BLUE CURACAO for an INSANELY TROPICAL TASTING and TURQUOISE-Y LOOKING vacation bevvy! Don’t miss out on this one! 5.0% abv

TROPICS TRIP DDH HZY IPA: If you know, you know.. and if you don’t, you’re missing out! It’s the return of our EVER POPULAR, CLUB FAVORITE HZY IPA and this might just be the JUICIEST yet. Come catch a wave of this TROPICAL FRUIT-Y flavor bomb. 7.5% abv

Fort George Oregon wildfire relief beer

Fort George Brewery in Astoria has a new beer born out of last summer’s wildfires that will help provide wildfire relief, on draft now:

The relief for the 2020 Oregon Wildfires is not over. Our friends Mecca Grade in Madras, OR contacted us with an awesome opportunity to use some of their exceptional pilsner malt that was affected by the smoke from last year’s wildfires. What better way to raise some funds than with a traditional German Rauch Helles? These beers are intriguingly complex, with both smoke character and a shockingly refreshing finish that lets you enjoy pint after pint. A portion of the proceeds from this beer will be donated to the Oregon Community Foundation and their efforts for Oregon wildfire relief.

This is the same batch of Mecca Grade smoky malt that Worthy Brewing recently used in its Peace and Salinity Lager.

New beers list

• Dirt Road Brewing (Corvallis): Blood Orange Sour. “A citrusy purée blended into our sour base with zero bitterness. ABV: 6%, IBU: 0”
• Great Notion Brewing (Portland): Mamut: “Laissez les bons temps rouler! We’re going wild in the spirit of Mardi Gras with Mamut, an imperial stout with marshmallows, chocolate, vanilla, brown sugar, and a hint of cinnamon. Toss some beads our way! Get the good times rolling a little early when Mamut drops on Friday at 9am on the app for pickup orders at all locations (pickup begins at noon), local PDX delivery, and shipping. (11.6% abv) $22/4pack”
• Beachcrest Brewing (Gleneden Beach): Bernie’s Mittens, dropping Friday the 12th: “The two big hitters of American beer styles, the American Lager and IPA meet in the middle and find a glorious common ground in Bernie’s Mittens India Pale Lager. A good beer for any occasion, wherever you, your parka, chair and hand-knitted mittens may find yourself.”