Happy Groundhog Day! Here in Central Oregon it’s cloudy with snow on the way—so that means an early spring, right? Here’s the Groundhog Day news for this Thursday, February 2. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day, so check back often. And if you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that updated as well.

The Salem Winter Brewfest continues today at the Capitol Mall in, er, Salem. Today’s hours are 4 to 10pm and admission is $10 which includes the souvenir glass and two taster tickets.

Belmont Station is hosting the bottle release party for Culmination Brewing‘s  2016 Peche from 5 to 7pm tonight: “Join us and the fine folks from Culmination brewing for a evening of peachy fun. We will have bottles of their brand new Peche for sale in the Bottle Shop as well as on draft in the Taproom. We will also have their new Elation Imperial IPA available in the Taproom as well.” About the beer, Culmination says, “This beer is a Flanders style blonde with peaches and is rich in flavors of Oak, Peach, Tropical Fruit Esters, & has a Mild Brett Funk. It is 6.5% ABV and comes in 500ml bottles. This beer is the third beer to come out of our foeder and we used 900 pounds of peaches from local farmers to create this delicious offering.”

Beaverton’s Uptown Market is hosting Coalition Brewing today for a beer tasting from 5:30 to 8:30pm: “Come on in and taste some great Coalition brews! On tap we will have Coalition’s Bit House Wheat, Dropping Science DIPA, as well as the infamous Two Flowers CBD beer. Come have a pint and relax.”

The Bier Stein (Eugene): As part of their STOUTbierzeit (Stout Month celebration) they are hosting a Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin vertical tasting today, all day long: “We are jumping on the Stout Month train (more like a pirate ship…) and pulling some kegs from the depths of our cellar for weekly tappings throughout the month. The first flight on Feb. 2 will consist of four years of Firestone Walker’s Velvet Merkin, 2013-2016. It is a Bourbon barrel-aged imperial oatmeal stout.”

Bend’s Platypus Pub is hosting New Belgium Brewing for a beer tasting today from 6 to 8pm: “Ryan Stahl from New Belgium will be here Thursday night for a tasting. We will have Citradelic, Clutch and Voodoo Ranger on tap and for samples.”

Uptown Market also posted about a new beer release to come out of their brewery: Barrowlands Cascadian Dark Ale. “Brewed for Portland’s self-dubbed Cascadian Black Metal band Barrowlands this dark ale appropriately boasts aggressive hopping from start to finish. Decidedly roasty characters are present but not overbearing as the hops come out to display an excellent bitterness, aroma, and flavor. We set out to make this beer really bitter so imbiber beware that it’s a real palate mosh pit.” It’s 6.3% abv and 78 IBUs.

Widmer Brother Brewing (Portland) has a special Groundhog Day Pro/Am tap takeover for you just for today: “We’re tapping 6 brews that were part of a company-wide Pro/Am competition between teams at Widmer Brothers, Redhook, and Kona Brewing Co. Amateurs from the office and brewpubs teamed up with pro brewers to come up with some amazing, innovative creations. These brews are available in very limited quantities, so taste them before they’re gone!” Hit the link to check out the beers.

Santiam Brewing (Salem): Today they were wax dipping a specialty Bluegrass Stout to be released this week: “This is being released on Friday – very limited numbers. 100% Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout. 10% abv and 59 IBU. You can call the tasting room and reserve your order while stocks last. Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels for 6 months. Dark, smooth, slightly roasty with complex nuances from the barrel aging.”