Oregon Beer News, 02/05/2016
Happy Friday—and Super Bowl weekend! It’s the first Friday of February, and in addition to the Oregon beer news today I’m also hosting this month’s edition of The Session, so if you’re a blogger, social media-er, or whatever else, feel free to participate! And 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.
This weekend the Salem Winter Brewfest continues in Salem, as does Worthy Brewing‘s 3rd anniversary celebration in Bend, celebrating with their annual release of Go Time Extra Pale (GTX). Both of these run through Saturday the 6th so you’ve got a bit of time to do either if you can’t make it on Friday.
All weekend, Saturday and Sunday the 6th and 7th, Portland’s Saraveza is riffing on the Super Bowl with their Super Barrel event—pouring special barrel-aged beers! “For it’s triumphant return, the 2nd annual Super Barrel fest will be held in Saraveza during normal business hours. Unlike some of our other fests, there isn’t an entry fee, wristband, drink tickets or special glassware, just some of the best barrel-aged beers we can get our hands on. We will be offering all of the featured barrel aged beers in 5oz pours only!”
GoodLife Brewing (Bend) wraps up their release tour of their new Brewshed® Session Ale tonight (Friday) back in Bend, with the release party at downtown Bend’s Velvet Lounge during the First Friday Art Walk. “GoodLife Brewing will be donating 1% of all sales to the Brewshed® Alliance, split between to the two nonprofits. The beer will be available February through June, so buy a beer and support conservation for those four months! We’ll be giving out Brewshed® Session Ale shirts throughout the night and raffling off other GoodLife swag, so we’ll see you there!” GoodLife will be at Velvet from 7 to 9pm.
Block 15 Brewery‘s Bourbon Month continues in Corvallis, with several events this weekend that will pique your interest:
- Friday at Les Caves (their downtown beer bar next door to the main pub), they are featuring “Barrel” (like “Cher” or “Adele”?) which is “A celebration of barrel-aged beers, bottled and draft.” I expect they’ll have some real nice beers available.
- Saturday the 6th, they are having a bottle release at their Tap Room, featuring four different beers: Super Nebula (6 bottle limit), Breakfast with the Buffalo (2 bottle limit), Sweet Sassy Molassy (3 bottle limit), and Kriek, a Four Summers Cuvee (3 bottle limit). Bottles are 500ml and range in price from $10 to $12 each.
McMenamins 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop (Portland) is holding one of their “Meet Your Maker” events Friday the 5th from 5 to 8pm, and featuring McMenamins Cider. The details are sparse on their main page but the Facebook event page says: “In honor of Cider Con hitting Portland this week come and meet our fantastic Cider makers and taste the new Pomegranate Cider before it hits the other locaitons. And for you Blackberry fans… shhhhh we still have some at the Bottle Shop so come and get it!”
Portland’s Raccoon Lodge has a release in their “Den” starting at 6:30pm Friday, featuring their 13th tap release, Cask Fermented Defroster: “We placed a batch of Defroster in a barrel pre-fermentation with a classic English yeast and allowed it to ferment to completion entirely in the oak cask. Initial aromas of oak and citrus are followed by vanilla and cream. The beer finishes smooth thanks to dry-hopping with traditional Goldings. Only one 11 gallon cask was produced, so supplies are very limited!”
Boring Brewing (Boring): Saturday they are apparently holding a Grand Opening event this Saturday from noon to 7pm: “Stop in and enter your name into a drawing for prizes. We will be giving away hats, shirts, silipints and our grand-prize drawing will be a free growler fill a month for 12 months. Stop in and get your Growlers and Crowlers for Superbowl “L”.”
Saturday the 6th, Bend’s original Growler Guys (on the eastside) is hosting RiverBend Brewing for a tap takeover from 5 to 7pm: “Come get all your favorite Riverbend Brewing beer for the big game! We will be playing games and giving away free stuff.”
Full Sail Brewing (Hood River): Their new Bourbon Barrel Aged Wheatwine Ale is available now, which was originally brewed in 2014 with a limited amount reserved for Wild Turkey Bourbon barrels. “Wheatwine is brewed with wheat and caramelized wheat malts and hopped with a blend of English and Northwest hops. Complex aromas of apricot, spice, and citrus lead to a smooth palate, blended with notes of caramel, marmalade, and green hop overtones. It pours a rich honey hue and opens up with complex aromas of barrel oak, vanilla and apricot. The spicy hop character has mellowed to accentuate flavors of vanilla, marmalade and dates. It finishes with a remarkable smoothness and a creamy mouthfeel.” It’s available in 22-ounce bottles.
Fort George Brewery (Astoria): Friday evening they will be at Portland’s The Hop & Vine for a Specialty Stout Night: “When Fort George tells us that February is STOUT MONTH, we listen! This Friday, we’ll be stepping away from the light and embracing the darkness. Join Us? On tap:
– “This Stout is Bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S” Cavatica Stout, through a randall with brandy-soaked oak chips, banana chips, vanilla bean, & housemade toffee. It’s Bananas Foster in a glass, nephew!
– “Viva la Stout”, a mexican chocolate stout with cinnamon.”
McMenamins Crystal Ballroom in Portland is hosting the Sabertooth Micro Fest this weekend, their psychedelic rock fest with a brewfest component—the Blasphemous Brew Fest. “Blasphemous Brew Fest is located in Lola’s Room during Sabertooth Micro Fest on Saturday and Sunday from 5-8 p.m. Blasphemous is open to the public ages 21+ and does not require a Sabertooth ticket for entry. 4 oz. tastings are available per token. Tokens are $2.50 each, 7 for $15 or 5 tokens with Commemorative Tin Sabertooth Pint for $20”