Happy Fat Tuesday—also known as Mardi Gras! Here is the news in Oregon beer for Tuesday, the 12th of February. 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.

Portland Brewing (Portland) is taking advantage of Fat Tuesday to hold their relaunch party tonight from 5 to 9pm, featuring their new recipes (Rose Hip Gold, IPA, and Oyster Stout), live music, meet the brewer, raffle prizes starting at 7:30, and a commemorative tasting glass for $15 (which also nets you 3 beers and food pairings—otherwise the event is free). Should be an interesting evening and a nice first look at the new PBC recipes.

Full Sail Brewing (Hood River) has a new Brewer’s Share Experimental Beer being released, Mathias’s Main Ingredient Oatmeal Stout: “The beer was brewed by Chef Mathias Engblom to celebrate the brewing and culinary arts, and it just so happens that February is Stout Month. Main Ingredient pours with a thick creamy head and the color of dark chocolate. The oatmeal in this stout provides a full body on which to support the darker roast and caramel flavors. The beer has a smoothly rich, complex palate with notes of chocolate, toffee, and espresso. Northern Brewer hops provide a slightly spicy back note in this ale. 5.58% ABV 51 IBU.” They will have a pair of events to commemorate the release: one on Thursday at the Hood River pub, and the other next Tuesday the 19th at the Riverplace location in Portland. Check them out!

Silver Moon Brewing (Bend): This week’s Growler Power Hour selections are China Cat Black Lager and Snake Bite Porter. Their “GPH” consists of $6 growler fills on the selected beers on Tuesday and Wednesday from 4 to 6pm.

Double Mountain Brewery (Hood River) has a new beer they’ve posted about: “Red War Strong Belgian-Style Red Ale. 8.4% 30BU” which makes me think of other color-based names they often favor (Killer Green, Killer Red, Black Irish, etc.). Regardless this looks like a tasty pour.

Buckman Botanical Brewery (Portland): They have a new Apple Beer in the works that they posted about today: “Another batch of Buckman Botanical Brewery’s Apple-Beer is on it’s way. We are pressing the apples this week. Stop by today at 4pm and check it out – we are giving a tour of the nano brewsystem. Afterwards enjoy a Buckman beer from one of the over 50 taps at PDX Green Dragon.” (Buckman is the nanobrewery located inside the Green Dragon.) Sounds intriguing and based on the picture they posted it looks like it could be more than a little cider-like.

Rusty Truck Brewing (Lincoln City) has some very cool news: they won the 2nd place People’s Choice Award for best beer at this past weekend’s KLCC Microbrew Festival! That’s quite an honor considering there were over 50 breweries vying for such a slot. Their winning beer was their Cherry Chocoholic Baltic Porter, which is described as: “Hulless black barley, dark caramel malt, honey malt and a touch of smoked malt. Aged on natural chocolate and 90 pounds of hand pressed sweet black cherries per 10 barrel batch. It has big cocoa aromas and flavor, balanced by sweet black cherry favor and finish.”

Cascade Brewing (Portland): Their Tap It Tuesday tonight at 6pm at the Barrel House is featuring “Live” Chocolate Cherry Casanova: “This lightly soured barrel aged beer was aged 80+ days in a Heaven Hill Bourbon barrel on organic cocoa nibs and organic black mission figs, then blended with spiced cherry beer – just for  Valentine’s Day. Aromas of dark sweet chocolate and cherries are the first to be noticed. Flavors of dark Belgian chocolate, sweet Bourbon and cherries dance on the palate, then lead to a silky chocolate and cherry finish. This one has “Be Mine” written all over it! 7.2% ABV, 20 IBUs, $7 glass, $2.50 taster.”

And, Cascade also posted an update on a type of beer that’s near and dear to my heart, pumpkin! “Today, we finished roasting the last of 500 lbs of white & orange Cinderella pumpkins for Pumpkin Smash, a NW Style Sour Olde Ale aged in rum barrels, to be released later this fall on draft AND in bottles!” That will be something I will look forward to!