Happy first day of Spring! Drink a Bock sometime this weekend. Here’s the news for the weekend of the 20th; as usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news, so check back often. And if you have news to share, please let me know and I can get that updated as well.

(Also, I am taking next week off (spring break!) so there will be some scheduled posts but no daily Oregon beer news.)

Belmont Station (Portland): Tomorrow, Saturday the 21st, they are hosting the bottle release party for their Belmont Black 18th Anniversary CDA brewed by Baker City’s Barley Brown’s Brewpub: “Join Barley Brown’s own Tyler Brown and the Belmont Station gang as we launch our 18th Anniversary beer, called Belmont Black. Tyler describes this special brew as having aromas of citrus, roast malt, and cedar/wood note. Flavor is “similar to Turmoil, but a little bigger. Some of the cedar/wood notes from Experimental Hop 427 comes pleasantly through. Bitterness is clean, and hangs out briefly before melting into a nice malty roast flavor. Lots of complexity!” Come pick up a few of these one-time-only bottles, and make sure to enjoy one on draft while chatting with Tyler!” Make sure to check this out between 2 and 4pm tomorrow.

Also tomorrow, McMenamins is celebrating the 29th “birthday” of their popular Ruby Ale across all of their locations! All day long enjoy: “$3 Pints of Ruby, $8 Growler fills of Ruby, $4.50 Ruby 22-oz. bottles to go, and $12.50 Ruby-Q Chicken Salad. We’ll also have Ruby-influenced food specials. Order a Ruby or the food special to get the just-for-fun Ruby Passport stamp.” And five locations are holding “Ruby’s 29th Birthday Discovery Hunt” to get extra-special passport stamps: “Collect all 5 stamps to get a Ruby’s keepsake and get entered into a drawing for a Ruby’s Spa package!” It’s a good day for Ruby lovers, so be sure to stop by a McMenamins near you and enjoy.

Homebrewers! Today is the deadline to submit your beer to Fort George Brewery for their annual Homebrewer’s Dinner. “Samples are due Friday, March 20th – deliver two bottles of each variety to Hop-N-Grape in Longview, F.H. Steinbart’s in Portland, or Fort George Brewery in Astoria. Selected beers will be chosen and paired with one of five-courses at the Fort George Homebrewer’s Dinner on April 22nd. Chosen homebrewers will receive an honored seat at the table. Always one of the most enjoyable brewer’s dinners of the year.” I love this idea and if I lived nearby I would totally get in on this!

McMenamins Bagdad Theater & Pub (Portland) has their “Reel Beer Series” today starting at 5pm, featuring the specialty beer brewed up at their Edgefield brewery that debuted the week before. Today it’s Time- Out ESB, a 4.64% abv quaffer: “ESB, or Extra Special Bitter, style beers are a nod to a day before the IPA, when a mildly hopped beer in the public house was just a ‘bitter.’ This mild and approachable ale was brewed for those pub-going souls who find a little break with a cold beer to be one of the best parts of the day.”

The BeerMongers (Portland) is hosting a Firestone Walker Barrel Aged Night tonight starting at 5pm: “We decided that this sounded like a good idea. We have the kegs. We have the time. Keenan is free. Let’s do it!!! We’ll be pouring varied vintages of Anniversary, Parabola, Sucaba, Velvet Merkin, Stickee Monkee, and a few more TBD.” If you’re a fan of the FW this is worth checking out.

The Raccoon Lodge (Portland) (which is also Cascade Brewing) has a new beer on tap: “Welcome spring with our Spring IPAnox, now on tap. This springtime golden-hued IPA is loaded with tropical fruit and citrus rind hop flavor and aroma. We’ve kept the malts light and subdued to allow for the fruity-resinous blend of Pacific Gem, Amarillo, Motueka, Simcoe and Sorachi Ace hops to shine through every sip. 6.5% ABV / 45 IBU / $5 Pint / $2 Taster / $10 Grenade Refill / $17 Growler Refill”

And speaking of Cascade Brewing, their uber-popular and delicious Apricot is back and going on sale next week: “Releasing Apricot 2014 in bottles and draft next Wed, 3/25. This NW style sour ale is a blend of Blond ales that were aged in oak wine barrels for up to nine months before aging on fresh apricots for an additional six months. Flavors of fresh and dried apricot fruit are complemented by a tart acidity and lingering notes of apricot preserves. 7.6% ABV, $7 glass, $2 taster, $20 bottle”

Add to the list of Craft Brewers Conference collaboration brews one by Sisters’ Three Creeks Brewing and Portland’s Burnside Brewing: as Three Creeks posted on Facebook, “Thanks Burnside Brewing Co for a great time! We can’t wait to try the CBC Smoked Alt collaboration!” Smoked Alt? I am intrigued!

Pelican Pub & Brewery (Pacific City) has a new seasonal beer landing this month: Umbrella IPA, a single-hop beer brewed with Australian Ella hops. From the release: “The brewers at Pelican Brewing Company have created this New-World IPA to have a clean, crisp, hop-forward character that resonates with the newness of springtime but adds a layer of warmth with a nice 7.4% alcohol by volume. Umbrella India Pale Ale is brewed exclusively with Australian grown Ella Hops. The use of Ella hops offers an aroma that is filled with gooseberry and bright fruit. The fresh and zippy Ella hops are nicely balanced by a clean and light pale malt character.” It will be available through June in 22-ounce bottles, 12-ounce six-packs, and on draft.

Worthy Brewing (Bend) has their Firkin Friday today, kicking off at 4pm: “This week is a Brewer’s Blend of Worthy IPA and Lights Out Stout – our take on a CDA, dry hopped with Cascade and Centennials.” That’s an interesting combination… starting at 4pm, firkin pints are $3 until the cask blows.