Happy Friday once again! Here’s the rundown of news in Oregon beer for Friday the 23rd and going into the weekend (and this weekend is also the start of Spring Break for all of you with school-aged kids, fun fun!). 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 it updated.

Beer and music lovers, the first annual Malt Ball is tomorrow—Portland’s first ever beer and music festival! Taking place at the Bossanova Ballroom (across the street from Burnside Brewing) from 2pm until midnight, the event is organized by the Portland Mercury weekly and the Oregon Brewers Guild; Ezra has good summary: “The Malt Ball features a dozen of Portland’s best bands paired with beers from some of Oregon’s best breweries. Even cooler is that they have paired bands up with brewers to make collaboration beers for the event.” The OBG’s beer list from the participating breweries looks fantastic—many of which look to have been brewed just for the Malt Ball.The cost is $20 if you buy online, or $25 at the door and include the admission to the show, four tasting tokens and commemorative mug (presumably additional tasting tokens are $1 each).

The Commons Brewery (Portland) is celebrating their first bottle release, “Brotherly Love“, tomorrow starting at noon at the brewery at 1810 SE 10th Avenue: “On March 24, at Noon, we’ll open our doors to sell the Beetje Series edition of Brotherly Love! Considering our history as a nano-brewery, it’s fitting that our first release is such a small amount. A variation of our Little Brother Belgian dark strong ale, Brotherly Love is matured in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels with red tart cherries and roasted Peruvian cocoa nibs. Take your time with this rich, decadent beer – and share it with friends. The Beetje Series is a celebration of The Commons Brewery’s nano roots. First brewed in 2010 on a one-barrel system housed in Mike Wright’s garage, these small-batch beers pay homage to the rustic brewery that continues to inspire our creativity and ingenuity.” The 750ml bottles (of which there are only 150!) will sell for $15 each. It’s 10% abv.

Did you know there was a Spring Beer Fest taking place up at Mt. Hood Meadows tomorrow? I didn’t either but indeed there is from 12 to 6 tomorrow: “Mt. Hood Meadows proudly presents the Spring Brew Fest. Beers by Full Sail Brewery, Double Mountain Brewery, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Kona, Redhook, Everybody’s Brewing and Laurelwood. Cool off with some beverages, while soaking up the sun on the deck! The event is free, and anyone 21+ with ID can attend! Script is $1 per 3 oz serving or 4 scripts for a full 12 oz beer. A mug is $2, or if you purchase $10 of scripts, you’ll receive one for free.” It’ll be “out on the deck” and you can call 503-659-1256 for more info.

GoodLife Brewing (Bend): They posted today on Facebook, “Curt is Brewing up Batch 50! That makes 1,500 BBL’s or 3,000 kegs in only 9 months! Give it up to the one man brewing machine! Huge mile stone for us!” Good job! GoodLife has been a people’s favorite since they opened and they’ve really come out strong. At the rate they’re brewing they should be up to 2000bbl their first year.

Pelican Pub & Brewery (Pacific City): The brewery has posted the menu for their Spring Dinner coming up next month on the 21st and it looks absolutely amazing (both the food and the beer). The Dinner is already sold out—unfortunately!—but you can still get on the waiting list by calling Ryan Mack at 503-965-3674.

MacTarnahan’s Brewing (Portland): Next Wednesday the 28th, from 5 to 8pm, they are hosting a “What Ales You” Brewer’s Dinner and “Grifter Reemergence Party” to celebrate the return of their Grifter IPA. The dinner itself starts at 6pm and overall the cost is $40 per person; it’s four courses paired with Mac’s beer (of course). You can sign up online at EventBrite here.