Happy Friday, and Earth Day weekend! There are a number of fests taking place this weekend to checkout as well as other news and events. (I’ll be spending my weekend judging homebrews at the Central Oregon Hombrewers Spring Fling competition!) 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.

Fests

The Earth Day Oregon Brewshed® Brewfest is taking place in Springfield on Saturday the 22nd (of course) at the Sprout Regional Food Hub. “Hosted by Brewshed® Partner Claim 52 Brewing at the Sprout! Marketplace in downtown Springfield (easy to get to on the EmX, and plenty of parking too!), nearly 20 local Oregon breweries will be pouring great beers and ciders for craft brew lovers to try. All proceeds from the event benefit Oregon Wild, the environmental nonprofit working to protect Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife, and waters as an enduring legacy, and keep Oregon full of great beer through the Oregon Brewshed® Alliance initiative. The Oregon Brewshed® Brewfest is a celebration of fantastic Oregon craft beer and the wild watersheds that make it possible, featuring the breweries and other businesses and organizations committed to watershed protection through their partnership in the Oregon Brewshed® Alliance and work in the community.” Tickets are available online and cost $12 in advance ($15 at the door). The cost includes “entry to the brewfest, 3 tasting tickets, a special pint glass, a Brewshed® Brewfest Passport, and a raffle ticket” and additional tasting and raffle tickets will be available to purchase.

John’s Marketplace in Portland is hosting the Nano Beer Fest on Friday and Saturday, a great showcase fest for the small-batch breweries of the Pacific Northwest. They have a lineup of beers, ciders, and meads listed online; look for breweries such as Agrarian Ales, Brewed by Gnomes, Hop Haus Brewing, Little Dipper Brewing, and more. Cost is $20 which gets you the glass and 10 tasting tickets, with additional tickets available for $1 of course. (Buy them online here.) You’ll be able to taste beers at this fest that relatively few others have!

Bailey’s Taproom is hosting their seventh annual GermanFest this Saturday the 22nd, featuring Oregon-brewed beers inspired by the beers of Germany (with the Upper Lip pouring authentic German brews). Brewpublic has details and the beer list: “When Bailey’s began GermanFest seven years ago the availability of German inspired beers from Oregon breweries was quite limited. Now things have changed as the German bier revolution has brought forth a lesson in drinkability, balance, and subtle nuances. It’s now much more common to see a local brewery brewing a Kolsch, Gose, or Berliner Weisse as a regular offering. We can raise a toast to that! To add flavor once again to GermanFest, Bailey’s Taproom will see the return of Altengartz German Brand Bratwurst. Parked out front of Bailey’s Taproom this food truck will serve up authentic German sausages throughout the day.”

The Hood River Hard-Pressed Cider Fest takes place Saturday from noon to 7pm in, well, Hood River. “Now in its fourth year, the Hood River Hard-Pressed Cider Fest gives seasoned and novice cider drinkers alike the chance to sample cider from Hood River County’s very own cider makers, as well as a variety of additional Northwest cideries. More than twenty-five cideries will be participating, with more than 50 ciders on tap. With a bigger footprint in 2017, the popular annual festival gives attendees more space to enjoy original ciders from local and regional craft cideries. The daylong event also features a lineup of local music, and a kids’ area, complete with a bouncy house – guaranteeing a great time for the whole family. Spring showers aren’t a problem, as the tasting area takes place in a covered hall.” Tickets are online and cost $15 for the full package. Cider lovers should not miss out on this fest!

Friday, 4/21

Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider (Portland) is hosting their ¡Viva La Pineapple! release party starting at 4pm: “Celebrate the release of our new Summer seasonal, ¡Viva La Pineapple! Inspired by my much-renowned traditional tepache, this apple-y, pineapple-y cider is ready-to-drink and easy to drink. We’ll also have at least 2 special ¡Viva! cocktails:
¡Viva La Coconut! – first 10 people to order get to drink out of a real coconut!
+Tropical fruit cocktail TBD…perhaps in slushy form?!”

McMenamins Bagdad Pub (Portland) has their Feature Before the Film beer tasting on Friday at 5pm, featuring the Edgefield Brewery’s Tropic Heat Guava Habanero Sour: “Tropic Heat will be sure to get you in the mood for summer. We added pink guava puree to a light, crisp Sour Ale base to enhance flavors of papaya, passion fruit, melon and pear. The addition of habanero peppers makes this beer pop, but toasted coconut rounds the beer out and provides a smooth, light finish.”

And McMenamins 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop is hosting the Samuel Smith’s Salute that has been making the rounds from 6 to 8pm Friday: “It’s time for the Samuel Smith Salute and to celebrate, we’re throwing a party. Toast the Samuel Smith Brewery with current and former McMenamins Brewers. We’ll be offering two taster Trays featuring beers from Samuel Smith, McMenamins, Ecliptic Brewing, Burnside Brewing Co, and a collaboration between 54-40 Brewing Co and Grains of Wrath. We will be offering cask pints of our Sleepy Hollow Nut Brown, we will be tapping a keg of Barrel Aged Nut Brown, Crystal BallroomBrewer Drew Phillips will be releasing his Chocolate Cherry Stout. Samuel Smith, this one’s for you!”

Three Creeks Brewing (Sisters): Their annual IPApril event returns for the entire weekend, kicking off on Friday the 21st. “Join us for this annual event. Eight fabulous Oregon IPAs on tap at Three Creeks for three fleeting days. Come in order a tasting tray and cast your vote for “Best in Show”.” I posted the full lineup yesterday here.

Apparently there is a new small brewer in Silverton, Belgian Underground Beers, and this Friday the 21st starting at 6pm, they have a release party for their new Safe House Farmhouse Ale at The Gallon House in Silverton: “Dale and Sheldon will be out for their brand new released Belgian Farmhouse Ale. You will be the first people in the area to taste this beer and we couldnt be more excited!”

Great Notion Brewing‘s latest crowler release is for their breakfast stout, Double Stack: “Double Stack, our imperial breakfast stout loaded with local PDX Clutch Coffee and stupid amounts of maple will be available in Crowlers on Friday, April 21st!”

Hopworks Urban Brewery (Portland) has two beers coming out for Earth Day, one on Friday and one on Saturday. Friday’s beer is MaiBock Is Your Bock, their “first-ever beer made entirely of Salmon-Safe Certified ingredients.” On Saturday it’s Green Loop IPA: “The Green Loop is a six-mile park in planning that links Portland’s east and west sides, creating an “urban promenade” for cyclists, walkers, and public transit. As enthusiastic supporters of cycling and alternative transportation, we were honored that Design Week Portland invited us to make a beer inspired by the concept. In this deliciously hoppy IPA, we used Certified Salmon-Safe Chinook and Crystal hops to represent the river that intersects the districts in the loop.”

Saturday, 4/22 – Earth Day!

Eugene’s Ninkasi Brewing is throwing a Pacific Rain Earth Day celebration at their brewery for their Pacific Rain Northwest Pale Ale: “💦 Ninkasi and Gervais Salon & Day Spa present Pacific Rain Earth Day Celebration benefiting McKenzie River Trust! 💦 With beer, music, raffles, food, swag, brewery tours and more, we have a little something for everyone in the family! $1 of every pint will be donated to McKenzie River Trust ALL DAY! 💆 Gervais Salon & Day Spa will be hosting raffles onsite from 12 PM – 6 PM. All proceeds will benefit McKenzie River Trust.”

Bend’s Boneyard Beer is holding a swag garage sale Saturday from 11am to 6pm at their tasting room: “Come on down to the ‘Yard Saturday April 22nd from 11am-6pm for our Swag Garage Sale. We will be selling discontinued items, old inventory, and “less than perfect” swag at HUGE discounts. We have men’s swag, women’s swag, and all sizes so don’t miss out. Look for the Boneyard pop-up tent. You know you want it!”