Happy Friday and first day of June! Here’s the beer news for today and going into the weekend from around Oregon; as always I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day, so check back often for the latest news. And if you have some news to share, please contact me and I can get it updated.

The Zoo Brew is taking place at the Oregon Zoo in Portland today, and if you don’t already have tickets—they’ve sold out! If you do have tickets, have fun—how many other beer fests take place in a Zoo? In addition to drinking beer from a good number of breweries and cideries, there are also a number of workshops that look really interesting, particularly the one on wild beers (appropriate Zoo theme, no?). Enjoy!

The Green Dragon (Portland) meanwhile has their annual Firkin Fest going on tomorrow, Saturday the 2nd: all cask-conditioned beers from some 30 Oregon breweries, split into two sessions, the first from 11 to 2pm, the second from 3 to 6pm (and you can buy tickets online at those links). There will also be artisan cheeses, meats, and chocolates available. If you’re into cask-conditioned, Real Ales then this is the fest for you!

Amnesia Brewing (Portland) is holding their Single Hop Fest on Saturday from noon to 10pm: “Even if it rains We have a Covered Patio.. Special Sausauges from Olympic Provisions! Amnesia is featuring The Goldihops.” The Oregon Brewers Guild site has more details, including the beer list: “A dozen Oregon breweries will be featuring single hop beers. Amnesia will be grilling meaty and veggie sausages, burgers, and beer-poached Olympic Provisions frankfurters with single-hop beer mustard.”

Today is the two-year anniversary of the Bend Ale Trail, and to celebrate, they are “giving away special bonus prizes to anyone who turns in a completed Bend Ale Trail passport TODAY ONLY (Friday)”. Better get moving if you want to complete it today!

Ninkasi Brewing (Eugene): Tomorrow, Saturday the 2nd, from 2 to 6pm they are donating a portion of their pint sales (25%) to Relay for Life; there will be live music and a couple of food carts on hand too, who will also be donating a portion of their proceeds. It’s good benefit so if you’re in Eugene on Saturday be sure to swing by.

Bend Brewing (Bend): Sunday the 3rd they are joining the Central Oregon Trail Alliance for a trail work and beer launch party: “We will meet at 9:00 A.M. at the “Old” Mt. Bachelor Park & Ride and carpool to the work site. Plan for about 4 hours of trail work, creating a new technical option on the Funner Trail, and then we will head back to town to help Bend Brewing Company celebrate the launch of their all-new Funner Trail Ale, a tasty new Summer Ale. Volunteers will enjoy free appetizers, beer, and live music on the patio at BBC. All proceeds from sales of Funner Trail Ale go back to COTA as well.” Live music will be from 2 to 4pm.

Broken Top Bottle Shop (Bend) is having their First Firkin Friday today, featuring a cask of BridgePort Brewing’s Raven Mad Imperial Porter. The firkin was tapped at 11am and will be available all day long (for as long as it lasts); it’s a quarter barrel, so roughly 7.75 gallons. Raven Mad sounds like a great beer to have on cask as well; it’s 7.8% abv and should be yummy!

Three Creeks Brewing (Sisters): They’re doing a tasting over at Bend’s Newport Avenue Market today from 3:30 to 5:30. All of their bottled beers that Newport Market carries should be pouring, four or five I think, so it’s a good chance to sample some excellent beer if you can’t make it over to Sisters right away.

Roscoe’s in Portland is hosting Upright Brewing tonight and celebrating Kopstootje from 6 to 8pm: “Kopstootje is the directly translated as ‘little head butt’. It is the century old Dutch tradition of a shot and a beer. The traditional liquor is ‘Genever’, an herbal liquor made by Lucas Bols. Upright brewing and Stillwater Ales have both created beers to be paired with Genever. This years version of Upright ‘Kopstootje’ and Stillwater ‘Kopstootje’ will both be featured on tap at the event. Alex Ganum of Upright brewing and Jacob Grier of Lucas Bols will be in attendance to answer questions about the beers and liquor.” It’s a cool idea, brewing a beer specifically for a liquor pairing, and Upright’s been doing this for a couple of years now. I’d love to see something like this happen here in Bend…

Two Kilts Brewing (Sherwood) is celebrating their first birthday on Saturday the 2nd: “Come celebrate our 1 year Birthday with us! Mark your calendar for June 2nd! Open 2 hours early and closing 2 hours late! 12PM to 12AM. We will have food and snacks, beer specials and live music from the Jacob Merlin Band!”  Their tap list update from the 8th lists Scotch Ale, Belgian Strong Dark, Heather Ale, IPA, and Vanilla Cream Ale on nitro, so it definitely sounds like a good selection and a fun time!