Here’s the Oregon beer news for Thursday, June 7. As always I’ll be updating this post periodically throughout the day, so check back often for updates. And if you have news to share, please contact me and I can get it posted.

Today is the first day of the second annual Portland Beer Week! To kick off these next 10 days the Spirit of 77 is hosting the kickoff party and release of the official beer, India Red Lager, a collaboration brew between Deschutes Brewery and Hopworks Urban Brewery. The party includes plenty of other beer and festivities and has two ticket options: $5 which gets you a Portland Beer Week pint glass and punch card for discounts during Beer Week, and $25 which includes a “Schwag bag including a 22oz bottle of the official Portland Beer Week India Red Lager, a Portland Beer Week t-shirt, a beer week pint glass good for discounts at local breweries and taphouses, a coupon for your first pint free at the party, a Spirit of 77 sweatband and more.” And this is just the kickoff!

McMenamins Fulton Pub & Brewery (Portland) has a limited-edition beer tasting starting at 5pm today: Murmuration Abbey Ale. “Brewer Ryan Mott has produced a Belgian Abbey-style ale with complex layers of caramel, candy sugar, and flowery Belgian yeast ester flavors which move gracefully and purposefully over the palate in startling unison. The color is a deep garnet topped by an inviting white foam head. This ale is very complex yet surprisingly smooth.”  It’s 8.26% abv and as with these limited-edition series, once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Belmont Station (Portland): They have a gluten-free beer tasting event today from 5 to 7pm that sounds awfully interesting (and is the first of their event contributions to Portland Beer Week). “Taste the wide range of Gluten Free Beers, from Portland’s own Harvester & Omission, to imports like Green’s. We’re still assembling the lineup but we expect to pour tastes of every gluten free beer available in Oregon. Representatives from Harvester, CBA (Omission), and perhaps more will be present.” If you have any interest in gluten-free beers then you should definitely check this out.

The Green Dragon (Portland): Tonight they are hosting a meet the brewer with Bend’s Silver Moon Brewing starting at 5pm. No word yet on what’s being poured, but Silver Moon has good beers so you’ll want to check them out if you haven’t already.

McMenamins Chapel Pub (Portland): As posted on Facebook today: “IPA Lovers the stars have aligned for you! Starting today (6/7) The Chapel Pub has a special run of 3 different styles of IPA on tap. We just tapped a single-malt IPA, a British style IPA and a Double IPA. Come in and enjoy a pint or try an IPA taster flight for $5.25 and decide which you like the best.”