Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was grand and the coming week is as well! Here’s the Oregon beer news kicking off the week of the 15th; as usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news as I find it, so check back often. And if you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that posted as well.

The Oregon Garden Brewfest is this weekend! It’s the 11th annual festival taking place at the gorgeous Oregon Garden in Silverton, and runs Friday the 19th through Sunday the 21st (Father’s Day, and kids will be welcome that day—otherwise, the first two days are 21+ only). It starts at noon on each day, and features: “68 breweries, pouring 136 beers, ciders and meads from throughout Oregon and across the country; 12 great regional bands on two stages; Free Shuffleboard, Skee-Ball & Foosball; Amazing food from local vendors; 80-acre botanical garden; Kid’s coaster-making activity & free root beer on Sunday.” There are also tickets available for the Thursday night Brewer’s Tasting Dinner for $50, featuring six courses paired with six Oregon beers. I’ll have a longer post on the Fest and dinner shortly!

The New School and Bailey’s Taproom are holding a great featured event for Portland Beer Week today that you’ll want to check out: the New School’s New Breweries Showcase. (It’s the second annual!) “This year we have an eclectic lineup with only a few from Portland and brewers coming from as far as Grants Pass and Cottage Grove, Oregon. Please join us on Monday, June 15th, to try 20 new beers from 10 breweries, on tap all day at Bailey’s Taproom and the adjacent upstairs bar, The Upper Lip; from 5-8pm all of the brewers and many of the brewery owners will all be on-hand. This is your chance to meet the next great Oregon brewery you have never heard of!” They have a great lineup posted, don’t miss out!

Other Portland Beer Week events on tap for today:

• All week long:
• GoodLife Brewing Tap Takeover
• Bunk’s Beer Week Beer Braised Brisket Sandwich
• pFriem Beer & Dessert Pairing Flight
• Palate Palooza
• Crux Tap Takeover at Lardo (Hawthorne)
• Today (Monday):
• All Day Happy Hour on Portland Brewing IPA
• Laurelwood Pop-A-Shot Tourney at Spirit of ’77
• Melvin Brewing vs. The World
• Oakshire Brewing Killer Queen Happy Hour

Medford Beer Week continues this week as well, with the following events taking place today:

• Subs, Suds, and Spuds with 10 Barrel Brewing @ R&D’s Sandwich Factory: 4pm – 7pm
• Beer and Brats @ Wild River Pizza: All Day
• Pastrami and Beer Special with 10 Barrel Brewing @ R&D’s: All Day
• Beers for Humanity @ Walkabout Brewing: 3pm – 8pm
• Mug Club Monday @ Southern Oregon Brewing: 3pm – 9pm
• The Hop Valley Golf Challenge @ Centennial Golf Club: 4pm
• Bush Drinkers Monday @ The Trophy Club: 4pm – 6pm
• Beer vs. Wine with Del Rio Vineyards @ Portal Brewing: 4pm – 8pm
• “Grab a Can” with Payette Brewing @ Beerworks: 5pm – 9pm
• Ladies Night @ Opposition Brewing: 5pm – 9pm
• “Beers and Barrels” Dinner w/ Hop Valley and Buffalo Trace Distillery @ Elements: 6pm
• Geeks Who Drink All Beer Trivia Night @ BricktownE: 7pm
• Dark Beer and Desserts @ The Growler King at Quality Market: 7pm – 10pm

Ecliptic Brewing (Portland): Their new seasonal, Aurora Crimson Saison, is in bottles and heading to the distributor. You’ll find it on the shelves in 22-ounce bottles. It’s described as: “Our Aurora Crimson Saison is a summertime refresher. Its light malt flavor is accentuated by spicy Belgian yeast character and balanced with Sterling hops. Aurora’s crimson comes from rhubarb, which adds a radiant tart character to the beer.” To my mind rhubarb would be a flavor component, not a color component, so that’s interesting.

Santiam Brewing (Salem): Their own pinkish-colored summer seasonal is on tap: “Cherry Saison is back on tap for the summer. This cherry farmhouse beer checks in at 7.4% and 30 IBU – enjoy!”

Hopworks Urban Brewery (Portland): Are you a radler fan? Check this out: “If you missed Radlerita at the Fruit Beer Fest last weekend you can grab a pint now at our Powell brewpub! The beer is a lime Radler with sea salt, aged on tequila-infused oak, and it is perfect for this warm and sunny Monday.”