Happy Friday! I’m off at the Oregon Garden Brewfest today so while I’ve got this post pre-scheduled with Oregon beer news for the weekend, I won’t be updating it throughout the day. However if you have news to share, please feel free to still let me know and I can get that posted soon.

Obviously the big news is the official start of the Oregon Garden Brewfest at noon today! This is a great festival due in no small part to the venue of the Oregon Garden itself, an amazing 80-acre botanical garden reserve. I wrote about the Brewfest in detail here (and no doubt you’re seeing updates here on the blog and the various social media channels), but it runs all weekend and is open to minors on Sunday (Father’s Day). There will be “68 breweries, pouring 136 beers, ciders and meads from throughout Oregon and across the country” as well as food, live music, and the Garden itself. Pricing short version is $15 for one day, and $35 for all three days, and the usual beerfest structure applies (tasting glass, tasting tickets, etc.). Hope to see you there!

Today is also the start of the Eastern Oregon Beer Festival, taking place in La Grande today and tomorrow (Friday the 19th and Saturday the 20th). From their about page: “This is our second annual festival and it promises to be huge. We are now a two-day event and we’ll be featuring beer from over TWENTY breweries across Eastern Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. Live music throughout, local crafts, great local food, and Q&A’s with brewers will all be a part of the festival. Everyone with a Tasting Pass, or VIP Pass will be given a commemorative tasting mug!” It runs from 6 to 10pm today (Friday) and noon to 10pm Saturday, with a cost of $25 (per day). Yes, it’s a bit remote but they’ve got a nice beer list represented and it’s nice to see this taking off in the far eastern part of the state.

Both Portland Beer Week and Medford Beer Week are wrapping up this weekend, both with a frankly ridiculous number of events (in a good way!) that I simply don’t have time to list here as I’m typing this up ahead of time! I’ve got some highlights below, otherwise keep track on each Beer Week’s respective events pages here and here.

Medford Beer Week culminates tomorrow in the Southern Oregon Craft Brew Festival taking place in Medford’s Old Town from noon to 8pm. It’s a 21-and-over fest, with a cost of “$16 = pint glass & 5 tasting tickets. Only $14 if you buy early at Beerworks.” There’s a nice representation of smaller and Southern Oregon breweries pouring of course, and should make for a great event to finish their Week.

Oregon Cider Week continues with this weekend’s premier event, Cider Summit Portland, taking place today and tomorrow (19th and 20th): “The fifth annual event will take placeFriday, June 19 from 2p-8p and Saturday, June 20 from 12n-6p. Cider Summit will be returning to its new home in the Pearl District – The Fields Neighborhood Park at NW 10th/Overton. his year’s event will feature over 150 ciders from producers around the country and around the world including regional favorites and international classics. The owners and cidermakers will be on hand to inform and guide guests through the samplings which will be available in 4-ounce tasting portions in a special 5th anniversary souvenir festival glass.” For more details see here.

McMenamins Bagdad Pub (Portland) has their Reel Beer Series tasting today (Friday the 19th) starting at 5pm featuring the Edgefield’s Antwerp Slurp Belgian IPA: “This is another small batch, experimental brew from the Edgefield. We isolated a small amount of our Zapatron IPA and fermented it with a Belgian Leuven yeast strain. Esters of bubblegum, fruit, and spice from the yeast mingle with the lemon notes from the Meridian hops. Only four kegs of this bad boy were produced so drink it now while it lasts.”

GoodLife Brewing (Bend) is celebrating their 4th anniversary Saturday the 20th from 4 to 10pm! “Join us Saturday June 20th 4pm-10pm at GoodLife Brewing to help us celebrate our 4 year anniversary! Live music, food, special brews including this years anniversary beer Afternoon Delight Session Ale!” Big congrats to four great years to a brewery that continues to grow and represent Central Oregon well!

Coalition Brewing (Portland) is celebrating their 5th anniversary on Saturday also, starting at 3pm: “We are hosting a party at our brewery to say thank you. We invite our friends, supporters and loyal patrons to come raise a glass with us on this wonderful occasion as we say cheers to you and Coalition Brewing on its birthday! Featuring: Coalition Old Pub Classics available on the day; Live Music; Great food from local food vendors; Games and Giveaways; and Pets always welcome.” Congrats!