Happy Friday! Here’s the Oregon beer news for July 6, Friday and going into the weekend. As usual I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day so check back often for the latest news. And if you have news to share please contact me and I can get it updated.

Whole Foods Market here in Bend is holding their 2nd annual Brewfest tomorrow (Saturday the 7th) from 1 to 6pm in their parking lot: 16+ breweries will have beer pouring, there will be food, live music, and proceeds benefit the Humane Society of Central Oregon. It’s only $5 entry, and should be a great day and a good time!

Worthy Brewing (Bend — yes there’s a lot of Bend beer news lately!): Construction is coming right along on the new brewery, slated to open at the beginning of 2013; over on their Facebook page they’ve been posting a bunch of photos of the progress on the site, and there’s framework and structure going up! It’s always exciting to see big changes like that after watching the groundwork/infrastructure being built out for so long. I’m wishing they could be open sooner though—the weather right now is perfect for a beer garden…

Crux Fermentation Project (Bend): Their very first beer will be tapped tonight at 6pm! “A session Northwest Pale Ale with a refreshing hoppy aroma and flavor. Huge grapefruit notes. Oodles of complexity without the bitterness. Featuring Citra and Centennial whole flower hops from Yakima. 4.7% ABV—perfect for the hot temps this weekend.” I can’t wait!

Broken Top Bottle Shop (Bend): Today for the first Friday of the month they’re holding “First Firkin Friday” all day long featuring a firkin keg of Big Brother IPA from White Salmon, Washington’s Everybody’s Brewing. And then tonight they’re featuring their signature BREWS & BANDS event which combines free music with beer tastings: from 6 to 9 Double Mountain will be in the house with tastings of Culture Shock Belgian IPA and Clusterf**k. Good beers all around!

Fort George Brewery (Astoria): Today is the first release of their new “Sweet Virginia” series of beers (“a series which will give everyone on our brewery team, a chance to brew beers start to finish”) named Midnight Ryeder, a black rye pale ale. “The beer is technically a black ale, but I think of it as a not-so pale ale.  It should have the bitterness and hop character of an IPA, but I am going to try to keep it around 4.6%.  The reason I am making it is because every time I have had a black IPA, it seemed closer to a hoppy stout.  I am trying to show the fact that a black beer does not have to taste anything like the way it looks.  The hops that I am using in this beer are, Zythos, Amarillo, and Centennial.  All of these hops provide a very citrussy note, which should make it nice, and crisp for a good summer pint.”

Deschutes Brewery (Bend): For Downtown Bend’s First Friday Art Walk event, Deschutes is holding “Jubel in July“: “We’ve got Jubelale artists past & present including: Kaycee Anseth, Natasha Bacca and Cara & Louie in the “house,” and live music from local’s favorite band, Moon Mountain Ramblers! Wear your Jubelale shirts to show your “beer spirit” & to top off this amazing event, we will be serving BBQ goodness in the back-alley paired with Pinot Aged Jubel and more.” It runs from 5 to 9pm.

Oakshire Brewing (Eugene) has a new Single Batch series beer hitting the taps: Save the Farmhouse Ale, “a Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale made with raw organic grains from Hummingbird Wholesale in Eugene and ‘Fairly Special Bitter’ an English style Pale Ale made in honor of the Oregon Country Fair campers!” I’m not sure what “raw” grains means here exactly—perhaps like with some wheat beers, unmalted grains? Either way I’m intrigued.

And, Oakshire is offering up a really cool idea for tomorrow (Saturday): “Tomorrow is picnic day at the brewery! Please feel free to bring your own lunch out here to enjoy in the warm sunshine with our brews. Live music will be provided by Sonic Tub. Personal blankets and lawn chair are welcome. (Unfortunately, Delacata will not be here)”  That’s a really neat idea particularly since Oakshire is not, in fact, a brewpub with food to offer—they are strictly a production brewery. (Delacata is the food cart that often parks there.)