Happy first Friday! Here’s the news and events in Oregon beer for this July 7 and the rest of the weekend. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news, so check back often. And if you have news to share, please let me know and I can get that updated as well.

Friday, 7/7

Migration Brewing (Portland) has a beer release today for Oregon Craft Beer Month: CoCo: A Vanilla Bean Coffee Milk Stout. “We are excited for our first new beer release for Craft Beer Month 2017, CoCo: A Coffee Milk Stout. This delightful pick me up beer was brewed in collaboration with Coco Donuts and their light Kenyan roast. We teamed up with Coco Donuts, who brewed a light Kenyan cold brew with strong fruit notes to compliment our stout. The combination of the roasted malts, coffee, vanilla bean and lactose create a uniquely smooth beer reminiscent of a morning latte.”

McMenamins Hillsdale Brewery (Portland) is hosting an Oregon Craft Beer Month tasting, featuring Super Amarillo Bros. SMaSH IPA: “It’s Oregon Craft Beer Month! To celebrate, Hillsdale’s Brewer JC Nelson is ready to talk brewing, and take you on a tour of the Hillsdale Brewery. Grab a pint of the limited-edition beer he brewed just for the occasion and take some time to look around. Don’t forget your passport! “It’s-a me, Amarillo!” The Amarillo Hop may appear small but boasts some of the biggest fruit flavors in the whole hoppin’ world, from citrus to sweet stone fruit. With a light, crisp Pale Ale body, this IPA allows you to experience the true wonders held by this hop. Enjoy SMaSHing a glass of the bounty this season.” The event runs from 5 to 8pm.

Columbia River Brewing (Portland) is celebrating their 7th anniversary on this July 7—their golden birthday! For all that it’s remarkably low key: “The 12 Briskets are all trimmed season with our CRB Rub and ready to be put on the smoker at 4am. They will be awesome come dinner time 5pm at the pub. Great food and awesome beer and live music meeting good friends. It doesn’t get any better than this, helping us celebrate our 7 year anniversary. Come hungry!”

Culmination Brewing (Portland) has their new collaboration with Level Beer on tap, Verdita Lager: “Friday 7/7/17 will be the tapping a Verdita Lager collaboration between Culmination Brewing Company & Level Beer in our taproom. Verdita, a drink that hails from Mexico, it is a sweet-spicy, bright green shot of cilantro, mint, pineapple, lime, jalapeño and habanero peppers, which is served alongside a shot of tequila. Our lager is inspired by this drink. It comes in at 5.1% A.B.V. and 15 IBUs. This beer is bright, refreshing, lightly fruity, and herbal. Enjoy a glass during this hot summer weather!”

The Hood River Education Foundation is hosting the Gorge Gulp, a beer and cider fest from 5 to 9pm in downtown Hood River: “Gorge Beer and Cider Tasting! We will be pouring tastes of special beers from 12 Gorge breweries and 3 Hood River cider houses. We will also have a dunk tank; raffling off chances to dunk your favorite local personalities! Come down to sample some great beverages and support Hood River County students and teachers!”

Saturday, 7/8

Portland’s Ex Novo Brewing is celebrating their 3rd anniversary Saturday with an all day party starting at noon: “We’re turning 3!!! Come celebrate with us, in a lower-key fashion than years past. No cover charge. We’ll have: Open brewery, self-guided tours; $12 gets you special 5oz glass and tastes of Tres (anniversary beer. Sour ale with cherries) and ’16 Kill the Sun; Raffle with awesome experiences to win; Limited bottles of Unus, Duo and Tres available to purchase; and Four special barrel-aged beers on tap and many other great options.” Congrats to Ex Novo on three years!

Little Beast Brewing (Beaverton) is hosting a much-anticipated Inaugural Bottle Release & Open House on Saturday the 8th, from noon to 4pm: “Join Little Beast Brewing to celebrate our very first bottle release! We will have complimentary samples of both Bes & Fera + special zwickel samples from both our foudre and fermentors. Bottles and t-shirts will be available for sale. This is the first time we’ve opened our doors to the public, so come get a sneak peek of what’s next!”

McMenamins 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop is hosting a New McMenamins Brewer Showcase, with JC Nelson from 2 to 4pm: “We have a new member of the brewing family! JC Nelson is now the brewmaster at the Hillsdale Brewery, McMenamins’ original brewpub. Come in and chat with him about going from amateur to pro, and try his first one-off out of “Captain Neon’s Fermentation Chamber”: Stormborn IPA! A storm has been brewing and it’s finally available for your consumption. With a song of ice and fire, featuring Idaho 7, Citra and Ekuanot Hops, the Stormborn IPA presents itself with sweet tropical fruit flavor and aroma. Crisp and refreshing with just the right bitter bite, this American IPA will keep you cool in the shade or out in the sun. Don’t fear the storm…enjoy it!”

McMenamins Edgefield (Troutdale) is celebrating its 106th birthday on Saturday! “We’ll mark the property’s 106th birthday with live music, food & drink specials, history tours and much more!” They have a ton of activities taking place all over the property all day long and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some specialty beers thrown in there for good measure.

Base Camp Brewing (Portland): Saturday the 8th they are hosting their Dog Days of Summer fundraiser: “Join the Base Camp family in support of the good work of the Oregon Humane Society & Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals on Saturday 7/8! Adoptable dogs will be hanging out on the patio all afternoon; join ’em with a pint to help them (and thousands of other dogs and cats) find their forever home. Base Camp will be donating $1 from each pint of select beers to these groups.”

Santiam Brewing (Salem) is going to Rock the Cask Bar Saturday with a mini cask ale festival: “Guest Breweries: Plank Town, Brewers Union, Calapooia, Pelican, 1859 Cider, Wandering Aengus Cider, Salem Ale Works, Vagabond.”

Sunday, 7/9

The Growler Guys on Bend’s east side—the OG location—is hosting as Eastside Block Party on Sunday from noon to 4pm: “Join us as we celebrate you, our customers. The Eastside Block Party is for us to say thanks for being our customer. We will have FREE food, beer, games and music. Wells fargo has offered up their parking spaces and Comfort inn has allowed parking in the North lot. Some street parking on Windy Knolls as well.”

General

Laurelwood Brewing (Portland) announced their brand refresh and release of new cans today. From the press release: “Laurelwood Brewing Co. is excited to announce a new look and feel to its package lineup. Starting Monday, July 17th you will be able to find Workhorse IPA and Free Range Red in 6 pack cans throughout Oregon and Washington. In addition to the new package format, you will see a new look to the flagship brands. The new can designs come to you by way of the great minds at Prohibition Co. With the release of these cans, Laurelwood will be moving away from 6 pack bottles and replacing Red Elephant IRA and Golden Ale. Laurelwood is also expanding its can segment with the addition of The Wood Lager. This German style lager is a natural fit to the lineup and rounds out the offerings.”

Bend’s South Liquor Store has added beer to their alcohol lineup, joining the (limited) list of liquor stores allowed to sell beer as well. Currently’s Bend’s East Bend Liquor store also has a nice beer selection.