I hope your Friday is going well, for this last (HOT!) day of July. Do you have plans for the weekend yet (other than staying cool)? A number of things are going on; here’s the weekend’s beer news. 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.

Of course BenFest is taking place at Belmont Station in Portland tonight from 6 to 9pm, an event I just wrote about earlier; this fest features beers exclusively brewed from Portland brewers named Ben, including: Ben Parsons of Baerlic Brewing Co., Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewing, Deschutes Brewery’s Ben Kehs, Gigantic Brewing Co.’s Ben Love, Ben Flerchinger of Lucky Labrador Brewing Co., Ben Engler of Occidental Brewing Co., and Ben Dobler of Widmer Brothers. It’s sure to be a fun time with beer and other activities, make sure to check it out if you’re in the area!

McMenamins Blue Moon Tavern (Portland) is celebrating its 30th birthday all day today! Aptly enough they’re calling this their “Once in a Blue Moon” party (if you didn’t already know, today is indeed the blue moon) and in addition to drink and food specials, they’ll have live music tonight from 5:30 to 10pm. And a special beer, of course: Blue Moonberry! “Happy 30th Birthday Blue Moon! For 30 years now, the Moon has shone down on Nob Hill and we’ve brewed up a little something sweet, tart, and fruity to celebrate. Like her cousin, Ruby, Blue Moonberry is a light golden ale- but instead of raspberry we’ve added locally produced blueberries and blackberries. This brew was designed for the heat of summer and pairs well with birthday cake.” This was brewed up by the Edgefield brewery and is only $4 per pint all day long. Happy birthday indeed! (Trivia: the Blue Moon was among the first McMenamins establishments I visited, back in the late 90s.)

McMenamins Old St. Francis School (Bend) has the new O’Kanes Garage Series beer tasting kicking off today, which will feature recreations of recipes of popular and award-winning beers from other McMenamins breweries over the past three decades. Tonight’s tasting kicks off at 5pm and features Barn Own Bitter, originally from the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse: “A Cornelius Roadhouse classic, Barn Owl Bitter (aka “Bob”) is a creation of longtime Roadhouse brewer-turned-distiller Bart Hance. This ale is clean, crisp, and packed with Simcoe hop goodness. For a special release at OSF we have recreated this ever popular beer for all to enjoy and revel in here in Central Oregon! Enjoy a pint and see how other McMenamins Breweries create great beer too! Prost!” There’s a great bit of detail in the writeup about this beer on the event page too.

And speaking of new releases in Bend, Silver Moon Brewing has their new summer seasonal release party tonight starting at 7pm, for Sun Worshiper Summer Ale. The genesis behind this beer is cool: “Last year we asked homebrewers from all over Oregon to submit a summer beer for the Silver Moon Brewing “Battle of the Brews” hombrewing competition, sponsored by The Growler Guys and Cascade Fermentation Asssociation. Out of 38 entires, judged by Central Oregon Beer Angels, professional brewers, and a BJCP certified judge, COHO member Doug Jordan’s Sun Worshiper Summer Ale won the Grand Prize: To brew his recipe in our brewhouse with our Head Brewer, to hold a tap handle in our pub, and to be available on tap at Growler Guys locations all around Oregon!” After its debut tonight it will also be on tap (exclusively) at all the Oregon Growler Guys locations.

Roscoe’s (Portland) has their (I believe) annual All Oregon Craft Beer Summit kicking off today (Friday the 31st) starting at 2pm and lasting through the weekend: “An awesome selection of 20 rare, seasonal, and one-off beers will be on tap. Some of the breweries andbeers will include: Double Mountain Devils Kriek, Oakshire Blueberry Berlinerweiss, Boneyard 007 experimental IPA, Commons Myrtle, Fort George Spruce Bud Ale, Hair of the Dog XXXX Mild, and many more. Great Oregon beers on tap all weekend long!” Brewpulic has a more in-depth list of what will be pouring.

PFriem Family Brewers (Hood River) is celebrating their 3rd anniversary this weekend, Saturday the 1st, starting at 4pm: “This celebration will happen at the Hood River Waterfront Park’s amphitheater directly across from the brewery. This event is open to the public. pFriem‘s 3rd Anniversary Party will be a family-friendly event, featuring live music by the Portland based band “Scott Pemberton Trio” starting at 7:00 pm. The celebration will take place in the amphitheater to the north of the brewery with views of the Columbia River and easy access to the rest of Waterfront Park. In addition to live music, there will be a free bouncy house for kids from 4:00-8:00 pm, food carts, and a pFriem beer tent.” Congrats to PFriem on three great years, and many more!