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

Brewers Union Local 180 (Oakridge) is hosting the fourth annual Oakridge Keg & Cask Festival tomorrow, Saturday the 11th, from 2 until 8pm. One of the only (if not the only) fest of its kind in Oregon, “this small festival on the streets of Uptown Oakridge in front of the Brewers Union gives a taste of the many small breweries and wineries in Oregon” and will feature live music, food, and of course great cask ale. A blurb about the event from 2009 reads: “Admittance to the Oakridge Keg & Cask Festival is free. $15 gains access to the tasting area, a commemorative pint glass or wine glass and 4 taste tickets. Additional tickets are $1 each. Tasters must be 21 to enter the tasting area. The food court will be free of charge and open to all ages (but no dogs allowed). Local musicians will play in front of the Brewers’ Union before a covered seating area.” This is going to be a great event, I’d recommend making the drive out to Oakridge for it if you can.

Incidentally, Brewers Union is also celebrating their fourth anniversary on Monday the 13th! They will have $3 Imperial Pints of “4th Superannuation Ale” all day long—also worth the trip!

Plew’s Brews (Portland) has their Humulus Maxiums Festivus hoppy beerfest kicking off today and going through tomorrow, featuring “22 single, double, and imperial IPAs from Oregon and beyond” over the course of the two days and is sure to be a hop lover’s delight. More details: “Glasses will be a brand-new Ninkasi design, 16 ounce pint size, and offered for 5 bucks. Tickets will be a dollar and one ticket for a taste or four for a full pint. A couple things to note, the Aegir IPA is the only keg that will come into Oregon this year. The Stillwater/Mikkeler is the last keg available. We’ll also have Pfriem’s IPA, an IPA from Portland U-Brew, and I’m debuting another IPA- James John from Peninsula Beerworks. Cheers and hope to see you there!”

Hopworks Urban Brewery (Portland): It’s HUB’s annual BikeToBeerFest on Saturday! From 2 to 10pm, $5 entry (kids under 16 are free) gets you access to live music (4 bands throughout the day), great food and beer, and bike-themed activities like builders and demos, a Huffy toss competition, BMX stunt riders, and more. It’s going to be a great party and a more Portland-appropriate event I have a hard time imagining (beer and bikes, what not to like?).

I can’t believe this almost slipped by me: Max’s Fanno Creek Brewpub (Tigard) is holding their 4th Annual Nano Beer Fest this weekend, starting today! This Fest features beers (many of which are seasonal specialties) from many of Oregon’s smaller brewers paired with live music all weekend long and a full pub menu from Max’s available. It’s only $5 for the commemorative glass, and tasters are $1.50 each. Hours are 11 to 11 today and Saturday, and 11 to 6 on Sunday, all taking place in the Brewpub parking lot. This is one of those Fests that would be a lot of fun to hit to sample some of the smaller Oregon breweries you don’t necessarily hear much about!

Fire Cirkl (White City) is Oregon’s (and possibly the country’s?) only all-braggot brewery, is doing well—they’re looking at expansion: “Did a test run on the 7 barrel brewhouse today. It performed marvelously. We expect to brew our first batch in it next week. Next step is to revamp the 1/2 barrel system and develop two new recipes. These will be lighter in body, and one will be gluten free. Both are true to our core values. They will be organic braggots, based on recipes from ages past, contain traditional herbs, and have flavor profiles that distinguish them favorably from the herd.”  I haven’t seen or tried any of their offerings yet, but I hope to soon.