Happy Labor Day weekend! I hope the smoke hasn’t put too much of a damper on your (beer) plans for the weekend. Here’s the roundup of Oregon beer news for this 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, 9/1

The Little Woody kicks off in Bend Friday night at 5pm! The fun then continues Saturday at noon and features (if I’m counting right) 53 different beers and ciders pouring. The “Barrel-Aged Beer, Cider & Whiskey Festival will celebrate barrel-aged beers and ciders from across the Northwest during the 8th annual festival” at the Deschutes Historical Museum at a cost of $15 online ($20 at the door) for the regular package which gets you the glass and eight tokens. It’s not one token per taste, however, as there are a number of limited, rare, and expensive beers on hand; typical range of cost per taste is two to five tokens. It’s one of Bend’s premier beer festivals and hopefully the smoke will clear in time!

The BeerMongers in Portland kicks off their 8th anniversary celebration Friday, to run through September 5. oin us as we celebrate the 8th Anniversary of The BeerMongers. Our friend Jason completed the mural hours before we opened the doors on September 5th 2009 and we have been open every day since, over 2,900 in a Row! Friday night September 1st we will have FREE Live music featuring our friends Bolt Upright. Saturday, Sunday and Monday we will have an outdoor beer garden featuring some of our favorite beers from Oregon and beyond. Beers from pFriem, Block 15, Russian River, Logsdon, Bell’s Founder’s, Prairie, Rodenbach, De Garde and Cantillion to name a few. On Monday September 4th we will have an old fashioned Labor Day Cookout and Potluck, plus we will have some of our favorite IPAs on draft. Thank you for 8 great years and cheers.” Watch the Facebook event page for each day’s special taplist.

McMenamins 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop (Portland) is hosting a Dear Mom Wine Tasting from 6 to 8pm on Friday, a little break from the beer: “Dear Mom is stopping by to pour samples of their Oregon Rosé and Oregon White Wine. These single-serving cans are the perfect pairing for all of your Labor Day plans, so come on by and grab a can or four.”

Montavilla Brew Works (Portland): Their fundraiser for the Houston Humane Society continues on Friday and through the weekend to Sunday the 3rd: “If you’re watching the news, you know that Houston is in trouble right now and badly needs support. Humans are slowly getting help, but their furry little friends are needing help too! Montavilla Brew Works will be donating 10% of ALL TAPROOM BEER SALES this week to the Houston Humane Society.” Get down there and drink some beer to help the pets!

Rogue Ales annual Labor Day garage sale is going on all weekend (actually started the 31st) at all of their locations: “This weekend, get your Rogue lagers, stouts and ales in kegs, bottles and growlers as well as t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, glassware and other Rogue goods while saving some money.” The sale runs through Monday, September 4.

Cascade Brewing (Portland) is releasing Izaak Haze at both the Barrel House and the Raccoon Lodge: “Another offering in our dry-hopped sour series, this beer features hop selections by long time pub staff member Izaak Butler. The limited project features sour blond ales aged in oak wine barrels for 12 months before dry-hopping with Nelson Sauvin and Galaxy hops. Izaak Haze offers aromas of guava, pineapple and peach with flavors of white grape, lemon, and grapefruit and a clean tart finish (6.5%).”

Eugene’s Agrarian Ales is holding Day 4 of their Hop Harvest on Friday til 9pm: “HOP PLUCKING ALL DAY LONG! Earn tickets worth $1.00 off your tab for helping us out! Great for the entire family!”

Saturday, 9/2

McMenamins 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop is hosting “That’s a Peach, Hon!” Pale Ale Release with JC Nelson Saturday from 2 to 4pm: “Come on down and enjoy a pint of JC Nelson’s “That’s a Peach, Hon!” Pale Ale and take home a Crowler or two when you are done.” (It doesn’t specify which brewery JC is from.)

Sunday, 9/3

Alesong Brewing (Eugene) is holding their summer bottle release on Sunday: “On Sunday, September 3rd from 12 p.m. – 8 p.m., we are hosting our fall release of barrel-aged beers at the newly opened wine country tasting room and brewery. The new facility boasts stunning wine country views, outdoor seating and a handful of draft only, tasting room offerings in addition to the current bottled release. At the event, five new bottled beers will be available for tasting for the first time and bottle pickup for mailing list members (sign up here).”

10 Barrel Brewing (Bend): They will be matching funds to donate to firefighters in Bend on Sunday: “Matching and donating 100% of the profits from the East and West Side Pubs Sunday, September 3rd 3-8pm to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. Come drinks some beers and help some very deserving folks.”

General News

Very sad news out of Portland today about The Commons Brewery — they are ceasing all operations, and Modern Time Brewing out of California will be leasing their space. From Brewpublic: “With sad news we report that at the end of 2017 The Commons Brewery will cease operations. Founder Mike Wright has been experiencing what he says have been lagging sales and battling cash flow issues for the past two years. It was a little over two years ago when he moved the brewery into its new space at SE Belmont and SE 7th Ave. Because of these financial struggles he has decided to shut down brewing operations at the end of this year and will then lease the space to San Diego based brewery Modern Times Beer. Wright is not selling The Commons Brewery and will retain the rights to the name. “Modern Times is buying the larger equipment. I am keeping the old 7bbl system and smaller tanks,” Wright told us.” We will see how this all works out in the end.