Happy Wednesday/Hump Day! Here’s the news in beer from around Oregon for this chilly-morning 12th of September. 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 that updated.

Corvallis Beer Week continues today, with events including: open house and tours of the new Sky High Brewing (which apparently I didn’t know about!); a doubles cribbage tournatment at the Downward Dog; more sensory analysis workshops at Oregon State’s Fermentation Sciences department; a Red Ales tap takeover at the Crowbar; and a Calapooia Brewing night at Bombs Away Cafe. And this Saturday there is a New School/Brewvana brewery tour trip heading to Corvallis that Ezra tweeted still had seats available—now’s the time to get in on that!

The Green Dragon (Portland) looks to have a couple of things going on today. There is a Green Dragon Brew Crew release starting at 5pm featuring 76th Pilsner (6.6% abv): “Brewed to a higher gravity than most Continental Pilsners, this smooth, drinkable lager is an American take on a German classic. German pilsner malts generate a sultry malt flavor while Slovenian and American hops add a particularly spicy and herbal zing to this strong Pilsner bier.”  And starting at 6pm they are hosting “Hump Day PDX“, an arts and music festival that is free and will feature live music and a beer garden. Sounds like it will be a good time down there tonight!

The Oregon Brewers Festival generated $30 million for the local economy this year, according to a recent study; the press release hit today. “A recently completed study estimates the economic impact of the 2012 Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF) on the local economy at $30 million. This was the second year that Jeff Dense, Professor of Political Science at Eastern Oregon University, and his Politics and Beer class conducted a survey on the grounds of the festival. Dense and his students administered 680 on-site interviews at Tom McCall Waterfront Park between July 26 and July 28, 2012. Dense then utilized IMPLAN (IMpact Analysis for PLANning), a data and software package, to estimate the economic impact of the Oregon Brewers Festival on Multnomah County. He determined that the 2012 OBF generated $21.15 Million in direct and $8.87 Million in indirect economic output.”  That’s a significant impact, up nearly $7 million from 2011’s $23.2 million number. The numbers include a lot of the incidental spending around the Brewfest, not just on beer itself. I’ll run the full press release later, but by any measure the OBF is huge success year after year.

Lompoc Brewing (Portland) has a Beer & Cheese pairing taking place at the Sidebar today from 4 to 10pm which sounds amazing: “Brewer Bryan Keilty and cheesemonger Steve Jones from Cheese Bar will be on hand to chat and answer questions from 7 to 9 pm. There will be a taster tray of all four beer/cheese pairings available for $12. The following pairings will be available: Cherry Christmas with Samish Bay Fresh Ladysmith (Organic Cow, WA), Cherry Bomb with Uniekaas Vintage Grand Ewe (Sheep, Holland), Red Raisin with Baley Hazen Jasper Hill (Cow, VT), and Cherry Porter with Ferns Edge Mt. Zion (Raw Goat, OR).” I’m getting hungry just thinking about this.

Deschutes Brewery (Bend) is brewing Hop Trip, their signature fresh hop ale today! And as usual, they are also giving away fresh hops to homebrewers: “Homebrewers of Bend and Portland…we have fresh hops for YOU! Be one of the first 30 people at the Portland Pub or the Bend Brewing Faciliy (901 SW Simpson) at 3:00pm and receive a 3lb bag of fresh Crystal hops for your next homebrew! It is first come, first served so we hope you can make it. In Bend, sign up at 3pm at the front desk in Portland, just show up. Cheers!”

Oakshire Brewing (Eugene) has two fresh hop beers coming out this season and posted a writeup of the beers and process: “Brewed with Centennial Hops from Crosby Farms in Woodburn, 100 Hops Pale Ale is brewed with 100 pounds of wet Centennials per batch. We’ve crafted this beer to bring out the intertwining of the citrus and “green” characteristics of the fresh Centennials.”  And: “For Ask the Fish, we’ve combined the rich color of a Red Ale with the Northwest-style hop punch that only fresh Chinooks can bring. Brewed with Chinook Hops from Plough Monday farms in Elmira.”  The beers will be available on Friday the 14th and Tuesday the 25th, respectively.

Golden Valley Brewery (McMinnville and Beaverton) has the third and final in their Harvest Series special releases tomorrow, Thursday the 13th at both locations: Oktoberfest! “This classic style Oktoberfest is brewed with crystal and carastan malts from master German maltsters the Weyerman family, uses a marzen lager yeast and finished with Saaz hops. Starting at 4pm we will have $2 pints until the first keg blows! Plus Soft pretzels with house Ale mustard, Brats and kraut and other great food specials!”  I love a good Oktoberfest lager and wish I could make it up to the valley for this one! It’s 5.7% abv and 18 IBUs.