School’s back in, most of the vacations are over, and it’s time to get back into the swing of things! Here’s the news in Oregon beer for Monday, September 14. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news as I find it, so check back often. And if you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that posted as well.

Pelican Pub & Brewery (Pacific City): This upcoming weekend from the 18th through 20th (Friday through Sunday) is the 17th annual Cape Kiwanda Longboard Classic and Brewfest—the brewfest being new this year which takes place Saturday afternoon from 2 to 6pm at Pelican, naturally. “From 2pm-6pm the beer garden will be open to anyone 21 years or older. Commemorative glasses will be given to all Brewfest attendees to purchase tasters or full pints from the following breweries: Pelican Brewing Company, Bouy Beer Co., Fort George Brewing Co., Seaside Brewing, 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Two Kilts Brewing Co. and Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider.” It’s not all beer, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better time at the coast watching the surfing competition and enjoying some great brews.

Kells Brewery (Portland): This Saturday the 19th they are celebrating their third anniversary, and to commemorate the occasion: “The event will feature $3 Kells beers all day, including its three flagship beers – Kells Irish Red, Kells Irish Lager and Kells IPA – as well as its stout on nitro and current seasonals. To complement the beer, head chef Travis Stark has created $3 Kells bites for the day: a stuffed lamb slider, a falafel slider and meatballs topped with Kells stout sauce. The celebration will feature live music by Bridgid’s Cross from 6 to 8 p.m. and local favorite Sami Rouissi from 9 p.m. to Midnight. There is no cover charge. At 7 p.m., owner Gerard McAleese and lead brewer and pub manager Garrett McAleese, will raise a toast in honor of the occasion.” (From the press release.) This will also be the release party for their first-ever bottled beers: Red, Lager, and a rotational IPA. Congrats to Kells on 3 years!

I’m a little behind on this news but Portland’s Ecliptic Brewing‘s latest beer, Electra Framboos, is now out in 22-ounce bottles. It’s a Belgian-style pale ale with raspberries and cacao nibs; their description is, “Electra Framboos shines bright with flavor like the luminous star in the Pleiades cluster for which it is named. Raspberries and cocoa nibs combine with belgian yeast notes to create a fruity and drinkable ale.” Snatch up a bottle if you see it.

Worthy Brewing (Bend): They have a new series of limited edition beers coming out that are inspired by the 25th Anniversary of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument (which is located less than an hour from Bend). From the press release: “The first in the year-long series is Newberry Eruption Imperial Red Ale, which will be released at the Stars Over Newberry event on Lava Butte, near Bend, Oregon, on Saturday, September 19. The Eruption Imperial Red Ale is one of Worthy’s most popular year-round offerings, which, along with the name, was the perfect fit for the series. The limited edition 22-ounce bottle will be released in Oregon only, with $1 from each bottle going to Discover Your Forest, which supports programs and visitor services in the Deschutes & Ochoco National Forests and interacts with over 200k visitors per year.”

Fresh Hop Watch:

• Worthy Brewing has a fresh hop beer on tap: “Just Plucked Fresh Hop Session IPA is on tap now! This Heart and Soul release used almost a dozen varieties of freshly picked estate hops from our hop yard, including Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, & Meridian. Its tasty, light, and hoppy!” And, on the 12th (Saturday) they brewed up their Big Sticky Fresh Hop Pale using 70 pounds of fresh Cascades from Goschie Farms.
• Buoy Beer (Astoria) has something brewing: “It’s smelling piney in the brew house! The hops were picked fresh this morning and are on their way to become beer.” No indication what the beer is (yet).
• Fearless Brewing (Estacada) brewed with fresh hops from Crosby Hop Farm today.
• Baerlic Brewing (Portland) has fresh Crystal hops in the house today—hoping they aren’t using the ones in that particular photo!
• Beer Valley Brewing (Ontario): They will have three fresh hop beers on tap for the upcoming hop festivals. Right now, Tri-State Fresh Hop Ale is out now; “Brewed with fresh Centennial hops from Oregon, fresh Simcoe hops from Washington, and fresh Cascade hops from Idaho.” Then they will have Fresh Hop Leafer Madness and Fresh Hop Black Flag Imperial Stout, the former at the Hood River Hops Fest and both at the Yakima Fresh Hop Fest.