Happy Hump Day, and apparently National Cheeseburger Day! Have you paired a cheeseburger with a fresh hop beer yet? Why not? Here’s the news in Oregon beer for Wednesday the 18th of September. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news, so check back often for updates. And if you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that updated as well.

McMenamins Murray & Allen (Beaverton) has a limited-edition beer tasting today for a cask version of Thundercone Fresh Hop Ale: “Our favorite seasonal of the year is going back to the old cask tradition! This special keg of Thundercone Ale was racked out with a small amount of McMenamins Ale yeast to allow the beer to finish and self-carbonate in the cask. It is then set on the bar, and gravity poured right when you order. This is what the beer snobs would consider “Real Ale”. I hope you “really” like it!” It starts at 4pm and will last until the keg is empty.

This year’s Oregon Brewers Festival in Portland generated $31.2 million for the local economy, according to the press release issued today. That’s huge! For a general breakdown, the OBF “generated an estimated $21.9 million in direct and $9.3 million in indirect (additional input purchases made by local businesses) economic impact” and some additional interesting numbers include: 52.5% of patrons were out-of-town visitors; 40% were first-time visitors; and the average out-of-town visitor spent $587. It’s always great to see positive economic impact from craft beer, and the OBF is definitely one of the leading fests in this area.