Here’s the Oregon beer news for Tuesday the 25th of September. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post with the latest news items as I find them, so check back often for updates. And if you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that updated as well.

Cascade Brewing (Portland): Their Tap It Tuesday tonight at 6pm is featuring “live” Black Cap Raspberry: “This NW style sour blond ale was barrel aged for 28 months before spending an additional two months on 300+ pounds of Black Cap raspberries: think Nouveau Beaujolais with raspberries. Vinous then sweet aromas of tart raspberries noticed up front. Sharp, acidic notes of tart berries and leather on the palate lead to a sharp, dark berry presence and a finish with a prolonged dry fruit note. This limited draft-only offering is a blender favorite. 6.55% ABV, $7/glass, $3/taster.”

Silver Moon Brewing (Bend): Each week they feature a “Growler Power Hour” on Tuesday and Wednesday from 4 to 6pm where you can fill a growler with the featured beer(s) for only $6. This week the specials are for the brewery’s High Plains Hefeweizen and Getsum Apricot Wheat Ale—quite possibly the best deals around. Silver Moon also has their seasonal Asmodeus Dark IPA on tap right now too—a 7.5% abv Black IPA (their description, really a Cascadian Dark Ale *wink*) that’s one of the tastier ones I’ve had.

And for the latest news in fresh hops:

• Fort George Brewery (Astoria) has four different fresh hop beers available and they will all be on tap tonight at the Bridgetown Beerhouse in Portland starting at 6pm! The beers are Co-Hoperative Ale, Fresh Hop Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale, Fresh Hop Vortex IPA, and Hopstoria. There are good descriptions of each on the event page; if you like fresh hop beers, I have to say you shouldn’t miss this event tonight.
• Hopworks Urban Brewery (Portland) is releasing their new fresh hop beer, IPX – The Freshmaker, on tap today at 5pm and both of their locations: “Made with freshly harvested organic Cascade hops from Goschie Farms, this edition of our IPX single hop series shows off all the green goodness of the Cascade hop. For a limited time, we’ll also have our Single Hop IPX Cascade made with dried hops for true hopheads to enjoy a side-by-side taste comparison. Same malt bill, same hops, just one is fresh and wet and one is dried.”
• Oakshire Brewing (Eugene): Their new single batch Ask the Fish Wet Hop Chinook Red Ale is on tap now in Eugene (and Eugene only with a couple of exceptions): “(We’re also pouring it at Sisters & Hood River hop fests on 9/29.) Brewed with Chinook Hops from Plough Monday farms in Elmira, we’ve built this NW-style Red Ale around Chinook’s spicy, floral, citrus and piney character.” Find it if you can!
• Deschutes Brewery (Bend): Tuesday, October 2nd is the latest installment of the Deschutes Brewery University series and it’s on Fresh Hop Beers: “Our focus this month is on fresh hop beers! We will focus on a brief history of fresh hop beers and the techniques we’ve used with them, when they are added to the kettle and how they are harvested from the vines.  Sample several varieties of fresh hop beers including Hop Trip and Chasin’ Freshiesalong with some tasty appetizers. Brewer, Matt Henneous will be back from his hop selection trip to Yakima, WA to teach this class so you won’t want to miss this one.” It’s taking place from 6 to 8pm in the Bend Pub’s Tap Room and costs $25 to attend.

Upright Brewing (Portland) has a new beer coming out in their limited “Sole Composition” series: “This weekend we are releasing Yusef Lateef in the Sole Composition series bottles. Sadly because of large amounts of people buying up SC beers for trading we are lowering the limit to 2 bottles per person. Yusef Lateef is a liquid tribute to the legendary composer and multi-instrumentalist from Detroit, still performing over five decades into his career. The brown brew is a four cask blend of various lots with a pinch of elderflower and lavender, yielding a beer showing delicate balance. Beer for the thinker. 6%”