TGIF, and I don’t know about you but Friday couldn’t come soon enough this week! Here’s the beer news for the weekend of the 18th through 20th of October. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day, so check back often. And if you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that updated as well.

This weekend is a huge pumpkin beer-infused one across the state, with no less than 3 pumpkin beer events taking place!

• Killer Pumpkin Festival, part of Brewpublic’s Killer Beer Week, is taking place at The Green Dragon in Portland both Saturday and Sunday all day, and features 25+ pumpkin beers, pumpkin cocktails, pumpkin food, pumpkin smashing, pumpkin bowling and more, and on Sunday at 3pm the Elysian Pumpkin Roadshow will be on hand to tap an 85 pound pumpkin filled with beer.
• 10 Barrel Brewing (Bend) is holding their “Get Squashed” pumpkin fest on Saturday from noon to 9pm at their Pub: “5 one-off pumpkin beers including a pumpkin sour, live music on the patio, kids corner with pumpkin painting and it’s all FREE.”
• The Bier Stein (Eugene) is hosting their own Pumpkinpalooza event on Saturday and Sunday, all day long each day, with the Elysian Pumpkin Roadshow bringing 12 years and a pumpkin filled with beer on Saturday and a ton of other pumpkin beers on tap. And: “We’ll have a ‘guess the weight’ contest for the pumpkin firkin, and will tap some of the rarer pumpkin beers at the back bar at 5pm on Saturday!”

The Umpqua Brew Fest is back for its fourth year in Southern Oregon’s Roseburg, taking place Saturday from 1 to 9pm at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. “Since the the fall of 2010, the festival has raised funds for Umpqua Watersheds, a non-profit conservation organization located in Roseburg, Oregon and dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Umpqua Watershed and beyond through education, training, and advocacy.” They’ve got a great-looking taplist with a number of breweries, cideries, and wineries, and even homebrew via the Umpqua Valley Brewers Guild which should be fun. If you’re around Southern Oregon tomorrow, be sure to check this out.

Saraveza (Portland) is celebrating their fifth anniversary all Saturday long with a 9am brunch, great beers all day long, and a special 10pm Consecration Toast with cake! “Please stop by and enjoy some of the days happenings including free pasties and our 5th Consecration Toast led by Saraveza Curator and General Manager, Erika Huston. This is our annual “cheers” to the craft beer industry and to those that make the craft beer revolution a reality. We’ve lovingly crafted a draft list for the day including the Saraveza anniversary beer “Maple Smoked Lager” in which the malts were smoked by Saraveza and the beer was brewed by Breakside.” Big congrats to one of the coolest beer bars around!

Thunder Island Brewing (Cascade Locks), one of the newest breweries in the state, is having the grand opening party for their new tasting room on Saturday the 19th, starting at noon and going until 11pm: “Tour the brewery and meet the brewers! Enjoy some beer and food, with door prizes and live music throughout the evening. Everyone gets a free raffle ticket at the door! Bring the whole family to the celebration, kids are welcome in our outdoor covered seating area. Those 21 and over are welcome to stop by and check out the tasting room.”