Welcome to the start of a new week of Oregon beer! Here’s the latest news from around the state. 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 posted as well.

Belmont Station (Portland) has several events this week, including cider tastings tomorrow and Thursday with Schilling Cider and Reverend Nat’s, respectively, and the release party for Widmer’s Steel Bridge Porter on Wednesday, the latest in Widmer’s Collaborator series of homebrewed beers that make it to their professional portfolio. It’s a busy week for Belmont so be sure to swing by at least one of those days.

Saraveza (Portland): This Saturday, the 9th, they are holding a fun and unique mini beer fest: Fest de Peche, celebrating peaches in beer. “Experience some of the rarest and most delectable Peach beers and ciders and mead side-by-side in this one of a kind event. Featuring extremely rare barrel-aged sours, gold medal winners, Belgian imports and Peach Mead and Cider. Some of these will go quick! $18 gets you 10 tickets to start and additional tickets are $2 each.” The kitchen will also have a variety of sweet and savory peach foods as well. This should be a neat little fest, mark your calendars for this weekend!

McMenamins Old Church & Pub (Wilsonville) has a special tasting and meet the brewer this Thursday that sounds pretty amazing: Hogshead Whiskey-Barrel Aged Punk’d Pumpkin Stout. “This beer pours a jet black with aromas of maple, pumpkin, and vanilla. Pure pumpkin was toasted with rolled oats and brown sugar before being added to the mash. Similarly, pumpkin and roasted pumpkin seeds were added to the kettle just before flame off. Vanilla beans, bourbon, and spices were added to the fermenter along with pure maple syrup to create a pumpkin experience you will never forget.” Anyone want to do a growler run for me?

And also on Thursday McMenamins Fulton Pub & Brewery (Portland) is having a limited-edition tasting for Green Fields IPA: “This IPA has a very intense and complex hop bitterness and flavor throughout. This is achieved by carefully blending four different varieties of Northwest grown hops in the boiling kettle. The malt background is rich, smooth, and subtly sweet. This is truly a beer for the hop lovers out there.”

Here’s a cool bit of news from southern Oregon that Medford’s Apocalypse Brewing posted today: “Inspired by our good friends at Swing Tree Brewing Company [in Ashland, also opening November 14], we are now switching to Oregon grown base malt! This local product is produced in limited quantities in the Klamath area and is a top quality grain. We’re excited to now use it for 100% of our base malt needs. According to the rep I just spoke with, Apocalypse Brewing Co. and Swing Tree are now the only two breweries in the state using this product exclusively!”  Rogue Ales uses their own locally-grown (in Oregon, anyway) malt in many of their beers but that isn’t exclusive. Hopefully this will be a trend that other breweries are able to pick up on.