Happy Friday! Here’s the news in the Oregon beer world for the weekend of November 4th. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news, so check back often. And if you have news to share, please let me know and I can get that updated as well.

The fifth annual McKenzie Cider and Craft Beer Festival kicks off today at the Willamalane Center in Springfield! “This craft beer festival is the premier brew fest in Lane County. Join us for live music, great food and more than seventy five craft brewers of cider and beer. Proceeds will support The Willamalane Foundation, the nonprofit advocacy organization formed in 1983 that supports the activities and facilities of Willamalane Park and Recreation District that works separately but in partnership with Willamalane.” It runs from 5 to 11pm today (Friday) and noon to 11pm Saturday, and costs $15 which gets you the commemorative glass plus two tasting tickets. Extra tickets are $1 each. They are advertising “75+ brewers and cideries providing two beverages each” and on that page I count at least 19 cideries.

Base Camp Brewing (Portland) is celebrating their fourth anniversary all day long on Saturday the 5th, and they have a day lined out: “- Extra-special beer releases, including our IPA Election 2016, featuring twelve small-batch IPAs, and our 4th Anniversary barrel-aged imperial saison
– Adventure Games! 5-8pm, hosted by our lovely friends from Mountain Shop, Rare Earth Adventures, Arc’teryx, and Outdoor Project
– Live music courtesy of Ben Larson of Crow and the Canyon
– Birthday cake! Woot! Free with high five. Minors welcome until 10pm.” Congrats on four years!

McMenamins Old Church (Wilsonville) is holding their fourth annual Boones Ferry Autumn Ale Fest on Saturday the 5th, featuring “more than a dozen big, hearty beers that are perfect for the season.” McMenamins brewers past and present will have their beers pouring and attendees can vote on their favorite to win the Boones Best. Some of the brewers will be on-hand to chat, and from 1 to 5pm  there will be tours of the Old Church brewery. It’ll be a fun event, so be sure to stop by if you’re in the area!

Block 15 Brewery (Corvallis): Saturday is a big release day for the brewery, with Figgy Pudding, Framboise Black, and Turbulent Consequence Non Mélangé all coming out at the brewery and tap room starting at 11am. “For November’s release, instead of offering a one-off hop-forward beer in cans, we will also have cans of our next Sticky Hands variation available! The release will begin at 11am, but we will be opening our doors at 8:30am, so you can arrive early and hang with our brewers over complimentary hot coffee, NutCakes donuts, some killer food specials, and our release beers on tap. (We’ll issue you a number when you arrive, so you can mingle before the release without losing your spot in line.)”

Lookingglass Brewery (Winston) is celebrating their first anniversary this weekend and accordingly, they have a release and anniversary party featuring DoubleTime Double IPA on Saturday: “This marks our first anniversary for Lookingglass Brewery. As part of our celebration, we are releasing our first double IPA! Rolling Thunder BBQ will be here as well as some great music! Come help us celebrate this milestone with a glass of DoubleTime!”

On Saturday the Woodstock Wine & Deli in Portland is holding their annual Sierra Nevada Celebration vertical tasting and release party from 1 to 6pm. “We holding a vertical tasting of the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and the newly relased 2016 vintages of Celebration Ale. Our celebration tasting is our store’s kickoff to the holiday season! Our Sierra Nevada representitive will be here handing out raffle prizes including Sierra Nevada shirts, beer & fun knicknacks. On this day we will also be selling a limited supply of vintage Sierra Nevada Celebration Ales as well as special pricing for the new 2015 Ales!”

Terminal Gravity Brewing (Enterprise) has a new beer release out: Apolitical Stout. From the press release: “Our latest seasonal draught beer is an ode to what we call a “drinker’s beer.” Apolitical Stout is a American Stout that will satisfy the drinker in the winter, yet make her/him consider it during the shoulder seasons as well. It pours a rich, dark brown with a creamy foam head, tangled with light brown hues. On first sip, one might consider it lighter than it looks. A smooth texture and mouth-feel brought on by the addition of oats in the malt bill compliment the hesitant roast flavor. With lasting notes of coffee, the finish carries bitterness reminiscent of real dark chocolate. At 5.7% ABV, it’s a perfect beer to enjoy as a full pint.” Appropriate for the current election season!

Deschutes Brewery (Bend) announced today a new beer coming out Honey Nut Brown Ale. From the press release: “A sweet nod to Deschutes Brewery’s commitment to local products and sustainability will be available in very limited quantities in Oregon. The brewery’s new Honey Nut Brown Ale, which will be on tap only at the Bend and Portland Public Houses, Lardo and Irving Street Kitchen, was brewed at the Bend Public House using honey from Bee Local hives that currently reside at the home of Deschutes Brewery brewmaster Veronica Vega. Bee Local, a Portland based sustainable honey company, creates single origin raw honey. The company’s mission is to support sustainable beekeeping via education and outreach, and it harvests and sources sustainably-produced honey from across the United States. Bee Local honey is used in both Deschutes Brewery’s pubs, as well as a key ingredient in the new beer. Honey Nut Brown Ale is a light amber colored beer with a rich and creamy mouthfeel. Flavors of vanilla and orange citrus lead with a medium sweetness to the finish. It is available for a limited time only.”

Portland’s Great Notion Brewing has a crowler release of their Over-Ripe IPA all day long on Saturday the 5th: “Crowler release of Over-Ripe. Over-Ripe is an experimental IPA brewed with Azacca, Simcoe, Columbus & Motueka hops. We get loads of overripe fruit like cantaloupe, honey dew, and papaya. 6% abv”