It’s Veterans Day weekend, and I hope everyone has a good one (particularly if you have Friday off). Raise a beer and toast any of the veterans in your life who have served. Here are the events and news in Oregon beer for this weekend; 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.

Friday, 11/10

The McKenzie Cider & Craft Beer Festival kicks off Friday in Springfield, taking place from 5 to 11pm and then again on Saturday from noon to 11pm. The fest promises 150 beers and ciders from 75 craft breweries and cider makers, and a family-friendly atmosphere. Proceeds from the event are donated to a charity of the Springfield Rotary Club’s choosing. Besides beer and cider (look at the breweries attending here) there are also some workshops taking place on Saturday. Cost is $15 for one day or $20 for both, and you get the usual brewfest amenities. If you’re in the area this weekend this is a great fest to check out!

The BeerMongers (Portland) is hosting the second of Crux Fermentation Project‘s Tough Love release parties on Friday from 6 to 8pm: “Join us for a celebratory toast with Co-Founder and Master Brewer, Larry Sidor, and our Crux team— for the release of one of our most highly anticipated beers. This marks the official release of our 2017 [BANISHED] Tough Love Imperial Stout on draft and in bottles. To make the evening even more special, we will be raffling off one very rare Box Set of a Tough Love four-year vertical (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017).”

McMenamins 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop (Portland) has a couple of things going on Friday. First, it’s the release of Kris Kringle in cans, a welcome addition to their canned lineup this year. And then from 6 to 8pm they are featuring Three Kriek’s with a Cherry on Top, which sounds great: “Come in for a fantastic Cherry Taster Tray featuring three Cherry Wines from Frederiksdal Kirsebaervin and three Kriek’s: Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek, Slaapumutske flemish Old Style Sour Ale Kriek, and Cantillon Kriek. We will also be featuring the Wild Tacoma Cherry from E9 Brewing on draft; special cocktails with Frederiksdal Cherry Likor; and an optional appetizer plate to pair with your taster tray.”

McMenamins Old St. Francis School (Bend) is celebrating their birthday weekend starting on Friday, and lasting all day Friday and Saturday. “Help us celebrate with lots o’ fun! Have a slice of birthday cake, go on a property tour, bring your Passport to go on a Discovery Hunt – and on Saturday, hunt for a pop-up bar as well.” Live music, and I’m sure food and beer specials will be the order of the weekend.

Also, longtime Old St. Francis School brewer Mike “Curly” White is no longer hanging his boots with the brewery, and has taken a position with Wild Ride Brewing. His final beer as head brewer, Fare Thee Well Double IPA, is on tap at the pub now, so make sure you get down there and toast Curly for a great run!

Culmination Brewing (Portland) has their Obscured By Clouds Can Release Friday at their taproom—their first canned beer! “Obscured By Clouds is going into 16oz. cans on November 10th! Come by the taproom and pickup your FRESH cans the same day they were filled. They will come in 16oz. 4 packs and will cost $14. Our NE style IPA, Obscured By Clouds, is back on tap! This hazy NE style IPA is a juice bomb with flavors of Mandarin Orange, Pineapple, & Mango. We used oats and rice in this beer along with Polaris, Mosaic and Galaxy hops. This beer comes in at 8.4% A.B.V. Haze craze fans rejoice!”

The Nano Pub Crawl on Mississippi Avenue in Portland continues through the weekend, featuring 35 small (nano) breweries collaborating on an eight-stop pub crawl.

Migration Brewing (Portland) is releasing a NE-style IPA on Friday: Hope Hazy IPA. “A big aggressively hopped IPA, 5 pounds per barrel create a dank and juicy hop delight. Strong melon, passion fruit and herb aromas complement flavors of lemon, caramelized tropical fruits and spicy undertones. English Maris Otter pale malt offers a light orange colored pint that is a perfect platform for this cocktail of luscious hops.”

Portland’s Baerlic Brewing has a draft beer release on Friday, for Noble Oatmeal Stout: “It’s Baaack! One of our favorite beers we brew and this time on NITRO! Beneath a dense chestnut head lies rich aromas of cocoa & short bread that unfold into a full body of milk chocolate and coffee. Brewed with Bob’s Red Mill rolled oats for texture.”

Claim 52 Brewing (Eugene) has a can release for their Snail Down, a milkshake IPA: “The highly anticipated follow up to Bird Up, Snail Down, will be canned up in the morning and then unleashed for public consumption. It does not get fresher than this. Much like its predecessor, Snail Down is a milkshake IPA brewed with lactose and vanilla but this time conditioned on pounds and pounds of pureed mango!”

Eugene’s Agrarian Ales is letting customers build their own dark beer flights this weekend: “A new dark beer is being released this weekend called “Iron Plow”, an Imperial Stout that will keep you nice a cozy at 9.5% abv. This calls for an invitation to build your own flight of three out of our four dark beer offerings.”

Tin Bucket in Portland is hosting a “Night in Bend: Barrel Aged Edition” featuring both Crux and Deschutes Brewery, starting at 5pm: “Come drink some fantastic barrel aged beers from 2 great Bend breweries, Crux & Deschutes. We are pulling some kegs out of storage for this night.”

Old Town Brewing (Portland) has their own hazy IPA tapping at 5pm on Friday: Pillowfist Hazy IPA. “Join us in the tapping of “Pillowfist” our big hazy IPA! With over 4 pounds of Mosaic and Citra hops per barrel, the voice of moderation was not invited to this party. Unimaginably juicy with strong notes of tropical fruits, sweet floral aromatics, and a kick of citrus, this murky monster delivers a fist of flavor in a soft, pillowy clench. So come on down and hang with the gang – we’ll all be there taking a punch throughout the evening, pouring pints and offering up $12 Crowler fills to go!”

Saturday, 11/11 (Veterans Day)

This is the final weekend that Portland’s The Commons Brewery will be open; the space is being taken over by Modern Time Brewing and the Commons’ future is uncertain. Be sure to head over there and say “Bye for now.”

The 2nd annual Bend Ale Festival returns on Saturday in Bend’s Northwest Crossing neighborhood starting at 11am. It’s largely a showcase for the region’s local breweries and takes place in conjunction with the Bend Ale Run happening that morning. They have 18 breweries listed as pouring and for $20 you get the tasting mug and 10 tokens (additional tokens are 4 for $5).

Bailey’s Taproom (Portland): Their annual BelgianFest returns on Saturday, celebrating Oregon brewed, Belgian-themed beers and ciders. It runs all day from noon to midnight and there is no entry fee—just come and enjoy the Belgian-styled offerings.

Breweries in the Gorge is celebrating their 2nd annual Big Swig—featuring a “brewery tour” of all 12 breweries in the Columbia Gorge area. “Each brewery will offer a free unique open-house type of event. Spend the day exploring what makes our breweries unique in one of the most beautiful places in the country.” The event runs from noon to 4pm.

McMenamins 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop is hosting a Woodbox Cider Tasting on Saturday from 2 to 4pm.

Portland’s Saraveza is hosting Culmination Brewing for their IPA can release on Saturday from 4 to 7pm: “We’re excited to host Culmination Brewing’s official can release of Obscured By Clouds AND Phaedrus IPA on Saturday, Nov. 11th from 4-7. These are Culmination’s first ever cans! The Culmination crew will be here to cheers and high five on this awesome new step in their journey.”

The Bier Stein (Eugene) is hosting a Live Beer Memorabilia Auction for charity from 3 to 7pm on Saturday: “We are going to clear our closet of beer memorabilia for our first live auction. All money raised from the auction will be donated to two local nonprofits: Food for Lane County and Relief Nursery. The auction will take place from 3-7pm in the pool table area and Back Bar, and will feature 15 lots of beer memorabilia (breweriana) ranging in type, size, and value. Each lot will contain one extra special marquee item, such as an LED or gift basket, donated by breweries specifically for the event, and an array of branded tin tackers and other items. The auction is free and open to the public, including brewery, distributor, and Bier Stein employees. Participants must be present to bid and collect any winnings. Bids can be paid in cash or by card (no checks, please). Registration and item viewing begins at 3pm in the Back Bar. Bidding starts at 6pm sharp. Brewery representatives will hand out some free samples prior to the auction.” This is a great opportunity to pick up some sweet breweriana that benefits a great cause, so make sure to head over to check this out!

Pelican Brewing is hosting their “Take Flight” barrel-aged beer tasting at the pub in Pacific City on Saturday from 4 to 6pm: “Enjoy a cocktail style event featuring a guided flight of our barrel-aged series including Queen of Hearts, Father of all Tsunamis, Captain of the Coast and our new 2017 release of Mother of all Storms–all paired with tasty, passed appetizers.  Darron Welch, Pelican’s Brewmaster, will walk you through the flight and talk about how our Pelican beers pair well with food! Tickets must be purchased in advance at our online store here for $45 (not including gratuity). Must be 21+ older.”

Rogue Ales (Newport) is hosting the official tapping of their Pilots Pale Ale at the Portland Rogue Hall on Saturday from 7 to 10pm: “Come cheer on your favorite team at our official tapping of Pilots Pale Ale. Dedicated to Portland’s college on the bluff, Pilots Pale Ale is a tribute to the University of Portland’s mascot, the riverboat Pilots. Made by Pilots for Pilots, this hazy golden colored ale delivers an initial fruity hop flavor, slight malt sweetness that ends with a crisp bitterness. The game between city rivals U of P & PSU begins right at 7pm. Get here early to grab a good seat for the live stream.”

Portland’s Wayfinder Beer has a new beer release dropping on Saturday: Polybius Pale Ale. “As you hopefully know, our brewmaster Kevin Davey has been slaying it for nearly half a year now, unleashing one tasty beer-offering after another upon a thirsty public. Next in line is “Polybius”, an American-style pale ale featuring golden pale malts and Simcoe & Centennial hops in harmonious balance. Look for aromas of grapefruit and pine with clean and balanced fruit in this golden-hued ray of sunshine. 5.3% alcohol by volume, 37 bittering units. Look for Polybius to hit the taps Saturday, November 11; in celebration, we’ll take a dollar off all Polybius crowlers all day long.”

Eugene’s 16 Tons is throwing their Imperial Stout Fest on Saturday: “Our taps will be full of rare, unusual and highly sought after Imperial Stouts from several of our favorite breweries including Oakshire, Great Notion, Epic, Evil Twin & more!! Voodoo Doughnut Eugene is creating a special Imperial Stout infused donut for the fest! First 24 people in the door get a free doughnut!”

Ordnance Brewing’s Wilsonville location is celebrating its birthday on Saturday with a birthday bash from 4 to 9pm: “Come celebrate our birthday while supporting a great cause! All procedes from our second annual “Jerry” seasonal ale go to support the ALS Foundation. Slicks Big Time BBQ will be joining us with awesome food! They will have plates with pulled pork, BBQ chicken, mac and cheese, coleslaw, and beans available for $7 starting at 4pm!”