Happy Friday! With this cold snap that’s settled down on us (at least, here in Central Oregon) I hope you’re staying warm and are ready for the weekend! Here is the news in beer from around Oregon for this weekend of December 8; as usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news, so check back often. If you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that posted also.

Friday, 12/8

Bend Brewing Company is throwing the release party for their Sno’d In Winter Ale Friday night starting at 5pm: “Partnering with our friends at SnoPlanks, HydroFlask and Oregon Adaptive Sports, we bring you our second annual Sno’d In Winter Ale Release Party & we are going WAY BIGGER THIS YEAR! Come support OAS at the release party with a HUGE outdoor tent & live music by DJ Sorski and Scribbled Rhymes. The best part about Sno’d In? With every beer purchase we make a donation to Oregon Adaptive Sports!”

Bazi Bierbrasserie (Portland): Friday evening they are hosting an Abt 12 Magnum Vertical Tasting: “Join us on Friday, December 8 starting at 6 PM for a special St Bernadus Abt 12 Magnum Edition vertical flight – 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. St.Bernardus Abt 12 is one of the world’s greatest beers. Original recipe, first brewed in 1946, dark brown in color with ruby highlights. Perfectly balanced, with a full body and a hoppy bite. Bottle conditioned, ABV 10% The tasting costs $18 and will include 4 oz pours of each Abt 12 year plus a welcome pour of St Bernardus Christmas. Due to the limited magnum edition bottles, pre-purchase is recommended via Evenbrite. Participants may choose to arrive any time between 6-10 PM.”

Falling Sky Brewing (Eugene) has the release of their Kama Sumatra coffee beer Friday at 4pm at their main pub: “Stretch out with a loved one and share in the sensuous combination of coffee and beer to stimulate an evening, afternoon or morning. Rich aromas of chocolate and fresh roasted coffee bring together full flavors of toffee, malt, and mocha will surely show the way to Kama. Friday December 8th at 4:00pm we will be releasing Kama Sumatra at The Falling Sky Pub.”

Imperial Bottle Shop (Portland): Their winter clothing drive concludes on Friday: “For homeless youth, the holidays and winter can be difficult times. In an effort to share in the magic of the holiday season with those less fortunate than us, Imperial has partnered with 8 local breweries to coordinate a week-long clothing drive that benefits New Avenues for Youth. Throughout the week of Dec 4 – Dec 8, if you donate an article of cold-weather clothing from 5-8PM, in return you will get to choose between receiving either an article of new brewery apparel or a $1 pint from either of that night’s 2 feature breweries.” Friday’s featured breweries/beers are all the ones that they had throughout the week.

The Bier Stein (Eugene) is hosting the release of Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout Friday from 5 to 8pm: “Join us for the release of the prized CBS from Founders! Canadian Breakfast Stout is an Imperial Stout brewed with a blend of coffees and imported chocolates, then aged in spent bourbon barrels that have most recently been aging pure Michigan maple syrup. Crazy! On Draft for the evening: KBS ’17, CBS, Breakfast Stout, Backwoods Bastard, Dirty Bastard, Breakfast Stout.”

Portland’s Belmont Station is having a Cellar Blowout Bonanza all day Friday: “Looking for a special bottle (or several) to help celebrate the holidays — or give as great gifts? The Cellar Blowout is all about you! Just for the holidays, we will be bringing in some very special bottles of aged beers that have been meticulously stored in our off-site cellar. Keep an eye on this space for updates on what will be available. To add to the fun, in the biercafe, we also will be pouring a “mystery keg” — we *think* we know what it is, but we’re not sure because it lost its identifying markings. Get a glass or a small taster of it (we know it’s delicious, and we know it’s boozy, so no pints) and let us know what you think it is! Also, we will be pouring from a cask of JW Lees Harvest 2011 on the bartop.”

Culmination Brewing (Portland) has Partly Cloudy IPA on tap on Friday: “Partly Cloudy IPA, A.K.A. Lil Obscured By Clouds, will be going on tap this Thursday, 11/7. If you were a fan of Obscured By Clouds, this beer is its little brother! Like Obscured, this beer is hazy but a little easier drinking because of a smaller A.B.V. @ 6.4% and 15 IBU’s. This beer tastes of resin and tropical fruit and is made with Galaxy and Simcoe hops. Come on out and give it a try, and let’s get HAZY!”

Saturday, 12/9

The 5th annual Central Oregon Winter Beer Festival takes place Saturday at GoodLife Brewing in Bend from 2 to 9pm. “COWBF is a showcase for seasonal and specialty beers brewed in celebration of the holiday season. Admission to COWBF will be $15.00 and attendees will receive a commemorative COWBF glass, as well as 5 drink tickets. Each additional ticket will cost $1.00. The festival will be in a heated tent, and there will be food carts available on-site!” Shameless plug: I will be there with copies of my book Bend Beer for sale! Come drink some great holiday-themed beers and ciders and buy some books—they make great Christmas gifts!

Occidental Brewing (Portland): Their annual Humbug Lager Fest returns on Saturday for two days! “It’s time to celebrate cold weather and lager beers, Occidental Brewing style. Our yearly Humbug Lager Fest will be stocked with lagers from Occidental and other great breweries from Portland and beyond. There will be a wide range of beers, light to dark, easy drinking to strong and bold. This year we have so many great breweries participating we had to make Humbug Lager Fest TWO DAYS. That’s right, for the first time ever this year’s festival will be Saturday December 9th and Sunday December 10th. The event will take place indoors in our taproom and adjoining spaces which will be decorated with a tree and plenty of festive lights! Christmas classics will be playing and there will even be a photobooth so you can get plenty of pictures in those ugly sweaters. Admission: $10 gets you a logo taster glass along with six tokens for samples. Samples are 4oz each.”

Springfield’s Plank Town Brewing is hosting their From the Woods Barrel-Aged Brew Fest Saturday the 9th starting at 2pm: “Enjoy barrel-aged craftbeer from breweries across Oregon during our annual From the Woods Brew Fest. The $10 admission includes a Belgian style tasting glass and 5 tasting tickets plus discounts on food. This will be a great opportunity to taste an amazing variety of barrel-aged beer all under one roof! VIP packages with a shirt, specialty bottle and additional tasting tickets will be available as well.”

Three Creeks Brewing (Sisters): Their annual Rudolph’s Imperial Red Vertical Tasting event is taking place on Saturday from 3 to 6pm: “Join us, Saturday, December 9th from 3 to 6pm for the 7th Annual Rudolph’s Imperial Red Vertical Tasting! We will be featuring the Rudolph Imperial Red from 2014, 2015, 2016 and of course, 2017! This event is paired with delicious appetizers and small plates. Gratuity is included with your $25 ticket. Reservations are required. Please call 541.549.1963 for reservations and details.”

The Bier Stein is welcoming beer writer Jeff Alworth on Saturday starting at 3pm for a reading and signing of Jeff’s book The Secrets of Master Brewers: “Join award winning beer author and long-time Portland beer blogger Jeff Alworth (www.beervanablog.com) for a reading and book signing, along with a Q & A session, in the Back Bar. If you’ve ever wondered about the history behind some of the world’s most renowned breweries, or why Rodenbach and other classic beers taste the way they do, Alworth has you covered.” Highly recommended!

Uptown Market (Beaverton) is celebrating their 6th annivesary on Saturday with a party from 4 to 9pm: “We’ll have special tastings from Breakside, Pelican and Ancestry, food cart open serving Sausages and Mac, and LIVE Music. Come win some great prizes in our raffle including U-Keg and a Free Year of Mug Club!” Congrats!

Ecliptic Brewing (Portland): The release of their Orange Giant Barleywine drops on Saturday! “Join us for the release of our Orange Giant Barleywine and Batch No. 4 Barrel-Aged Orange Giant Barleywine on Saturday December 9th. Both draft and 22oz bottles will be available starting at 11:00am in the pub. These two beers are two of the most decorated beers in our line-up.”

Ordnance Brewing (Boardman): They are hosting a winter party at their Wilsonville tap room from 4 to 9pm on Saturday: “Ordnance Brewing would like to invite you to come celebrate the coming of winter with us! We will be tapping a variety of porters and stouts in order to honor this winter season. There will be an ugly sweater contest and the winner will take home a gift basket. There will also be live music by Ryan Menacho on the acoustic guitar, a sugar cookie decoration table, and of course, beer specials for all of our customers and mug club members.”