Happy Friday (TGIF)! Today (Friday) is Roast Chestnuts Day, seasonally appropriate but I don’t know that I’ve seen too many street vendors roasting chestnuts around; perhaps find a nice nut brown ale to substitute?

At any rate here is the news for this weekend of the 14th, which I’ll be updating periodically throughout the day on Friday, so check back in occasionally for the latest weekend happenings. And as always, feel free to contact me with any news and information that I can publish as well.

Friday, Dec. 14

McMenamins‘ Longest Night of the Year Barleywine returns and the 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop in Portland is hosting the bottle release party Friday from 6 to 8pm: “We are releasing three versions of our Longest Night of the Year Barleywine this year: Port-style-, whiskey- and rum-barrel aged. We’ll be offering an Edgefield barleywine taster tray featuring:
– 2018 Whiskey Barrel-Aged Longest Night of the Year
– 2018 Rum Barrel-Aged Longest Night of the Year
– 2018 Port-Style-Barrel-Aged Longest Night of the Year
– 2017 Longest Night of the Year
– Edgefield Extra Three-Year Barrel-Aged Barleywine”

And if you don’t make it over to the Bottle Shop, there will also be gift shop tastings of Longest Night at the Kennedy School and at the Edgefield.

Immersion Brewing (Bend) is tapping its batch of Resilience IPA on Friday: “We are releasing the Resilience IPA of which 100% of proceeds go towards those impacted by the Camp Fire. So buy a pint and support our Californian neighbors by drinking great beer.”

Belmont Station (Portland) is hosting the Firestone Walker XXII anniversary bottle release along with pouring some vintage drafts from 5 to 8pm: “Kicking this holiday season into high gear with our annual Firestone Walker Anniversary release party. If you’re not familiar with how these beers are created it is truly unique process. Firestone employs a number of local wine makers to help select specific barrels and create the blend. Tom their local rep. will be here to talk in more detail about this years blend and all things Firestone.”

Belmont is also hosting a food drive right now, leading up to a white elephant gift exchange party on the 22nd: “We here at Belmont Station love giving back to our community, whether it’s raising money for a dear friend or making a charitable donation to a local non-profit. We aim to bring our friends, family, and community together through the common love of beer. With it being the “giving season” our fearless beer buyer and friend of the Biercafe came up with a fun way to do so. A White Elephant Gift Exchange!!!! Here are the steps to participate in the first ever “White Elephant Gift Exchange”
– Sign up in the Biercafe. (sign up sheets are located at the bar)
– Donate a non-perishable food or clothing item between now and December 22nd
– A confirmation email (to remind you of your participation) will be sent out on December 17th
– On December 22nd starting at 2pm bring your donation and a wrapped gift (With a value of $10 or less) to our Biergarten
– Have fun.”

The Bier Stein (Eugene) is hosting Ground Breaker Brewing on Friday for a gluten-free beer tasting from 5 to 8pm: “Ground Breaker is a 100% gluten-free brewery based in Portland. Stop by to sample their Gayle Fresh Hop IPA on Friday, December 14th! ‘Brimming with 180 pounds of fresh Crystal hops from Goschie Farms, this beer celebrates an aroma that conjures the scent of an Oregon forest. Named Gayle, in honor of Gayle Goschie.'”

10 Barrel Brewing (Bend): The Portland Pub is releasing the third of its Pearl Ball IPA beers on Friday, in preparation for Saturday’s event: “Introducing Mother of Pearl Triple IPA: Swing by the pub this Friday at 4PM for the third & final Pearl Ball release. The first 50 people to order a Triple IPA will receive a “golden ticket” for a discounted ticket to our annual Pearl Ball holiday party. Get here early to snag one of our Pearl Ball signature IPA glasses (first 15 Mother of Pearl orders).”

Manifest Beer Company (Eugene) has a Christmas beer release on Friday: “Bière de Noël release this Friday in the breezeway. Winter is finally here and Christmas is only a few days away!!! Inspired by old work traditions using “magic sticks” or what we call “The 11 disciples” this beer is open fermented until 80% attenuation then racked for conditioning. The 11 disciples are the only thing that inoculates the wort in this beer. We left some bitterness in the beer at 45 IBU. Big dark stone fruits, some Belgian spices, some chocolate malt, and loads of dark Belgian candy.”

Saturday, Dec. 15

10 Barrel‘s Pearl Ball takes place starting at 6pm Saturday: “10 Barrel Portland cordially invites you to our second annual holiday party, the Pearl Ball! Join us to sip on three different variations of our pub’s flagship and most loved beer, Pearl IPA. We’ll have music, dancing, prizes, fortune telling, whiskey & beer pairing with Bull Run Distillery and a champagne bar, and plenty of Pearl. Cocktail attire (and pearls!) recommended. $30 admission includes cocktail hour appetizers and full buffet dinner, oyster bar, live music, as well as a photo booth and other activities both inside the pub and outside on our heated rooftop patio. Presale tickets are just $20.” You can still pre-purchase tickets online here.

Imperial Bottle Shop (Portland) is hosting its annual Christmas cookie pairing at both locations for the weekend, featuring beers from pFriem Family Brewers: “One of our favorite events of the holiday season is our annual Christmas cookie & beer pairings, and we couldn’t be more excited to be serving up homemade Christmas cookies with beer from pFriem Family Brewers this year! The 2018 cookie/beer pairings include:
– Juicy Winter Ale & Peach-Mango Butter Cookies
– Frambozen raspberry Lambic-inspired ale & Almond White Chocolate Chip cookies
– Belgian Christmas Ale & Candied Fruitcake balls
– Rum Barrel-Aged Porter & Ancho Chile Gingerbread people
The pairings include a 4 oz pour of beer and a cookie, and you can buy individual pairings or all 4 at a discount. We’ll also be giving away a prize for best decorated Gingerbread person! Prices and more details to be announced soon.”

Saturday sees some Resilience IPA releases around the state, which continue to raise money for Camp Fire relief in northern California:

• Salem Ale Works teamed up with Old Standby Brewing to brew Resilience IPA, and it’s being tapped at 6pm. (No, I hadn’t heard of Old Standby Brewing before now, either — new to Salem it seems).
• In Portland, Ecliptic Brewing is teaming up with StormBreaker Brewing, Widmer Brothers Brewing, and Ex Novo Brewing for a Resilience IPA Pub Crawl for Good: “Sierra Nevada asked the brewing community to come together to brew a beer in unison to help support those impacted by the Camp Fire. We jumped to the call! This Saturday, December 15th, Ecliptic Brewing, Ex Novo Brewing, StormBreaker Brewing, and Widmer Brothers Brewing will be releasing their versions of Resilience IPA. The best part? Of every pint you purchase at our pubs, 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund to support those impacted by the Camp Fire. Walk the neighborhood, try all four brews, and support the Butte County community.”
• McMenamins is tapping its Resilience IPA at a number of locations: “Resilience Butte County Proud IPA is brewed at McMenamins High St. and Mill Creek breweries, and will be available at select locations. This is a limited release, so please check the On Tap menus before heading out. Oregon locations: 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop, Blue Moon, Broadway, Cedar Hills, Cornelius Pass Roadhouse, High Street, Monroe, North Bank, Roseburg, Wilsonville Old Church & Pub.”

McMenamins 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop is hosting a Southern Wine & Spirits Sparkling Wine Tasting Saturday as well, from 2 to 4pm.

Base Camp Brewing (Portland) has a special bottle release on Saturday: “This Saturday (12/15), we’re releasing the last of our 2017 Barrel Aged Imperial S’more Stout. Aged in @eastsidedistilling Burnside Bourbon barrels for a year, bottle conditioned, cellared for a year, 11.1% ABV – it’s decadent winter magic wrapped up in a 375ml bottle. Sales start at 12pm sharp. Limit three per person.”

Great Notion Brewing (Portland) has a big beer release on Saturday, from 11am to 3pm, for its Bourbon Barrel Double Stack: “We are psyched to make the following announcement about a passionate Double Stack project of ours! Bourbon Barrel Double Stack (BBDS) will go on sale Saturday, December 15th at 11 am at the GNB NW production facility (2444 NW 28th Ave., Portland, OR 97210). Double Stack is an Imperial Stout fermented with substantial amounts of maple syrup and aged on whole bean Sumatra from local Portland roastery, Clutch Coffee. BBDS will be sold in a collector’s edition holiday gift box. There will be only 500 holiday gift boxes for sale (one per person) on the morning of December 15th for $125.”

Great Notion also has a couple of non-whalez can releases if you’re not into BBDS: “Coming to the Saturday Can Release… we will have Mango Juice Jr. and it’s ready for you! This version is a Jr. with 175 lbs of Mango Puree added during fermentation. Enjoy this 6% taste of summer while we enter the coldest months! Second can for Saturday’s release!Return to Space is a 7% inspiration between two of our beers, Space Invader and Return to Innocence. Brewed with Galaxy and Enigma hops… just let go of gravity and return to space!”

Mt. Hood Meadows ski resort is hosting its Winter Brew Fest from noon to 4pm: “Ski, ride and sip on seasonal brews from around the Northwest! Hang out with us in Vertical North for our Winter Brew Fest and listen to music from The Green Room. We will be raffling off sweet prizes and will have live music and awesome food.”

The Hoppy Brewer (Gresham) is hosting its 7th Annual Winter’s Welcome FestivALE on Saturday: “Don’t miss our 7th Annual Winter’s Welcome FestivALE! Our FestivALE kicks off the first of Winter with the most amazing Winter Beer list anywhere. We’ll be celebrating all day Saturday, from 12 PM until 9 PM. Lauren from Pelican Brewing Company will be sampling out their amazing Winter Beers from 3 PM until 6PM, so don’t miss out! Stay tuned in for live music with Jonathan Smith JazZ from 2-5 and the Plutons from 6-9 performing live at The Hoppy Brewer. It’s sure to be a deliciously rock’n good time, we can’t wait to see you there!”

General News

Surprising news from Deschutes Brewery today, as the Bend Bulletin reports that the brewery laid off 10 percent of its workforce: “Deschutes Brewery has laid off 10 percent of its workforce, saying business hasn’t met expectations over the past two years. The precise number of workers affected was not known. The cuts come after the 30-year old Bend brewery pulled back on plans to build a brewing facility in Roanoke, Virginia. ‘We have made the hard decision to reduce staff across sales, marketing and operations by 10 percent to match our sales volume,’ said Michael LaLonde, Deschutes Brewery CEO and president. ‘This decision was extremely difficult to make, but necessary for the brewery given current market conditions and trends.'”

2 Towns Ciderhouse (Corvallis) has released its imperial seasonal cider, Serious Scrump, at its Taproom: “Tis the season to be Scrumpy! Everyone’s favorite Unfiltered Imperial Iced Cider is NOW AVAILABLE in the Tap Room! Rich & substantial, our Serious Scrump is crafted using an ice juice process made from an eclectic blend of apples that are pressed, frozen & slowly thawed. The resulting thick, aromatic juice is then fermented with traditional English cider yeast that finishes at 11% ABV. Sure to keep you toasty warm throughout the winter, remember to enjoy responsibly!”

Sky High Brewing (Corvallis) has put its Barrel Fermented Farmhouse on tap: “Raspberry Sour. $4.25 glass / $5.25 pint. ABV: 5.7% IBU: 5. A light bodied, slightly sweet and slightly tart delicacy, this highly carbonated style is called by its namesake in French for raspberry Framboise (fram-bwah). It contains hints of sweet raspberry flavors that meld together with the light tart body and finishes on the tongue with a clean malty backbone.”

Claim 52 Brewing (Eugene) has a new beer of its own now on tap: “Ring in the weekend with a new brew from your buds at Claim 52. “Sup Mello” is hopped with both Citra and Simcoe, is 6%abv, and is our newest IPA on tap now at the Kitchen.”

Caldera Brewing (Ashland) has its winter ale, South Side Strong Ale, available now: “Caldera’s Winter Seasonal, South Side Strong Ale, is now available in 12 oz cans and kegs. South Side is a Pacific Northwest-Style Strong Ale, garnet in color, with a smooth malt profile ending with a nice floral hop character.” It’s 7% ABV and 64 IBUs.