Happy Monday! I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was great and beery, and now it’s back to the grind. Here’s the news in Oregon beer for Monday the 2nd of December; as usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news as I find it, so check back often. And if you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that posted as well.

The Holiday Ale Festival kicks off this week in Portland! This is one of the big ones, the winter counterpart to summer’s Oregon Brewers Festival, and it runs from Wednesday the 4th though Sunday the 8th in Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland. There will of course be some amazing beers at the Festival this year (as always) so this will be worth the pilgrimage. Admission and costs: “To enter and taste beers, the purchase of an initial tasting package is required. The package includes a souvenir mug, 10 beer tickets and costs $30 at the door (CASH ONLY). Additional beer tickets can be purchased for $1 each. Previous years’ mugs cannot be used and will not be filled; however, current year mugs can be reused on subsequent visits within the same yearly festival.”

BridgePort Brewing (Portland): This Thursday, the 5th, is their 5th annual Ebenezer Pub Crawl taking place in Multnomah Village from 5 to 9pm. “Join us for the 5th annual Ebenezer Pub Crawl through Multnomah Village. Always a crowd pleaser, this holiday tradition is sure to please even the biggest scrooge in your group!” Along the way they’ll be visiting John’s Market, Journey’s, Renner’s, O’Connors, and finally The Ship where prizes will be given away at 9pm.

Belmont Station (Portland) today is hosting White Salmon’s (Washington) Everybody’s Brewing for a special can release and tasting from 5 to 8pm: “Everybody’s Brewing owner Doug Ellenburger will be on hand with some goodies to give away as we help this White Salmon, WA, brewery launch their beer for the first time ever in cans! We will be tasting both the Country Boy IPA and Little Sister India Session Ale in the bottle shop.”

Breakside Brewery (Portland) has their new seasonal Big Country Winter Ale hitting the taps and shelves and tonight is the release party for the beer, taking place at Saraveza: “It’s the official release of “Big Country”, a Winter Strong Ale, weighing in at 7.8% ABV and 36 IBUs! This lovely ale is inspired by the starkbiers and weinnachtsbiers sold in winter in the open-air markets of Germany. Malt driven notes of orange, cocoa, candied fruit and toast dominate the aroma and flavor of this beer. The lucious, full body gives way to a refreshing, spicy finish.” The party starts at 6pm and you’ll not want to miss it.

Oakshire Brewing (Eugene): Tomorrow night at Sixteen Tons Oakshire has a special release you’re going to want to check out: “Join us Tuesday 12.3 at Sixteen Tons Tap House for a special release of our Barley Wine Vintage 2013. Come sample Barley Wine and hang with the Oakshire crew 5-7:00”

Santiam Brewing (Salem) has their own big beer release coming up this Saturday, the 7th: “Join us at either Santiam Brewing location this Saturday for the long awaited release of our Bluegrass Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout 8.9% 57 IBU. A thick, rich stout aged in 25 year old Elijah Craig Bourbon barrels.”

Three Creeks Brewing (Sisters): This Saturday is Three Creeks’ 3rd annual Rudolph’s Imperial Red vertical tasting: featuring four years of the brewery’s winter seasonal (Rudolph’s), an 8.6% abv strong ale, side by side with appetizers. They have a barrel-aged 2010, 2011, 2012 and this year’s 2013 vintages to sample. The cost is $25 per person and seating is limited, so if you want in call 541-390-4355, or email heidi@threecreeksbrewing.com.