Happy National Beer Day! I hope everyone had a nice weekend and are all refreshed and ready to face the week. (Barring that, drinking lots of coffee and beer!) Here’s the news in Oregon beer for the week of April 7. Throughout the week I will be periodically updating this post with news as I find it, organized by day of the week (general news at the top), so if you have news to share please contact me and I can get that updated as well.

10 Barrel Brewing (Bend) today officially announced that they will be opening a brewpub in Portland this summer! The possibility was first reported by Brewpublic on the 6th, with 10 Barrel taking over the Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurant in Portland’s Pearl District. Not much more is known yet, but I’ll have a separate post on it soon.

The Oregon Garden Brewfest is just a couple of weeks away, taking place the 25th through 27th at the Oregon Garden in Silverton. This is a fantastic brewfest in an amazing setting, one you should definitely try to attend. This year there will be 65 breweries pouring 130 beers, ciders and meads over the three days, with a daily price of $15 which gets you a tasting glass and 5 tasting tickets (additional ones are $1). There are also multi-day deals, and you can pre-purchase tickets here. I’ll be writing more about this fest in the next couple of weeks, including what beers to look for.

Ninkasi Brewing (Eugene) is now officially brewing in their new 90-barrel brewhouse facility, expanding their capacity considerably. From the press release: “Currently, Ninkasi’s 55-barrel brewhouse has a capacity to produce 90,000 barrels of beer per year. With a second, 90-barrel brewing system installed across the street in Eugene’s Whiteaker neighborhood, the brewery will be able to add an initial 70,000 barrels of capacity with room to grow to 250,000.” This new brewery was built with sustainable features to help reach LEED certification. Expect to see a massive increase in Ninkasi’s production over the next few years, along with a larger variety of beers.

Breakside Brewery (Portland) recently collaborated with Oregon Fruit Products out of Salem “project to better understand brewers needs and how they use fruit.” The result is three fruit beers brewed by Breakside, Gooseberry Tart Wheat, Barrel-aged Blackberry Baltic Porter, and Sour Cherry Bretty Kriek. From the press release: “With Breakside Head Brewer Ben Edmunds’ inspiring ideas, OFP got a firsthand look at the innovation involved in the burgeoning fruit beer category. Each beer was created to highlight the fruit and berries and explore the styles that Breakside does so well. We were involved in the craft brewing process from concept to glass…with these respected craftsmen.”

Tuesday, 4/8

Cascade Brewing (Portland): Their Tap It Tuesday event at the Barrel House at 6pm is featuring “Live” Pater: “This NW style red ale was barrel aged in oak barrels for up to 24 months on cherries. Tart, dusty cherries and bright notes of acidic dark fruit vinegars and black currants are noticed up front as you draw the glass near. Bright yet tart dark cherries and pits sparkle on the palate. The finish is of tart acidic notes of sour pie cherries and light hints of sweet cinnamon, bright cherry skins and black currants that lead to a lingering tart dryness of aged cherries. 8.5% | $8 Glass | $3 Taster”

Belmont Station (Portland) is welcoming Washington’s Finnriver Cider for a tasting from 5 to 8pm: “The charming Jana Daisy-Ensign will be on hand to pour tastes of all of Finnriver’s 500ml bottled ciders, featuring Farmstead, Fire Barrel, Habanero and Solstice Saffron ciders.”

Wednesday, 4/9

The Bier Stein (Eugene): On Wednesday the Bier Stein is helping out a local nonprofit: “As part of our Tapping Into Community program, we will be donating the proceeds from a keg of Agrarian Ales beer to Friends of Buford Park. Friends of Buford Park is a nonprofit that protects and enhances native ecosystems and compatible recreation in the Mt.Pisgah area… They will also be hanging out with us on the 9th– come see what they’re all about!”

Thursday, 4/10

McMenamins Edgefield (Troutdale): They have a limited-edition beer tasting kicking off at 5pm that should definitely be of interest: Cerberus Wild Ale. “Tart and funky, this three-headed beast is a blend of saison, golden ale, and year-old barleywine. All three were aged together in a Hogshead Whiskey barrel from the Edgefield Distillery and inoculated with a Belgian wild ale strain, Brettannomyces lambicus, to create that pleasant, earthy tang that pervades this balanced wild ale.”

The Bier Stein is hosting the first of a series of “Samuel Smith Salute” parties in honor of the iconic English brewery. The Stein’s party takes place from 5 to 9pm: “Before microbreweries began opening in droves (even before many of you could legally drink beer), Samuel Smith began exporting its fine English ales to the US in 1978. Their Oatmeal Stout grew a large following, and was the beer of choice at many Phish shows in the 90s. Anyhow, every year on April 10th, beer bars around the country take a moment to recognize Sam Smith’s contribution to the beer scene. Our regional Sam Smith’s rep Tom will be here offering samples of the lineup, and Sam Smith’s bottles will be on sale all week.”

Friday 4/11

The EastBurn (Portland): Friday and Saturday is the EastBurn’s 4th Annual Buckman-Kerns Brewfest—“celebrating the excellent breweries we are so lucky to have in our neighborhood.” Here’s the skinny: “The format for this years fest will be a weekend celebration with each brewery having a dedicated tap handle both upstairs and down. Brew Fest Pint Glasses will be available for purchase for $10 which includes your first pint for free.  The Fest kicks off Thursday night with a very special Beer Belly Dinner involving all 8 breweries. Beer Dinner Tickets are available HERE. Friday and Saturday will have all taps in house occupied by Buckman-Kerns Breweries with Live Music and our full menu available.” This looks like a great, fun event with participating breweries Lucky Labrador, Coalition Brewing, Natian Brewing, Migration Brewing, Buckman Brewing, Cascade Brewing, Burnside Brewing and  Base Camp Brewing. Don’t miss it!