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Celebrating Oregon Beer
Your fortnightly round-up of all the beer and hop news from the Beaver State.
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We are well into December, which means your holiday shopping is probably underway. If you're like most of us, it's probably not complete, however. Did you know breweries are a great place to shop? In this holiday special edition of our newsletter, we have some hot tips and ideas for that beery person on your list.
Our next newsletter would fall on Wednesday, December 25th, so expect it to be delayed a day. And in the meantime, we hope you're all having a very merry season!
If you are looking for more news and conversation between these emails, check out our feeds at Instagram, Facebook, or Bluesky.
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News
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Oregon Brewery Praise
Craft Beer & Brewing released their best beers in 2024, and 20% were from Oregon: Gold Dot, Funky Fauna, 10 Barrel, and pFriem.
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European Beer Star
pFriem Family Brewers won gold, silver, and bronze at the most prestigious European beer competition in Germany, including a win in German pilsner.
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Alcohol Report Released
Last year, the State created a task force to study addiction services and potential alcohol tax hikes to pay for them. They concluded new taxes are not needed.
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OBA on the Report
For those of you who can't get enough tax policy discussion, the Oregon Beverage Alliance has a thoughtful and meaty response to the report above.
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New on the Website
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Oregon's Most Unusual Breweries |
Oregon has plenty of spacious bars and restaurants serving frothy pints of IPAs. If you want to get off the beaten path, however, the following breweries each have something unusual about the way they make beer, the place they serve the beer, or the people who make the beer. Traditional Japanese beer? Beer made at an abbey by Benedictine monks? A farmhouse brewery located in a barn? Yep, all those, plus seven others.
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Upcoming Events
Our regular roundup of coming events, listed by date. Contact us with your events at: events@celebrateoregonbeer.com
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12 Beers of Gristmas
Twelve PDX breweries, one passport, 17 days. Visiting each is its own reward, but collect stamps for a chance to win big prizes. Just 4 days left!
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Holiday Revel
All the Columbia Gorge breweries will be in one place for the second annual Holiday Revel on December 19th. It's just an hour from PDX in Hood River.
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Holiday Markets & Parties
Breweries are spreading lots of holiday cheer this season in the form of markets and parties. There are too many to list--check your local brewery or Instragram feeds.
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Spotlight
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Holiday Shopping
Breweries are in the business of making beer, and during the winter months, they often brew up something special--a barrel-aged stout or blended wild ale. Those make fantastic gifts, but you need not stop at beer. Breweries have so much more to offer.
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If that special someone has a favorite brewery, visit their website to see everything they have to offer. You might find mug club subscriptions, beer dinners, other events. Each brewery is different, but here are a few of the most common and coveted options.
- Beer Clubs. If you want the rarest, most unusual beer a brewery makes, you might not find it on tap. Some breweries have special clubs for their biggest fans. At certain points throughout the year, members receive shipments of club-only special beers. Some breweries offer additional perks like discounts on beer or merchandise. Breweries offering membership include: Ale Apothecary, Alesong, de Garde, Deschutes, Fort George, Great Notion, pFriem, and Wolves & People.
- Merch. Who doesn't like an awesome T-shirt or hat? It doesn't stop there, though--breweries are full-on emporiums of goodies: stickers, tin signs and posters, patches, pins, branded glassware, water bottles, bottle openers, and the list goes on. They may have more esoteric items like card decks and puzzles, sunglasses, and even dog collars.
- Gift Cards. Maybe you're not sure about that dog collar--why not get a gift card instead? It makes it easy for your giftee to get exactly what they want. And it's really great for the brewery, too, giving them a little cash infusion right before the hard winter months.
- Beer. This is an obvious choice, and good for anyone on your list. It's especially nice for those folks out of state, however. Most Oregon breweries aren't available very far from home, so send some Oregon beer out into the world.
Happy shopping!
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Keeping Up
For everything Oregon, please visit the Celebrate Oregon website. On it you’ll find information about the state’s brewing heritage, breweries (including region by region travel guides), the state’s unique hop regionand characteristic varieties, and info about our amazing fresh hop beer and season. We have a searchable, sortable database of all Oregon’s breweries and taprooms (though the full information for each brewery is not fully completed) as well as a map so you’re never far away from a tasty pint. In the coming year, new features will appear at least as often as this newsletter, where you can stay informed. Next time, we'll have a look at Oregon's ten most unusual breweries.
Celebrate Oregon Beer is supported by the Oregon Brewers Guild and Oregon Hop Commission.
Excellent journalism is of the many ways Oregon is so special. In between newsletters, be sure to check out these sites for the latest happenings:
See you again in two weeks!
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