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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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Today's newsletter finds you at the very tail end of #PubJanuary, and I want to thank everyone who went out and supported their local brewery this month. They really appreciated seeing you!
As the slowest month of the year nears its end, news and events are becoming more plentiful. You'll find a bunch of them below, but the next newsletter will be delayed by out-of-country travel. We'll have you a new edition as soon as possible.
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News
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New Hillsboro Brewery
787 Brewing quietly opened last fall. Named for Puerto Rico's area code, it celebrates the island's culture. We hope to learn more about them soon. Welcome!
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Columbia Buys Point Blank
Columbia Distributing announced it will acquire Portland's Point Blank Distributing. Following the sale, Columbia says Point Blank will operate as a separate, dedicated division.
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Employees Sue Rogue
Employees are suing Rogue Ales under the WARN act, which requires employers to give staff 60 days' notice of their termination. Rogue abruptly shut down all operations in December.
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Great Frontier Expands
Ninkasi and Ecliptic parent company Great Frontier Holdings acquired Incline Cider and San Juan Seltzer. The additions will strengthen the portfolio, building a foundation with these new, non-beer offerings.
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The Shift to Cans
No brewery has been more committed to Oregon's bottle-refill program--which it helped launch--than Double Mountain. So the news that they're canning select brands illustrates how much cans have replaced bottles in craft beer.
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Upcoming Events
Please send us all your upcoming event information at the following email so we can include them in our weekly roundups: events@celebrateoregonbeer.com
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Bourbon Month
Starting Jan 30 and running through February, Block 15 is celebrating Bourbon Month. It starts with the release of Super Nebula and includes special events, a stamp book of bourbons to try, and food specials.
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Stout Month in Astoria
When Fort George created the Festival of Dark Arts, their celebration of stouts, it sparked a month-wide celebration in Astoria. Fort George leads the way, but other breweries join the fun.
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Flannel Fest
Flannel Fest returns to Bend Jan 31. The afternoon festival will bring together over a dozen winter warmers to sample. Win flannel shirts in hourly raffles, or compete in the flannel-wearing contest.
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Suttle Lodge Winter Fest
The Suttle Lodge Winter Beer Festival returns Feb 20-22 for woodsy, beer-filled fun, live music, food and 25+ craft breweries. Set deep in Oregon’s High Cascades, this Central Oregon tradition celebrates the great outdoors, fresh alpine air, and craft brewing.
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Tualatin Valley Tap Season
This annual two-month celebration runs through March. Join the Tualatin Valley Ale Trail app and check in with one of 44 participating breweries to win prizes. Also enjoy the Ale-paca collaborative IPA--out soon!
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Spotlight: Zwickelmania!
Created by the Oregon Brewers Guild in 2009, Zwickelmania is an annual event in which the state's breweries invite the general public beyond the taproom to see the inside of a functioning brewery. The event happens each February, and this year is scheduled for Saturday, February 21st.
"We created Zwickelmania to give consumers a peek behind the scenes," Oregon Brewers Guild President Sam Pecoraro said. "It gives them access to something they haven't seen before." The name comes from a practice in Bavaria, where brewers use a special valve to remove a few ounces of beer from conditioning tank. On special occasions, guests are invited into the cellars to "zwickel" a bit of ripening beer from the tank. It's a special practice, one not many people get to experience. That's the inspiration for Zwickelmania, and it's also a statewide invitation to fans to come experience something you can only see once a year.
There are a ton of events happening around the state this year, and below is a region-by-region guide. You can also visit the website for brewery-specific happenings.
Portland Metro
- Hop on the free shuttle bus visiting 16 NE/SE breweries. Stops include Allgood Brewing Company, Away Days Brewing, Baerlic Brewing Company, Gigantic Brewing, Grand Fir Brewing, Ground Breaker Brewing, Hopworks, Leikam Brewing, Montavilla Brew Works, Migration Brewing, Old Town Brewing, Steeplejack Brewing Co. on NE Broadway, StormBreaker Brewing, Threshold Brewing, Von Ebert Brewing and Wayfinder Beer!
- Threshold Brewing suggests starting your Zwickelmania journey there to grab “The Ultimate Zwickelmania Survival Pack!” filled with essential snacks, hydration, maps, answers to tour questions and more!
- Anniversaries! Zwickelmania coincides with the 12th anniversary of StormBreaker Brewing; in addition to a tour and special pours, the brewery will host games, offer deals and more. Lucky Lab will host tours sharing tidbits of its 30 year history. Migration Brewing is celebrating its 16th anniversary with a collaboration beer with Upright Brewing and Threshold Brewing and offering a variety of cellar beers.
- Visit the woman-owned Leikam Brewing (a shuttle stop) who will be spinning records with Tasha from Second Chance Records.
- Montavilla Brew Works will pour a special cask beer, have food from Oi!, plus music.
- The gluten-free brewery, Ground Breaker invites patrons to vote on an upcoming seasonal beer, enter a drawing and enjoy food from Salvi ODX.
- This day marks a rare opportunity to tour the Deschutes Portland brewhouse, plus taste pub exclusives.
- Hungry? Head to Old Town Brewing and Hopworks (shuttle stops) for pizza and beer pairings. The newest pFriem location in Milwaukie, will have small bites perfectly paired with each featured beer. Gigantic will feature live music along with food from Flying Fish including oysters, Moqueca (Brazilian fish stew), fish & chips, salmon croquettes, and a Caesar salad.
- Other notable participants include Allgood Brewing Company, Away Days Brewing, Breakside Slabtown, Lazy Days Brewing Company, Level Beer, Living Haus, Oakshire Beer Hall and Zoiglhaus.
- In Tigard, Cooper Mountain Ale Works will be serving chef special bites to pair with flights of winter seasonals.
- In Beaverton, Binary Brewing will offer samples from beers currently in production while educating attendees about recipe creation.
- Roughly 25 miles north of Portland, Crooked Creek in St. Helens is giving away koozies and offering food and beer specials.
The Coast
- In Astoria, Fort George will offer a full tour of the production facility along with multiple zwickel pours and other beer samples.
- Do you have spare change? Buoy Beer Co. will accept one quarter per customer for a State of Excitement beer during “The Quarter Hour - from 5:00 - 5:15 pm.”
- Arch Rock Brewing Co. in Gold Beach is also participating in Zwickelmania.
Central Oregon
- Those who take the Wild Ride Brewing brewery tour in Redmond will enjoy a complimentary beer and cookie pairing.
- Bend - Deschutes Brewery invites patrons to take the self-guided tour and enjoy samples including NA beverages. Spider City Brewing’s head brewer will lead tours, beer samples from the zwickel are at Bevel Craft, Crux Fermentation Project, Terranaut Beer and Boneyard Beer (Boneyard has free pickles, too). Worthy Brewing will have food specials, sampling opportunities and free swag.
- Sunriver Brewing Company is bringing Vermont to the brewery with the release of Burlington Hazy IPA and a maple sugar-primed cask of the same beer on the hand pump. Food specials include maple bars, Vermont cheddar and meat stick snacks plus ice cream float "shots" made with Ben and Jerry's Phish Food ice cream.
Eastern Oregon
- Side A Brewing in La Grande will host the 8th Annual Dead of Winter beer fest featuring barrel aged beers, games, food and a bonfire.
- 1188 Brewing in John Day will offer beer and food pairings while offering patrons the chance to vote for their favorite 1188 beer.
Columbia Gorge
- pFriem Family Brewers will offer tours with unique beer and food pairings.
- Double Mountain will host tours all day while serving small bites and zwickel samples. Every attendee will receive a complimentary glass.
- Ferment Brewing opens up its doors for production tours, zwickel samples and a new beer release.
Willamette Valley
- Eugene brewery participants include Falling Sky Brewing, Ninkasi Brewing Company, Oakshire Public House and Oakshire Commons in Springfield, as well as Claim 52, which invites patrons to enjoy zwickel samples as they bid farewell to the original production location before it moves.
- Gold Dot/Heater Allen Brewing’s will be offering tours, samples and planning a dinner (details TBA).
- Golden Valley Brewing in McMinnville will offer tours and samples.
- Root and Rye Hop Farm and Brewery in Carlton has a $5 pint special and more.
- Lebanon - Barsideous Brewing in the historic 1910 Gem Theater will host guided ghost-stories theater and brewery tours. Conversion Brewing will have brewery education sessions and specials.
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