We've made it to March, which means it won't be long before it's beer garden weather! March also marks the moment when the beer world seems to wake up from its winter slumber. Right on cue, we have a ton of news this week, plus some big events. But before we get to that:

Volunteers Needed!

Do you regularly visit Oregon breweries or attend Oregon beer events? Do you have a phone? Awesome: we need your help! We are looking for a dedicated corps of volunteers across the state who will regularly post their visits to events and breweries on Instagram. Oregon is a big place, and we can't promote all the state's breweries the way we would like. If you're willing to help out, shoot us an email at director@celebrateoregonbeer.com. We'll share some of the goals and give you a couple tips about how to help. Oregon has the best beer--we need to let the world know. Join us and help spread the word!

News

Arable Brewing Closed Eugene's three-year-old Arable Brewing abruptly announced it was closing on Sunday. They didn't cite a reason, but told customers, "We have truly loved every minute of being part of this community." Sad to see you go! Read their statement here

Claim 52's Latest Claim Eugene's Claim 52 has laid claim to Rogue's oldest outpost, the one along the waterfront in Newport. It's in good hands. The brewery's manager, Jeremy Zollman, gushed about the opportunity: "Rogue was my favorite brewery by far." Here's their plans

New Distro Collab Last time we mentioned GoSelfDistro, a new collective of self-distributing breweries in Portland. Now Drop Bear Brewery and Blossom Barn Cider have created a new one, the Oregon Makers Cooperative, further down the Willamette Valley. Read the story here

Tilray Acquires BrewDog The parent company of Oregon's Widmer Brothers, 10 Barrel, Hop Valley, and Square Mile Cider announced it was acquiring the British craft brewing giant BrewDog. One of their goals is to produce US beer in the UK. Here's all the news

Ninkasi Caught Fire An equipment malfunction inside Ninkasi's brewery caused overheating and a subsequent fire over the weekend. Fortunately, no one was injured. More details about it here

Is Cannabis Damaging Beer Sales? People often wonder how much the cannabis industry impacts beer sales. According to the Brewers Association's economist: not much. Read why in his report

Great Brewery Profile Community-supported Ashland News has a wonderful profile of Talent's Art Bop Beer Company. Southern Oregon breweries don't get as much attention as some others, so learn about this cool place. Here's the full story

SheBrew

Saturday, March 7th
​​Tickets are available here​

​SheBrew is a family-friendly beer and cider festival showcasing scores of professional female brewers and cider-makers from the Pacific Northwest. This year's event will be held at the Portland Art Museum over two sessions this Saturday.

The fest not only is a celebration of female brewers and cider makers; SheBrew also honors equality and supports all women and the LGBTQ+ community. 100% of the fest proceeds to go to the Human Rights Campaign, with the Oregon Brew Crew receiving proceeds from the competition. It's a truly unique event and an Oregon original, and you don't want to miss it!

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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

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! Many details here

Irish Festival at Kell's Thousands will gather at three Portland locations from March 13 - 17 for an immersion in Irish music, dancing, food, drink and cultural activities at Portland’s Irish Festival, the Northwest’s largest Saint Patrick’s Day celebration. Venues and events here

Other St. Paddy's Day Events

People will be feeling the luck of the Irish Tuesday, March 17 for St. Patrick's Day. You'll find many brewery activities the weekend before and the day of, and the easiest way to find a celebration near you is to consult your local brewery's Instagram page. Remember, a lot of people will be out drinking over the weekend and on Tuesday, and that's no blarney, so be safe out there.

Baker's Dozen Fest On April 11th, the Baker's Dozen returns with 13 breweries, 13 roasters, and 13 bakers for the ultimate Portland experience. Taste a baker's dozen of coffee-beer collabs, and sample the offerings of 13 donut-makers. More details here

Spotlight: 787 Brings Some Caribbean Sunshine to Hillsboro

One of Oregon's newest breweries quietly opened in Hillsboro last fall, 787 Brewing. Named for Puerto Rico's area code, the brewery signals its Latin roots even before you visit for a night of dancing and karaoke. It's a tiny brewery that has already found a devoted following, so we reached out to the founders, Carlos Pavon and Will Ortiz, to get the scoop.

Puerto Rican Roots​
​Carlos was the first of the pair to move to Oregon for work, back in 2010. Will, now Carlos' brother-in-law, followed several years later. Both were lured to Oregon by technology (Intel and Genetech) but they quickly fell in love with their new home's beer scene.

"I had just come out of college, and I came to work in Oregon," Carlos said. A couple years after he arrived, he was attracted to a homebrew competition hosted at his work. That got him into homebrewing, and was well into a new hobby when Will arrived. The two were soon homebrewing together. "Pretty much every weekend we were getting together in the garage, making beer, drinking beer," Carlos said, laughing.

They joined the Oregon Brew Crew, one of the country's oldest homebrew clubs, and started getting feedback on their beer. "They were really honest," Will said with what sounded like a verbal wince. It helped them refine their technique, though, and raves for their beer followed. As they started thinking about the next step, they got professional training through a brewing certificate course offered by Cornell University.

787 Is Born​
​As sometimes happens with homebrewers, their passion developed into a plan to open a brewery. "We started working on a business plan," Carlos said. "Originally we thought of going big, but then we decided to scale back." The place they found is tiny--just big enough to hold a one-barrel brewery.

"The plan originally was just to use it for production, but people asked if we could put in a couple taps," Will said. Pretty soon they started developing a following. Hillsboro is one of Oregon's most diverse cities and boasts a Latino population of just under 30%. Most of those folks are not from distant Puerto Rico (San Juan is 3,700 miles from Hillsboro), but Carlos confirmed that there are a few.

"We're trying to bring some of the warmth from the Latino community into the 787," Carlos said. "We would love to expand eventually, with a bigger brewery and some Puerto Rican and Caribbean food."

In the meantime, head down to their little chinchorro and have a pint. It currently has that exuberant, DIY feel that fun new breweries bring, and in an industry feeling a little depressed, their enthusiasm is like a ray of sunshine.

Keeping Up

For everything Oregon, please visit the Celebrate Oregon website.If you think someone you know might like this newsletter, have them sign up here.

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:

• ​The New School​
• ​The Oregonian​
• ​Astoria Beer Zone​
• ​Brewpublic​
• ​Beervana Blog​

See you again in two weeks!