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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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It's the 6th of August, so you know what that means? You got it: we're just a week or so from the start of the Oregon hop harvest. Yay! The harvest itself is a remarkable event and if you haven't seen a football field-sized bed of drying hops, put it on your bucket list. (Farms offer tours.) But it also means we're a couple weeks from the start of fresh hop season, which is the most wonderful time of the year! If you don't live in Oregon, consider selecting a weekend in September to visit so you can experience one of the great beer events in the world.
Below you can find out more information about that, along with our usual news and updates.
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- News -
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Alan Sprints 1959-2026
An Oregon brewing legend has died. On July 19, Alan Sprints' family announced he had died at 63. Sprints got his start at Widmer Brothers, but made brewing history when he founded Hair of the Dog in 1994. He will be greatly missed.
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Best of the West Coast
The Best of the West Coast IPA winners were announced last week. An unusual showdown with a single category, it featured 330 entries from seven states, evaluated by 36 judges. Oregon and California were the big winners.
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Interview: Ryan McVay
Bend's The Source has a great interview with brewer Ryan McVay of Three Creeks. Click through to read the whole interview.
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Mixed Midyear Report
According to the Brewers Association, "craft beer production held steady at -4% in the first half of 2026, while the decline in operating breweries slightly increased and consumer engagement strengthened."
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We got hats!
Oregon beer fans, show your pride! Celebrate Oregon Beer has some new merch, and you can sport one of these beauties now. The proceeds benefit our nonprofit, which means you can look gorgeous and support efforts like this free newsletter. You know Oregon is a special place for beer--now you can let others know, too!
A special shout-out to our collaborators at Double Mountain Brewery, who helped us coordinate with Brewery Branding (hey, that’s a local company, too!) to host our merch on their site. For a small, new nonprofit still trying to fund itself, it was a big help! While you’re there, you could even buy a Celebrate Oregon tee as well.
Support us and let the world know about Oregon 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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Kölsch Party 2026
On Saturday, August 22, Gigantic Brewing will once again transform its Southeast Portland brewery into a slice of Cologne, Germany, hosting its annual Kölsch Party—a day dedicated to one of the world’s most deceptively simple beers.
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Ten kölsches, including one from Cologne, a live German brass band, and beer sausages--it's a little slice of the Rhineland in Southeast Portland.
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Oregon Hop Fest
Did someone say hop harvest tours? Visit Crosby Hop Farm on September 12-13 for the 3rd Annual Oregon Hop Festival at TopWire Hop Project. See the hop harvest in action, jump on a hay ride, and of course, enjoy fresh hop beers. Live music, food, and fun for the kids.
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Hop & Heritage Fest
Visit downtown Independence on September 26 to drink fresh hop beer at the Hop & Heritage fest. Independence is the heart of Oregon's hop-growing regions, and they'll have a full lineup of incredible fresh hop beers on tap.
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Spotlight: Fresh Hop Season
We are mere weeks away from the start of Oregon's annual fresh hop season. Many countries have special beer seasons--Bockbieranstich in Franconia, bière de Noël in Belgium--but nothing comes close to what happens in the pubs, restaurants, and breweries of Oregon just after the hop harvest starts. Special beers start appearing beginning the third week of August, just a few to begin with, and then a torrent arrives in early September. These special beers are made with fresh, undried hops taken immediately from the fields to brew kettles. The beers they produce are extraordinary--they're vivid and green in a way only fresh hops can be. Throughout Oregon, drinkers go crazy slurping up as many as they can find. It's a thing.
Fresh Hop Beers
From mid-August to mid-September, Oregon's hop growers cut down their tall vines (technically called "bines") and separate the little green cones from the stems and leaves. Nearly all of them go to a kiln where they're dried to preserve them. For the lucky breweries in Oregon, however, there's another option.
Left undried, the hops will only last for a few hours before they wither and their essential oils, aromas, and flavor compounds fade away. If a brewer happens to gather them the moment they're picked, however, they can race back to the brewery and add them to their beer. Some brewers add them to the initial brewing process, while others add them to finished beer, but either way, they infuse the beer with flavors and aromas that are fresher and greener than in dried hops (think of the difference between fresh and dried basil).
When to Find 'Em
When brewers add fresh hops to finished beer, it only takes a few days before they're out on the market. Because Oregon has an early harvest, that means we start seeing the first trickle of fresh hop beers by August 20th or so. But really, we like to think that the season starts Labor Day weekend. By that time they're really starting to flood the market. This year we have an especially late holiday, so by the Friday beforehand (let's call it Fresh Hop Day), they'll be rocking.
Where to Find 'Em
Fortunately, you don't have to look hard. Retailers joke that they don't want to pour regular beer in September because people only want fresh hop beer. While that's an exaggeration, it's not a big one. Some breweries specialize in fresh hop beers and will brew a number of them--ten or more in some cases. But perhaps the best place to find them is at a fresh hop fest or at a craft beer bar. Craft beer bars are a good bet because they may have a dozen or more from breweries around the state.
Wherever you go, make sure to try them. While breweries commonly make IPAs with fresh hops, breweries increasingly make many beer styles with them. The beer doesn't need to be an especially hoppy style, either. Lighter lagers and kölsches can actually express the character of a fresh hop beer wonderfully. So don't be put off if hops aren't your favorite element in a beer; just look for the styles you like and enjoy. This is the season for fresh hops, so get out there and try one in September.
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