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It's over 60 degrees again. Here come the brew fests.
As we finally round the corner of Spring, the beer industry brings out it's best, with special tastings, new beer releases, and fun pairings to wipe winter out of your foggy, dark-beer laden memory.
Here's the good news: As is usual in our fair city, most of these events are free.
Pop in here, pop in there, there's good beer everywhere, and you don't need to worry about the cover charge. Take a peek at our Beer Guide, plan your weekend, and get the heck out to some beer havens—for those looking for suggestions, a little birdie tells us that Great Notion is the place to be this Saturday afternoon, although for those who prefer sterner stuff, the Toast distiller's festival is one of the biggest of the year. Then again, with one of the best tasting events this week in deep Hillsboro, the only real conundrum is whether to use the Max, Lyft, or Uber.
That, sud lovers, is one heck of a good problem to have.
Friday, February 26
Cascade's Sour Fruit Fest
Cascade Brewing celebrates its annual sour fruit fest with a weekend of special sour beer releases, and more than 50 sours pouring overall. Recent recipients of two medals in the category at this year's Oregon Beer Awards, virtually everything that blesses the taps at this house of sour is worth deep considering sips, and multiple glasses at that. PH. Cascade Brewing, 939 SE Belmont St. 12 pm-close Friday-Sunday, February 26-28. Free.
Roscoe's 6th Annual Stout Summit
Deep SE Portland gets a dose of the dark stuff today, with Roscoe's pouring its annual collection of rare and vintage stouts. With selections for Deschutes, Perrenial Artisan Ales, Upright, and even and Flanders Dark from the Commons that started as a stout, there should be a lot to enjoy here tonight. PH. Roscoe's, 8105 SE Stark St. 2 pm. Free.
Meet The Brewer: 10 Barrel Brewing Boise and Pearl
Despite the shrieking locals who say they have turned to the dark side, the quality of ales and lagers coming out of our slice of Anheuser Busch's craft beer pie have been mostly-awesome. Tonight, local 10 Barrel brewer Whitney Burnside and her Boise-area counterpart Shawn will be at BeerMongers to share their most recent recipes, putting nice faces—and good beers—to the evil conglomerate name. Ask them about the brews, or just how they feel about world domination. PH. The BeerMongers, 1125 SE Division St. 6 pm. Free.
Insane In The Yeast Strain
Imperial Bottle Shop pairs with Everybody's Brewing and Imperial Yeast to provide tasters the unique opportunity to taste a single beer fermented with five different yeast strains. Ranging from wild yeast to German Kolsch and Weissbier strains, there should be quite a different flavor to each of the beers—proof of how important the little guys really are for that perfect pint you're after. PH. Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom, 3090 SE Division St. 6 pm. Free.
Saturday, February 27
Great Notion Juice Box Double IPA Release
After a long wait—and two IPAs which we voted in the top five in the city—new brewery Great Notion will finally bring out the big gun—Juice Box IIPA arrives this Saturday afternoon. The cloudy, hoppy, force behind it's little brother Juice, Jr (which came in third in our recent tasting), the brew should be an absolute mosaic-ridden wonder from one of the most exciting upstarts in recent memory. PH. Great Notion Brewing, 2204 NE Alberta St. 3 pm. Free.
Second Annual Brewstillery Festival
22 breweries and 21 distilleries team up for the ultimate in beer/chaser pairings this weekend. Each patron gets a 4oz pour of brew and a ¼ oz shot of liquor with each ticket, as participants aiming to create the perfect intoxicating amalgamation of flavors. With brewers like Barley Brown's, Upright, Ex Novo, and De Garde all participating, there should be some outright amazing duos in the mix. PH. Stormbreaker Brewing, 832 N Beech St. 12-8 pm. $25-50.
Toast Distiller's Festival
No beer, but plenty of whiskey made from the mash. Toast brings together a profound wealth of Northwest spirits, along with whiskey, tequila, rum, gin and all the rest from all around the globe. Over 40 distillers will be represented, and the ticket price will include food from Bellino, Lechon, Pok Pok, Smallwares and Swank and Swine. Really Big Video, 539 NW 10th. Ave, oregondistillerytrail.com. 4 pm-10 pm (3-11 pm for VIP). $45-$65.
N.W.I.P.A's Third Annual Triple IPA Fest
Portland's favorite hop-heads bring out the big guns this Saturday, with triple IPAs from the best in the Northwest: Pfriem, Boneyard, Barley Brown's, Fat Head's, Breakside, and more. With the added bonus of food from Chicken and Guns (which pairs perfectly with everything hoppy), this is the place to be this weekend—if you can handle the sheer boozy, hoppy, greasy wonder of it. PH. N.W.I.P.A., 6350 SE Foster Rd. 12-10 pm. $10 for 10 tickets and a glass.
Abyss Vertical Tasting
Grab the longest Uber ride of your life to Portland's rapidly-changing western suburb, with the shining promise of unlimted 6oz pours of Deschutes' Abyss in ages ranging from one to four years old. Think of the Orenco Taphouse as this weekend's version of the fountain of youth—but instead of eternal life, you get a hard-earned hangover. PH. Orenco Taphouse, 1198 NE Orenco Pkwy, Hillsboro, 97124. 12-8 pm. Free.
Monday, February 29
Ex Novo Family Meal
Ex Novo celebrates an after hours party that pits two of Portland's top chefs—The Fireside's Joey Hart and Noraneko's Gabe Rose—against each other in a battle with secret ingredients. They get judged by experts, you get to eat the results. With only 75 tickets available, the brewery aims to bring out as many industry members as possible—bring that OLCC or food handler's card for a free pint on them. PH. Ex Novo Brewing, 2326 N Flint Ave. 10:30 pm-1 am. $15.
Wednesday, March 2
Cascade Framblanc Release
In our Beer Guide, we named Block 15's Framboise White our runner-up beer of the year, praising the delicacy of the white raspberries. Well, here comes Cascade with their own white-raspberry sour. Framblanc will be on tap and in bottles starting at noon. Cascade Brewing, 939 SE Belmont St., 265-8603. Noon. $25 a bottle.
Willamette Week