Beer Hall: Portland Beer Week!

Grab some Tums, and prepare your livers, beer fans—Portland Beer Week is upon us.

Between now-classic events like the Rye and Fruit Beer Fests come myriad tap takeovers, tastings, and beer-and-food pairings over the next fortnight, a mixture of events which you may as well call Beer Christmas.

And it may just be the best one yet.

Whether learning about the history of Portland beer in a documentary which took seven years to complete, drinking pints which have been filtered through crazy fruits and spices, or gorging yourself on what may be the best-value sushi event in the history of the city, there's plenty to gulp down this week.

It's tough to go wrong during this ten day drinkathalon, but might we suggest staying sober enough to remember at least some of these highlights:

Thursday, June 9

Beer Week Kickoff

Snacks and beer on a Pearl District rooftop bar with a garden. Hell, yeah. The beer-brat, cheddar and mustard pizza they're serving is probably our favorite Hotlips pizza we've had, and there will be beers aplenty from Breakside, Hop Valley, Hopworks, Deschutes, Portland Brewing, Double Mountain and others. EcoTrust Building rooftop, 721 9th Ave., pdxbeerweek.com. 6-10 pm. Free admission.

Occidental's Fifth Anniversary Party

German-tinged Portlanders Occidental celebrate a half a decade of demanding ales and lagers, by filling the taps at the city's best rare beer haunt. Featuring five six special brews (including one purpose-brewed for this occasion), there should be plenty to celebrate with, and a small but enthusiastic crowd with whom you may chat about the many merits of continental styles. The Upper Lip, 720 SW Ankeny St. 4-10 pm. Free.

Ecliptic Beer Belly Dinner

EastBurn returns with yet another of its remarkably low-cost, $40, five-course beer pairing dinners—this time with five Ecliptic brews including a pinot apricot sour and Belgian dubbel, and five meal courses including quail confit and duck breast. EastBurn, 1800 E Burnside St,, 503-236-2876. 6 pm.

Friday, June 10

Rye Beer Fest

The Rye Beer Fest will feature 20 rye beers from Breakside, Culmination and others, plus rye whiskeys and a rye whiskey-beer cocktail by bartender Jacob Grier. Ten dollars nets a glass and four tickets. At 10 pm, a Cure cover band plays for an event benefiting the Children's Cancer Association (get it?). Eastburn, 1800 E Burnside St,, 503-236-2876. All day. $10.

Portland Fruit Beer Festival

The first and almost certainly best fruit beer fest in the country returns for its sixth year—Japanese tourists come, at this point—and now it's bigger, on the North Park Blocks. Expect apricot ginger beer from Dogfish Head, a seriously good cactus beer from Ex Novo, an excellent tea radler from Culmination, Apricot IBUsive from Fat Head's, a strawberry basil sour from Ruse and lots of cider, including a new round of ghost pepper Mango tepache from Nat's that pretty much kills it. $25 nets 12 to 15 drink tickets. North Park Blocks, Northwest Park Avenue and Davis Street, fruitbeerfest.com. 11:30 am-9 pm. Through June 12. $25.

Saturday, June 11

Randallized Beer Fest

No, it's not a beer fest for some dude named Randall. A randall is a special chambered filter that lets you infuse a keg with different flavors—beans, rhubarb, whatever. And so Imperial Bottle Shop will be using randalls to make special versions of beers, whether a Fort George three-way infused with Galaxy hops and guava, or a Culmination Sour Flower Power randallized with chamomile, ginger, rose hips and some dried fruit. Imperial Bottle Shop, 3090 SE Division St., 971-302-6899. All day.

NDubs Takes Mongers II

East Portland's hop haven N.W.I.P.A. turns up the heat in SE for the night, bringing its coveted burgers and some fresh-shucked oysters from Never Shellfish — and the usual assortment of hoppy ales to go with them. Lets face it: The only thing besides the beer to be bitter about is that this episode of Trading Places doesn't happen more often. The Beermongers, 1125 SE Division St. 5-10 pm. Free.

Sunday, June 12

PDX Brew City Documentary Premiere

A story of Portland's craft beer scene which was seven years in the making, PDX Brew City investigates just what made our fine city the center of the craft brewering universe. It's a compelling tale complete with a massive number of interviewees, and John Lovegrove's intrepid journey to every single Portland area brewery—a feat he accomplished in a single day. Now that's our kind of movie. Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan St. 5:30 pm. $15.

Monday, June 13

New Oregon Brewers Showcase

This is one of the can't-miss events for anyone who gives a shit—especially this year. Ruse Brewing, Alesong, Freebridge, the just-barely minted Ancestry, Public Coast and Wolves & People will be on hand, with the brewers available for chats and the beers available for drinking. Bailey's Taproom, 213 SW Broadway, 503-295-1004. 5 pm.

Roscoe's and Miyamoto Beer and Sushi Pairing

Roscoe's and partner sushi joint Miyamoto will pair four courses of sushi with limited release beers from Pfriem Family Brewers (Oude Kriek), Crux (Apricot Wild Farmhouse Ale), the Commons and Breakside. At a mere $25, this is pretty much amazing. Roscoe's, 8105 SE Stark St., 255-0049. 4:30-8:30 pm. $25.

Bell's Beach Party

Michigan's famed Bell's Brewing Company brings some of their hot commodities to Belmont Station again this year, following up an epic event during last year's Craft Brewers Conference (during which owner Larry Bell himself drunkenly greeted drinkers at the door in a Burger King crown). This event may not have the same pomp and circumstance, but it will have a spruce tip version of Bell's famous Two Hearted Ale, which is a brew fit for a king, crown or not. Belmont Station, 4500 SE Stark St. 5-9 pm.

Tuesday, June 14

The Pfriem Dream

At Bailey's Taproom's upstairs Upper Lip in the Ankeny alley, a fucking dream team of barrel-aged Pfriem: Flanders Red, Flanders Blonde, Pêche, Oude Kriek, Frambozen and Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout. Drink it. Bailey's Taproom Upper Lip, 720 SW Ankeny, 503-295-1004. 4-10 pm.

Fifth Annual Battle of the Belgians

Wit vs. Wit, and Saison vs. Saison, American craft breweries test their mettle against their old-world counterparts, with the best Belgian-style ale reigning supreme. Last year, as is typical, Belgium won 3-1, but hey, after a massive year of awards in the Northwest, maybe America finally has what it takes to come out on top. Bazi Bierbrasserie, 1522 SE 32nd Ave. 5-9 pm. Free.

Wednesday, June 15

Weird Beer Bonanza

We may have borrowed the slogan from Austin, but we definitely didn't borrow the beer. Imperial invites patrons to taste through 16 scintillating ales and lagers, all flavored with unusual additives. Remember: Abnormal doesn't always mean bad—it's why you moved here from California in the first place, bird-print lover. Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom, 3090 SE Division St. Free.

Willamette Week