This is the week to get a peek into the back room of your favorite brewery.
The annual Zwickelmania weekend—in which hundreds of breweries around the state give tank-to-tap tours of their facilities to their interested patrons—is upon us.
Protip: Plan your Saturday in a beer-dense part of town like SE, or take a day trip to Bend, Hood River, or the Oregon coastline. Beer Christmas only comes but once a year. You'll want to make the most of it.
Friday, February 17
Super Beer Bros: Level One Release
Former Fat Head's brewer Mike Hunsaker's first official Grains of Wrath beer—a collab made in California with El Segundo Brewing—will be at N.W.I.P.A., alongside other El Segundo brews. So come on down and drink the shit out of it. N.W.I.P.A. 6350 SE Foster Rd. 6 pm. Free.
Black Math Crowler Release
Great Notion releases their first ever black IPA, an interesting New England-inspired take on the style which will have traditionalists reeling and fans of hazy IPAs drooling. Great Notion Brewing and Barrel House, 2204 NE Alberta St. #101. 12 pm. Free.
Smog City Night
The Mongers get their hands on a few kegs from LA's Smog City, including a 14 percent English barleywine aged in bourbon barrels that will be sure to leave you stumbling. The BeerMongers, 1125 SE Division St. 6 pm. Free.
Saturday, February 18
Zwickelmania
Ever wonder how your favorite IPA goes from grain to glass? An annual open house for hundreds of breweries statewide, Zwickelmania offers the public a sneak peak into the brewhouses that they most admire, allowing them to shake hands with the people who often help them take the edge off. Various brewery locations, ending with a party at Portland Brewing. Portland Brewing, 2730 NW 31st Ave. 11 am-9 pm. Free.
UKFest
Be mild, be bitter, be soft. Bailey's will bring you your under-carbed, warm and neglected druthers. Expect a house golden ale on firkin alongside other mild-mannered and malty beers—including Culmination's brilliant Trumpet Major and dark milds from the Commons and Falling Sky. Bailey's Taproom. 213 SW Broadway. 12 pm. Free.