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The best beer events are hidden gems, but they hide in plain sight.
You walk into your favorite brewery or watering hole, discover it is doing something special, and feel like your body may well be a magnet that attracts only the best brews in the world.
This week, however, there are two events you should definitely not leave to chance.
The first-ever release of a 100 percent Cognac barrel-aged Deschutes Abyss and the first release (in a while) of a 100 percent whiskey barrel-aged variant, for example, are not to miss. An extremely sought-after dark brew (imperial stout, sticklers) typically comes in a partially barrel-aged version once a year; even the "normal" version commands extremely favorable opinions by the majority of the beer world.
But the piece de resistance of events this week is the seventh anniversary of North Mississippi Avenue's awesome 'round the corner bottle shop and taproom, the Bridgetown Beerhouse. Featuring extremely rare and sought-after brews from around the world (and the West Coast in particular), the event will, for no entry fee, pour full pints of some very pleasurable ales and lagers all day long. Come one, come all, and let's hope Bridgetown makes it to a decade or more—there's no telling what super-rare stuff it will bust out for that. As it is, this is one of the better lists to hit Portland taps in some time.
Thursday, Jan. 14
Flat Tail Tap Takeover
Flat Tail trucks up some kegs from Corvallis to North Williams Avenue, with four special brews for patrons to try tonight. Featuring the Menage Bah, George Cones, Wake Me Up, Before You Cocoa, and DAM Wild Peaches and Cream, there are a range of light and dark brews to try, and there will be a few free goodies to take home with you as well. Tin Bucket, 3520 N Williams Ave. 6 pm. Free.
Burnside Brewing Dark Days/Dark Nights
Burnside Brewing breaks out the darkest of its bunch for a night of roasty, chocolaty goodness at the brewery. It's a perfect time to discover the best of what the Eastside brewery has been doing this winter season. Burnside Brewing Co., 701 E Burnside St. 11 am-11 pm. Free.
Friday, Jan. 15
The Abyss Specialty Release Celebration
Deschutes finally brings back single-barrel versions of its much-coveted barrel-aged imperial stout, with cognac and rye whiskey barrel-aged hitting taps and bottles for the first, and maybe only, time ever this Thursday and Friday. An extremely rare brew that costs $25 per bottle, this is the kind of cellar ale that will have beer nerds on forums around the country willing to trade you anything. It probably tastes pretty good too…and the pub will have it on tap to try. Deschutes Brewery & Public House, 210 NW 11th Ave. 11 am-midnight. Free.
Saturday, Jan. 16
Bridgetown Beerhouse Turns Seven
North Mississippi's favorite 'round the corner beer haven celebrates seven street-morphing years in business this Saturday, with over a dozen rare and spectacular beers blessing the taps for the day. Selections like Firestone Walker XVII, Goose Island Bourbon County Regal Rye, Russian River Consecration, and Block 15 White Framboise make this an event not to miss, though you might want to prepare yourself with a big meal first—most of these are high-ABV lunkers. Bridgetown Beerhouse, 915 N Shaver St. Noon. Free.
The Commons/Modern Times Good Problems Release
The latest saisonal (see what I did there?) collaboration from The Commons is with San Diego's acclaimed Modern Times Brewery. A rustic ale fermented with a mixed brettanomyces culture from each brewery, the beer was then aged on nebbiolo wine grapes from Mosier, Ore. A beer-wine hybrid, the brew should be an interesting quaff, to say the least. The Commons Brewery, 630 SE Belmont St. Noon. Free.
Milk and Cookies with Firestone Walker
Firestone Walker unveils the frothy new nitro version of its lovely Velvet Merkin milk stout, served tonight with house-baked milk stout and brown butter cookies. It's a perfect time to go ahead and stop counting calories for the long weekend, resolutionists. Roscoe's, 8105 SE Stark St. 4-7 pm. Free.
Wednesday, Jan. 20
Bigfoot 2016 Release
Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Barleywine has long been collected by beer nerds and six-pack lovers alike, with seasonal aficionados waiting to get their fill of the stuff each winter—and some saving a few bottles for an annual vertical tasting. Well, for the lazy among us, Saraveza assembles a three-year vertical of the annual brew, with a special barrel-aged version of the 2014 release also hitting taps this evening. It's a good time to taste how this brew ages specifically, or to wrap your head around the barley-based aging process in general, if you have yet to start storing special brews in your basement. Saraveza, 1004 N Killingsworth St. 6-9 pm. Free.
Know Your ABCs—Fruited Sour Edition
A is for Apricot, B is for Boysenberry, and C is for Cherry, as Alameda, Base Camp, and Coalition get together to share three special fruited sour brews to share with beer-and-alphabet fans able to blend their own unique version of each. Flat Tail skips two letters to join in the fun too, with two versions of its peach ale, one sour, one not, on tap at Imperial this evening. Imperial Bottle Shop and Taproom, 3090 SE Division St. 6-9 pm. Free.
Willamette Week
