This Saturday two exciting IPA events take on the Pacific Northwest. If you are in Portland and have a passion for hops, make sure to check out Blitz Ladds‘ IPA Brewer’s Challenge & BBQ. This event is set to feature12 Pacific Northwest IPA’s, Live music and a big ol’ BBQ, and better yet, it’s all for a good cause. The Southeast sporty pub hosts this jovial IPA competition to benefit Oregon Food Bank and Hot Nights/Warm Coats. Donation barrels will be out all month, so please bring warm coats and canned food. On this day, enjoy IPAs from Ninkasi, Lagunitas, 10 Barrel, Full Sail, Alameda, Bend Brewing, Cascade, Fishtale, Firestone, Fearless, and MacTarnahans. Vote for your favorite, enjoy them all. Music by Woodbrain, the Insomniacs, and Ty Curtis. Smokin’ BBQ featuring Ribs, Chicken, and Pork Butt, plus Pizza. You can vote for your favorite IPA and enjoy this killer summer weather while it’s still available.

The sun didn’t skimp one bit this weekend. Fourth of July weekend was the perfect excuse to beat the heat with some stellar brews. A new keg in the fridge, some new bottles from the store. It was almost too much to (literally) swallow, but who’s complaining. Friday’s happy hour included pints at Hopworks with Matthew “Bo” DiTullo, where Evelyn Sunshine’s Imperial IPA poured. The pricy yet delicious beer had a phenomenal hop profile. Earlier in the day we hit up John’s Marketplace alongside droves of other weekend warriors for a keg and some bottled brews. A corny keg of Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA delivered a hit-the-spot citrus hoppiness. Funny thing: the guy in line in front of us at John’s was ordering the same keg and a beer geek fistbump ensued.

With the gorgeous weather we’ve been getting lately in the Pacific Northwest, the only regret about the weekend is that it didn’t last longer.

After work on Friday, we found ourselves at a favorite haunt in Bailey’s Taproom. Bustling with a variety of beerovore species ranging from the Quaffasauraus to the Canus Lupulus, the joint was teeming with thirsty folks both inside and out who know what’s good for ‘em. A tall victorian pint filled with Laughing Buddha…er…Trade Route Brewing’s Mango Weizen was a rewarding spritzily carbonic quencher. I recently enjoyed a bombastically bitter Infidel Lime IPA.  The Trade Route boys don’t do anything extreme, but they are quite inventive with their Southeast Asian-inspired beers of consistently nobel quality.