Learn To Homebrew On Saturday: Craft Beer Events for the Week of November 6-12

It’s a relatively low-key week in Portland beer events, which means it’s a great time to learn to brew your own beer — see Saturday’s events — and to prepare for the dark months by stocking up on seasonal beers, which are starting to replace the receding tide of pumpkin beers. For me, the season would be incomplete without such old favorites as Anchor Christmas Ale, Deschutes Jubel, Full Sail’s Wreck the Halls, Widmer Brrr and Sierra Nevada Celebration, all of which are on shelves now, as well as Ecliptic Filament Winter IPA, McMenamins Kris Kringle, Burnside Permafrost and many others. And remember to let most of these beers warm up a bit before drinking, or store them in the garage and not the reefer – 48 degrees F. is about right for the flavors and aromas to really start developing…

Eazy Duz It IIPA Release Party
5 p.m. Friday Nov. 6, NWIPA, 6350 S.E. Foster Rd.; and Laurelwood Pubs;
You’ll remember that Eazy Duz It Imperial IPA won a silver medal at the 2015 Great American Beer Fest and Laurelwood and N-Dubs are celebrating because Eazy Duz It was a collab-brew for NWIPA’s anniversary. The award-winner will be on tap for your enjoyment, and Laurelwood brewers will be in the house, along with plenty of freebies and swag to snag. According to Laurelwood, this will be your last chance to try the beer…

Hop Valley Tap Takeover
Friday Nov. 6 -Sunday Nov. 8, Loyal Legion, 705 S.E. Sixth Ave,;
If you’ve wanted to try the range of beers from this youngish Eugene brewery famous for Citrus Mistress IPA and others, here’s yer chance: 14 of the Legion’s 99 taps will be pouring Hop Valley beers this weekend…

Learn to Homebrew Day
11 a.m. Saturday Nov. 7, F.H. Steinbart, 234 S.E. 12th Ave. and the Green Dragon, 928 S.E. Ninth Ave.; free.
Learn to Homebrew Day was established by the American Homebrewers Association in 1999 to encourage homebrewers to introduce their non-brewer friends and family to the most rewarding hobby, obsession and lifestyle since the beginning of time, according to the press release. Homebrew shops around the area will be teaching free classes including F.H. Steinbart, the county’s oldest homebrew shop, where staffers and Oregon Brew Crew members will be teaching both extract and all-grain brewing.

At the Green Dragon, the Green Dragon Brew Crew will brew a winter ale from scratch on the Buckman nano system and all levels are welcome, from seasoned home brewer to brew-curious – the crew will talk beer, answer questions and sample their recently brewed Fresh Hop Butternut Saison.

Portland CDA Festival
2 p.m. Saturday Nov. 7, Culmination Brewing, 2117 NE Oregon St.; no cover, beer tix $6 for four 5-oz. Pours, additional are $2 per 5-oz. pour.
It may be that Monger Chris Tappan and I are the only people in this town who don’t love CDAs – Cascadian Dark Ales – those hybrid beers that look like a stout but taste like an IPA. If you’re one of the majority who do love ’em, here’s your festival, featuring Pelican Bad Santa; Boneyard Armored Fist Imperial CDA; Montavilla Alleged Infringement CDA; Swordfish CDA from Fish Brewing; Drinking Horse Knight Noir CDA; Gigantic Slip Into Darkness CDL; Coin Toss Black Hohl CDA; and Culmination’s 4 & 20 Black IPA and GDIpa Imperial Black IPA. Plus the kitchen will be serving a special Beer Cheesesteak made with slow smoked beef, a Kolsch based beer cheese sauce, onions & peppers, and a horseradish sauce.

Warsteiner Winter Ale Release
6-9 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 10, Growler House, 21319 S.W. Sherwood Blvd., Sherwood;
The Growler house crew says this is your first ever chance to taste this famous German winter ale in North America.

Occidental Lucubrator Release Party
6 p.m. Thursday Nov. 13, Saraveza, 1004 N. Killingsworth St.;
Doppelbocks are named with words ending in -ator, a tradition that goes back to Paulaner Salvator, the first doppelbock, so Lucubrator fits right into style in all ways, including its big malty presence. Saraveza will have Lucubrator bottles for sale as well as draft and the Occidental crew will be here with their full lineup of cans to sample: Hefeweizen, Kolsch and Alt.

Green Dragon Brew Crew Sixth Anniversary Party
5 -8 p.m. Thursday Nov. 12, Green Dragon, 928 S.E. Ninth Ave.;
On November 9th, 2009, The Green Dragon Brew Crew brewed their first ever beer on a broken down nano system in the space that would one day become Buckman Botanical Brewery. Finally IPA would be the first of almost 300 unique brews the crew has produced in the past six years, because the crew has released a new beer almost every Wednesday since. The sixth anniversary beer is Descent Into Darkness, a Russian Imperial Stout brewed in January 2014, aged in a Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey barrel for two months, then cellared for nearly two years. The full, rich flavor of five malts displays layers of chocolate and vanilla and subtle flavors of toasted oak and whiskey from the barrel.