Chimay, Hofbrau, pFriem, National IPA Day and artisan hot sauce; Portland craft beer events for the week of August 4-11

First Portland Hot Sauce Expo
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday Aug. 6 & Sunday Aug. 7, OMSI Bridge Parking Lot, $15, kids under 10 free.
The event features tastes of dozens of the hot sauces of the world and so much more, including a chihuahua beauty pageant, Lucha wrestling bouts, the Spicy Pizza of Doom Challenge, Margarita and Bloody Mary Mix Downs, the Tacos from Hell Challenge, a spicy Voodoo Doughnut-eating contest, the Guinness Book of Records Reaper Pepper Eating Contest…and yes, beer: Burnside Brewing and Lagunitas are both prominent among the sponsors, as are Portland distillers Eastside and Bull Run.

National IPA Day
Thursday Aug. 4, Nationwide;
We should probably drink an IPA or something, assuming we can find one here in Portland…or check out CraftBeer.com, they have some ideas…

Hofbrau Munchen Invades SteinhausPDX
6-9 p.m. Friday August 5, Steinhaus, 2366 SE 82nd Ave.;
Hofbrau Munchen is invading the Steinhaus Friday with four great Hofbrau beers on tap, including special bar top ceremonial kegs of Oktoberfestbier, Kellerbier, Hefeweizen, and Hofbrau Original and there’ll also be a steinhoisting competition with prizes.

pFriem Family Brewers Fourth Anniversary Party
4-9 p.m. Saturday Aug. 6, Hood River Waterfront Park Amphitheater, Portway Avenue, Hood River; Free admission, family friendly.
pFiem’s anniversary party features live music by the bands Redray Frazier and Jelly Bread and happens in the amphitheater to the north of the brewery with views of the Columbia River and easy access to the rest of Waterfront Park. In addition to live music, there will be a free bouncy house for kids, lawn games, food carts, and a pFriem beer tent. The pFriem tasting room will also be open to guests during the outdoor anniversary party. The tasting room will provide a full food menu during their regular scheduled hours and there will be meal options available at the park including local food by Big Man’s Rotisserie and Leah’s Lunch. Water stations will be available but guests are encouraged to bring their own sun protection, lawn chairs and blankets for seating. Parking is open along Portway Ave, and carpooling with designated drivers is recommended.

Second Annual Crawfish Boil
Noon – 9 p.m. Saturday August 6, Uptown Market, 6620 S.W. Scholls Fy. Rd., Portland; $25 includes taster glass & 15 beer/food tokens.
The Heads and Tails crawfish boil supports Oregon Brewshed and features special beers from breweries such as Hop Valley, Hopworks, Coalition, Baerlic, BridgePort and a couple from Uptown’s own brewery.

Elysian Brewing Patio Party
5-10 p.m. Saturday Aug. 6,The Station, 2703 NE Alberta St.; no cover.
Celebrate the peak of summer with the Elysian Brewing crew, special beers, BBQ specials and live music from the Happy Orchestra & Vinylogy — five DJ’s spinning strictly vinyl and a live drummer.

Ridgy’s Royall Boat Beer Release Party
6 p.m. Sunday Aug. 7, Hopworks Urban Brewery, 2944 SE Powell Blvd.;
Join Hopworks Urban Brewery and Liam Ridgewell for the release of Ridgy’s Royall Boat Beer, a limited summer beer and a collaboration with Liam, a member of HUB’s favorite men’s soccer club. Liam will be at the pub to share a pint with fans after the match that day. Liam Ridgewell’s beer marks Hopworks second soccer collaboration. Liam likes day-long sessions on warm summer lakes so he opted for a pale ale with tropical hops, citrus zest and honey. In addition to being on tap, HUB will also release a limited run of collector bottles. After the release party, the beer will be on tap at BikeBar. A portion of this beer’s proceeds are donated to The Freshwater Trust, a freshwater conservation nonprofit based in Portland.

Chimay Celebration
Monday Aug. 8, Belmont Station, 4500 S.E. Stark St.
Chimay, one of 11 Trappist breweries in the world, produces three widely distributed ales and a patersbier that once was brewed exclusively for the monks, but is now occasionally sold as Chimay Gold or Chimay Dorée.
Many of us have enjoyed the three more common Chimay beers from a bottle or maybe even on tap, but it’s unusual to be able to try all four Chimay Trappist beers on tap at the same time:
Chimay Red: Première. It is a dark brown colour dubbel and has a sweet, fruity aroma.
Chimay Blue: Grande Réserve. This copper-brown beer has a light creamy head and a slightly bitter taste. Considered to be the “classic” Chimay ale, it exhibits a considerable depth of fruity, peppery character.
Chimay Triple: Cinq Cents. This crisp beer bears a light orange color, and is the most hopped and driest of the three.
Chimay Dorée (Golden), 4.8% ABV ale, brewed from very similar ingredients as the Red, but paler and spiced differently. It is a patersbier, originally intended for consumption by the monks at the Abbey.
So you can truly appreciate these world class beers side-by-side, the Station crew will sell flights of one each of the four Chimay beers, along with a larger glass size of each beer for those who would rather spend more time with a favorite. Whichever you choose, it’s a rare treat for Belgian beer fans.

A Collaboration of Collaborations
6-8 p.m. Wednesday Aug. 10, Beer, 1410 SE Stark St . & ENSO, 1416 SE Stark St.;
This summer, four of Portland’s craft beer, cider and winemakers have teamed up for a series of small batch collaborations to be released on Wednesday, August 10, at neighboring Beer and ENSO Southeast Stark Street, and this is your opportunity to taste these very limited selections together on tap.

Sangria Bretta — Coalition Brewing with Portland Sangria: Blend of Portland Sangria and Coalition’s aged brettanomyces beer. 6% ABV.

Hopland in Space – Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider with Coalition Brewing: Triple IPA-inspired cider using a hopping and fruiting schedule similar to that of Coalition’s celebrated Space Fruit IPA. The Pacific Northwest apple juice blend was boiled and hopped at Coalition, then fermented and dry-hopped at Reverend Nat’s cidery. 11.8% ABV.

Vinocot – ENSO Winery with Reverend Nat’s Cider: Sparkling Dry Riesling from ENSO Winery blended with Reverend Nat’s nearly-world-famous Hopricot cider. 9% ABV.