The Beer Here: Crux Comes to Portland, Cascadian Beer Fest and Beer Events For The Week of November 8th

Crux Fermentation Project comes to Portland, Cascadian Beer Fest and the rest of the beer events for the week of November 8, 2018.

Firestone Walker Vintage Night
6-9 pm Thursday Nov. 8, Saraveza, 1004 N. Killingsworth St.;
The Saraveza crew has unearthed some fine beers from the cellar, and they’ll be pouring Thursday evening:

• 2013 Sucaba – 12.5% ABV – A barrel-aged Barley Wine w/ big, boozy, American Oak aromas and flavors sure to be smoothed out by some time in our cellar.
• 2015 XIX Anniversary – 19th Anniversary blend of 4 different barrel-aged beers from 235 different oak barrels that results in a is a rich, chocolaty, chewy brew with brandy-soaked raisin and holiday fruitcake flavors.
• 2015 Parabola – 13.1% ABV – A barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout aged in Elijah Craig, Four Roses, Pappy Van Winkle, Woodford Reserve and brandy barrels.
• 2015 Bretta Weisse – 4.9% ABV – An oak-aged Berliner Weisse
• 2016 Agrestic – 6.6% ABV – An American Wild Ale aged 12-15 months in French and American oak.

Crux Tough Love Release
5-9 p, Friday Nov. 9, The BeerMongers, 1125 SE Division st.;
Lucky old us! The Crux Crew heads to Portland for a celebratory toast with Co-Founder and Master Brewer, Larry Sidor, and the Crux team for the release of one of the Bend brewery’s most highly anticipated beer 2018 [BANISHED] Tough Love Imperial Stout on draft and in bottles.

Migration + Drifter Gose IPA release
3-11 pm Friday Nov. 9, Migration Brewing Co., 2828 NE Glisan St.;
The Migration crew is excited to release the latest collaboration brew, the Wild Coast Gosé IPA. All the way from Cape Town, South Africa, Drifter Brewing Co. migrated north to Oregon to brew this beer — which includes salt water from the tip of Africa along with African Queen hops — with Migration and the release of this very special limited edition beer will be on draft and in limited 4-pack cans at both Migration locations and a party at the Glisan location to celebrate the launch.

The Abyss 2018 Release and Brunch
9am-1pm Saturday Nov. 10, Deschutes Brewery Portland Pub, 210 NW 11th Ave.;
The first bottles of The Abyss 2018 released in Portland will be at Deschutes Portland Public House on Saturday, when they open early at 9 am so you can join them to grab bottles, savor sample trays and order off their truly epic brunch menu.

Star Party Brut IPA Release
3-11 pm Saturday Nov. 10, Ecliptic Brewing, 825 N Cook St.;
The star of this party is Ecliptic’s newest Special Release beer, Star Party Brut IPA, (8 percent ABV) which the press release says “explodes with primordial hop character set against a background as dry and clean as the void of space.” Sounds good to me…they’re celebrating with an evening of music, drinks, and food specials and Star Party Brut IPA will be available on draft, along with champagne cocktail specials and bites from the kitchen. The regular pub menu will also be available and from 6-8pm, you can enjoy live jazz music from The Tracy Kim Trio. Star Party Brut IPA bottles will also be available to-go.

Cascadian Beer Fest
4-9pm Saturday, Nov. 10, Hopworks Urban Brewery Vancouver, 17707 SE Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver, Wash.; $20 includes a HUB Chalice and 5 tix. 21 and over for the fest, the brewpub will be open for family dining.
The Cascadian Beer Fest is the last of three celebrations for Hopworks’ 10th anniversary and brings together twelve breweries from across the Cascadian Region to brew special beers inspired by Cascadia and brewed with ingredients from Cascadia. Inspired by the mission of One Percent For The Planet, each brewery will also donate a portion of their beer’s proceeds to an environmental organization from their region. Cascadiarefers to the bioregion that encompasses the drainages of the greater Columbia and Fraser Rivers. This territory, extending over half a million square miles includes most of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and parts of Northern California and Idaho.

The Beer List:

• 54° 40′ Brewing – Washougal: Restoration Ale – NW Pale Ale brewed in collaboration with Steigerwald Wildlife Refuge and the Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards. The Stewards efforts preserve and maintain the Steigerwald Refuge through public education, advocacy and habitat restoration. 5% ABV
• Ashtown – Longview: Eufaula Wet Hop IIRA – NW imperial red brewed with Washington base malt and loads of fresh, locally grown hops. Ashtown’s Eufaula Farm has been providing hops for their wet hop beer series since 2013. 8.2% ABV
• Barbarian – Boise: #Cascadia – Brut IPA made with Mecca Grade Malt and Idaho hops and hop hash. 7% ABV
• Cascadia Ciderworks United – Portland: Cranberry Dry – This cider starts out as a true dry cider, made with the finest American dessert apples and crafted with Belgian beer yeast. For this special event, we added cranberry juice from Starvation Alley Cranberry Farms. 6.2% ABV
• Eel River – Fortuna: Fortuna Fog – A Cascadian sourced Fall IPA, featuring Organic Copeland Pilsner Malt, Caramel Steam, and Flaked Rye. Bright red in color, with a dry, crisp finish from a generous dose of resin packed Amarillo hops from the Yakima Valley’s Puterbaugh farms. 7% ABV
• FiftyFifty – Truckee: CAPA (California Pale Ale) – A hat tip to the timeless and tasty West Coast Style Pale Ale, which offers a fantastic floral aroma, bursting with hop character. Citra hops dance around your palate on this easy drinking, semi-hazy pale ale. An exceptionally smooth, medium-bodied malt finish rounds out this deliciously drinkable and balanced pale ale. 5.4% ABV
• Fortside – Vancouver, Wash.: Grande Couve – A beautiful Washington beer brewed entirely from products of our beautiful state. This Belgian Dark Strong has a pilsner malt base produced by our friends at Mainstem Malt and a bit of dark malt from Skagit Valley Malting. Pinot Noir grapes from White Dog Farms in La Center, WA give this complex Belgian beer another layer of subtle cherry and dark fruit notes. 10% ABV
• Hopworks Vancouver: Grizzly Snacks – A strong amber ale fermented with Idaho huckleberries from Priest Lake. All the malt was malted by Great Western Malting in Vancouver, Washington and the hops were all came from Oregon and Washington. 6.8% ABV
• Salish Blue – Hazy IPA made with Salish Blue wheat malt. Salish Blue was developed at Washington State University by breeding wheat and wheat grass to make a perennial grain. It also features Strata hops which were developed by Oregon State and Indie Hops. 6% ABV
• Payette – Boise: Foothills Hazy IPA – Resiny, slightly tropical hop profile. Big sweet fruit note highlighting tropical flavors. Pure Idaho Pilsner Malt. Idaho 7 hop hash grown and processed in Parma, Idaho.
• Pelican – Tillamook” The Grapes of Mash – A collaborative project with Ransom Winery in Sheridan, Oregon, using fresh Gewurztraminer juice fermented in a pale Saison base beer. This Belgian-inspired fruit beer has a pale color, lean body, and a dry finish. Spicy, fruity aromatics highlight both the Saison yeast and the grapes, while a slight earthy floral note adds accent via Oregon-grown Golding hops. 8% ABV
• Persephone – BC: Coast Life Lager – Crisp and refreshing! We brew our Coast Life Lager entirely with hops grown on our 11 acre farm in Gibsons, BC. All barley is also from British Columbia. 4.5% ABV
• Pfriem – Hood River: Abrikoos – 2.7 lbs. Per gallon of fresh apricots from Mosier, Oregon aged in barrels previously used for Oregon Pinot Noir. This may seem like a lot of fruit, but the aromas of grape, and cantaloupe and tart notes of baked lemons and pineapple nectar don’t lie. It’s just right! 5.4% ABV

The Matryoshkas are Coming
3-6pm Saturday Nov.10, Ben’s Bottle Shop, 8052 E Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver, Wash; 21 and over.
Subtitled a Fort George extravaganza, this event features a number of 2018 Matryoshka variants on tap, and in bottles (plus a 2017 surprise). They’ll also be pouring a selection of FG’s saison-inspired brews–including barrel-aged, spiced, fruited, and/or vortexed options, plus some of Fort George’s core classics will also be available on tap. It’s a great way to taste some rare Fort George beers without making the trek to Astoria…

Cascade Brewing Meet the Brewer
6-8 pm Saturday Nov. 10, Lodge at Cascade Brewing, 7424 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, Raleigh Hills;
Drop in and join the Cascade crew for a Q&A with Cascade’s head brewer, Mike Mathis. The event happens in the Brewer’s Den on the lower level of the Lodge at Cascade Brewing, overlooking the brew floor —  one of my favorite spots to sip a good beer — where you can enjoy vintage draft and bottle tastings, special sour and non-sour projects and fun food pairings from the kitchen.