Weekend In Review: Occidental Tap Takeover, Oakshire Small Batch Series Premiere at Belmont Station, Plew's Brews Winter Beer Fest, Guild Public House Grand Re-opening, and BeerMongers Belgian Christmas

Cascadians are getting geared up for the holiday season. Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa,  Solstice and more…the colder darker months are a great excuse to amp up the celebratory brews.

We officially kicked off our weekend on Thursday December 15 hitting up a bunch of regional beer hotspots, namely Bottles and Belmont Station. Bottles, located in the Beaumont Neighborhood of NE Portland (5015 NE Fremont) was hosting a tap takeover for St Johns’ Occidental Brewing. Six of brewers Dan and Ben Engler’s brews flowed from the taplines. A highlight was the brewery’s newly released Lucubrator Doppelbock. In addition to the Occidental brews on the menu, Bottles also poured a limited 5-gallon keg of Pelican’s Bad Santa Cascadian Dark Ale.

Not long after leaving Northeast Portland, we landed at Belmont Station, one of the world’s best craft beer destination. Here, Oakshire Brewing of Eugene’s brewmaster Matt Van Wyk was in the house to unveil his new Small Batch Series. The first release was a wild blend known as Skookumchuck. Available on draught and for sale in 750 ml caged and corked bottles, Skookumchuck was a popular tart sipper; well received by the audience of beer geeks.

The Guild Public House is had their Grand Re-Opening on Friday December 16 at 4:00PM at 1101 E. Burnside in Portland.

Recently the trio of Kenny Hill (Trebol Restaurant), Justin Akins  (Vintage Cocktail Lounge) and Daniel Roy purchased The Guild Public House from Jesse Cornett and Molly Aleshire. While trying to remain true to the original concept of local beer, good food and a comfortable atmosphere, we have made a few changes. Most notably being a new menu and a whisky-centric approach to our liquor.

Said Roy “We will also have our “Two fingers and a back” program in which we pair each of our draft beers with a shot that we feel will compliment the beer. The rest of the changes you will have to come down and see for yourself.”  Cheers! And long live the Guild!

Also on Friday, The BeerMongers hosted Belgian Christmas, tapping four affable authentic Belgian Noels. These included Delirium Noel, Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux, Gouden Carolus Noel (the official BeerMongers favorite), and St. Bernardus Christmas. A good turnout of folks celebrated this fun and festive night.

Perhaps the most noteworthy event of the weekend was Plew’s Brews Winter Beer Fest that ran Friday through Sunday. Organized by NoPo brew guy Trevor Thurston, the first annual event featured an assortment of West Coast craft beer. Highlights included Fish Tale Ten Squared Barleywine, Sierra Nevada Ovila Belgian-style Quad, and Vertigo Left Nut Brown. However, there were many other worthy pours worth tasting for this fine weekend.