Your Month in Beer

By Shanon Emerson

Oregon Craft Beer month is happening now, and July 4th is the only day this month that there isn’t at least one beer-related event planned. Below are a few highlights that you won’t want to miss. For a full calendar of all the brew-inspired revelry that July has to offer, visit oregonbeer.org/oregon-craft-beer-month-events.

Rogue’s Bloody Mary Pajama Brunch: July 13, 10am
Rogue’s Portland Distillery and Public House (1339 NW Flanders St, 222-5910, rogue.com)
Sleep in until 10am, roll out of bed, leave your pj’s on (or put them on depending on your rogue status) get yourself to Rogue’s Portland distillery. Now officially start your day by building your own Bloody Mary and ordering the Chocolate Stout pancakes.

Portland International Beerfest (PIB): July 17–19
North Park Blocks (NW 8th & NW Davis, portland-beerfest.com)
There’s no better place to taste the world’s beers than at PIB. This three-day festival features
over 150 beers from more than 15 countries. Pay $20 for 10 beer tickets and an official PIB glass. Each additional ticket is $1. Each beer will cost one to four tickets depending on the beer’s “swank factor.”

Hopworks Urban Brewery’s Homebrew Demo: July 20, 2–6pm
Hopworks Urban Brewery (2944 SE Powell Blvd, 232-4677, hopworksbeer.com)
For those of you who want to do more than just drink great beer, Hopworks is offering a homebrew demonstration in their parking lot. Who knows, maybe this will be the beginning of your career as a brewmaster. Or, better yet, it could be the beginning of your career as everyone’s new best friend at your next BBQ.

New Old Lompoc’s Festivus in July: July 22, 5–6pm
New Old Lompoc (1616 NW 23rd Ave, 225-1855, newoldlompoc.com)
This month New Old Lompoc takes the absurdity of Christmas in July to an entirely new level with Festivus in July. Festivus went mainstream when it was written into an episode of “Seinfeld” by a writer whose father had invented the holiday in the ’60s. Now Portlanders can sip traditional Christmas Ales while they experience the “traditional” airing of the grievances and the feats of strength.

Oregon Brewers Guild Brewers Dinner: July 22, 6–8:30
Tom McCall Waterfront Park (288-2739, oregonbeer.org/brewers-dinner)
This informal-style BBQ is held on the eve of the Oregon Brewers Festival as a fund-raiser for the Oregon Brewers Guild. The money they raise will help them continue to spread the word about Oregon’s native beers. It will feature beers that are not available at the festival. For $50 you’ll get dinner, a souvenir pint glass, and your choice of six half-pints of Oregon beer.

Oregon Brewers Festival, July 23–26, oregonbrewfest.com
Tom McCall Waterfront Park, downtown Portland
The Oregon Brewers Festival started in 1988 as a way to support and promote microbrews. Twenty-one years later the festival will feature craft beers from 80 different breweries from across the country. Packages range from $10–$50 and include a 2009 souvenir mug, which is required hardware for your beer-drinking pleasure. Admission is free if you’re more interested in the food and live music than the beer.