This Saturday marks the return of one of my favorite events of last year; The Eugene Winter & Strong Ale Festival, put on by 16 Tons.

Press Release:

2^nd Annual Eugene Winter & Strong Ale Festival on November 19 & 20

Eugene, OR (11/9/2011)

Join us for the 2nd Annual Eugene Winter & Strong Ale Festival on Saturday and Sunday 11/19-20!! Featuring some of the strongest beers on the planet. Choose from 70 beers, many of which are limited releases and hard to find. Free admission, 3oz tasters for $1-$3 (Cash Only). The Festival will be held at 16 Tons Taphouse, in Eugene’s most Beer-Centric neighborhood.

Eugene Winter & Strong Ale Festival

November 19 & 20

Doors open at 12pm (Full Beer List 4-10pm)

Come early for limited release beers!

16 Tons Taphouse 265 E 13^th Ave

Fall and Winter are the two biggest seasons for specialty beer releases. Pumpkin and other Fall ales lead the parade of holiday themed Spiced Ales, Old Ales, Barleywines, Imperial Stouts, and even festive India Pale Ales. With more than 90 breweries in Oregon alone, the number of special release winter ales is seemingly endless.

Featured breweries include: Hop Valley, Upright, Oakshire, Ninkasi, HUB, Block 15, Boneyard, Lompoc, Stone, Fort George, Tracktown Ales, Natian, Deschutes, Hair of the Dog, Pelican, Firestone Walker, Anchor, Elysian, Callapooia, Terminal Gravity, Mad River, Bison, Alaska, and many more.

Some of the beers that have been announced so far include:

You can follow festival developments at the Eugene Winter & Strong Ale Festival Facebook Event Page.

Hope to see everyone this weekend!
Kevin

I was trying to get this information up earlier, but I got completely wrecked by a cold at the beginning of the week and I am just now coming out the other side of it. So, here is a very short post about a couple great events happening tomorrow. First, we have the release of Oakshire’s Hellshire II.

Press Release

Oakshire Brewing Company of Eugene, Oregon will release its second Barrel Aged Beer under the label Hellshire on Saturday November 12th.

Sales of the beer begin at noon at the brewery in their newly remodeled tasting room and will end at 4PM. The second beer in the Hellshire series is an Imperial Stout that was 100% aged in Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrels for 7 months. Notes of vanilla, coconut, oak and bourbon intertwine with the beer’s complex chocolate and roasted coffee character, making for a contemplative beer meant for enjoying now, or aging for months or years. It is 10.5% alcohol by volume and sold in 22 ounce wax dipped bottles.

“The Hellshire Beers have been well received and we are excited to bring the second in the series,” explains Brewmaster Matt Van Wyk. “The artwork that local artist Sean Aaberg is creating along with these special complex aged beers makes for a great experience.”

According to Jeff Althouse, Co-Founder of Oakshire brewing, “We believe in the artistry of craft beer and I’ve assembled a great team of brewers who are able to highlight their creative and technical skills through our Hellshire program. Led by Brewmaster Matt Van Wyk, I feel our barrel aged program will become equally as popular as our Single Batch Series and our Seasonal and Year-Round Beers.”

Hellshire II: Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels will be released during Saturday dock sale hours, Noon to 4PM. All of Oakshire’s beers will be sampled and pints, growlers, and kegs will be available for purchase. 22 ounce, wax dipped bottles of this special beer will sell for $15 and supplies are limited to roughly 90 cases to sell on the dock. Local live music, and an assortment of food items will also be present at the release party.

I spoke with Matt yesterday, and he said that the Oregon Wood Fired Pizza cart will arrive at 10:45 a.m., providing a grub option for all the earlier birds, waiting patiently for the 12:00 p.m. release. And you may want to show up that early, because unlike the Hellshire I release, there will be no bottle limit tomorrow.

If the Hellshire II release isn’t enough on its own to tantalize you into visiting Oakshire tomorrow, how about the opportunity to purchase a bottle of the original Hellshire I? The brewery will have 48 bottles of the long-sold-out Barrel-aged Barleywine available for $20 each (one bottle limit). Several other beers from the ‘Shire Barrel Program will also be pouring during the release, including Gin Barrel Frederic’s Lost Arm (Saison brewed with oolong tea) and the last keg of Nitro Bourbon Badger (Scotch Ale). You will also be able to preview Skookumchuck Wild Ale, a blend of three different beers from five different barrels and the third Oakshire brew celebrating EWEB’s 100th anniversary and benefiting the McKenzie River Trust. Snifters of barrel-aged beers will run $5 and tasters $2.

Then, once you are finished at the Hellshire II release, you can head over to the 16 Tons Supreme Bean/Union Cafe location for Coffee Stout Fest, where you will be able to sample more than 20 coffee-infused beers. The events starts at 4 p.m., just as the the Hellshire II release is wrapping up, and runs until 10 p.m. There is no entry fee for the festival and tasters will run $1-$3.

So far, the Coffee Stout Fest includes:

• Hopworks – 7 Grain Stout
• Oakshire – Stout
• Fort George – Working Girl
• Kona – Pipeline Porter
• Boneyard – Backbone
• Nøgne Ø – Dark Horizon
• Mikkeller – Black Hole Red Wine Barrel Aged
• Mikkeller – Beer Hop Breakfast
• Mikkeller – Barrel Aged Breakfast
• Tröegs – Java Head Stout
• Lakefront – Fuel Cafe
• Six Rivers – Kona Moon Porter
• Mikkeller – Rauch Geek Breakfast
• Nectar Ales – Black Xantus
• Southern Tier – Jah-va
• Southern Tier – Mokah
• AleSmith – Speedway Stout
• Hitachino Nest – Espresso Stout
• Dieu du Ciel – Péché Mortel
• Nørrebro – La Granja Stout
• Great Divide – Espresso Oak Aged Yeti
• Epic – Big Bad Baptist
• Midnight Sun – Arctic Rhino Coffee Porter

Hope everyone can make it out to one or both of these great events. And remember, the 2nd Annual Eugene Winter & Strong Ale Festival is just a couple weeks away.

Cheers!
Kevin