Portland Metro Area Holiday Beer & Cider Events Guide
As we enter the final stretch of the holiday season many of us are itching to get out to events big or small, it’s also an important time to support your local business during this slow time of the year. With no big festivals this year it’s easy to forget there are still lots of opportunities to attend smaller more intimate events from tap takeovers to book releases, seminars, ugly sweater parties, and pub crawls to name a few. If you have a beer or cider event that is missing, please send info to newschoolbeer@gmail.com.
Wednesday, December 8th
A Woman’s Place is in the Brewhouse
Author Tara Nurin is in town promoting her new book ‘A Woman’s Place is in the Brewhouse’ that chronicles the untold story of women’s important place in the beer industry from past to present. Meet Tara, get a book signed, and also attend the special talk with other featured women in the industry including former brewmaster and Pink Boots Society founder Teri Fahrendorf, Pyramid Brewing co-founder Beth Hart, and 10 Barrel PDX brewmaster Whitney Burnside. 5-7pm at 10 Barrel Brewing Portland, 1411 NW Flanders St, Portland, OR 97209
December - ?
GlüBar Pop-Up
Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom has reopened their sidewalk hot-beverage pop-up bar for mulled beer, wine and cider concoctions to fire-side outdoor tables on NE Alberta St. or cozy indoor seating inside the bar. GluBar was created for the pandemic and was a big success in it’s debut in winter of 2020, now it’s back and better than ever.
Favorite drinks include a classic German-inspired glühwein, a Bourbon barrel-aged hard cider hot toddy, a hot Fruitcake Sour beer, and a Mexican-spiced hot chocolate stout, served tableside with flaming marshmallows. The menu will continue to change and evolve with new drink specials for as long as it lasts this winter with no ending date announced. Read the full story and info here.
December 2-26th
Oregon Brewers Guild Pop-Up @ Function PDX
During the month of December the NW Portland event space Function PDX is hosting the Oregon Brewers Guild to highlight small and independent breweries from across the state. This pop-up style event takes over the intimate bar, elevated back patio, and streetside parklet from December 2 - 26th. More info here.
Thursday, December 9
Dark Beer To End The Year
Wildwood taphouse in Hillsboro will be featuring dark beers from Humble Sea, Breakside, Great Notion & Bottle Logic for draft and various bottle pours. They also will be serving sausages and homemade chili. Kegs tapped at 11am, food and event starts at 4pm. 9345 NE Windsor St, Hillsboro, OR 97006
Thursday, December 9
Oregon City Brewing White Elephant Christmas Party @ Beer Store Milwaukie
The Milwaukie Beer Store is hosting their annual party with Oregon City Brewing. There will be plenty of great beer on draft and they will hand out prizes for the best ugly Christmas sweater. There will also be a white elephant gift exchange that is totally optional. More info here.
Friday, December 10
Orange Giant Barleywine release party with flight specials @ Ecliptic Brewing
Celebrate the release of 2021 Orange Giant Barleywine, including a Triple Dry-Hopped Edition, Bourbon Barrel-Aged, and Rye Barrel-Aged versions. More info here. Be among the first to try these beers on a special taster tray, available at our Ecliptic’s Mothership and Moon Room locations, and grab some bottles and cans to-go to enjoy at home all winter long.
Orange Giant Taster Tray:
- 2021 Orange Giant Barleywine Ale
- 2021 Orange Giant Barleywine Ale: Triple Dry-Hopped Edition
- 2021 Rye Barrel-Aged Orange Giant Barleywine Ale
- 2021 Bourbon Barrel-Aged Orange Giant Barleywine Ale
- A sample of 503 Distilling Gambler 500 Whiskey
- A sample of Freeland Spirits Bourbon
Friday, December 10
Trap Door Ugly Sweater Pub Crawl
The crawl starts at 6PM at Brickhouse in downtown Vancouver, WA, then heads to Shanahans, Cellar 55, Underbar, Uptown Barrel Room, Tip Top, Thirsty Sasquatch and the ending at Trap Door Brewing. At Trap Door they will have games, live music and the Ugly Sweater contes to cap off the night. Festivities at Trap Door start at 8:30PM more info here.
Friday, December 10th
Christmas Cookie & Beer Pairings @ Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom
Tis the season for one of Imperial Bottle Shop's favorite events of the year... their annual Christmas cookie & beer pairings! On Friday December 10th from 5-8PM, they'll be serving up homemade Christmas cookies paired perfectly with specialty beers from Fort George Brewery! The 2021 cookie/beer pairings include:
- Orange Creamsicle Sugar Cookie & "Quick Wit" Belgian-Style Witbier
- Peppermint Snowball & "Magnanimous" IPA w/Grand Fir Tips
- Tropical Fruitcake Blondie Bites & "Funky Funky Eye Patch" Mixed Culture Saison aged in French Oak Pinot Noir puncheons and dry-hopped w/Nelsons
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossoms & "Time Will Tell" Bourbon Barrel-Aged Baltic Porter
Attendees will get all 4 cookie pairings (a cookie & 4 oz of beer each) for $19. They have 48 pairings total on a first-come first-serve. Starting at 6, local band Casual Encounters will be playing a set of 90s cover hits. Facebook event page here.
December 11
pFriem Kicks Off Mt. Hood Meadows Season Opener
Hood River’s pFriem Family Brewers is helping Mt. Hood Meadows kick off their season opener with a special beer and food tasting event. The vertical tasting with the pFriem brewers happens with assorted charcuterie and listening live music.
The cost is $35 per person and $5 of each purchase goes to “The Next Door” in Hood River. Make sure to purchase online in advance as there is limited seating. Seating times are 1 - 3 PM and 3:30 to 5 PM. Must be 21 or older to attend. Purchase your tickets here.
December 12
Cider Summit Holiday Festival To-Go
Cider Summit Northwest’s holiday Festival-To-Go Tasting Kits feature a carefully curated selection of ciders that appeal to every budget and taste. For the first time, each kit will contain an equal number of ciders from Oregon and Washington, representing the best of the Pacific Northwest.
To complete the kits, participating cidermakers are producing short videos about their ciders, which will be available for viewing starting December 15. An event guide with tasting notes will also be available on the Cider Summit NW website beginning on December 15.
The kits are offered at three price points, each with a unique assortment of Oregon and Washington ciders. Shoppers may opt to purchase a Cider Summit cooler bag at checkout, designed to fit six 19.2 oz cans. There is also an option to make a donation to the event beneficiary, the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research.
December 15 - 19
The 12 Beers of Christmas @ Coin Toss Brewing
Oregon City’s Coin Toss Brewing will be tapping big winter warmers, Imperial Stouts, and Barleywines in a week-long celebration of holiday beers. Special flights, food & fun all week. More info at https://fb.me/e/1hec5bpPj
December 16
Hama Hama Pop-Up Oyster Bar @ Chill N Fill
POP Oysters will be at N. Portland’s Chill N Fill taproom on Thursday, December 16th from 5-9pm and shucking delicious Hama Hama Oysters for $1.50 per shuck, or $16 for a dozen. Of course there will be great beer on draft as well. Chill N Fill, 5215 N Lombard St, Portland, OR 97203.
Friday, December 17th 5-7pm
Hopworks Brewer’s Whiskey Sale with New Deal
Hopworks Urban Brewery’s Brewer’s Whiskey is among the best brewery/distillery collaborations we have had. This small batch whiskey is distilled from HUB Lager and is always available for pours at the taproom, but every once in awhile bottles go on sale for the public. Join us HUB and New Deal Distillery starting at 5PM for a bottle sale of Brewer's Whiskey along with other awesome, local-made spirits. Get here early before the whiskey sells out - quantities are extremely limited and this sale won't come around for another year. More info here.
Saturday, December 18
Gigantic Brewing Holiday Market
Gigantic Brewing’s Holiday Market at their southeast Portland taproom is back. Expect about 12 local makers plying their wares in the barrel room from 12-6 on Saturday, December 18. It's the perfect place for some painless last minute gift shopping. Please note this event (like all events at the original taproom) is 21+ only. 5224 SE 26th Ave. Portland, OR 97202
Thursday, December 23
Barrel-Aged Beer Seminar & Tasting
Portland Beer Week presents the Barrel-Aged Beer Seminar featuring Breakside Brewing, Fort George Brewing, and Oakshire Brewing's barrel masters. This special discussion on the art of barrel-aging clean wood-aged beers takes place with the masters themselves and will cover everything from time and age, to how to coaxe the most oak, whiskey or spice notes from the barrels and how to balance those flavors with different styles of beer, adjuncts, oxidation, sweetness, and the role of high alcohol flavors.
Throughout the course of this 2 hour discussion we will sample 6 rare and exemplary barrel-aged beers, 2 from each participating brewer: David Coyne of Fort George Brewery, Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewery, and Dan Russo of Oakshire Brewing. At the end of the discussion we will open the floor for direct questions and mingling with the brewers.