Inaugural PDX Craft Beer PRIDE Week events calendar
This Sunday, July 9th is the kickoff of the inaugural PDX Craft Beer Pride Week, an 8-day affair running through July 16th with special programming at a different local brewery each day of the week highlighting and celebrating the queer and LGBTQ+ communities. SteepleJack Brewing, Wayfinder Beer, Ecliptic Brewing, Gigantic Brewing, Threshold Brewing, Breakside Brewing, The Sports Bra, and Migration Brewing are participating. The idea comes from Migration Brewing co-founder Colin Rath, who has been hosting Pride events at his brewery for 6 years now, and supporting related causes and creating safe spaces for all walks of life since they first opened in 2010.
“We started hosting an annual Pride event as a sign of support for our staff and patrons,” says Rath. “This year I saw the opportunity to get other local breweries and craft beer bars involved to build upon what we have done for the last 6 years. I hope to keep building Craft Beer Pride Week over the years to continue to support the LGBTQ community and raise money for different organizations supporting similar groups and causes.”
In early 2002 Migration Brewing created their own internal Pride Committee formed from members from each of their three pubs. The committee organizes year-round support for organizations and initiatives with it’s own internal cultural mission, values, and inclusivity statements.
You might be asking yourself, "Why is this in July when Pride month is in June?” According to the Portland Mercury explainer: Pride Northwest announced in December that this year’s Portland Pride Parade and Festival would move from June to mid-July, citing schedule overlaps with other summer celebrations, including Juneteenth, the Delta Park Powwow, and Father’s Day.
JULY 9
Queer Cheer & Lagerbier Maker’s Market @ Wayfinder Beer
Come and be a part of an incredible day brimming with enjoyment, imagination, and jubilation. Experience the sensational Epic Makers Mart and Dance Party showcasing the extraordinary DJs Androjenous (2-4PM), Stormy Roxx (4-6PM), and Chelsea Starr (6-8PM)-. The Makers Mart will captivate you from noon to 4 PM, followed by an electrifying dance party that will carry on into the evening. This event serves as a fundraiser for the RAINBOW RAILROAD. A big "thanks" to our wonderful sponsors Tito's Vodka and Underwood Wine. Join us and contribute to a worthy cause!
JULY 10
TBD
JULY 11
Color Me Proud @ Threshold Brewing & Blending
Join Threshold Brewing on Tuesday, July 11 for Craft Beer Pride Week and a celebratory rainbow color throw! With your help, they fill the Montavilla outdoor plaza with an explosion of every color under the sun and support the Pride Northwest organization and its year-round LGBTQIA2S+ community impact programs here in the PNW.
Color powder packets available via link with ALL PROCEEDS donated to Pride Northwest. Grab your color powder packets in advance (recommended) for easy pick-up at the event. Doors open at 4 p.m., color throws will launch at approximately 5 and 6 p.m. and we’ll keep the party going until dark with DJ Caruci! All ages, all faces, welcome.
JULY 12
Breakside Slabtown Beer Release & Sparkly Rainbow Jello-Shots
Breakside Brewery is re-releasing ‘ I Purple You - Purple Fruits Beer’ their 2022 Fuji to Hood Festival collaboration with Japan's Ise Kadoya Brewery, brewed with Ube and Blackberry. This 5.5% abv and only 3 IBU beer is a spin on a classic fruit wheat beer, imbuing it with subtle berry notes from Oregon blackberries and completing it with purple yam. This is an eye-catching beer with a distinct mauve hue, but it's flavors remain delicate and balanced.
Breakside NW Slabtown bar manager Lisa Hackett is making sparkly rainbow jello-shots as a special that can be paired up with the I Purple You beer. A portion of all proceeds from the sale of these items will be given back to one or two local organizations that support the LGBTQ community.
JULY 13
Migration Brewing Pride Pop-Up Bookshop, Beer Release, & Drag Bingo
Migration Brewing will be hosting Maggie Mae's Bookshop for a Pride focused pop up bookstore from 5-7pm at their NE Glisan St. Pub, and fresh from the brewery will be this year’s “Colors of Love”, a West Coast Pilsner that comes in at 5.4% ABV and features Galaxy and Citra hops. There will also be food specials, and the party wraps up with Drag Bingo with the amazing Atlas from 7-9pm and Migration will be making a donation to Black & Beyond the Binary Collective.
JULY 14
Ecliptic Brewing Moon Room Pride Party
Ecliptic Brewing is hosting a Pride Celebration at the Moon Room location in Southeast Portland. They are releasing a special pub-only beer - Planetary Pride Passion Fruit Blonde Ale with Glitter. Live DJs, including Lady Emzee and Cameo, will be performing from 7-10PM, and they will also be featuring jello shots, pride cocktails, and vegan food from on-site food truck Gnarly’s known for their tremendous meat and dairy free burgers. Come early as they are giving away limited-edition, pride sunglasses too. Ecliptic will be donating 10% of all proceeds from this event to the Q Center, which is the largest LGBTQ+ community center in the Pacific Northwest, serving the LGBTQ2SIA+ communities of Portland Metro and Southwest Washington.
JULY 15
Darcelle XV Blonde IPA re-release party @ Gigantic Brewing Hawthorne
Gigantic Brewing first released their collaboration beer with Darcelle XV, the world’s oldest drag queen and a fearless advocate for Portland’s LGBTQ+ community in March. Just a few weeks later in March 2023, Walter Cole who performed as Darcelle XV, passed away at the age of 92 and the beer promptly sold-out. Walter/Darcelle XV was the owner and star of Darcelle XV Showplace, the West Coast’s longest-running drag show and a Portland cultural institution.
For the re-release of Darcelle Blonde IPA, Gigantic is hosting a party on Saturday, July 15th at their new Hawthorne Pub (4343 SE Hawthorne Blvd) and donating 10% of all sales that day to the ACLU Drag Defense Fund. There are special surprises planned for that day, but if you can’t make the party the beer will still be available on draft and in 16oz bottles at all three Gigantic locations as well as retail, beer bars, and bottleshops.
JULY 16
Pride Block Party @ The Sports Bra
Portland women’s sports bar and queer community hub The Sports Bra is throwing their 2nd annual Queer Block Party in partnership with their neighbors at SteepleJack Brewing on Sunday, July 16th. The event will take up the parking lot next door with DJs, food trucks, drinks, dancing with partners Away Days Brewing, Freeland Spirits, Aimsir Distilling, Salvi PDX, Meals 4 Heels.
Advanced VIP passes are available online now, and general admission tickets will be sold at the door/gate day-of and are $25! They include access to both The Bra and the outdoor event space (depending on capacity), live DJs, free swag giveaways and women-owned food and beverage vendors.
“We’re really excited for this celebration. All the participating breweries jumped on board quickly and the fact that it coincides with Portland’s Pride parade should be a lot of fun,” says Colin Rath, Migration’s Pub Operations Director, and Co-Founder. “We’ve always enjoyed hosting a large annual Pride party and it only made sense to see if we could make it bigger. So far, the response has been extremely positive and we look forward to hopefully making the PDX Craft Beer Pride Week an annual event,” states Rath.