President’s Day Weekend is coming up, and we’re pretty sure the Founding Fathers would have supported an afternoon dedicated to touring breweries, sampling and learning about craft beer. Saturday, February 15th from 11am-4pm Standing Stone will join breweries all over Oregon in celebrating Zwickelmania, presented by the Oregon Brewers Guild.

Zwickelmania is the annual one-day event in Oregon when breweries open their doors to beer-lovers for brewer events, beer samples, tours, classes and more. Last year, 93 breweries from all over the state participated with celebratory events. At Standing Stone, we’ll host a “hang with the brewer” day. Come visit with Brewmaster Larry Chase, walk around the brewing deck, peek inside a brewing tank and taste free samples of some of our house made beers on tap.

If you’re in the Rogue Valley, make a day of it and visit Bricktowne Brewery in Medford and Caldera Brewery in Ashland, too. Both local breweries are offering tours and discounts on craft brews. Check out the Zwickelmania event page and click on any of the seven regions of Oregon to see which breweries are participating in your area.

Fun fact: Zwickelmania gets its name from the “zwickel,” a sample valve on beer conditioning tanks. This sample port allows brewers to take quality control testers during the fermentation process. You have this valve to thank for your favorite craft brews!

For more information head to Oregon Craft Beer’s Zwickelmania event page, Facebook page and Twitter. If you take photos or just wish to share the celebration with others, use the hashtag #zwickel14. Bring your beer buds and celebrate a day of quality craft beer in Oregon!

Join us this weekend for Zwickelmania, a statewide event uniting 67 craft beer establishments to offer tours, tastings and more.

This annual fiesta takes its name from the zwickel sample valve on beer conditioning tanks, which allows brewers to take quality control samples during fermentation. Now in its fourth year, Zwickelmania takes place on Presidents’ Day Weekend – an apt occasion to celebrate independent American brewpubs and American-made craft beer.

Along with Caldera Brewing and Southern Oregon Brewing Company, we’ve brewed up activities to represent Southern Oregon’s craft beer excellence with pride. We’ll offer tours and a class with Brewmaster, Larry Chase, all free of charge and open to those age 21 and over.

Event details:

• February 18
• Tours and tasting: 12-1 pm and 2-3 pm
• Class: 3:30-4:30 pm, “Beer Ingredients and their Flavor Contribution”

If you’re in Southern Oregon, make a day of it and visit our friends at Caldera and Southern Oregon Brewing, too. As always, please celebrate responsibly and have a designated driver if needed.

We’re excited to be a part of this fantastic event, and the growing craft beer industry in Oregon and the US. This movement is indeed brewing quickly. According to the Oregon Brewers Guild, 19 new Oregon breweries and brewpubs opened in 2011, and participation in Zwickelmania has grown from 15 to 67 establishments since the first event in 2009.

Here’s the full list of Oregon craft beer makers that are taking part, so you can celebrate anywhere in Oregon:

Southern Oregon

• Caldera Brewing
• Southern Oregon Brewing Co.
• Standing Stone Brewing Co.

Central Oregon

• 10 Barrel Brewing Co.
• Bend Brewing Co.
• Boneyard Beer
• Cascade Lakes Lodge
• Cascade Lakes 7th Street Brewhouse
• Deschutes Brewery
• GoodLife Brewing Company
• McMenamins Old St. Francis School Brewery
• Silver Moon Brewing Co.
• Three Creeks Brewing
• Yet To Be Named Brewery

Hood River

• Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom
• Full Sail Brewing Co.
• Logsdon Farmhouse Ales

Portland Metro

• Alameda Brewing
• Ambacht
• Amnesia Brewing Co.
• Breakside Brewery
• BridgePort Brewing
• Burnside Brewing Co.
• Cascade Brewing Barrel House
• Coalition Brewing
• Columbia River Brewing Co.
• Deschutes Brewery-Portland Pub
• Full Sail at Riverplace
• Gigantic Brewing
• Green Dragon
• Hair of the Dog Brewing Co.
• Hopworks Urban Brewery
• Laurelwood Public House and Brewery
• Lompoc Brewing Co. – 5th Quadrant
• Lompoc Brewing Co. – New Old Lompoc Brewery
• Lucky Labrador Beer Hall
• Lucky Labrador Brewpub
• McMenamins Crystal Brewery
• MacTarnahan’s Brewing Co.
• Migration Brewing
• Occidental Brewing Company
• Philadelphia’s Steaks & Hoagies
• Portland U-Brew & Pub
• Rock Bottom Brewery
• Rogue Distillery+Public House
• Rogue Hall
• Sasquatch Brewing Co.
• The Commons Brewery
• Vertigo Brewing
• Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.

The Coast

• Fort George Brewery + Public House
• Pelican Pub and Brewery
• Rogue Ales Public House
• Rogue Brewer’s on the Bay
• Rusty Truck Brewing Co.

Willamette Valley

• Falling Sky Brew House
• Flat Tail Brewing
• Fire Mountain Brewery
• Heater|Allen Brewing
• Hop Valley Brewing
• McMenamins High Street Brewery
• McMenamins on Monroe
• Ninkasi Brewing Co.
• Oakshire Brewing
• Oregon Trail Brewery
• Rogue Ales Public House and Brewery
• Two Kilts Brewing

For a detailed list of events each brewery will be offering visit the event web site.

See you this weekend!