Sike! You’ll have to find yer own boozy Easter eggs. Here’s an opinion:

The big Oregon beer news this week involved two lauded lager brewers. The decocting duo Lisa Allen (Heater Allen) and Kevin Davey (Wayfinder), who have been mashing together for quite a while now (as in collaborating, of course), have purchased Heater Allen Brewing from Lisa’s father, founder Rick Allen, and are forming the Gold Dot Beer label as a top shelf wing and beergarden business side of the brewery. Davey recently left Wayfinder in the capable hands of former Breakside R&D brewer Natalie Baldwin. (For more on her, check out this excellent profile on New School Beer)

The news of Gold Dot’s formation was dropped by Craft Beer & Brewing (unclear why they chose a national outlet, rather than local). In the concise article, by long-time beer writer and author Joe Stange, Davey states that Gold Dot’s lagers will be more expensive, and, oddly, that he and Allen are “not homebrewers with a trust fund.” Duh! Maybe it’s ’cause I’m from Eugene, but I know zero homebrewers with trust funds, and as many people who want to pay more for excellent lagers than they already are. Right now, a half-liter of beer at Mahr’s Brau Pils in Bamberg is the equivalent of $4.16, and it doesn’t taste much better than that.

I knew I couldn’t type this without sounding like I’m shitting on people I know, like, and respect. I’m breaking the Bambi rule: if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. Thus is the dichotomy of Beerstone: I enjoy judging beer, but dislike sounding judgy; I have plenty of critical opinions, but I avoid blithe cut-downs because I sincerely dislike that attitude around beer or anything else. I want this to be a place of support, joy, and information, and am now apologizing sideways for feeling indignant, protective of my fellow local beer writers, and, frankly, a bit offended. Fuck it, let’s go bowling:

March 12

Alesong & Friends: Breakside Brewing – Join us for a wonderful afternoon of tasting and education with Ben Edmunds of Breakside. 3-6pm. Full details & tickets

March 14

Oakshire, 6-10pm – Tuesday Beer Release: Line Dry Rye. Returning after nine years, the highly requested Line Dry Rye is nostalgic and fresh, all at once.

The Bier Stein, 6-8pm – Tapping into Community w/ Hop Valley benefitting RISE Services.

March 15

Oakshire, 11am-10pm – Oakshire Inspires: Friends of Buford Park and Mt. Pisgah. Nurturing and Restoring Lands in the Greater Mount Pisgah Area since 1989. The Friends believe that people and nature are intertwined. They’re self-funded non-profit of nearly 1,000 members and volunteers investing their time, talent, and money so people and nature can thrive together in the Greater Mt. Pisgah Area. $1 per pint donated

March 16

The Bier Stein, 5-7pm: Thursday Tasting Series feat. The Wheel

March 18

A Beer Club, 2pm – Barleywine Bonanza. More of a “Zwanze Day” style event where everyone buys a bottle and shares with others. Bring a food dish (think tapas or appetizers), buy a Barleywine, share and enjoy. We ask that you arrange for sober transportation to and from here. As always, we encourage bringing a bottle to share, but will limit this to 1 bottle for each bottle purchased. The list of available Barleywines and prices is available here at A Beer Club. It includes Bwizzles from Anchorage, Fremont, Side Project, Holy Mountain, The Lost Abbey, Angry Chair, Forager, Alesong, Mason, Matchless, Horus, TreeHouse, and more!