Portland Beer Week—it’s actually a 10-day extravaganza—kicks off on Thursday and there’s plenty for hops heads to get excited about, including many free events. Highlights include the previously mentioned Fruit Beer Fest (7 – 8 June) and a Rye Beer Fest (13 June); Bailey’s Taproom are hosting The New School’s pick of Oregon’s newest breweries (9 June); The Horse Brass welcomes David Walker and 13-plus beers from his Firestone brewery (14 June); there’s a pub crawl along N Mississippi and Williams with special offerings at bars along the way (June 14); while the most creative event has to be Beer and Art: The Drunken Cobbler at the Portland Art Museum where you can sip on beers inspired by artworks and learn how booze and art intersect (June 13). Cheese fans get a double helping of Steve Jones (owner of Cheese Bar and general Portland cheese deity)—Reverend Nats has a beer vs cider cheese pairing (June 8), while June 15 sees the Portland Beer and Cheese Fest at Burnside Brewing. Portland Beer Week, (5 – 15 June), various venues
For full listings, visit pdxbeerweek.com

Hops not your thing? It’s also Negroni Week, where a host of bars mix up specials of the drink described by one cocktail book as “probably best consumed only after all thoughts of productivity or sanity have been abandoned for the day”. If that’s that not encouragement enough, each bar is donating part of their proceeds to a selected charity. Negroni Week, 2 – 8 June