Zwickelmania Oregon Brewery Tour Opens Doors To Visitors in February

PORTLAND, Ore. — Zwickelmania, the annual one-day event in Oregon when breweries open their doors to the casual and hardcore beer fans, lands on Saturday, Feb. 15 this year — the day after Valentine’s Day — from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. An expected 100 breweries, both big and small, are participating with meet the brewer events, beer samples and sales on merchandise at the breweries.

For those who are planning a special Valentine’s Day trip to a place in Oregon, visitors are invited to click on one of the seven regions of Oregon on the Zwickelmania event page to see which participating breweries are open that day. Bus routes and schedules, itineraries and maps are also available for the Bend, Eugene, Portland and Salem areas.

“Out of nearly 200 breweries throughout the state, we’re shooting for 100 open breweries for Zwickelmania,“ says Oregon Brewers Guild executive director Brian Butenschoen. “So, there are many options in Oregon perfect for a romantic beery weekend getaway, whether you head to a city with a robust concentration of breweries or to a town with just one.”

Zwickelmania takes its name from the zwickel sample valve on beer conditioning tanks. This sample port is an essential tool in the brewing process and allows brewers to take quality control samples during the fermentation process.

Last year, more than 30,000 people toured 93 participating breweries statewide and Oregon Craft Beer, the public facing brand of the Oregon Brewers Guild, is expecting that number to increase in 2014 with Valentine’s Day kicking off a three-day Presidents’ Day weekend.

For more information, head to Oregon Craft Beer’s Zwickelmania event page, Facebook page, and Twitter using the hashtag #zwickel14.