With some hesitancy, I will admit to having fallen behind in my 31 beers quest. And with a certain horror, I also realize that since I’ll be heading to L.A. next week I will likely fall even further behind. Good thing the month has plenty of events to help me play catch-up.

Many of you have already hit Belmont Station’s Puckerfest, but there are plenty more events listed on the Oregon Brewers Guild website to keep you in the game.

The biggies, of course, are the Portland International Beer Fest, which will feature a handful of locals among the international brews, and the Oregon Brewers Festival which recently released its beer list. If you were truly committed, or joined the game late, you could ostensibly drink 31 unique craft brews at the OBF alone, considering they’ll be featuring 36 Oregon micros. But let’s not take such drastic steps just yet.

Why not start at PIB? And why not go for free? Yesterday I posted a contest, and today I announce the winner. Hit to jump to find out if you’re the lucky one, and feel free to discuss what you’ve been drinking for the Oregon Beer Month 31 Beer Challenge (and what you’re looking forward to drinking) in the comments below.

Man, this was a tough decision. I received a ton of entries, and I’m happy to report that you all are a smart, funny lot, which made my task of picking one lucky reader exceedingly tough. After reading and re-reading, there was eventually only one person who stood out from the rest:

I for one am looking forward to trying Haandbryggeriet Odin's Tipple. Why? Do I really have to explain this? It is a Norwegian beer named for Odin. It's also 11% ABV. I'm assuming it has little bits of DIO records floating around in it.

For choosing a beer with a serious ABV, and professing his love for both Odin and DIO, Daniel Grubbs will be terrorizing PIB with a friend of his choice!

BUT there was another e-mail that tugged on my hear strings:

… this is the seventh anniversary of my marriage to Silja, my blushing bride who loves beer almost as much as I do.

I'm heading straight to the Scaldis Presitge, a "strong ale (blonde/pale)" for my strong, blonde, pale Finnish princess.

Alright, Justin. I’m a hopeless romantic. So I’m giving up my personal tickets to send you and your bride to PIB on your anniversary. Here’s to another seven years of wedded bliss!

As for the rest of you? Thanks for playing! And thanks for all the hot tips on what to drink first. That Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast Bacon is really turning you on, I better run and not walk to get a taste before it’s gone.

See you around the beer garden!