Here is the Oregon beer news for Wednesday, February 8th, 2012. As usual, I will be periodically updating this news post throughout the day, so if you have some news of interest to share, please contact me and I can get it updated.

Ezra at the New School reports that the much-sought-after Pliny the Younger from Russian River Brewing is landing in Oregon today, at Higgins Restaurant in Portland: “Always the first to tap the keg in Portland, it seems Higgins Restaurant in downtown Portland has done it again and will be tapping its super fresh keg of the Younger tomorrow, Wednesday, February 8th, at about 4pm. Higgins reports it only took 47 minutes for the keg to blow last year, so get there quick.”

Full Sail Brewing (Hood River): They are all set to release the latest in their Brewer’s Share Experimental series, “Dan’s Satin Stout”—a 5.2% abv creamy nitro stout with wildflower honey added. There will be a Meet the Brewer event on Thursday, February 16th from 5pm to 6:30 to celebrate the release of the beer, and Full Sail is doing some cool charity work along with this series: “With each Brewer’s Share Experimental series beer, Full Sail picks a local charity to receive a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the beer. Dan has chosen to support Hospice of the Gorge so every keg of Dan’s Satin Stout benefits this organization whose mission is to compassionately support patients and families through the end of life process.”

Laurelwood Brewing (Portland): Tonight is their all-star Collaboration Brewer’s Dinner at their main NE Sandy Blvd. location, featuring five courses paired with beers that Laurelwood brewed with other Portland brewers: and as of yesterday afternoon Laurelwood posted that there were still some tickets left (which cost $50, a good deal for this event). You should be able to find out if tickets are still available by calling (503) 282-0622. The dinner runs from 6:30 to 9:30 tonight.

McMenamins Hillsdale Public House (Portland): Today is the 28th anniversary of opening the Hillsdale Pub—the first brewpub in Oregon—and they’ve got a special beer for you today: “Stop in to say Happy Birthday today and have a pint of Hillsdale’s entry into this years Battle for the Belt, Mojo’s Mocha Porter. Brewed with McMenamin’s own craft roasted El Salvadorian coffee thrown into the mash. The added raw cacao blends smoothly with the chocolate malt and coffee. That lingering taste on the back of your tongue? That’s the pepper blend of Anaheims, serranos and jalapenos added at the end of the boil. Cheers!”

Oakshire Brewing (Eugene) is getting a new Lead Brewer—Bend’s (now former) Silver Moon Brewing Brewmaster Tyler West, who announced on Facebook today, “I accepted the position of Lead Brewer with Oakshire Brewing. Bend has been the best to me, but it’s time for change and new challenges. The Oakshire Team is fantastic and I can’t wait to get to work with them!” Not sure what changes are in store yet for Silver Moon but I can imagine Assistant Brewer Brett Thomas will be stepping up to fill the Brewmaster role.

Upcoming tastings, releases, and “Meet the Brewer” events:

• McMenamins Old St. Francis School (Bend): All day today they have a limited-edition beer tasting featuring “Castle Rock Old Ale”, tapped at 11am and available all day until the keg is empty.
• The Green Dragon (Portland) is featuring their Green Dragon Brew Crew release today—batch number 100! Starting tonight at 5pm they will be tapping “Nano Nano IIIPA”, a 11.5% abv triple IPA.
• Fort George Brewery (Astoria): They have a couple of events going on tomorrow, the 9th (Thursday). In Bend, they will be at Brother Jon’s Public House for a Pint Night and Meet the Brewers from 6pm on: “$3.25 pints of their Vortex IPA, 1811 Lager, & Sunrise Oatmeal Pale. Lots of fun swag to give away & delicious food specials showcasing the beer.” And, in Oregon City, the Highland Still House is featuring a Fort George night: “Chris Nemlowill and Tim Ensign will be hanging out talking beer and posing for pictures.  Packing in his sleigh, Chris will be toting Polish’s Black Walnut Stout, Bourbon Barrel Cavatica Stout, a double-dry-hopped Vortex IPA, and XIV Chapel Belgian Imperial IPA!”
• The Bier Stein (Eugene): Tonight they have a Tap Takeover featuring Hop Valley Brewing and Three Creeks Brewing starting at 6pm. “Join us for the first of two consecutive events leading up to the KLCC Brewfest! Meet the brewers from Hop Valley Brewing Co. from Springfield and Three Creeks Brewing from Sisters and sample their delicious wares! We will have specialty brews and your favorites on draft with a chance to win a drawing for tickets to the KLCC brewfest being held on February 10th and 11th!”