Happy Hump Day! Apparently Dr. Seuss was born on this day, March 2, in 1904. Nothing to do with beer or beer news, but kind of a fun fact and you could always wash down green eggs and ham with a beer! As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news, so check back often for updates. If you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that updated as well.

The Bier Stein (Eugene) is hosting a beer pairing dinner with Springfield’s Plank Town Brewing tonight from 6 to 8:30pm. “It’s time again for another excellent Back Bar dinner collaboration with a local brewery. $45 includes all food, beer, and gratuity! Check out the menu below (subject to minor changes if necessary). Tickets are available at the register; please purchase in advance!” They have a tasty-looking six course menu including a Bier Stein collaboration beer for dessert.

Lompoc Brewing (Portland) is hosting a special, limited beer release at the Fifth Quadrant at 3pm today: “Lompoc Brewing will release the last 1/6 bbl in existence of its Bloody Mary Beer, Willamette Week’s #7 top favorite beer of 2015. Conceived by head brewer Bryan Keitly, the Bloody Mary Beer is a golden ale aged for three weeks in stainless steel with tomatoes, lovage, sage, bay leaf, peppercorns and dried chilies. It is an easy drinking 5% ABV. The Bloody Mary Beer will be sold in 8 oz snifters only at the Fifth Quadrant, located at 3901 N Williams Ave.” And then next door, at the Sidebar, they have the Batch 69 Baltic Porter release party at 4: “Join us at Sidebar for the release of Batch 69 Baltic Porter, a strong dark porter brewed with a lager yeast for a clean, smooth finish with hints of chocolate and black licorice.”

Belmont Station (Portland): On the heels of 2 Towns Ciderhouse‘s announcement of cans and new packaging, Belmont is hosting a tasting with 2 Towns today from 5 to 7pm. “Enjoy a tasting of 2 Towns’ full line up of Oregon-made, gluten-free ciders!” I’d expect a full lineup of 2 Towns’ cider offerings.

The Bier Stein is hosting a Plank Town dinner, and in Corvallis Les Caves is hosting a Plank Town tasting as part of their Monthly Tasting series. “Join us on the first Wednesday of every month, from 4:30 – 6:30, for our Monthly Tasting Series. Each tasting features standout offerings from a local brewery, distillery, cidery, winery & more, alongside small plates crafted by the Caves kitchen. Our next installment will feature spirits and artisanal cocktails from Plank Town Brewing, located in Springfield. Join us on March 2nd for great company and some delicious food & drink!”

Cascade Brewing (Portland): Today they are releasing Framblanc 2015 at the Barrel House: “Framblanc is a blend of sour Blond and Triple ales aged in oak wine barrels for 15 months with locally grown white raspberries. Offering fresh flavors of raspberries, green grapes, white peaches and pears, this limited release marks the debut of our white raspberry project in bottles – $25.”

The Green Dragon (Portland): Tonight’s Green Dragon Brew Crew release is Hell ‘n Back: “Hell ‘n Back is the epitome of simplicity. The Green Dragon Brew Crew used only four ingredients. 55 pounds of premium German Pilsner Malt, 2 ounces of German Magnum hops, Portland water and Zurich yeast are all they need to brew this helles bock style of beer. The result is a glorious showcase of German Pilsner malt complemented by light lemon citrus notes from the yeast. Don’t let the pale color and whimsical aromas fool you. Hell ‘n Back comes on strong with an assertive ABV of 7%.” It starts at 5pm.

Bailey’s Taproom‘s The Upper Lip is hosting a tap takeover with Bell’s Brewery today from 4 to 10pm. Looks like there will be 5 stouts on tap as well as Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. If you’re a fan, plan accordingly.

The Raccoon Lodge (Portland) has a new beer on tap: “Tap 13 beer Dark day, the Darkside: our brewers took Roasty, citrusy resinous hop forward black IPA and brewed it with roasted cacao nibs, Brewers gold, Centennial, Simco, Cascade and Amarillo hops and then aged it in a small whiskey barrel with mosaic hops notes of vanilla and intense dank citrus tropical fruit hop aromas bring some added enjoyment to this cascade brewing classic. On tap now!” Tap 13 is… a special tap? X-tap? Secret? That’s what I’m unclear on…

Bend’s Boneyard Beer was the winning beer at The Upper Lip’s Triple IPA taste-off last night, according to Brewpublic: “After three sold out sessions of 40 craft beer fans each the results of Triple Blind Taste Fest are now in. Yes, one of the beers featured was the white whale known as Pliny the Younger from Santa Rosa, California’s Russian River Brewing Company. The other five from Oregon were Boneyard Notorious, Breakside Safe Word, Culmination Ferret The Younger, Ecliptic Hypernova Triple IPA, and pFriem Triple IPA.” After results from the triple blind tasting were in (customers voted on their favorites), Boneyard’s Notorious was the winning beer, followed by Triple IPAs from pFriem and Breakside. (Pliny the Younger came in fourth.) Congrats to Boneyard!