Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you have plans for the holiday, but if you don’t check out some of the events going on around the state, along with the rest of the beer news for this Wednesdy as well. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news, so check back often for updates. And if you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that updated too.

Astoria’s Buoy Beer is releasing Love, Lost At Sea in bottles today at their release event from 4 to 7pm: “Buoy Beer Company will release their first packaged specialty beer in February 2018. Love, Lost At Sea 2018 is an American Barleywine aged in Bull Run whiskey barrels for 5 months. This is the first release of the Small Batch Series, a line-up of limited release beers bottled in 500ml bottles each illustrating the creativity of our team of brewers. The label artwork was created by Kyler Martz, an artist from Seattle.” It will be in 500ml bottles that will also be hitting Portland and Eugene in the coming weeks, and the only place to find it on draft is at Buoy in Astoria.

Ecliptic Brewing (Portland) is releasing their Hypernove Triple IPA today: “Celebrate Triple IPA season by joining us for the release of Hypernova Triple IPA! Draft and bottles will be available in the pub. Like its cataclysmic namesake, Hypernova Triple India Pale Ale explodes with flavor. Two separate dry hop additions with loads of Simcoe, Amarillo, Cascade, Chinook and Columbus hops amplify Hypernova’s aroma to stellar proportions. ABU 12% IBU 88”

Steelhead Brewery (Eugene) is hosting a Chocolate And Barrel-Aged Beer Pairing for Valentine’s Day, starting at 5pm: “When beer lovers and chocolate lovers get together, beautiful things happen! We are excited to be working with Euphoria Chocolate Company for this special event. Starting at 5 p.m on Valentine’s day bring in that special someone, or just your love of beer and chocolate. The flight will come with three four-ounce pours of our Barrel-Aged beers, and three of Euphoria’s fine chocolates! The flight will be $8.95. No reservations, please.”

Brewpublic‘s annual My Beery Valentine returns today, hosted by Bazi Bierbrasserie and featuring “decadent craft beer, dessert beer pairings and specialty themed cocktails” from 5 to 9pm. In addition to a terrific lineup of beers put together by Brewpublic, Bazi will also host an optional food and beer pairing dinner, featuring five courses paired with the beers. Details are here, and if you can make it, enjoy!

The Bier Stein (Eugene) is celebrating Valentine’s Day all day long: “This Valentine’s Day it doesn’t matter if you’re feeling sweet or bitter, we’ve got a delectable flight pairing featuring 4 Euphoria Truffles & 4 of our favorite beers! You can also try your luck shooting Cupid’s arrow from 5-7 for the chance to win a pint or some swag ($2/play)!” The beers are: Riverbend Hawaiian Crunk + Vanilla, Pfreim Citrus Zest + Chipotle, Coldfire & Bierstein + Strawberry, and Block 15 Love Potion #9 + Stout.

The Stammtisch German Pub in Portland kicks off their annual Starkbier Fest today, which will run through Sunday: “Portland’s only annual Starkbier Fest is back! This lent tradition dates back to the middle ages, when monks would fast from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday. Because the monks believed that liquids not only cleansed the body but also the soul, they would make plenty of liquid instead of solid bread from their grain, and then drink it in copious quantities…the more, the holier. While our fast won’t last 46 days, we can still honor their sacrifice by consuming delicous strong biers, and celebrate lent the old fashioned way.”

The Deschutes Brewery Portland Pub is hosting a special Valentine’s Day Hearts of Joy fundraiser all day today: “This Valentine’s Day, give back to the community & help us raise money for My MusicRX! This amazing non-profit (a program from The Children’s Cancer Association) provides free music programs to kids and teens battling cancer. On Wednesday 2/14, we are donating $1 per pint sold to My MusicRX. We hope that you spend your Valentine’s Day with us, and share the love while enjoying a deliciously tasty beer!”

Here’s a rundown of breweries with special menus for the holiday today:

• Pints Brewing (Portland) – Beer & Bubbles & Meat & Cheese
• Zoiglhaus Brewing (Portland) – Beer for your Valentine
• Conversion Brewing (Lebanon) – Love is in the Ale
• 1188 Brewing (John Day) – Mid-Winter Beer Pairing Dinner
• Ancestry Brewing (Tualatin) – Valentine’s Day Dessert
• Tiger Town Brewing (Mitchell) – Valentine’s Day Cajun Dinner Buffet
• Elk Horn Brewery (Eugene) – three-course V-Day meal for two
• Prodigal Son Brewing (Pendleton) – three-course Valentine’s dinner
• Standing Stone Brewing (Ashland) – Stout chocolate cake and Solstice Stout

Pints Brewing also posted about a somewhat unusual beer concoction today: “We’ve got this crazy thing going on in the taproom right now- it’s called the Elvis and it’s got weizenbier yeast for a nice banana note and coffee from @rrpdx for a peanut butter note and then get this…we top it with bacon.” Hmmmm…