Happy Thursday! The end of the week is in sight and that calls for a beer. Or beer news! Here’s the Oregon beer news for this February 21; as usual I’ll be updating this post throughout the day with the latest news as I find it, so check back often.

McMenamins Old St. Francis School (Bend) is hosting a limited-edition beer tasting at the O’Kane’s bar with brewer Vance Wirtz, featuring Espresso Con Panna Stout: “A coffee and beer lovers dream! This special Stout received awesome flavor enhancement from the wizards at McMenamins Coffee Roasters. We started with a thick, creamy Sweet Stout brewed with delicious Ceylon cinnamon and lactose sugar. To top it all off, we aged this beer on Port Barrel-Aged El Salvador coffee beans that gave this beer an incredible complex coffee flavor. Enjoy this special brew!” The event runs from 5 to 8pm.

And at the McMenamins Kennedy School in Portland, brewers Brian Riley and Ryan Lund are hosting their limited-edition tasting for Chocolate Cherry Monster Porter: “Chocolate Cherry Monster is a friendly creature who comes out at least once per year. They gobble up the silkiest, smoothest chocolates and the finest, most luxurious cherries in the land, just to create this ethereal elixir. Dark brown like a cacao nib, but with subtle, cherry-red highlights, this Porter is a monster that loves everyone.” It runs from 5 to 7pm.

Bend’s Platypus Pub is hosting Kobold Brewing this evening for a beer tasting and meet the brewer event: “Just be glad we are not serving bugbears ;). Come down and taste some of the best small batch beers in Central Oregon with the Brewer on hand to answer those burning questions…. A 5 hop pale ale and a IPA will be on tap. Kobold will be tasting out Merciless Imperial Russian Stout aged in Whiskey barrels & a milk stout. If you know Kobold you know his cask game is Strong. 5 pm down in the pub. Bring a friend.”

Pelican Brewing (Pacific City) drops its latest beer this week that I mentioned in a previous news post: The Brewed Abides. Yes, it’s what you think. From the press release: “Pelican Brewing Company this week releases a craft beer fit for all abiding dudes as part of its popular Lone Pelican Small Batch Series available this week on draft and in 22 oz. bottles. And it’s Pelican’s newest release, The Brewed Abides, a White Russian-inspirited Milk Stout. All brewers like a cocktail from time to time, but how about the best of both worlds in this cocktail-influenced beer? The Brewed Abides takes its inspiration from the classic ‘White Russian’ cocktail as well as ‘The Dude’ imbibing it in the movie that made it famous, The Big Lebowski. The Brewed Abides is a milk stout brewed with fresh roasted coffee, cacao nibs and vanilla beans. This unconventional beer pours a chocolate color with dense off-white foam and entices the senses with an aromatic bouquet of coffee, dark chocolate and a subtle hint of vanilla.”

Rogue Ales (Newport) has more about a beer that was in the beer news the other day, St. Chuck’s Smoke, in a release: “Last September, Rogue continued its domination of the smoked beer style, receiving its 10th medal from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition for St. Chuck’s Smoke, Rogue’s riff on a classic German märzen-style lager. To celebrate, St. Chuck’s Smoke is now available in 22 ounce bottles at all eight Rogue pubs. Chuck’s Smoke delivers a traditional beer style experience with a Rogue twist: some of the malts in the beer are smoked by hand in Newport by Nate Linquist, Rogue’s cooper. The resulting beer is rich with notes of caramel and a lingering smoke finish.”

Santiam Brewing (Salem) has its Jean Peche back on tap for you: “Jean Peche is a barrel-aged lambic, a sour ale blend, aged in wine barrels for up to 32 months. It comes in at 6.6% ABV and only 4 IBU. Come to the Santiam Brewing taproom to try it today!”