Here’s the Oregon beer news for Thursday the 18th of October. As usual I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day, so check back often for the latest news. And if you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that posted.

Golden Valley Brewery (McMinnville): Tonight is the release of the Beaverton location’s Exit 65 IPA, a 6.8% abv, 75 IBU beer that will be on tap at both locations, and during the release from 3 to 6pm all pints from the first keg of this beer will be only $2! Great deal on a super-fresh IPA, get over there and get it while it lasts.

Burnside Brewing (Portland) has teamed up with Foster Burger to put on a fantastic-sounding brewers dinner tonight for only $30! Five courses paired with some of Burnside’s signature beers, and such a great deal. Call 503-775-2077 to find out about reservations.

Ninkasi Brewing (Eugene) and Elysian Brewing out of Seattle are teaming up for a tap takeover at Beer Bunker tonight starting at 6pm, featuring the duo’s collaboration pumpkin beer, Hop Squash IPA. This particular beer (which I’m hoping to try at some point!) was “made with 150 lbs of pumpkin and loads of Motueka and Sorachi Ace hops”; in addition to that, the two breweries will have 12 beers total on tap featuring a variety of pumpkin, fresh hop, and plain hoppy beers, so get over there and try them.

Ninkasi is also expanding! I first saw the news on Brewpublic: “This, the fourth expansion since 2006 when the company opened, will push the brewhouse to record breaking heights with a 78,000 square foot warehouse and cold storage facility, 28,000 square feet for offices and a new pilot system for experimentation and education. Ninkasi anticipates completing this expansion by 2014 with an anticipated capacity output of about 295,000 barrels/year.” And today was the day they broke ground: they even had custom Ninkasi shovels to show for it. Big congrats to Ninkasi! They’re growing like crazy despite the down economy and the influx of new breweries everywhere—can’t be an easy thing. Keep up the good work!