There's A New Beer Festival In Town

UPDATE - 6/27/2012: The date for the fest has been changed from October 6th to October 13th.

Washington is well know for beer festivals.  We have the Washingon Brewer's Festival, Belgianfest, the Everett Craft Beef Festival, Sour Fest, the Hard Liver Barleywine Fest and many, many more scattered all around the Seattle area. 

Well, I hope you have room for one more on your craft beer calandar, becuase coming up on Saturday, October 13th, 2012 is the first annual B-Town Brewfest - the Seattle area's newest beer festival.  Proceeds from this festival will go to benefit Seattle Children's Hospital. 

There is no info yet regarding which brewers will be attending the fest, but we do know the basics.  The festival will be held at the Burien Community Center (14700 6th Ave SW, Burien, WA), and will be divided into two sessions.  The first is from 11:30AM  - 3:30PM and the second will be from 4:30PM - 8:30PM.  Tickets for the festival are $25 in advance or $30 at the gate.  Advance tickets are available for purchase now through  Brown Paper Tickets.  You can also CLICK HERE to sign up as a volunteer for the festival. 

Your ticket price includes admission to the festival, a festival program, a 5oz commemorative taster glass and 9 tasting tokens.  Additional drink tokens will be available for purchase for $2 each. 

So mark your calendar now and maybe I'll see you in Burien on October 13th. 

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.

The Seattle International Beer Festival Is Coming - July 6-8

With Seattle Beer Week, the Washington Brewers Festival and the National Homebrew Conference all behind us, it's time to look ahead to what's next. 

Kicking off one week from Friday at the Fischer Pavilion at Seattle Center is the 2012 Seattle Internatioal Beer Festival.  This three-day event will feature over 200 different beers from 16 different countries, live music, food, games and more. 

Super Deli Mart Celebrates 3 Great Years

Super Deli Mart, the best little mini-mart in the World, is celebrating their 3rd Anniversary this Sunday, June 24th from noon to 4:00PM with another customer appreciation BBQ.  Can you believe it?  Three years already, and Super Deli Mart has attained quite the reputation and quite a following. 

If you've never been there, you're missing out. With 5 taps and hundreds of bottle choices, Super Deli Mart rivals most Puget Sound area bottle shops and even a few taprooms.  And with everyday prices of $3 pints (or schooners, depending on the style/strength of the beers on tap) and $10 growler fills (though, no growler fills are allowed for certain specialty beers), it's a craft beer bargain-hunter's dream.

Cooper's Alehouse Golf Tournament - August 18th

Are you a golfer?  I used to be.  I still have my clubs but haven't been out on the links in so long I'll be a duffer when I try to go back!  lol  Hopefully, that will be sometime this Summer but I have a lot of other things to take care of first. 

If your golf skills surpass mine however (and most people's do), then you might want to consider signing up for the Cooper's Alehouse Golf Tournament.  It's set to take place on Saturday, August 18th at Jefferson Park. 

According to Cooper's:

It’s a four person scramble with tee times starting at 10:30am.  Cost is $320/foursome which includes cart, lunch, drink tickets, and prizes.

Space for the tournament is limited, so if you're interested don't delay.  Drop by Cooper's Alehouse and sign up ASAP.  Sunday might be a good day for it, as Cooper's has extended their Happy Hour to all day long on Sundays for the summer (in addition to their regular happy hour that goes from 2-6pm Monday thru Friday). 

Cooper's is also updating themselves a bit.  They have a new logo (Above) and they are working on revising their website.  The new version of the website should be up soon.   

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there. 

Big Changes On The Way

I've been beer blogging for a while now, and I've decided it's finally time to stop using Blogger and graduate to a full site with my own URL! 

Unfortunately, the URL BeerMonger.com is already taken - but the company who currently owns it is not using it for anything, and their registration for the URL is set to expire on the 28th of this month.  So I've put in my applicaiton. Unless the company who currently owns the URL is on the ball about renewing it (and why, if they aren't using it?) then I should hopefully get it.

Wish me luck on securing the URL, and watch for some big changes in July and beyond as I migrate Beer Monger to a full-fledged site. 

Drnk responsibly and stay safe out there.

Crawfish At Burgundian On June 15th - And 29th - UPDATED

One of Seattle's newest craft beer bars, Burgundian, has been consistently impressing me with their menu offerings.  Even though I do miss a few items their opening day menu offered, which they no longer have (things like Scotch Eggs or real Scrapple), they keep adding more items and specials that are truly gourmet. 

Here are just a few of the more delectable choices Burgundian has had on their menu over the past few weeks:

Benefit For Victims Of The Cafe Racer Tragedy

As I'm sure you're aware, tragedy struck Seattle last week when five innocent people were gunned down by shooter Ian Stanwicki.  A sixth victim is still in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center. 

Stanwicki's rampage began at Seattle's quirky Cafe Racer in Seattle's University District where most of his victims where shot.  Since the shooting, the Cafe has become a memorial of sorts, with lots of flowers and cards out front as remembrance for friend's and family senslessly lost. 

The Memorial In Front Of Cafe Racer This Morning

To assist the victim's families of this horrible event, Latona Pub will be holding a benefit this Thusrday, June 7th.  A keg of 'Racer 5 IPA' will be on tap, and all proceeds will benefit the victim's families.  So be sure to drop by the Latona on the 7th to raise a pint in honor of those we have lost.  It's sure to be an emotional evening; hopefully an evning that can allow the healing to begin.

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.

So You Want To Own A Brewery...

If you're a homebrewer, or even just a Lover of craft beer, then it's likely you've contemplated opening your own brewery at one time or another.  Of course, after looking at what it really takes, most of us can't.  The cost and time investment required to open your own brewery or craft beer bar can be a daunting challenge - and it's these barriers that usually stop most people. 

Personally, I'd love to open my own brewery.  The problem?  I work a regular, 40 hour+ per week job, have a mortgage and bills, and don't have the extra capital necessary for the initial investment nor paid months I can take off from work.  Also, since laws don't allow you to open a commercial brewery fom within a residence (i.e. You can't just setup shop in your garage), I also lack the necesary space in which to setup my brewing sytem and tap room; which of course will cost even more. 

I suppose I could sell every material posession I own and start living in a dinky studio apartment to save money for the brewery, but that would be a bit rough on me, my wife and our two dogs, and would be rather drastic.