My Experience At The Seattle International Beer Festival 2012

Last weekend, I attended the Seattle International Beer Festival at Seattle Center.  This annual event gives beer enthusiasts the opportunity to taste some unique and rare beers from around the World.  This year's fest had over 200 different beers from 16 different countries. 

I attended two days of this year's festival.  First, on Saturday, I attended as a volunteer.  From 6:30PM until the beer stopped flowing at 9:45PM, I was manning a tap handle for Mad Viking Brewing out of Denmark.  I was pouring their Belgian Golden Strong and their, very popular at this year's fest, Stingray Double IPA. 

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. 

Seattle Beer Week 2012 - Days 7 & 8

I started out day 7 of Seattle Beer Week 2012 by heading up to Cooper's Alehouse for the start of their IPA Championships - the conclusion of the blind tastings they held during their 10th Annual IPA Fest in April.  

Wait - That Sign Says Thursday & It's Only Wednesday.  D'oh!

Seattle Beer Week 2012 - Days 5 & 6

Seattle Beer Week 2012 rolls on - and is wearing me out!  On Monday, I headed down to Big Time Brewing for their first ever bourbon-barrel beer release.  That's the tap handle above.

The Heavenly Bourbon Limited Edition Growlers

Seattle Beer Week 2012 - Day 4

Your Iron Brewer Host & Sensei - Gary Sink

Quite a few events during day 4 of Seattle Beer Week 2012 were about Moms - for obvious reasons.  Since my Mom is several states away, I had no opportunity to take her out to any of the Mother's Day-themed events around the city. 

Rob With An Iron Brewer Taster Tray

Instead, I played it low-key and hit just two events.  The first was Iron Brewer at Beveridge Place Pub.  This annual event is a challenge for the brewers, who must use the ingredients Beveridge Place specifies, and then be judged by the masses to see who comes out as champion. 

Seattle Beer Week 2012 - Day 3

For the third day of Seattle Beer Week 2012, I started things off at The Pine Box to check out the Can Derby - The Pine Box's version of the old Pinewood Derby races from Cub Scout/Boy Scout days gone by.  I started off my visit with a delicious Elysian Brewing's Split Shot Espresso Milk Stout, through a randall of Four Roses Bourbon-soaked oak chips and a tasty savory fritatta. Yum, yum.

The Randall Filled With Four Roses Bourbon-Soaked Oak Chips

Seattle Beer Week 2012 - Day 2

I woke up a bit groggy from all the opening night events on day 1, and got myself ready to head to Brouwer's Cafe for the start of this year's Back In Black Stout Fest.  We managed to arrive just minutes after the doors opened. 

Enjoying Back In Black 2012

Seattle Beer Week 2012 Kickoff Events

Seattle Beer Week 2012 kicked off yesterday, and I managed to make it to all four opening night events with my beautiful wife, Lynn.

Beer Monger's Picks For Seattle Beer Week 2012

Seattle Beer Week 2012 kicks off tomorrow!  Are you ready?  There are well over 150 events listed at various locations throughout Seattle and the Puget Sound, but you'll need a plan of attack if you want to keep them all straight and hit the events you really want.

Here are my picks for Seattle Beer Week 2012, and the events I plan on attending myself:

Thursday, May 10, 2012:


5:00PM

 Seattle Beer Week Kickoff Part 1 at Elysian Brewing Company on Capitol Hill (1221 E Pike St., Seattle, WA).  Join everyone at Elysian for the tappling of the Official Seattle Beer Week Beer, Split Shot, which will be tapped at 6:00PM.  Let the festivities begin!

Full List Of Seattle Beer Week 2012 Events

LAST UPDATED - 5/8/2012

Seattle Beer Week kicks off this Thursday!  Below is the most up-to-date list of all Seattle Beer Week events (including a few not listed on seattlebeerweek.com!)  '

Just like last year, this year's SBW has become so crowded with events, it's literall impossible to hit every single one.  Watch soon for a new post on my event pics and where I'll be for each day of Seattle Beer Week 2012.  Cheers!

Recently added or updated events (since the last update) are marked with a red asterisk.  *

It's IPApril At Beveridge Place Pub

UPDATED 4/23/2012

It's April - and that means IPApril at Beveridge Place Pub in West Seattle!  All month long, BPP will have 12 taps devoted to IPAs of all varieties.  No spcific tap list has been posted, but you can usually get a good idea of what Beveridge Place has on tap over at Taplister, which currently lists all 12 IPA's things kicked off with on April 1st. 

Me With Don Webb (Naked City) and Gary Sink (Beveridge Place Pub)

A bit more than halfway through the month, April 17th, is Beveridge Place Pub's anniversary, and to celebrate they'll have a clear (as in see-through) keg of Georgetown Brewing's Lucile IPA (BPP's current 'house' IPA, based on voting last year), so you can watch the beer in the keg as it drains. 

There will also be a 'blind' taste challenge on April 19th, with double IPAs being featured.  The idea here is the same as the 4 daily blind taps over at Cooper's Alehouse for their 10th Annual IPA Fest.  Can you pick our your favorite double IPA without knowing it?  Test your taste buds and find out. 

UPDATE 4/20:

I wasn't able to make it down to Beveridge Place for their Anniversary on the 17th, but I did make it there yesterday for their Double IPA Blind Tasting as part of IPApril.  The challenge?  8 different Double IPAs, in 3oz pours, and we were asked to vote for our favorite 3. 

I got my taster tray, settled in and took some sparse notes as I tasted each offering.  Here are my rankings 1-8, for each beer on the taster tray.  They were labeled on the tray with the letters only:

1 - E - Citrusy - Grapefruit - More hops than malt - My kinda IPA
2 - F - Great Balance of hops/malt - Nice aroma
3 - C - Citrusy - A bit more cloudy than the rest
4 - B - Slight passion fruit quality
5 - H - Caty - but still good (Simcoe hops(?))
6 - D - Some sediment (Yeast? Wood? Didn't taste like it - not sure)
7 - A - Too malty for a double IPA
8 - G - Toffeish - and way too malty (almost cloying considering what I was expecting)

When the beer names are revealed, I'll update this post again and find out how my rankings look.  Cheers!

UPDATE 4/23:

Sorry I wasn't more on the ball on Friday, but here are the winners:

The Taps were:
A-Avery Maharaja
B-Russian River Pliney the Elder
C-Port Hop-15
D-Leavenworth Double Hodgsons
E-Black Raven Wisdom Seeker
F-Sierra Nevada Hoptimum
G-Port Townsend Dead Sea
H-Sound Humulo Nimbus

And the winners are:
1st: Black Raven Wisdom Seeker (E) - This was my first choice.
2nd: Russian River Pliny The Elder (B) - This was my fourth choice.
3rd: Avery Maharaja (A) - This was my 7th choice!  Very surprising.  I didn't realize it was so malty. 

Congratulations to Black Raven Brewing in Redmond for their well-deserved win!

So, what were your choices?  Did you pick out any favorites even while blind?  I found it interesting that I picked out Hoptimum as my 2nd favorite.  It was also my 2nd favorite during the 'California Dreaming' Double IPA blind tasting at Cooper's Alehouse.  That means, it would seem, that Firestone Walker Double Jack, Black Raven Wisdom Seeker and Sierra Nevada Hoptimum are my three favorite double IPAs.  That's good to know for the next time I head to the bottle shops! 

Cheers!


Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.

The 10th Annual IPA Fest At Cooper's Alehouse

LAST UPDATED:  4/18/2012

The 10th Annual IPA Festival at Cooper's Alehouse on Lake City Way kick off this Friday, and your taste buds had better be ready for some hops becuase Coopers has over 75 different IPA's coming your way between April 6th and April 27th. 

Here is the full tap list for this year's IPA fest.  Cooper's is still calling this list 'tentative', but they assure me it should be 99.9% accurate, so take a look and start drooling:

Super Deli Mart's Full List Of Seattle Beer Week Events

We're less than one month from the kickoff of Seattle Beer Week 2012, and one of my favorite little beer shops in Seattle, Super Deli Mart, has provided me with a full list of their Seattle Beer Week event list. 

Super Deli Beer Week Events:

'Now For Something Completely Different' With Sean Paxton & Firestone Walker

At last year's Seattle Beer Week, I attended an amazing dinner at Brouwer's Cafe, featuring the Homebrew Chef, Sean Paxton, and beers from one of my favorite breweries, Firestone Walker.  (You can read all about that amazing 10-course, 12-beer dinner HERE.) 

Cajun Prawns Brined In FW Pale 31With Pale 31 Beer Batter - 2011

The First Few Events For Seattle Beer Week 2012 Are Up

April has only just begun, but the official website for Seattle Beer Week (http://seattlebeerweek.com/) has started listing the first few events that we'll be seeing for this year's Seattle Beer Week. 
Last year's Seattle Beer Week had nearly 200 different events spread over 11 days, with so much going on it was virtually impossible to hit every single event.  The events listed so for for Seattle Beer Week 2012 include:

The 10th Annual IPA Fest At Cooper's Alehouse Is Almost Here



Each year, Cooper's Alehouse up on Lake City Way holds an IPA Fest, featuring a wide range of different IPA's from around the Northwest and the country.  This year, from April 6th through the 27th will be their 10th annual IPA fest.  As a serious hop-head, my taste buds are tingling in anticipation. 

There will be over 50+ different IPA's pouring throughout the fest, with samplers, tastings and special events all month long.  No precise schedule for when each beer will be tapped has been provided by Cooper's, but this is intentional.  In most cases, when it's announced beforehand that a coveted or 'rare' beer is going on tap, it tends to disappear more quickly than if you just happen to 'find' it on tap.  Cooper's doesn't want that to happen, so if you're looking for a particularly coveted or rare IPA, you'll just have to decide what day(s) and time(s) to head down to Cooper's and see if you get lucky. 

It's also occurred to me that 2002 must have been one heck of a year for the Seattle Beer Scene.  It was 10 years ago that Cooper's had their first IPA Fest, 10 years ago that Beveridge Place Pub had their first annual Barleywine Bacchanal, and 10 years ago that Brouwer's Cafe had the first annual Hard Liver Festival (which was held back then at the Phinney Ridge Community Center). 

It's really great 10 years for craft beer, and we've seen several other wonderful Seattle craft beer events and new breweries pop up in that time.  The ever-increasing options for where to go in Seattle for great caft beer continues even today, as evidenced by the opening later today of Seattle's newest, World-class craft beer bar The Pine Box (opening to the public today at 3:00PM).  I attended the pre-opening industry party for The Pine Box on Tuesday, and you can check out a recap of the evening, my impression of The Pine Box and their industry night food menu and tap list HERE. 

The full tap list for the fest has not yet been announced, but I will update this post as soon as Cooper's releases it (sometime next week, according to Cooper's).  Until then enjoy the cold start to our Sping, but warm up your taste buds for some serious hops!  For a look at last year's full IPA Fest tap list, have a look HERE. 

Cooper's Alehouse

8065 Lake City Way NE

Seattle, WA  98115

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.

My Experience At The 10th Annual Hard Liver Festival

Yesterday, I attended the 10th Annual Hard Liver Festival at Brouwer's Cafe.  It's the biggest two-day annual barleywine event in Seattle.  There were 57 different barleywines all on tap, as well as a few special menu items to enjoy.

The doors opened just a bit late this year, at 11:15AM, and Brouwer's filled up quickly with barleywine fans eager to sample this year's offerings.  As with every year at this event, there was quite a line.

Hard Liver X

Just three days from today, Brouwer's Cafe will kick off their 10th Annual Hard Liver Festival.  This barleywine festival is one of several annual festivals Brouwer's puts on throughout the year.  Some of the others include:

• Hopfest- Featuring all hoppy beers and a menu to match with items like Kangaroo, Rabbit, Frogs Legs, etc.
• Big Wood- Featuring all wood-aged beers.
• Sour Fest- Featuring all sour beers/lambics/etc.

I'm still trying to develop more of a taste for the sours.  I can definitely see the appeal and there are some sours I really like, but some of them can really do a number on my palate!  I usually always attend Hard Liver, Big Wood and Hopfest, though I think Hard Liver is the one I look forward to the most.  As much of a hophead as I am, I really do love a good barleywine, and I've been having a great time over at Beveridge Place Pub - attending three days so far of their 10th Annual Barleywine Bacchanal, which ends this Thursday. 

Last year's Hard Liver Festival was great, with the winners being:

1. Anacortes Old Sebastes '10 - Anacortes Brewery, Anacortes, WA. 
2. Anderson Valley Horn of the Beer '09 - Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville, CA.
3. Glacier Brew House Old Woody '10 - Glacier Brewhouse, Anchorage, AK.

You can see the full tap list from last year's festival HERE.  This year, I'm fortunate to be judging, so I'll have at least some say in which selections from this year's tap list will be declared the winner(s).  However, that also means I won't know which barleywines I'm drinking until after the judging is complete.  Of course, that's a sacrifice I'm quite willing to make. 

Many people may not realize this, but Brouwer's Cafe has not yet been open for ten years.  In fact, they've only been open for just under seven years, launching on March 24th, 2005.  If that's the case, however, then how can this be the 10th Annual Hard Liver Festival? 

It all began in 2002, when two friends, Matt Bonney (Brouwer's Cafe's Operations Manager) and Matt Vandenberghe, decided to launch the Hard Liver Festival as a non-profit event held at the Phinney Ridge Neighborhood Association, knowing they planned to open a bar in the future.  And even though Brouwer's hasn't quite been open for seven years yet, this will be the 8th Hard Liver festival held at Brouwer's rather than at Phinney Ridge.  According to Matt Bonney, "We were so excited about having Hard Liver at Brouwer's that somehow we have had 8 in seven years.. Crazy.."  Crazy indeed, but my kind of crazy! 

So if you missed any of the Barleywine Bacchanal over at Beveridge Place, or you're just a barleywine lover like me, make your way down to Brouwer's Cafe this Saturday, March 3rd at 11:00AM.  That's the 'official' start time, but through experience I've learned that there is always a line for this festival. 

Last year, I got to Brouwer's at 9:30AM and was about the 25th person in line.  Yes, the line starts that early.  So get up early, have a good breakfast (you do not want to start drinking barleywine on an empty stomach), and I'll see you down at Brouwer's on Saturday.

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.

My Experience At The 10th Annual Barleywine Bacchanal

Yesterday, I attended the opening day of the 10th Annual Barleywine Bacchanal at Beveridge Place Pub in West Seattle.  I had a great time hanging out with a few new friends, including Dan Swanson from Thirsty In Seattle, and Josh and Risha Sanderson from the South Sound Beer Advocate Posse.  Cheers!  

More than 40 barleywines will be pouring throughout the festival, and yesterday I took a crack at 12 of the first 24 available selections:

The Tap List For Day 1

I did my best to try offerings I haven't had before, though I did have to grab myself a Firestone Walker Abacus '11 (#17).  It's one of my favorites.  My other choices from the list above included (by number): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 18, 22 & 24

The Barleywine Menu For The Bacchanal

My First Taster Tray

The standouts for me included:

Emelisse '11:
This was the one European barleywine I sampled (From Emelisse Brouwerij & Restaurant in the Netherlands).  It had a pleasant, honeysuckle and light citrus aroma and was well balanced with an almost pilsner malt type character, notes of graham cracker and a clean finish.

Big Al Ol' No. 1 '11:
Big Al's offering also had some graham cracker notes and an aroma reminiscent of Chinese almond cookies.  With a medium-light body and notes of what seemed like candi sugar, it was very pleasant and easy drinking.  

Black Raven Old Birdbrain '10:
This one had a light citrus/piney hop aroma and a complex caramel malt character.  Well balanced with notes of Cognac.

Fish 10 Squared '11:
If you like a hoppy barleywine, this is the one to go for.  With a strong citrus/Cascade hop aroma and a pleasing grapefruit hop flavor, with enough caramel malt character to back it up, this is the barleywine at this Bacchanal for the hopheads.

Firestone Walker Abacus '11:
This is one of my favorites, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have it again.  It has a deep ebony/ruby hue with a wonderful oak/bourbon aroma with other spicy notes.  Toffee, oak, vanilla and a faint hop bitterness are all balanced well.  This one is a joy to drink.  If you haven't tried it before, I recommend picking up a bottle.  As of 2012, Abacus is now known as §ucaba (Abacus backwards).

Fremont Snuggle Bunny '11:
I really wanted to like this one.  I'm a fan of Fremont Brewing's beers and with a name like 'Snuggle Bunny'? Well, I was expecting a pleasing experience.  I'm sorry to say, it was not.  I had to ask for confirmation from the other's at my table if I was the only one who got an aroma of Windex.  My sense of smell was confirmed.  The first sip was cloyingly sweet, with just a bit of bitter orange-peel type flavor.  I'm hoping it was just a bad keg, but this was the only one of the day I just couldn't finish.

Wingman Barleywing '11:
I'm not all that familiar with Wingman's beers, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  This one was probably my most pleasant surprise of the day and perhaps my favorite of the day behind Abacus.  It had a light, woody and almost cola-like aroma with a really complex flavor including notes of light wood, raisins and dates, some very light citrus and just the right amount of smoke.

Events Through Thursday

So those were my highlights from my selections for the kickoff of this year's Bacchanal.  I'll have to head back again, as there are still plenty of barleywines that haven't been tapped yet.  Beveridge Palce has Bacchanal events lined up through Thursday (See image above).  So pick a night and make your way out to West Seattle.  It's good 'practice' for the Hard Liver fest next Saturday, March 3rd at Brouwer's Cafe.

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.