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.  *

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:

Preview Of The Pine Box (UPDATED)

Last night, my wife and I attended the pre-opening industry party for Seattle's newest bar, The Pine Box.  Located in the spot previously occupied by The Chapel Bar, the space was originally a funeral home.  In fact, it's the funeral home were Bruce Lee's funeral was held.

Bruce Lee's Funeral Was Held Here

Through some major remodeling, partners Ian Roberts, Dean Hudgins and Mark Eskridge transformed the former funeral home-then-nightclub into a World Class beer bar.  With more than 30 taps and a modest food menu (though I've heard the menu may expand from what we saw on industry night), The Pine Box is a great new Seattle beer destination.  They also have a full liquor bar, for those times when you're not in a beer mood.

The Back Bar (left)

The Back Bar (right)

The exotic and varied tap list (including several IPA's, Belgians, Sours and more)  is complimented by a hop Randall installed behind the bar, as well as the fact that they'll always have at least one cask beer available.  The tap list is displayed behind the bar on big, easy to read HDTV's, allowing for quick and easy tap list updates, as well as providing the ability to keep their website always up to date regarding what's on tap.

Ian Roberts

The decor is heavy with dark wood, enhanced by the original chandeliers, antique glass windows, high arches and high ceilings of the old funeral home.  The seating for the booths along the wall are actually old church pews; quite appropriate seating for a great place to worship great beers.

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

The official opening date for The Pine Box is this coming Monday, March 26th.  Though I've heard through the grapevine that they may try to be open by this Thursday, March 22nd, so keep your ears open.  For lots more photos and a scan of last night's food menu and tap list, please FOLLOW ME HERE on Facebook.

The Pine Box is a wonderful and welcome addition to the Capitol Hill beer scene, and I will definitely be back again as soon as they are open for business.

The Pine Box

1600 Melrose Avenue

Seattle, WA  98101

(At the corner of Melrose & Pine)

UPDATE: It's been confirmed by Ian Roberts that The Pine Box will be open for business starting this Thursday, March 22nd at 3:00PM.  So if you're in the Capitol Hill area, head by for a pint or two.  

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.

Get Sauced At Naked City On March 11th - CANCELLED

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED BY NAKED CITY.

Good food can sometimes take a back seat to good beer.  In fact, many smaller local breweries don't even offer food beyond snacks like chips, pretzels and nuts.  That's okay, of course, for the smaller and newer breweries, who may not have expanded enough yet to offer a full food menu, but pubs and breweries that do offer a full food menu understand that having good food to pair with your beers is a very important consideration.  

If you're a fan of good pasta with your beer, which brewery in the Seattle area do you think makes the best pasta sauce?  Coming up on March 11th at Naked City Brewery & Taphouse, you'll get a good chance to find out. 

Next Sunday, March 11th from 1:00PM to 3:00PM is the 2nd Annual Chaos Cook Off at Naked City.  Nine local breweries will compete, preparing their best pasta sauce and pairing it with the perfect beer.  This is a tickted event, and there are 100 tickets available for $35 a piece.  For that price, you'll get to try all nine pasta and beer combinations and help select the winner.  See the event on Naked City's Facebook page HERE. 

The breweries competing in this year's Chaos Cook Off include:

• 7 Seas Brewing
• Chuckanut Brewery
• Sliver City Brewing
• Diamond Knot Brewery
• Lazy Boy Brewing
• Big Time Brewery
• Pike Brewing
• Schooner Exact Brewing
• Naked City Brewery & Taphouse (of course)

So if you're a fan of great beers and great pasta, drop by Naked City to pick up your ticket(s).  Tickets are only available at Naked City Brewery & Taphouse. 

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there. 

Have You Been 'Youngered' Yet?

It's back, and people everywhere are going crazy, trying to find some on tap to try.  Have you found any yet? 

Back in a post that's now nearly a year old, I'd explained that I don't generally go around 'chasing' Pliny.  However, that statement generally applied to Russian River Brewing's Pliny the Elder, which used to be far more difficult to find (but I can generally find it when I want it/when it comes around at Seattle's local bottle shops).  Eventually, people realized that Pliny the Elder actually comes around every six weeks or so.  It's not a 'rare' beer in that sense; it just tends to sell fairly quickly when it's around.  In fact, many local bottle shops still have a 1 or 2 bottle per person per day limit, so they don't run out quite as quickly (there are a couple of other places with higher bottle limits, but I have to keep some secrets to myself, don't I?)

Since it's only available on-tap, however, Pliny the Younger is far more elusive and difficult to find.  Even if you do come across a Facbook post or Tweet from a bar or tavern saying the just put some on tap, unless you're about 5 minutes away when you read that post, the chances of any Younger being left when you get there are slim to none. 

The last time Brouwer's Cafe put on a keg of Pliny the Younger (a 1/6th barrel - about 5 gallons), it was completely drained in under 7 minutes.  And last night, while chatting with Don Webb down at Naked City Brewery & Taphouse, he mentioned that the last keg of Younger they put on was drained in 6 minutes.  Basically, they left the tap handle fully open & just kept bringing glasses. 

I've never had Pliny the Younger myself.  But I'd like to change that.  And it looks like I may be getting my chance soon.  Word on the street is that Naked City will be tapping a keg of the elusive Younger at 2:00PM today (2/15), and the Parkway Tavern in Tacoma will be taping a keg tomorrow (2/16) at 7:00PM.  If you have the desire to try Pliny the Younger and the means to get to either of these places in time for the keg taping, I encourage you to do so. 

I also have a 'ticket' for a 'guaranteed' taste of the Younger at The Last Drop Bottle Shop up by Lake City Way.  Last week, they started selling tickets for pours of Pliny the Younger.  They'll be tapping the keg at 4:00PM on 2/18 and you have to be there by/before 4:30 or they have the right to give your pour away.  Unfortunately, if you're only learning about this now, you can't get a ticket for Last Drop.  They sold out in 1-2 days.  If you're feeling adventerous, however, - you could try and show up without a ticket & pray that someone who bought one can't make it! 

I hope these tips can help you find some Pliny the Younger.  If you miss out, keep an open eye and ear.  These three places aren't the only places with kegs of Pliny the Younger to tap - and a few places (like The Publican) already tapped theirs last week - but perhaps they have more.  There's no way for us to know. 

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.

Recap Of Chocofest 2012

My wife Lynn and I had a great time last night at Pike Brewing Company's 4th Annual Chocofest.  This was an event for lovers of good food, good beer, good wine, good spirits and good times; and proceeds went to help Farestart here in Seattle.

Watch for an even more fully-detailed blog post later on, but for now here are just a few of the evenings many highlights and new discoveries:

Seattle Beer Week Is Wearing Me Out

My wife, Lynn, and I had so much fun at the Firestone Walker & Homebrew Chef dinner at Brouwer's on Monday and in the few days prior, that we were wiped out on Tuesday.  We never really got home on Monday until around 1:30AM and didn't get to bed util at least 2:30/3:00AM.  So, needless to say, we slept in on Tuesday the 24th. 

Even when we did get up, we just felt too wiped out to hit any Seattle Beer Week events that day.  I wanted to hit up the IPA Fest at Big Time Brewery, but I just couldn't find the energy.  I live 22 miles from Seattle, so I have to make a conscious effort to come into the city for even a single event. 

I finally got back into the swing of things on Wesnesday.  There was no early event this day at Brouwer's, but I went there for an early lunch anyway.  I was hoping they'd still have some Firestone Walker beers on tap.  I was not disappointed.  They even had Firestone Walker's 'Sticky Monkey' on tap by itself.  This is extremely rare.  Sticky Monkey is a beer Firestone Walker brews specifically for blending purposes.  It is usually not seen available by itself (i.e. Not blended as part of another FW beer).  We have Sean Paxton (The Homebrew Chef) to thank for that one, as he brough up this beer to use as an ingredient for the beer pairing dinner I attended on Monday the 23rd. 

Firestone Walker's 'Sticky Monkey'

After kicking things off at Brouwer's, I hit up the Firkin Firkin event at Elysian Brewing on Capitol Hill.  This was a WA vs. CO event, with beers from breweries in both states available on Cask.  There were 15 casks to try and participants were urged to vote for their favorite.  Since I'd arleady been to Brouwer's for a few and was planning on heading back there later for an event at 6:00PM, I only had 3 5oz tasters - and a few other sips from some friends I ran into at the event. 

Unfortunately, I left my notes & photos from this event on my other PC, which I won't have access to until tonight, so I'll update this post then with photos, which Firkins I tried and which I cast my vote for. 

After Firkin Firkin at Elysian, it was back to Brouwer's Cafe for their Beer Cocktail event with Hopworks beers and Brewing Up Cocktails.  After the Union Jack Hurricane and the Parabola/Sticky Monkey/Mint Syrup Ber'lip I'd had at Monday's dinner, I wanted to give a few more beer cocktails a try. 

While the Hurricane & Ber'lip I'd had on Monday were pretty heavy on the beer - with just a bit of flavoring added, the offerings at Brouwer's for Brewing Up Cocktails were quite different, and generally only used beer as one ingredient among many or as a 'top off' after mixing the other ingredients.  I decided to try a 'West Coast Radler' and a 'Single Speed'. 

Since the Radler was topped off with a light lager, I barely noticed it.  It did provide a thinning of the other ingredients to mute their strength of flavor, but in a way that didn't water things down.  Very nice.  The Single Speed was a bit more unusual, but then I don't usually have any cocktails with Aquavit.  The mix of IPA and apricot/lime flavors in this one provided the bulk of the flavor and color.  Not bad. 

IF THE VIDEO ABOVE IS NOT WORKING - CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO OF A WEST COAST RADLER BEING MADE AT BROUWER'S ON YOUTUBE. 

After my two cocktails I couldn't resist, so I ordered another Firestone Walker Sticky Monkey.  I had to take advantage of it while it was still around.  Brewing Up Cocktails at Brouwer's was my last event for the evening.

Unfortunately, the next day, Thursday, I had to be back to work.  I also had a few things to take care of at home, so I only had the time to hit one event last night on my way home.  I stopped by Elliott Bay Brewing in Burien for their 'IPA Feast'.  All 5 Elliott Bay IPAs were on tap (or cask) and available in pints or as a taster tray.  I opted for the taster tray, which included: Organic Ebay IPA, Organic Demolition, Black Ops CDA, Hellmouth IPA, and Organic Hop von Boorian.  No surprise to me, my favorite was the Hellmouth.  At 7.1% ABV and 100 IBU's it was the 2nd strongest and the hoppiest/most bitter beer in the bunch.  And I'm a sucker for a good, strong IPA. 

My IPA Feast Taster Tray at Elliott Bay, Burien

I found the Organic Ebay decent, but a bit too light flavored for my palate.  Demolition was probably my 2nd favorite (7.25% ABV and 98 IBU's).  Hop von Boorian was OK, but I've just never gotted used to the mix of Belgian yeast combined with strong hops.  To me, those are conflicting styles/tastes and I can't seem to get into them.  I know the 'Belgian IPA' style is getting more popular lately, but I'm not a big fan.  The CDA was decent, but again, the over-toasted flavor of black patent or other dark malts doesn't agree with my palate when mixed with a strong hop flavor.  I guess I'm discovering that, with a few exceptions, I'm a sucker for sticking to the classic, defined beer styles. 

Today is Friday, and I plan to hit a couple of events after work today.  First, I'd like to hit up the Naked City Drink Naked Night event at Naked City Taphouse.  After that, if I can tear myself away, I may head to Night of the Living Nanos at the Fiddler's Inn.  This will be a showcase of beers from three of Washington's smallest breweries. 

See what too much beer makes a nice, consevative girl do? (Oh, who'm I kidding?  Conservative?  lol)

I haven't decied what events I might attend this Saturday or Sunday yet, but I also have to think about kegging my latest batch of IPA and transferring my Oktoberfest Lager to kegs to start it's 3-month long lagering period.  So you'll have to check back to see where I'm at.

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.

A Detailed Look at Seattle Beer Week - May 19-29, 2011 - UPDATED (5/18)

 

Seattle Beer Week is now just a few hours away.  I wanted to give you an extremely detailed run-down of all the events, so you can plan out your week to get the most out of it.  There are loads of great events to chose from.  Here we go!

UPDATED!  5/18/2011

Seattle Beer Week starts tomorrow!
Even more great events have been added.  New (or moved) events since our last update are indicated by a red asterisk *. 


Day 1 - Thursday, May 19th:

All Day-Growler Madness: Stone Brewing Co. at Super Deli Mart (9051 35th Street SW, Seattle, WA).  Stone will be tapping a cellared keg of Double Bastard and maybe a few others.  10% off all Stone bottled beers. 

11:00AM

-Elliott Bay IPA Feast at Elliott Bay Brewing - West Seattle (4720 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA).  Five Elliott Bay IPAs on one sampler tray.  Come get your IPA on. 

4:30PM

-Boundary Bay Brewery Appreciation at Collins Pub (526 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA).  6 tap handles, showcasing beers from one of Seattle's finest breweries for over 15 years. 

5:00PM *

-*Lazy Boy Brewer's Night at Blaefire (1801 Hewitt Ave, Everett, WA).  There will be $10 beer flights and Lazy Boy schwag giveaways. 

5:30PM

-Seattle Beer Week kicks off with the tapping of the official Seattle Beer Week beer, brewed this year by Maritime Pacific Brewing Company (1111 NW Ballard Way, Seattle, WA). 

-*Schmaltz & Vine at Malt & Vine (16851 Redmond Way, Redmond, WA).  Taste beers by Coney Island's Schmaltz Brewing, including 'Human Blockhead'- a 10% Imperial American Bock, a 7-vintage vertical tasting of Jewbelation, and see Donny Vomit of Coney Island fame. 

6:00PM

-Seattle Cask-O-Rama at Beveridge Place Pub (6431 California Ave. SW, West Seattle, WA).  Cask beers from all Seattle breweries participating in Seattle Beer Week will be on the bartop!  Come on by and have a cask!

-Pike Brewer's Dinner at Emmer & Rye (1825 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA).  This is a food and beer pairing dinner, featuring the food of chef Seth Caswell and beers from the Pike with Charles and Rose Ann Finkel.  The menu is yet to be announced. 

-Hales Brewer's Dinner at DeLuxe Bar & Grill (625 Broadway Ave E, Seattle, WA).  A beer and food pairing between DeLuxe Executive Chef, Beth Fuller and Hales beers.  A four-course menu has been prepared.  Contact DeLuxe for tickets and info or call them at (206) 324-9697.  The cost is $35 per person (tax and gratuity not included). 

-North End Kick Off at Fred's Rivertown Alehouse (1114 First St, Snohomish, WA).  If you're in the North end and can't make it down to Seattle for the Beer Week kick off, come celebrate it at Fred's.

-Schooner Exact Night at The Beer Junction (4707 42nd Ave SW, Seattle, WA).  Come enjoy some Schooner Exact beers at The Beer Junction. 

-Upright Brewing Night at Old Town Alehouse (5233 Ballard Ave N, Seattle, WA).  Upright is a Belgian-inspired brewery using Northwest ingredients.  Come on out and have a few at Old Town Alehouse. 

-*Bayern Brewery Night at 74th Street Alehouse (7401 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA).  Bayern's owner & head Brewmaster, Jurgen Knoller will be on hand to open an Oak Firkin of his new Cask Summer Bock beer.  He has driven the firken himself from Missoula, MT to be here for this event. 

-*Colorado Invades Ballard at the Barking Dog Alehouse (705 NW 70th St, Seattle, WA).  All Colorado beers will be on tap at the Barking Dog.  There will be taps from New Belgium, Left Hand, Oskar Blues & Boulder Brewing.

7:00PM

-Alaskan Brewery Smokin' Beer Dinner at Julia's on Broadway (300 Broadway E, Seattle, WA).  An enticing menu, paired with beers from Alaskan Brewery.  You can see the full menu HERE. 

-Seattle Beer Week Kick Off Stop 2 at Brouwer's Cafe (400 N. 35th St, Seattle, WA).  The kick off party rolls on at Brouwer's! 

8:00PM

-Seattle Beer Week Kick Off Stop 3 at Pyramid Alehouse (1201 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA).  The party's still rollin' - now at Pyramid Alehouse near Safeco Field. 

-*Carnies & Cronies at the Unicorn (1118 E Pike St, Seattle, WA). Come see Zak from Schmaltz brewing & Donny Vomit of Coney Island fame.  Coney Island Ales & Unicorn corndogs. 

9:00PM

-Seattle Beer Week Kick Off Stop 4 at Naked City Taphouse (8564 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA).  And the party is still rolling.  Are you still standing?  24 Taps - 12 will be devoted to Naked City Beers and 12 to beers from other Seattle area breweries. 

-Heavy Metal Beer Bash at Highline (210 Broaday Ave E, Seattle, WA).  Come enjoy some heavy metal from: Lightning Swords of Death, Saviors and Black Queen.  There will be pint specials on metal-themed beers such as: Back in Black IPA, TNT Doppel Weizenbock and Helmet Pale Ale. 

10:00PM

-Heavy Metal Beer Bash at The Galaway Arms (5257 University Way NE, Seattle, WA).  Come enjoy a show with live, local heavy metal bands, along with brews from Left Hand, 21st Amendment, etc. etc. etc.