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.  *

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:

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.

Seattle Beer Week Rolls On

Today, Monday, May 23rd, is the 5th day of Seattle Beer Week.  The first four days have already been a whirlwind of amazing beer-related events and activities, and we still have 6 more days of fun to go.  Thankfully I have today and Tuesday off, but heading back to work Wednesday is gonna be so hard!

So far, I've been able to attend the following Seattle Beer Week events:

Day 1 - Thursday, May 19

-Seattle Beer Week Kick Off at Maritime Pacific Brewing:
You can read all about my experience at this event HERE.  It was a great night filled with good food, great beer, old and new friends alike.  Everyone was having an amazing time in the great weather, and enjoying the Official Seattle Beer Week beer: Decompression Ale. 

At the Jolly Roger Taproom at Maritime Pacific

I followed up the SBW Kick Off at Maritime with a brief stop at Uber Tavern.  I wanted to drop by because I'd heard they were having Dogfish Head World Wide Stout on tap as well as Dog Fish Head 120 Minute IPA.  Now, I've had both of these beers before, but it's rare to find them on tap.  Both were amazing. 

-Cask-O-Rama at Beveridge Place Pub:
This is an annual event at BPP.  Casks cover the bar and you can have a pint or go with a taster tray.  I chose the latter.  You can see my selections and read a bit more about what I thought HERE.  I hung out here, enjoying myself and the great lineup of Cask beers until nearly 10:00PM, my last event for the night (I had to be at work on Friday!)

My Taster Tray at Cask-O-Rama

Day 2 - Friday, May 20th

I was unable to attend any SBW events on Friday due to the monthly meeting of my homebrew club, The Impaling Alers.  I had a great time at the meeting with my fellow members, enjoying some great homebrew, and some delicious hummus and salmon dip, both provided at the meeting by my beautiful wife, Lynn.  By the time the meeting/socializing wrapped up, it was nearly 11:00PM.  Time to call it a night. 

Seattle Beer Week Kick Off at Maritime Pacific Brewing Company

Yarrr, me mateys!  Yarrr!

Last night was the kick off for Seattle Beer Week.  I arrived at Maritime Pacific Brewing's Jolly Roger taproom early, so I'd be sure to capture all the action.  Early on, 3:00 or so, the place wasn't crowded at all:

The Calm Before The Storm

As the day progressed, however, it started slowly getting more and more crowded:

The Crowd Was Growing

My friend, Brian Williams (Of SnootyDrunks.com), and I had some great seats staked out at the bar, but later found out that the first keg/firkin of the Official Seattle Beer Week beer: Decompression, would be tapped out in the brewhouse; so when 5:30 drew close, out we went. 

It was now 5:30, the line ahead of us wasn't too bad, but little did we know they were not pouring Decompression yet.  They couldn't start pouring it until the Official reading of the Mayor's Proclamation, declaring Seattle Beer Week open.  However, since Brian & I had given up our bar seats to head out to the brewhouse, we decided to wait right there until they started pouring it.  It turned out to be a great place to wait too, because a few miutes later, the reading of the Proclamation took place:

If the video link above is not working, you can also view the video on Youtbe HERE.  

You can see the rest of the photos from this album/event that are not included in this article HERE. 

After the reading of the Procclamation, Brian got the very first pint of Decompression from the firkin and I got the 2nd.  Not a bad way to kick off Seattle Beer Week, 'eh?  We hung around at the Jolly Roger for about another hour, gretting friends, meeting new ones and enjoying the festivities, but then decided to move on to another stop. 

Ironically, with the plethora of events listed for Seattle Beer Week, our next stop wasn't even on the list!  We had heard that Über Tavern (7517 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA), had Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout and 120 Minute IPA on tap.  Now, I have had both of these beers before, but finding them on tap is extremely rare, so to Über we went!  We hung out there long enough to have a World Wide Stout each and share a 120 Minute IPA (remember, moderation people!) 

My Cask-O-Rama Selections

After that, it was off to Beveridge Place Pub for Cask-O-Rama.  We each got a sampler tray of six different cask beers.  My selections included:

-Big Al Old No. 1 Barleywine (On tap for the firs time anywhere).  This was probably my favorite of the 6 I tried.

-Elysian Prometheus IPA.  I'd had this one before, but it's a good one so I had some more. 

-Naked City FNG ESB.  A bit on the 'grainy' side, but drinkable.  Meh.

-Schooner Exact Ealiente Golden w/ Serrano & Anaheim Peppers.  Unfortunatley, this brought back my dislike for chili beers immediately.  My impression?  A distinctly dishwater taste - I didn't finish it. 

-Three Skulls Poison Dry-Hopped Winter Warmer.  This one was extremely grainy.  I felt like I was drinking the grains the beer was made from.  I didnt' finish it.

-Two Beers Evolutionary IPA.  A decent beer, but Big Al was the winner here for me. 

My Tray & Brian's Tray of Cask Beers

By now it was approaching 9:00PM.  We both had to work the next day (today), so off we went on our way.  All in all, a solid opening day for Seattle Beer Week.  Today I may only have time for one early event before I head to my monthly homebrew club meeting, so I'll have to choose wisely.  Watch for many more photos and videos as Seattle Beer Week rolls on.

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.  



Seattle Beer Week Starts Tomorrow

Seattle Beer Week is here!  In just over 24 hours, things will kick off with the very first event, the Elliott Bay IPA Feast at Elliott Bay Brewing in West Seattle starting at 11:00AM.  Personally, I'll be at work, so I can't make it to that one.  The first event I will likely attend is the 5:30PM Seattle Beer Week kickoff at Maritime Pacific Brewing Company - brewer of this year's official Seattle Beer Week beer.  After that, I may head over to Brouwer's Cafe for 'Seattle Beer Week Kickoff - Stop 2', starting at 7:00PM. 

On Friday, I won't get the chance to attend many events besides my monthly homebrew club meeting.  This month is our annual 'swap meet', where members can swap/trade/sell brewing equipment.  I also plan to bring a few beers an ciders to trade or just share with my fellow brewers. 

Saturday will keep me busy too with Beer & D'oh Nuts at 99 Bottles in Federal Way at 10:00AM, followed by Keggs & Eggs with American Brewing at the Brave Horse Tavern starting at 11:00AM.  Later, I'm thinking of attending the World Class Brewer's Reunion at Pike Brewing Company, which begins at 2:00PM. 

Do you have your strategy for Seattle Beer Week planned out yet?  With an average of 12 or more events each day, you're sure to find something you'll enjoy.  So rest up tonight, for tomorrow Seatlle Beer Week begins!

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.

Ready For More!

If Dr. Seuss was a heavy drinker... lol

Seriously though (and it's really sad that I have to actually say this in this day & age), please understand this is parody. NEVER drink beer in a car or drive drunk - and I don't advocate getting 'slammed' either. Yes, I enjoy a good beer buzz, but a responsible drinker knows when they've had enough, and especially when to NEVER get behind the wheel. If you want to drink beer in a box in your socks, however, that's up to you.

Please excuse my absence the past few days, but I've been a bit sidetracked with a pesky little thing called 'real life'. It can get so annoying at times! But I'm back and ready for more new beer experiences.

First a few general updates:

BJCP:

I've been 'browsing' my BJCP Study Guide, but beginning this weekend, I plan to dive in head first. Read through the entire study guide and further investigate the first steps I need to get my BJCP Certification.

Seattle Beer Scene:

There have been a lot of changes recently in the Seattle beer scene. We got a few new breweries in town last year (including Epic Ales, Emererald City Beer Company (Which opened up shop in a portion of the Old Ranier Brewery, whose current primary occupant is Tully's Coffee), Northwest Peaks Brewery and more. All in all, there were 12 new brewery license applications in the Seattle/Puget Sound area in 2010.

There were also some big personnel changes. Jeanelle Pritchard resigned from Trade Route Brewing and Chris Miller resigned from Snipes Mountain for a new opportunity in California.

Also, in a change that affects me personally, since this is one of my regular haunts, Bill Jenkins is leaving as head brewer of Big Time Brewing Company in Seattle's University District. Bill has been at Big Time for years, making truly world-class beers (as well as a few 'experiements', some amazing, some disappointing). If Bill has to go, however, what better replacement than his brewing brother (in law), Drew Cluley! Drew has been the head brewer at Pike Brewing Company for several years, but he is leaving The Pike to replace Bill as the new brewer at Big Time.

Seattle Beer Week:

Yeah, yeah. I know it's still two months away. I just want to make sure you're all keeping it on your radar! Let me just give you their website for now: SeattleBeerWeek.com Maritime Pacific Brewing Company will be brewing this year's Official Seattle Week Beer.

Tonight on my way home, I'll be making a trip to my local bottle shop, 99 Bottles. I will, of course, pick up a few favorites, but I'm also planning to grab a few new beers, so I can continue to improve my tasting abilities, and provide all of you with more in-depth beer reviews.

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Drink responsibly and stay safe out there!