Washington Beer Open House this Saturday

When planning an afternoon of beer/brewery touring, the first thing you have to do is figure out where you're going and figure out who is going to be open to receive visitors. This Saturday things will be a bit different as breweries across the state open their doors and invite you to visit. The brainchild of the Washington Beer Commission, this is the first-ever Washington Beer Open House.

The Washington Beer Open House takes place this Saturday (February 26th) from noon - 4:00. More than 30 breweries across the state will be ready and waiting for you. What's more, they'll have some sort of special treat in store for you. Maybe a vertical tasting experience or the debut of a new beer. Maybe some other special treat. It will vary from brewery to brewery.

This is a great opportunity for you to get out there do some beer touring. Visit the official event website for updated details.
http://www.washingtonbeer.com/openhouse.htm

As of Monday, February 21, here is the list of participating breweries. If you need to map things out, visit our Washington Breweries page.

CENTRAL and EASTERN WA

• C.I. Shenanigans Brewery, Spokane


• Iron Horse Brewery, Ellensburg


• Palouse Falls Brewing, Pullman


• Yakima Craft Brewing, Yakima

NORTH and EAST of SEATTLE

• American Brewing, Edmonds


• Anacortes Brewing, Anacortes


• Black Raven Brewing, Redmond


• Boundary Bay Brewing, Bellingham


• Chuckanut Brewing, Bellingham


• Diamond Knot Brewing, Mukilteo


• Foggy Noggin Brewing, Bothell


• Gallagher's Where U Brew, Edmonds


• Redhook Brewery, Woodinville


• Scuttlebutt Brewing, Everett


• Snoqualmie Falls Brewing, Snoqualmie

NORTH SEATTLE

• Big Time Brewery, U District


• Fremont Brewing, Fremont


• Maritime Pacific Brewing, Ballard


• Naked City Brewing, Greenwood

DOWNTOWN SEATTLE

• Pike Brewing

SOUTH and WEST of DOWNTOWN SEATTLE

• Big Al Brewing, White Center


• Elliott Bay Brewing, W. Seattle


• Epic Ales, SODO


• Georgetown Brewing, Seattle


• Schooner Exact Brewing, SODO


• Three Skulls Brewing, South Park


• Two Beers Brewing, SODO

SOUTH SOUND

• M.T. Head Brewing, Graham


• Trade Route Brewing, Pacific


• The Ram Brewery, Puyallup


• The Ram Brewery, Tacoma

WEST of PUGET SOUND

• 7 Seas Brewing, Gig Harbor


• Der Blokken Brewing, Bremerton

American Brewing Announces Grand Opening

Back in October we introduced you to American Brewing Company, the new brewery coming to Edmonds. (Read our previous story.) Today we announce the grand opening. The event will take place on Saturday, February 26th at the brewery and tap room near the waterfront in Edmonds. Along with great beer, there will be live music, food and even wine for the non-beer drinker in your life.

Below, Skip Madsen and Neil Fallon.


While we are always excited about new breweries, we are particularly jazzed about American Brewing Company's opening because it represents the return of Skip Madsen, one of our local rockstar brewers, to the beer scene. Along with Neil Fallon, owner of American Brewing, Skip has been busy the last few months building out the brewery. We cannot wait to taste what he's been cooking up. When looking for a brewmaster with which to partner, Neil could not have made a better choice.

The American Brewing grand opening coincides with Washington Beer Open House - a day that will see a number of breweries across the state open their doors to local beer lovers. We'll have more info for you about Washington Beer Open House in the coming days.

Washington Beer Open House - Sat. Feb 26

It's still coming together. Breweries are still signing up and we will certainly have more information for you as it becomes available. For now, save the date: Saturday, February 26th, from noon - 4:00.

What exactly are we talking about? Well, the Washington Beer Commission is planning the first ever Washington Beer Open House, a chance for you to go visit a bunch of breweries. The exact format will be wide open: breweries can do what they want with it. Maybe they'll be tapping something special that day. Maybe they'll have some other sort of other treat for you. Who knows? It's all still coming together.

Like we said, exactly which breweries will be involved remains to be seen. We anticipate that many breweries across the state will choose to participate in some way. For now, save the date: Saturday, February 26th.

Strange Brewfest - Follow Up and Pictures

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

First off, given all that has happened over the past couple of years with the closing of the Water Street Pub and Brewery, it was awesome to find that Strange Brewfest is alive, kicking ass, and doing better than ever.

We wondered how many brewers would show up and how enthusiastically strange their creations would be. Well, I counted 22 breweries (I heard 24, but counted 22). There were literally too many beers. You could not try them all without sharing with friends.

Below: Nut Warmer - Peanut Butter Winter Warmer from Big Al Brewing


We wondered if the crowd would return. What were we thinking? Of course they did. This has turned into a very, very popular festival. From what we could tell, there were no rooms available in Port Townsend on Saturday night. The entire town was crawling with beer geeks.

Strange Brewfest Axiom 1

I'm not going to say that all of the beers were delicious. There were beers that I adored, beers that I tolerated, and beers that I dumped. You cannot make an omelet without breaking some eggs. This is a Strange Brewfest axiom: creative success is built on the shoulders of creative failure.

In Seattle, the old Deja Vu (a strip club on Denny Way) had a sign that said, "50 Beautiful Girls, and 3 Ugly Ones?" That sign beckoned us to remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Strange Brewfest makes me think of that sign.

This is another Strange Brewfest axiom: beauty is in the hand of the beer holder. You will dump beers that other people adore. They will dump beers that you adore.

The beers were not only creative and strange, but they were delicious. The first time I attended this festival, several years ago, I was very impressed with the "strange factor," but less impressed with the "good factor." I have nothing against a beer being strange, or even down-right odd, but I really do prefer it to be good. This year, the beers were delicious. Creative, strange, and yummy.

Below: So many people have asked, this is now posted on the front door of what used to be the Water Street Pub and Brewery.


My Beer Sandwich

There are too many favorites for me to name. I have an idea. Here's a mythical sandwich I created out of just a few of my favorite beers.

To start with, you'll need two slices of Redhook's smokey-rye beer, which they referred to as Ham on Rye. Next, add some 7 Bloody Seas from 7 Seas Brewing. This spicy, tomato-infused beer simulated a Bloody Mary magnificently. What sandwich would be complete without meat? Add some of Anacortes' Grand Salami: a beer that made me laugh out loud when I first drank it because it actually did taste like Salami. Awesome.

Maybe next year someone will make a beer with Gouda or Gruyere. I can hope.

For dessert, I suggest an Almond Roca Brown Ale from Flyers Brewery.

Other beers that impressed the heck out of me included Big Al's Nut Warmer (Winter Warmer with peanut butter); the Naked City Sour Patch Citra Ass Down IPA; the Silver City Imperial Pepper Stout; and the Chocolate Orange Degenerator from Port Townsend.

So many more. If you were there, help me out. What were your favorites?

Oh the Humanity!

Okay, I would be irresponsible if I didn't talk about the crowd. Some people were annoyed, some were frightened, others simply melted comfortably into the swarming mass of humanity that was Strange Brewfest 2011. This was the first year at this venue and I am sure the festival organizers learned a lot.

It was packed. No denying that. I did not find it intolerable at all. Just crowded. Though navigating the crowd was a bit challenging at times, I rarely had to wait for a beer. Let's stay focused on what's important.

The music was amazing. All day and into the night, one outstanding band followed another. I like the band that kicked things off on Saturday, though the name escaped me. They had a cool Tom Waits vibe going on. I also really dug Tuba Luba: an all-brass funk band which performed later in the day on Saturday. No Bootsy Collins on bass guitar, just some fella blowing his mind out on a tuba.

The event staff did an amazing job. Seriously, it was a turbulent sea of humanity but the people in the red shirts never let things degenerate into a maelstrom. They kept things under control. It was busy, but it ran like clockwork. For the most part, anyway.

We had a blast. As usual, we were too busy having fun to take many good pictures. Perhaps we were having too much fun to take pictures well. Anyway, here are some pictures.

Below: Don Spencer (Big Daddy) of Silver City Brewery leads a group toast at Sirens Pub. That's how we kicked things off at Strange Brewfest this year.

Below: Packed house at the American Legion.


The outside portion of the festival was packed as well.

Below: Mike Runion (7 Seas Brewing) sports a had made from 7 Seas cans.


Below: Fellow blogger, Mike Besser (www.brewdad.com).


Below: I wish these were loons. They're cormorants. I just like the picture, taken Saturday morning before the doors opened.


Below: Saturday morning, before the doors opened, the Big Al Brewing "time share condo" was parked across the street. Good thing they weren't drinking or serving any beer out there. That would be wrong.

Elysian Brewing Co. opening a new brewery in Georgetown

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

Elysian Brewing Company is opening a new production brewing facility in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. There will be no taproom or pub. Instead, this will be a production facility only, featuring a 60-barrel brewhouse and 240-barrel fermenters. Continuing growth over years created a justifiable need for this kind of expansion.

We talked to Elysian's Dick Cantwell about this planned expansion recently. He told us that the plan is to be build out the facility in the coming months, with the intention of brewing by the summer. When we asked about the taproom, or lack thereof, Dick simply pointed out that they already have three.

No doubt, Elysian already provides their fans with ample opportunity to drink Elysian beers at their three Seattle pubs: the flagship pub on Capitol Hill, Tangletown near Green Lake, and Elysian Fields in the stadium district.

Below: Elysian's flagship pub and brewery on Capitol Hill. Photo by Dor and Bob.



For many of you, this news comes as no surprise. While the official announcement was just made today, there has been a lot of industry buzz about this recently. Here is the official release from Elysian:

Elysian Brewing Co. of Seattle, WA has announced a substantial planned expansion to a 35,000 sq ft space in the Georgetown neighborhood of South Seattle. An outgrowth both of Elysian's successes at its three Seattle brewery/restaurants and steady growth in packaged sales, the 15-year-old company is investing in brewing equipment and site improvements for a facility at 5510 Airport Way S. of 60,000 US barrel capacity. It is expected that the brewery will be fully operational by late summer 2011.

Elysian began operations in 1996 with its original Capitol Hill location, serving food and house-brewed beers in a 200-seat restaurant. It followed in 2003 with Tangletown in the Greenlake neighborhood, and then in 2006 opened Elysian Fields, a large 400+ seat venue directly across from Qwest Field in downtown Seattle. Elysian's beers are among the most decorated in the Northwest, and brought the company the award for Large Brewpub of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver in 1999, 2003 and 2004.

Elysian's plans come at a time of heady growth both for itself and the craft brewing movement in general. One recent project that has brought the brewery recognition beyond the world of craft brewing is Mens Room Original Red Ale. Brewed in alliance with "The Mens Room" radio show on KISW, the beer's profits in part benefit Fisher House, serving service veterans and their families. To date over $100,000 has been contributed.

The Mens Room Red is one of a handful of beers that will be brewed at the new Airport Way facility, along with The Immortal IPA, Dragonstooth Stout, Avatar Jasmine IPA and seasonal beers such as Night Owl Pumpkin Ale and Bifrost Winter Ale. A 60-barrel brewhouse will fill quadruple-sized 240-barrel fermenters. Much of Elysian's specialty beer production will be maintained at the Capitol Hill brewery, which produced approximately 5,000 barrels in 2010, as well as at the Elysian Fields and Tangletown breweries.

Cheers,

Dick Cantwell, Joe Bisacca and David Buhler

Belgianfest 2011, Follow Up and Pictures

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

Belgianfest 2011 was a blast. Once again, the Washington Beer Commission organized an outstanding festival that showcased the amazing beers being produced by Washington brewers. Cheers to the Commission's festival organizers and to all of the great breweries that poured such an interesting and delicious selection of Belgian-inspired beers!

A few of our favorite beers included: Naked City's Gilda Wild American Ale, Ram University Village's Sour Diesel, Big Time's Saison Grisette, Elliott Bay's Belgian Black IPA, and Paradise Creek's Hoe Style Wit. There were so many more. What was your favorite?

Here are a few pictures from the event.

Gearing Up for the National IPA Championship

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

For those of us who love IPA, this is our version of March Madness. Each year the Brewing News organizes the National IPA Championship (NIPAC). Participating beers are randomly bracketed and pitted in head-to-head competition. The winners advance to the next round. The losers go home.

The initial 128 entrants will be narrowed to 64, then to 32 and so on. Eventually the final four will face off to determine a champion. The judges in this competition are all brewers.

To stay informed, you should subscribe to the Hop Tips Newsletter. Obviously, we will track how Washington breweries perform in NIPAC this year.



Participate

Brewers, there is still time to enter your beer into the competition. To enter your beer click here. (Note - This competition is for commercial brewers only.) A list of the Washington breweries that have entered thus far can be found further down this article. We also provide a list of all participating breweries. Entries are still being accepted and the list continues to grow.

The Brewing News provides a way for beer lovers to be involved. We are invited to fill out brackets and see how well we can predict the winners. Yes, there are prizes for us, too. If you're subscribed to Hop Tips, you'll know what's going on. Otherwise you'll have to keep an eye on the Brewing News website.

Past Champions

In 2010, the NIPAC winner was Headhunter IPA from Fat Head's Brewery in Cleveland. In 2009 Workhorse IPA from Portland's Laurelwood Brewing took home the trophy. In 2008, top honors went to West Coast IPA from Green Flash Brewing in Vista, CA.

2011 Schedule

Round 1- February 13th @ Buffalo, NY
Round 2 - February 19th @ Syracuse,
NYRound 3 - February 26th @ Grand Rapids, MI
Round 4 - March 2nd @ Cleveland, OH
Final Round - March 5th @ Philadelphia, PA

The Combatants

As of this moment, the following Washington beers have joined the competition:

Interurban IPA - Fremont Brewing Company
Lazy Boy IPA - Lazy Boy Brewing Co.
Pike IPA - Pike Brewing Co
Supergoose IPA - Hale's Ales
Trickster IPA - Black Raven Brewing Company
Zombie Killer - Snipes Mountain Brewing
Hop Duster IPA - Flyers Restaurant and Brewery
Afterburner IPA - Flyers Restaurant and Brewery

Here is the complete list of entrants thus far:

Afterburner IPA - Flyers Restaurant and Brewery
Avery India Pale Ale - Avery Brewing Company
Be Hoppy IPA - Wormtown Brewery
Big Eye IPA - Ballast Point Brewing Co.
Big Sky IPA - Big Sky Brewing
Bitter Woman IPA - Tyranena Brewing Company
Border Hopper - SweetWater Brewing Co
Caged Alpha Monkey IPA - CB's
Centennial IPA - Founders Brewing Company
Class Five IPA - Thomas Creek Brewery
Cleveland IPA - Buckeye Brewing
Crooked Tree I.P.A - Dark Horse Brewing Company
crooked tree ipa - dark horse brewing co
Dagger Falls IPA - Sockeye Brewing
Devil's Peak IPA - Copper Canyon Brewery
Dirty Dog IPA - Big Dog's Brewing Co.
Duet - Alpine Beer Company
Elevated IPA - La Cumbre Brewing Co.
Empire I.P.A - Empire Brewing Co.
Finestkind IPA - Smuttynose Brewing Co.
Flower Power IPA - Ithaca Beer Company
Full Sail IPA - Full Sail Brewing Company
Good Karma IPA - Mad Anthony Brewing Company
Harpoon IPA - Harpoon Brewery
Head Hunter IPA - Fat Heads Brewery
Heavy Seas Loose Cannon - Clipper City Brewing
High Seas India Pale Ale - Michigan Brewing Company
Hop Duster IPA - Flyers Restaurant and Brewery
Hop Harvest Ale - Big Dog's Brewing Co.
Hop Ride IPA - Tenaya Creek Brewery
Hop Stalker IPA - Fat Heads Brewery
Hoppin' To Heaven IPA - Hoppin' Frog Brewing Company
India Pale Ale - Nebraska Brewing Company
India Pale Ale - Goose Island Beer Company
Interurban IPA - Fremont Brewing Company
Inversion IPA - Deschutes Brewery
IPA - Southern Tier Brewing Company
Islander IPA - Coronado Brewing Co
Jamaica Sunset IPA - Mad River Brewing Company
Lake Placid India Pale Ale - Lake Placid Craft Brewing Company
Lakefront IPA - Lakefront Brewery
Lazy Boy IPA - Lazy Boy Brewing Co.
Left Coast IPA - John Harvard's Brew House CT
Marin IPA - Marin Brewing Company
Mile HI.P.A. - Wynkoop Brewing Company
Modus Hoperandi - Ska Brewing Co.
Mojo IPA - Boulder Beer Company
Moylan's Harvest IPA - 15 Rowland Way
Nelson - Alpine Beer Company
NOR CAL IPA - Moylan's Brewing Co.
Norm,s Raggedy - Ass IPA - Big Rock Chop House
Oasis - Tallgrass Brewing Company
Organic Hopworks IPA - Hopworks Urban Brewery
Pike IPA - Pike Brewing Co
Pompous Ass - Orlando Brewing
Railroad Street IPA - Rohrbach Brewing Company
Ranger IPA - New Belgium Brewing
Red Eye PA - The Brew Kettle Production Works
Red Racer IPA - Central City Brewing
Red's Rye PA - Founders Brewing Company
Royal IPA - Bastone Brewery
Saber's Edge - Pearl Street Grill & Brewery
Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA - Boston Beer Company
Samuel Adams Latitude Belgian IPA - Boston Beer Company
Saranac IPA - F.X. Matt Brewing Company/Saranac
Sculpin IPA - Ballast Point Brewing Co.
Seven Gates Pale Ale (Gate Two) - Spring House Brewing Co.
Seven IPA - Cornerstone Brewing Company
Sheltowee Hop - a - lot IPA - Bluegrass Brewing Co
Special Ration IPA - Pearl Street Grill & Brewery
Stone IPA - Stone Brewing Co.
Super Fly - Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
Supergoose IPA - Hale's Ales
SweetWater IPA - SweetWater Brewing Co
The Black Pearl - Pearl Street Grill & Brewery
Titan IPA - Great Divide Brewing Company
TOP GUN IPA - Blind Tiger Brewery
Torpedo Extra IPA - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Tower 10 IPA - Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Trestles IPA - Left Coast Brewing Co.
Trickster IPA - Black Raven Brewing Company
Triple Play IPA - Lawson's Finest Liquids
West Coast IPA - Green Flash Brewing
White Rajah - The Brew Kettle Production Works
Wipeout IPA - Port Brewing Co.
Workhorse IPA - Laurelwood Brewing Co
Zombie Killer - Snipes Mountain

Belgianfest - Beer Descriptions are Here!

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

We now have descriptions of the beer that will be poured at this Saturday's Belgianfest.

You can read all of our previous posts about Belgianfest here.

To purchase tickets in advance (recommended) go to the official event website.

The brewers have provided descriptions of the beer that that will pour at Belgianfest. You can view the complete list of beer descriptions here.

Belgianfest This Saturday. Get Tickets Now

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

This is just a reminder - Belgianfest is this Saturday and it is expected to sell out. Don't be left out in the cold. Buying your tickets in advance insures that you'll get in. You can get your tickets online or you can get them at Big Time Brewery and Full Throttle Bottles.

By now you likely know about Belgianfest. The event takes place this Saturday, January 22nd at Magnuson Park. The afternoon session runs from noon - 4:00. The evening session runs from 5:30 - 9:30. There will be 30 Washington breweries pouring Belgian-inspired beers. You can read our previous posts about it here or you can visit the official event website here.

The Top 100 Beer Bars in America

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

Draft Magazine recently published its list of the Top 100 Beer Bars in America. Congratulations to the Beveridge Place Pub, Uber Tavern, Naked City Taphouse and Stumbling Monk for making the list. Those are the only Washington pubs that made the list.

Obviously this list is based on opinion and not on any kind of empirical evaluation of all of the pubs and bars in the nation. We expect that many people will be dismayed that Brouwer's Cafe, which is otherwise recognized nationally, failed to make the list. We know at least one person who will think that the people at Draft Magazine are high on glue for not including the Pub at Pipers Creek on the list. And what about Tacoma? Many people would argue that the Parkway Tavern needs to be on that list. It goes on and on. There is no way you can publish a list like this and not disappoint someone.

My point? Draft Magazine is a big, national publication and making their list of the Top 100 Beer Bars is an honor; however there is no dishonor in not making the list.

The Beer List for Belgianfest

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

Belgianfest is just one week and one day away. We now have the list of beers, which includes some old favorites as well as many new creations. Elysian is bringing six beers. Showoffs.

You can buy tickets online in advance. This event will likely sell out again. If you want to go (and you should), get on it now. Do not dawdle.

Below - Last year's Belgianfest - Some form of Belgian-inspired yumminess from Naked City.

I am looking forward to revisiting some of my favorites like Big Time Brewery's Trombipulator, Georgetown Brewing's Donkey Duex, and Pike Brewing's Monk's Uncle. I am also looking forward to some new stuff like Der Blokken Brewery's Belgian Gold, Snoqualmie Fall Brewing's Triskaidekaphobia, and Paradise Creek Brewing's Paradise Hoe Style.

Recently we were fortunate enough to sample some of Silver City Brewery's La Fat, Belgian-Inspired Scotch Ale. Put it on the list. Don't miss it.

Here's the list:

Anacortes Brewery
1) Dark Water Dubbel: ABV: 8.2%
2) Anacortes Sour Brown ABV: 9.1%

Big Al Brewing
1) Belgian Tripel ABV: 9%
2) Local Hero #9 Belgian Dubbel ABV: 7.7%

Big Time Brewery
1) Trombipulator 2010 ABV: 10%
2) Saison Grisette

Black Raven Brewing
1) “Pour Les Oiseaux” ABV: 6.2%
2) “Seasonal Farmhouse IPA” ABV: 7.7%
3) “La Petite Mort” (cask version) ABV: 8.8%

Boundary Bay Brewery
1) Big Belgian Ale ABV: 6.6%
2) Boundary Bay Tripel

Der Blokken Brewery
1) Belgian Gold ABV: 8.5%

Elliot Bay Brewing
1) Belgian Black IPA ABV: 6% IBU: 60
2) Brett von Boorian ABV: 4.75% IBU: 30
3) Imperial von Boorian ABV: 7.25% IBU: 70
4) Red von Boorian ABV: 5% IBU: 20

Elysian Brewing
1) Bête Blanche ABV: 6.9%
2) Bête Noel Belgian-style Ale. ABV: 8.5%
3) Toro Oro Yerba Mate Tripel ABV: 7.2%
4) Yuzu’s. Sour Belgian-Style Golden Ale ABV:4.5%
5) Groaning Board Trappist-style Table Beer ABV: 5.3%
6) Backhanded Compliment (Belgian-Style IPA) ABV: 6.2%

Fremont Brewing
1) Mystere de Tonneau
2) Blood Funnel-Saison

Georgetown Brewing
1) Donkey Deux! ABV: 7.9%
2) Georgetown Braggot ABV: 8.5%

Hale’s Ales
1) IX Gold-Belgium Strong Golden Ale. ABV: 9%
2) Quadruppel

Issaquah Brewhouse
1) Cask of Menage-a-Frog: ABV 9%
2) Cask of Menage-a-Frog: Berry Edition ABV 9%

Lazy Boy Brewing
1) Belgian Golden Ale
2) TBA

Naked City Brewery
1) Gilda American Wild Ale ABV: 8.5%
2) Saison De La Ville Nue ABV: 6.5%

Odin Brewing
1) Odin Pearl White Ale ABV: 5.1%

Paradise Creek Brewery
1) Paradise Hoe Style: Belgian Wit. ABV: 5.9%

Pike Brewing
1) Pike Monk’s Uncle Tripel Ale ABV: 9%
2) Pike Tandem Double Ale ABV: 7.5%

Ram Brewery
1) Biere de Mars
2) Rye
3) BBL-a-Trois

RedHook Brewery
1) Dubbel Hook ABV: 8%

Scuttlebutt Brewing
1) Belgian Winter-Belgian Dark Strong Ale
2) Tripel 7 ABV: 9%

Silver City Brewery
1) La Fat-Belgian Inspired Scotch Ale ABV: 9%
2) Katy Saison ABV: 6%

Snipes Mt. Brewery
1) Twangzister #3 ABV: 8.5%

Snoqualmie Falls Brewing
1) Triskaidekaphobia-Belgian Tripel
2) Spring Fever-Belgian Gran Cru
3) Wit-Wit Bier

Three Skulls-Baron Brewing
1) Three Skulls Belgian Trippel ABV: 9%

Two Beers Brewing
1) Crooked Belgian Wit
2) Cask Dry Peeled Crooked Belgian Wit

A New Washington Beer Festival Coming to Bremerton

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

We heard rumblings about this some time ago: a beer festival in Bremerton. We heard the idea discussed at a Washington Beer Commission meeting a few months ago. We heard our friends over at Silver City Brewing talking about it when we visited the production brewery in Bremerton a few weeks ago. Apparently Kurt Larson, sales and marketing for Silver City Brewery, was one of the people who hatched the idea. Nothing official.

Today the Kitsap Sun is reporting that the Washington Beer Commission has selected Bremerton as the site for a Summer Beer Festival (read it). Not only will the event take place during the summer, it will spotlight Washington-brewed summer beers.

The event will take place in downtown Bremerton, just a stone's throw from the ferry terminal, providing easy access for those of us who will need to travel across the pond. (Walking onto the ferry is so much cheaper than driving.) The word on the street is that the event will take place on Saturday, July 30th, but there's still no official word on the date. We're waiting for confirmation and will keep you posted.

Rest assured that we will report more about this event once the Washington Beer Commission makes an official announcement. We just wanted to share what we know thus far.

Below: Don Spencer and Kurt Larson - Silver City Brewery in Bremerton

What's Brewing - New Washington Breweries

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

Every now and again we take a look at recent microbrewery licensing activities. We get our information from the Liquor Control Board. Here's what has happened in the past 30 days.

(BTW - We are currently working on upgrading our brewery and brewpub mapping system. The existing map is up and running, but we want to make it better.)

The Liquor Control Board recently received Microbrewery license applications from the following businesses:

• Decibell Brewing - Bellevue. Residential address in Bellevue's Lake Hills neighborhood.


• Hillard's Beer - Seattle. Ballard getting another brewery. Commercial location, but no other information yet. Stay tuned.


• Rock Island Brewing Company - Seattle. Residential location in North Seattle.


• Old Mill House Micro Brew - Tacoma. Commercial location on 6th Avenue in Tacoma.

The Liquor Control Board recently approved Microbrewery license applications for the following businesses:

• The Monkey - Seattle. The Monkey Pub in the University District apparently applied for a change to their liquor license type. This one is interesting. We're working on it. Stay tuned.


• Communitea Kombucha - Seattle. It's not beer; it's Kombucha. Still, it is mildly alcoholic and they want to make it legally. http://communitea-kombucha.com/


• Slippery Pig Brewery - Poulsbo. Residential address in Poulsbo.

If you know more, please contact us or leave a comment below. We'd love to tell your story.

Yakima Craft Brewing Opens New Taproom

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

Yakima Craft Brewing just announced the opening of its new taproom. The Taproom at the Brewery will serve beer by the Imperial pint and half pint, with taster trays available. They will also fill growlers and sell bottles and kegs to go.

Below: Photo from www.yakimacraftbrewing.com.



Here's the description from the website: "All the beer served at the Taproom is brewed here on-site. Inside you will find a small but inviting space with simple food and a classic pub atmosphere."

Hours:
Monday-Friday 4:00 - 8:00
Saturday 1:00 - 10:00

Yakima Craft Brewing
2920 River Road (#6)
Yakima, Washington 98902
(509) 654-7357
Map

Locöl Opens in West Seattle - a focus on local beer

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

Admittedly, we do not drink 100 percent local beer, but most often we find it very easy to live by the "drink local" mantra given the fact that we live in a community blessed with so many great breweries.

Today at noon, in West Seattle's Highpoint neighborhood, a new restaurant and bar named Locöl is opening that shares our philosophy. The name is a play on the English word local and the Swedish word for beer. In Swedish the word folköl means "folk beer." Locöl will focus on local product, both in terms of food and in terms of beer.

Below - Photo courtesy of Locöl's Facebook page (facebook.com/locolwestseattle).



We were fortunate enough to attend a soft opening of Locöl last week. Located on 35th Avenue SW, one of West Seattle's main drags, Locöl is warm and cozy, friendly and inviting. Lots of dark and warm wood, plenty of seating at the bar, and walls adorned with artwork by local artists. Everything here seems very thoughtful, from the wood-paneled walls to the lighting, the art, and the beer selection. Every piece is well considered. Although we did not eat, the menu was tempting and the food we saw delivered to tables around us looked amazing.

Locöl features a limited number of taps (six) but the beer promises to be very thoughtfully chosen. We appreciate that. I'd rather go to a bar with six well-selected taps than a bar with 26 taps assigned at the distributors' discretion. Locöl will focus on regional beers, with an extra focus on hyper-local products: beers from Seattle. You will not find Blue Moon or Stella Artois on tap at Locöl. Sorry.

Cheers to Locöl for its commitment to local product!

You can find Locöl in West Seattle at 7902 35th Ave. SW.

It is said that a pictures is worth a thousand words. If that's true, how many words is a video worth? KOMO 4 News paid a visit to Locöl. Here is that video.

Belgianfest Tickets On Sale Online

by Kendall Jones - Washington Beer Blog

Tickets are now available online for Belgianfest 2011, which takes place on Saturday, January 22. They are selling quickly. A quarter of the tickets for the first session are already sold. The evening session is also selling well. Tickets are also available at Big Time Brewery and Full Throttle Bottles. Our best advice is to buy your tickets early. This year the venue at Magnuson Park has a larger capacity (450 versus 300) but don't forget that both sessions sold out quickly last year.


Above - Last year Belgianfest packed the joint. Bigger venue this year, but expect the same.


Breweries expected to participate:
Anacortes Brewery
Baron Brewing
Big Al Brewing
Big Time Brewery
Black Raven Brewing
Boundary Bay Brewery
Der Blokken Brewery
Elliott Bay Brewing
Elysian Brewing
Fremont Brewing
Georgetown Brewing
Hale's Ales Brewery
Issaquah Brewhouse
Lazy Boy Brewing
Naked City Brewery
Odin Brewing
Paradise Creek Brewery
Pike Brewing, Ram Brewery
Redhook Ale Brewery
Scuttlebutt Brewing
Snipes Mountain Brewery
Snoqualmie Falls Brewing
Silver City Brewery
Two Beers Brewing

Parking:
Plenty of free parking is available at the event site.

Admission:
$30 advance tickets or $35 at the door (if available)
Admission includes a commemorative tasting glass & ten 4oz tastes
Designated driver admission is $5 and available at the door only (includes free water/soda)
Must be 21 years old or older and have a valid ID

Other details:

Saturday, January 22nd, 2011
Session 1: 12:00-4:00 p.m.
Session 2: 5:30-9:30 p.m.

The Workshop at Magnuson Park
6310 NE 74th St., Seattle, WA