Beer Blotter

Get a taste of whats in these amazing bottles tonight at the Beer Junction!

Tonight, don’t miss your chance to get a sip of Sound Brewery’s best and brightest. Seattle’s (actually Poulsbo, WA) bright young star – and the brewing home of a BeerBlotter.com writer – will showcase five of its best ales at West Seattle’s Beer Junction this evening!

Around a year ago, Sound Brewery popped on the scene with a short line of Belgian style ales. While the early releases were indeed intriguing, we were blown away once Tripel Entendre, Monk’s Indiscretion and Humulo Nimbus hit the taps. Now, Sound is garnering attention from national beer publications.

Last month, Sound announced that they would begin bottling their beers. If you have yet to see the packaging, take a look at the early promos above in the image. With a sleek wrap-around design and cap  strips, these are some of the best looking bottles on the market. Beer Junction will have a bunch of these in stock for tonight’s tasting, so be sure and snag a few for your cellar.

This brewery was so exciting that it beckoned BeerBlotter.com writer Tim Gormley. Tim is now happily brewing with the Sound team and will be on hand tonight to discuss Sound beer and help promote one of Seattle’s fastest-growing brands.

The Beer Junction will be pouring Humulo Nimbus Double IPA, Monk’s Indiscretion Belgian-style Strong Ale, Tripel Entendre, Dubbel Entendre, and Koperen Ketel Belgian-style Pale Ale from 5:00-8:00 PM. There is a $4 tasting fee and the last call for alcohol will be at 7:45.

We hope to see you all there – though we hope you save some bottles for us!

Been busy making beer - like this Rauchbier that made our turkey even better.

Alright, alright. Let me apologize for our noted absence. For the past 15 days we have failed to make a single post. Yep, not one. We recognize this displays extreme apathy and want to apologize. Don’t give up on us!

What have we been doing? Baby raising, holiday gorging, business traveling, vacationing to see families, and planning a move. But, we have also taken the time to build the Blotter. We are currently developing an iPhone/iPad Application with some local developers (and buddies of the Blotter) and brewing up a storm of beers for some near events. Oh yeah – and the Beer Blotter shirts. Look for those being worn by the cool kids.

We have also been finalizing a retooling of this site, which will begin focusing more on intense examination of beer, breweries and watering holes – and less on the current events (Hey, you have Kendall and Geoff for those things). We have found that our readers really love Timperial’s incredible journeys through beer – and we will bring more of that in the future.

But lets forgive and forget. For tonight is BIG WOOD!  Thats rights, Brouwers Cafe kicks off their “who knows” annual festival of wood-aged brew. Personally, this is my favorite event of the year. A few years back I had an organic viagra experience when I met Fred From the Wood (i recognize that just sounds gross).  I cannot wait to embark on a new journey through the barrel this afternoon.

So, the doors open at 11 AM today. I expect there to be a pretty sizable crowd by mid-afternoon. This is especially true after seeing this remarkable listing of beer!! Check out the whole list by following this link.

A few suggestions for those of you in need:

Alpine Beer Co Imperial Porter in Bourbon Barrel — What the hell? How do they have this? I have become accustomed to seeing Alpine and thinking Eastern Washington. But this is from my favorite San Diego brewer, Alpine Beer Co. Get this, you won’t see them in Seattle again (probably).

Double Mountain Wooden Nipple — I love Wood-Aged Trippels. They are remarkably flavorful and have a rich butterscotch flavor that beckons you.

Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout — This was all the rage last year, and is sure to be again. It kicked in about an hour.

Glacier Makers Eisbock — Um, whats not to like about an Alaskan brewer with a massive beer, aged in Makers Mark barrels.

Hair of the Dog Fred Flanders &  Michael — 2008 Alan Sprints specials will not last long. Primary reason that I will be there early

New Belgium Love in Wood — Perhaps the best base beer on earth. I haven’t had it for awhile, but Love serves as the basis for a lot of NB’s great sour beers.

Elysian Perseus Lost Sour — Here is my local pick. I presume this is a batch of their porter that got infected and came out good. Ill give it a shot.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=alpine%20imperial%20porter&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ratebeer.com%2Fbeer%2Falpine-beer-company-token-bourbon-barrel-aged-imperial-porter%2F153593%2F&ei=bvfgTubfK6_KiQKTt4SMDw&usg=AFQjCNEawDD-Hh7xkqSsQoJ4qcrMujVXdQ&sig2=jXMSL5fibKFGZCGxzdt-OA

Hell yes! 8 years of strange beers and strange folk.

Time to start thinking about Strange Brewfest 2012!  Back again for its 8th Annual celebration of stand out grog and incredible people, its only two months away.

This festival is a celebration of the unique spirit that the now-closed Water Street Brewing once encompassed. Strange Brewfest is a chance to see the creativity of Washington’s wonderful brewing community.

If this is the first time that you ever read this blog, you might not know about our affinity for a former brew house known as Water Street Brewing. The iconic pub once ruled the streets of Port Townsend, Washington, with incredible food, heartwarming charm and of course – excellent beer. If you need to catch up on why we loved (and still love) it so very much - read this post.

Of course, many of us were concerned that Water Street’s closing spelled the end to this event. But Nina and Mark, the committed owners of the former pub, have made sure that Strange Brewfest continues on! Last year’s event was the first to be held at the American Legion Hall in downtown Port Townsend. Once again, strange times will go down at the Legion building, a place that the organizers found successful last year.

So, book your hotel for January 27-29, 2012. There are a list of suggested hotels on the Strange Brewfest website. Be sure to peruse the rest of their website to find out more info on the event. The event costs $25.00 for…..the entire weekend. Deal.

If you are a brewer and want to showcase your exotic grog at the festival, please complete this Brewer’s Application and have it submitted as soon as possible. Submission instructions are included in the form and you can contact the festival crew at info@strangebrewfestpt.com with any questions.

Check in with the Water Street Facebook page to learn more about the event as we inch closed to the big date. God I miss Water Street Brewery. Here is the event info:

Strange Brewfest 2012

 

Strange Brewfest PT

206.499.9150

info@strangebrewfestpt.com

 

Strange Brewfest 2012

Downtown Port Townsend at the American Legion

 

 

 

January 27-29, 2012

 

The Eighth Annual Strange Brewfest is just around the corner. This iconic celebration of uniquely crafted brews from around the Northwest will be held in downtown Port Townsend at the American Legion Hall on January 27-29, 2012.

This three day event will include over 30 breweries, featuring as many as 60 different styles of beer. As usual, the majority of beers to be sampled will only be available at this festival, because each brewery is strongly encouraged to be as creative as possible in concept and development of their quaffs.

This year’s festival will be loaded with music and entertainment all weekend. All three days will boast a tremendous lineup of gifted, energized musicians. We will have a costume contest on Saturday night. And, as usual, we will hold an awards ceremony on Sunday, with awards being given to the favorite breweries of the festival as voted on by you, the festival goer.

Enjoy delicious food outside from a variety of local vendors, while witnessing some of the zany antics this festival is known for.

This event is 21 and over and cash only.

To purchase tickets in advance, and to get all of the details for this one of a kind event, please visit www.strangebrewfestpt.com or ‘like’ us on facebook at Strange Brewfest 2012.

Contact us at info@strangebrewfestpt.com

A few months ago, we told you that local distributor, Orcas Distributing, was bringing Vancouver’s Central City Brewing to Seattle. Since then, it’s been Red Racer IPA pandemonium. Orcas’ delivery of those delicious little green cans got me giddy.

Now, Orcas is digging deeper into Canada’s rich brewing culture. Next up for Seattle is McAuslan Brewing, out of Quebec. I have the pleasure of sipping on some of their Oatmeal Stout during each of my visits to New York each year. It’s pretty incredible and I don’t doubt it will become one of the most sought after stouts in the Seattle market.

More importantly, they will be bringing McAuslan’s other iconic ales, the Vintage Barleywine and Pumpkin Ale. Drooling.

Here are some notes from the distributor about where and when you can get your hands on these amazing beers:

On October 30th, come try new beers from Quebec, Canada brewery, McAuslan Brewing at Bottleworks from 4-8pm! This is the first time that these world class beers are available in WA state.

Here are the beers that will be available:

St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

This is one of the highest rated stouts in the entire world… ever! St-Ambroise Oatmeal stout proves that you don’t need hype, barrel aging, 13%abv, vanilla beans, or scarcity to create a world class stout. Flavors of bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and toffee mesh with a deliciously smooth and creamy feel that is perfect for a rainy or cold night!

This will be available in bottles and draft at a few select locations around Seattle. Ask your favorite bottleshop or craft beer bar to get this stellar beer that is a must for any fan dark beers!

St-Ambroise Vintage Barleywine Ale 2010

This barleywine will also redefine what you always thought of Canadian beers. Smooth and amazing malt characteristics back a 10% abv barleywine style ale that is also incredibly highly rated on ratebeer (99!).

This bottle comes in a sealed sleave that prevents light from hitting the bottle which allows for cellaring for years. Each year McAuslan releases a different beer to celebrate their anniversary. Only the brewers know what the 2011 vintage beer will be but the 2010 is a phenomenal beer that is so far from Labatt, Molson or Kokanee that you’ll convince even the most skeptical beer enthusiast that Canada isn’t messing around with their craft beer!

St-Ambroise Citrouille Spiced Pumpkin Ale

If you haven’t realized this already, Seattle has gone pumpkin-crazy! Elysian’s beers flew off the shelf, Dogfish Head’s Punk’n is all but gone, and the great pumpkin festival was packed out this year with local pumpkin-fiends. McAuslan’s pumpkin ale will help meet the demand for not-overly-spiced pumpkin flavored ales for a short time as only 12 cases will be making their way to Seattle this year. Try it for yourself before it disappears until next year!

On Sunday, the 30th, Bottleworks will have all three beers available in bottles and for only $1 you can try the Oatmeal Stout on draft and Vintage Barleywine. Then, I can prove to you that McAuslan really is one of the best breweries in the world as well as the oldest craft brewery in Canada!

Urban Family should be open in the coming weeks!

Seattle is booming with breweries. Its become a task to keep up with them all. Seriously, I had to refer back to BeerMapping.com to make sure I was counting them correctly, there are just that many. Well, prepare for another one: Urban Family Brewing Co.

I have a little bit of extra excitement for Urban Family, because one of the owners was a fellow student at the almost unknown College of Wooster (Ohio). Wooster spewed out two of your writers here at BeerBlotter.com, along with David Powell, one of two owners at Urban Family. David and his business partners, Tim Czarnetzki and Sean Bowman, have been planning on brewery for some time. I have been hearing murmurings for about a year – but nothing tangible popped up.

This week, I learned that Urban Family had secured space on Ballard Avenue and were well on their way through the space build out. Wow. Ballard Avenue. And I’m not talking far off the beaten path, but right smack dab in the middle of Ballard Avenue excitement at 5329 Ballard Ave. NW. Pretty amazing.

Each of the men behind Urban Family are east coasters and appear to add something to the mix. Tim and David are experienced home brewers and Sean is running their media – and attractive media it is. Their website has been live for some time, and beckons a visit. According to the site, Urban Family will be serving a Pale Ale and Belgian Wit (nice call) to start out, though we are sure to see many more in the future.

Urban Family will be opening the doors very soon, so check out their Facebook page for frequent updates. Lately, they have been posting video and photos of the new location. Can’t wait to try the beer.