Beer Blotter: Seattle based. World focused.

No Brouwers? Something went wrong there.

Washington Beer Blog reminded me that Draft Magazine put out their annual 100 Best Beer Bars this week. Thanks for the reminder, Kendall. Now let me go spend two unproductive hours ogling it!

Draft Magazine is a nationally published magazine focused beer culture. They have been around since 2006, sometimes featuring celebrities on their covers. All in all, its not the nerds guide to beer. Its more of a sassy celebration of all things barley pop.

Don’t let my description drive you away. Draft Magazine is good. In fact, all 3 of the Beer Blotter writers are subscribers. We enjoy the fact that Draft presents a global expose on happenings in the beer world. Its really a good way to locate beer venues from around the world.

Just this week, Draft released its annual Top 100 beer bars list. This list is sorted geographically into 4 regions. I was afraid that they were attempting to force options for each of these regions, but it appears that the selections are not equally divided (for example, the Northeast has many more than the South).  So, it appears that the choices are without prejudice.

In scouring the list, I was very pleased to see places like Avenue Pub (New Orleans), Apex (Portland), Blind Lady Alehouse (San Diego) and our very own Monk’s hole – The Stumbling Monk (Seattle).

But, one cannot peruse the list without finding their own list of absentees. While less deserving pubs made it (i.e. Cooter Browns (New Orleans), Green Dragon (Portland), McNulty’s Bier Markt (Cleveland)), some of the nation’s most celebrated beer venues are missing.

While that absentee list will differ for each of us, here are my Top 5 Absentees:

1. Brouwers Cafe (Seattle) –  They must have pissed off a Draft Magazine writer. Many of us know that Brouwers can sometimes rub the wrong way (and its been stated by commenters here on the site), but there is no better selection of ale in the NW. Brouwers routinely procures 60 taps of rare beer, one of the best bottle lists in the country and an unprecedented number of unmatched in-house beer festivals (See Sour Fest, Hopfest, Big Wood, and Hard Liver). Again, they must have pissed someone off.

 

2. Bangers & Lace (Chicago) – This might simply be too early for Draft to call this place a winner. But, Bangers & Lace has quickly ascended to the top of the Chicago beer world. Presenting an unmatched selection of rare beer, along with phenomenal food, B&L deserves a spot. Guest writer For Whom the Bell Toales agrees that this is the #1 beer venue in Chi-town.

 

3. Small Bar (San Diego) – Ok Ok, they got it mostly right. Hamilton’s Tavern, Blind Lady Alehouse, and O’Brien’s Pub should all be on the list. But, Small Bar gives that Top 3 a run for their money. Mixing a spectacular beer selection with epic food and spunky surroundings, I think it deserved a spot above many of the LA selections.

 

4. Brew Kettle (Strongsville, OH)  - Draft picked one of the many Cleveland suburb favorites – Buckeye Beer Engine. But, I think they got the wrong one. The Brew Kettle blends an incredible draft lineup (thank god for the connection with Founders), house made ales, and some spectactular bar grub. Get drunk enough? Go brew a batch in the back. Beyond that – its just a cool dark place to grab a beer.

 

5. New York’s Forgotten Trio – Ginger Man, Mug’s Alehouse and d.b.a. (NY, NY) – They picked a lot of NY spots. I can understand that its pretty tough to run into your editor’s office and say we picked the Top 100 – 20 of them are in NY. Its a tough job to pick between the excellent spots in NYC. In my mind, they got the top 3 on the list – Rattle N Hum, Blind Tiger and Spuyten Duyvil. Those three are iconic, and the three places that I spend the most time while in NY. But, the above three all deserve a shot at the list. The Ginger Man is just a few blocks from Rattle N Hum – many would say its the cooler bar. Mug’s is tucked away in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But unlike the uber-hipster crowd at Spuyten Duyvil, you will find comfort at this grog spot. d.b.a. is the lone East Village fave. d.b.a. has been pouring beer for a long time and has an excellent wide spread selection.

I will say, writing the Top 5 absentees was pretty tough. All in all they did a great job finding the appropriate bars. The Top 100 is a worthy list and you should take a glance.

What else is missing!?

A great shot of Holiday Ale 2009 (Photo: Matt J Wialter, Flikr)

Last week, a bombing attempt shut down Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland. Yep, its real. The best part though is that it could not lead to the surrender of Portland’s famed Holiday Ale Fest.

Holiday Ale Fest hit its 15th Anniversary this year with over 60 beers flowing from the taps. We didn’t get the opportunity to go, but from the comments we have read – we missed out. Next year.

Check out the Festival’s press release for more recounts of the famed weekend. Hoppy Holidays!

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Neither bomb threats nor Civil War kept crowds
away from this year’s Holiday Ale Festival

PORTLAND, Ore. – Dec. 9, 2010 – A thwarted bomb attempt at Pioneer Courthouse Square less than one week prior didn’t stop beer lovers from attending this year’s 15th annual Holiday Ale Festival.  A crowd of more than 17,000 gathered in Portland’s Living Room over five days to raise a mug to the big, bold craft beers of winter.  The Northwest’s most prestigious winter beer festival took place Dec. 1 through 5 and featured more than 60 winter craft beers during its five-day run.

The beers served were either made or blended specifically for the event or were vintage offerings not commonly served in the region.  In some cases, the kegs tapped were the last known kegs available of a particular beer.

New features to this year’s festival were well-received, including the addition of a printed map of the five different bars on the required festival tasting mug; a real-time mobile interface that listed the beers, their location on-site and their descriptions (m.holidayale.com); and a VIP ticket, which cost $45 in advance and allowed users to bypass long lines at both the entrance and the bars.

The Belgian Beer and Brunch, an auxiliary event held on the Sunday of the festival, sold out, with more than 120 people sampling prestigious beers and noshing on pastries, meats and cheeses in an area overlooking the main festival tents.

The People’s Choice winner, as determined by the beer that sold the most kegs, was Moore Holiday Ale.  A Collaborator beer (Collaborator is a project where homebrewers submit recipes and the selected beer is brewed commercially by Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.), the Imperial Bohemian Pilsner was made with Saaz hops and smooth Pilsner malts that refreshed the palate.

Hopworks Urban Brewery Kentucky Christmas came in second, while four breweries tied for third: Deschutes Streaking the Quad, Lompoc Franc’ly Brewdolph, Stone Smoked Porter and Ninkasi Unconventionale.

Two fundraisers for the Children’s Cancer Association (CCA) were deemed a success: the Crater Lake Soda Garden, which poured root beer for designated drivers and accepted tips for donation, and a coat and bag check that ran at capacity much of the time.  The festival matched the monies raised by both projects, bringing in $2,500 for the charity.  The CCA also held a raffle that raised an additional $2,000.

Festival attendees stayed warm and dry under a large clear-topped tent that covered the venue while allowing for views of the city lights.  Gas heaters created a cozy ambience under the boughs of the city’s Christmas tree. In addition to beer tasting, the Holiday Ale Festival also featured on-site food, event merchandise, organic cheeses, roasted nuts, mead sampling, and seasonal background music.

The 2011 Holiday Ale Festival will take place November 30 through December 4.  For more information, visit www.holidayale.com or call 503-252-9899.

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Photo Credits: Matt J Wialter on Flikr

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Lompoc is seriously underrated.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or choose to not partake in religious festivities- you can still drink damn good beer. This holiday season, New Old Lompoc is releasing 8 beers.

The Lompoc brewers have been as busy as elves preparing for the holiday season. This year, they are releasing eight different holiday beers – including two for Hanukkah. Come join Jerry, Dave, Bryan, Zach & Sam at the Lompoc Holiday Beers Release Party today – Tuesday, Nov. 30th – from 4 to 10 pm at the Lompoc Sidebar, located at 3901 N Williams Ave. next to Pix Patisserie.

This year’s offerings include Blitzen Golden Ale, Brewdolph Belgian Style Red, C-Son’s Greetings Imperial IPA , Holiday Cheer Porter, Jolly Bock German Style Bock, Old Tavern Rat Barley Wine, 8 Malty Nights Chocolate Rye, and Bourbon Barrel Aged 8 Malty Nights.

All beers will be on tap at all five Lompoc pubs (New Old Lompoc, Hedge House, Oaks Bottom, Fifth Quadrant and Sidebar) November 30. Two of the beers, C’son’s Greetings and Bourbon Barrel Aged 8 Malty Nights will also be available in 22 ounce bottles – great stocking stuffers!

Also, Lompoc will be pouring a special brew at the Holiday Ale Festival in Portland this Wednesday through Sunday.  If you go, try the Franc’ly Brewdolph, a Belgian style red ale brewed with the Belgian Ardennes yeast strain in October ’09 and aged in Cabernet Franc barrels for 13 months. It was then blended in a tank with the this year’s Brewdolph.  It has a malty and creamy body, a mild fruitiness, and a spicy, oak flavor.

What better gift than the gift of beer? None. Below is the list of beers being released:

Blitzen is a holiday golden ale brewed with figs, cinnamon and nutmeg.  It’s light bodied with fruity and spicy flavors and an aroma reminiscent of bread pudding (4.9% ABV).  Brewdolph Belgian style red ale features a malty and creamy body. Brewed with the Belgian Ardennes yeast strain, it boasts a mild fruitiness and a spicy clove character (7.7% ABV).

C-Son’s Greetings is the big brother to the brewery’s popular C-Note.   It features a rich caramel malty body with an endless developing hop presence from all seven of the “C” hops – Crystal, Cluster, Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, Columbus and Challenger (8% ABV).  Holiday Cheer is a robust vanilla porter that combines big chocolate flavor and a full body with mellow vanilla notes, compliments of whole vanilla beans in the conditioning tank (6.8% ABV).

Jolly Bock is a lager brewed with a generous amount of Munich malt to develop the deep amber color and rich malt flavor. The malty flavor is balanced with a spicy hop bitterness (7.3% ABV).  Old Tavern Rat is a dark amber colored barleywine that was aged for almost a year prior to its release.  The beer’s strong bitterness is balanced with the sweetness of caramel and toffee flavors (9.4% ABV).

Portland’s first Hanukkah seasonal, 8 Malty Nights is a Chocolate Rye that features a roasted chocolate flavor and a sweet finish. It is dark brown in color and lightly hopped with English style hops (6.5% ABV).  Bourbon Barrel Aged 8 Malty Nights was brewed for Hannukah 2009 and aged in bourbon barrels for nine months.  It features a roasted chocolate flavor with hints of bourbon and oak (6.5% ABV).

We’ll also be pouring a special brew at the Holiday Ale Festival this Wednesday through Sunday.  If you go, try our Franc’ly Brewdolph, a Belgian style red ale brewed with the Belgian Ardennes yeast strain in October ’09 and aged in Cabernet Franc barrels for 13 months.  It was then blended in a tank with the this year’s Brewdolph.  It has a malty and creamy body, a mild fruitiness, and a spicy, oak flavor.

Mug's Alehouse in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY

Oh Thanksgiving – I miss you already. Alas, there is one heck of a week ahead.

A first pouring of our 1st Anniversary beer met a quite amazing meal on Thursday. We followed that up with a journey out to Kitsap, stopping by Silver City Brewing, Der Blokken Brewery and 7 Seas Brewing, along the way. I have got to say that Kitsap is one heck of a trip. The beer gets better each time I visit.

After a day at Mt. Baker on Saturday, we got our first ever taste of the Beer Shrine – North Fork Brewery. Later this week, expect some write ups on some of these wonderful excursions.

Lets embark on a new week in beer:

Monday, November 29, 2010

21st Amendment Beer Dinner: New York, New York

6:00PM-9:00PM @ Spring Lounge

The first of these events features 21st Amendment’s Fireside Chat (in a can!), the newest winter seasonal by 21st Amendment Brewery of San Francisco, and is catered by Jeff Maslanka, head chef of Black Shack Burger in midtown and 67 Burger in Brooklyn. He’ll be serving up short ribs braised in Fireside Chat, along with some seasonal sides that will both highlight and be highlighted by the taste of the beer.

 

The food is complimentary, the beer is not. So bring your wallet and your appetite.

We’ll also be featuring these great brews by 21st Amendment on draught – Brew Free or Die IPA, Back in Black, and Hop Crisis

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Yeast Strains with Mikkeller: New York, New York

7:30PM-9:30PM @ Jimmy’s N0. 43

Join in the sampling of 6 different beers from Mikkeller‘s Yeast Series. This will only cost you $10 and these beers are not only delicious, but will provide insight into this innovative, international brewery.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Holiday Ale Festival: Portland, Oregon

2:00PM-10:00PM @ Pioneer Courthouse Square

Its that time of the year, so gear up for some Christmas beer drinking fun!

The 15th annual Holiday Ale Festival will begin on Wednesday, Dec. 1, and continue through Sunday, Dec. 5 at Pioneer Courthouse Square, located at 701 SW Sixth Ave at the intersection of SW Broadway and Yamhill Streets, immediately on the MAX Light Rail line.

Hours:
Wednesday 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Admission & Costs:
*FREE* re-admission into the Festival all 5 days with wristband and current year’s mug!

To enter and taste beers, the purchase of an initial tasting package is required. Advance tickets cost $20, or $25 at the door. This package includes a souvenir mug and 10 beer tickets.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Big Wood Barrel-Aged Beer Festival: Seattle, Washington

11:00 AM-Close @ Brouwers Cafe

You’ve read about it here on BeerBlotter.com. This is one of those “can’t miss” beer events that happen in Seattle. The initial tap list has already been handed down by the good folks at Brouwers Cafe. We are astonished at some of the iconic names, including a rare appearance by the elusive Russian River Deviation (a Bottleworks Anniversary beer from several years back).

The event begins at 11:00 AM and will continue through the weekend. If you are trying to sample the big guys (HOTD, Russian River, The Bruery, Lost Abbey), I would suggest getting there early on Thursday. See you there!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Founders Brewing Co. Sampler: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

4:00PM-6:00PM @ Bell’s Beverage

As you might already know, Founders is a Beer Blotter favorite. Although I do not know what beers are pouring- Founders will not disappoint!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Strong Ale Festival: San Diego, California

11:00AM-11:00PM @ Pizza Port Carlsbad

The 14th San Diego Strong Ale Festival at Pizza Port Carlsbad will be held Friday and Saturday, December 3rd and 4th. The festival will feature more than 75 beers all over 8% alcohol from all over the United States. Admission is $30 and includes 8 taster tickets each good for a 4 ounce pour. If you can’t make it today, Pizza Port always has stellar beers on tap!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Belgium to Brooklyn: Brooklyn, New York

11:00AM- 11:00PM @ Mugs Ale House

Oh my- this is epic and actually begins on Saturday, December 4th. 5th Annual Belgium 2 Brooklyn Mug’s Ale House Belgian Style Beer Festival: Saturday 12/4/10 & Sunday 12/5/10 from 11 AM onwards. No entrance fee, pay as you go. Over 40 Belgian Style Ales on draft + Mug’s Ale House usual enormous bottle selection.

Check out beeradvocate.com for a full tap list!  Highlights include, ‘t Smisje Speciaal 2009 10.5% ; Struise Tsjeeses 10% ; Mikkeller Santas Little Helper 10.9% and Dogfish Head Au Courant 2003 7% among so many more!

If you have an event you are going to or have an event you want us to post about, please email me at jess@beerblotter.com. Cheers!

Roman's Pub in Milwaukee, WI

My excuse this week. A little thing called San Diego Beer Week. So much more about that to come, on Alpine Brewing, Lost Abbey/Port Brewing, Stone Brewing Co., Allagash Night, Green Flash at Toronado and so much more. 

But now for your week in beer.

Skipping Monday. Sorry!! Re-coup day.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Smuttynose Rare Beer Night: Greenville, South Carolina

7:00PM-10:00PM @ Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria

Tonight, some rare Smuttynose beers will be on tap. The list includes:

-Rouge d’Shire (Short Batch #9)
-Vunderbar (Short Batch #11)
-Wheat Wine Ale // 2007
-S’Muttonator Doppelbock // 2008

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Dogfish head and Three Floyds Collab Release: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

8:00PM-10:00PM @ Roman’s Pub

Release of this super rare collaborative brew by Dogfish head and Three Floyds along with special tappings of DH Worldwide Stout ’09, DH Bitch’s Brew and bottle sampling so far. Poppaskull is described as an “Old School, German Brown Ale with Palo Santo Wood and Botanicals.”

Thursday, November 18, 2010

VictoryBrewing Night: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

8:00PM-10:00PM @ The Devil’s Den

Join us as we tap a selection of beers from Victory Brewing Company.

Victory people will be on hand pouring the following -

On Tap:

-Yakima Glory (Black IPA)
-Harvest Ale (Wet Hopped Pale Ale)
-Golden Monkey (Tripel)

On Cask:

-Storm King Stout (Russian Imperial Stout)

Friday, November 19, 2010

Dissedent Release Party: Portland, Oregon

5:00PM-12:00AM @ Deshutes Brewing Co.

Event details were too epic to reiterate.

For those of you who are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our 2010 The Dissident, wait no more! After almost 2 years in isolation our distinctive sour brown ale has finally been bottled. Our only wild yeast beer, brettanomyces and lactobacillus impart its characteristic sour taste. Lavished with whole western Washington cherries – pits and all – It’s our wildest, most extensively pampered beer.
Alcohol By Volume: 10.0%
International Bitterness Units: 25

We have very limited bottles available.

Our Bend and Portland Pubs will begin selling 22oz bottles of The Dissident after 11:00am on 11/19 and there will a 6 bottle limit per person. Check out the special dinner menu with 3 specialty food items paired with different sour brews including The Dissident, our Benderweisse, a sour cherry wheat and a sour cherry porter (Portland Pub sour brews may vary).

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Hair of the Dog’s 17th Anniversary Celebration: Portland, Oregon

10:00AM-8:00PM @ Hair of the Dog Brewing Co.

To celebrate 17 years of brewing, Alan Sprints, owner and head brewer of Hair of the Dog will be having a release party for Batch #2 Matt and the seasonal Doggie Claws. Check out our write up of this event here.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Alligator and Allagash Beer Dinner: Blue Island, Illinois

2:00PM-6:00PM @ Maple Tree Inn

In honor of this amazing brewery, Allagash and some delicious gator, I present a unique menu and a beer pairing not to be missed.

First course:
Maple Tree Inn’s famous “Swamp” Alligator Soup paired with Allagash White

Second course:
Fried Alligator Po’Boy with Cajun fries paired with Allagash Tripel

Third course:
Alligator & Andouille Sauce Piquante paired with Allagash Black

Tickets on sale now at the Maple Tree Inn — $35 in advance; $40 at the door (if tickets remain). Limited seating only!

If you go to an event, want me to post about an event or just want to tell me a beer related story, email me at jess@beerblotter.com. Cheers!