Beer Blotter

Elysian Raconteur. Beer for the wise-cracking gentleman in all of us.

***Seattle Beer Week is a 10 day triumph through beer in the City of Seattle.  We published a SBW Bible last week. Check it out here – and get ready for the grog to flow.***

Well, here is the synopsis for Beer Blotter. 1 pregnant lady, 1 sick guy and 1 annoyed guy who wishes the others were not pregnant and sick. Luckily, Timperial is a nice guy.

In any event, our condition has not kept us away from everything. We have had a nice chance to get out and see the showings of many a wonderful brewery. Yes sir, SBW is in full flux.

The Before

So far, Back in Black takes the cake. As if you would ever be surprised that a festival showcasing over 60 tarry, chocolaty, delicious stouts would have caught our hearts. Brouwers Cafe’s Back in Black came out firing this year with Green Flash’s Silva Stout. That beer went way too fast, indicating that the beer public agree with my selection of this beer as #1. Luckily for me, I have a bottle down in my cellar from San Diego Beer Week. If you can find it, buy it in bulk. Its incredible.

Other than that, the others of note were Avery Mephistopheles, Hair of the Dog Matt, HUB Brouwers 6th Anniversary Stout and Port Townsend. I find that every festival, Port Townsend shows up with a fury. Nice work.

We also found some time to sneak in to The Dray early enough to avoid the line for Alan Sprints’ magic. Hair of the Dog poured from 3 taps and one cask on that wonderful afternoon. The cask 2009 Cherry Fred was mind-boggling and the talk of the room. Unfortunately, it overshadowed Doggie Claws, which made a rare appearance. Great to see everyone come out to support Alan’s fine craft work.

Mind blowing.

Did anyone grab a bottle of Firestone Parabola? Hopefully, you made it to one of the many bottle shop appearances of David Walker, brewer/owner of Firestone Walker. Parabola went quickly and I am hoping for a better showing than last year’s release, which left much to be desired. Any immediate response on Parabola 2011? Let us know below.

Last but not least, I hauled my butt over to Elysian on Friday for the release of Elysian Raconteur. This beer was brewed in honor of good friend, Chris Cavanaugh, who passed away recently. The fine gentlemen of the Elysian Brewing Co. decided to honor Chris by replicating his favorite hometown ale, Yuengling Porter. I have to say, quite honestly, I love this beer. Brewed like traditional porters, this beer is lagered and has quite a bit of chocolate flavor. You will find much more taste in this brew, than in the Yuengling version.

The best part about Raconteur (besides the excellent tap handle) is that every glass you buy adds to the Chris Cavanaugh Memorial Fund. Please help out – all you have to do is drink a damn good beer.

The After

Keep the faith, do not falter in your commitments, and stay the course. There is so much left to love about SBW. Don’t forget to study the SBW Bible, published here at BeerBlotter.com.

Tonight truly begins the rush of excellent events. Do not miss out on Burgers n’ Beers Bash at Brouwers Cafe. This is the 3rd year for this event. 5 brewers, 5 beers each, and 5 designed burgers and fries. This year expect to see Skagit River,  Fremont Brewing, Sierra Nevada, Port Brewing/Lost Abbey and HUB. Last year, Tomme Arthus (Port) and Christian Ettinger (HUB) stole the show, in my opinion. So its great to see them back at it.  Follow this up with a trip to the Fremont Troll around 11 PM to sip some beers donated by New Belgium.

Cavy!!! Nice shot.

I am most excited about the New Belgium Blending Symposium being held on Wednesday at the Stumbling Monk. Slowly gaining ground to overcome long-time favorite, Uber Tavern, the Monk is the venue for one hell of an event. Read more about it over at Timperial’s previous post.

Before or after the Symposium, make sure to make it over to Elysian for this year’s Firkin Firkin throwdown. California and Oregon have already passed through (2009 and 2010, respectively) and its Colorado’s chance to take on Washington. Read more about this event here. Also, if you are still standing after these two events, be sure to go see Tomme Arthur over at the Dray.

Thursday brings Sour Beer Fest, which needs no introduction on this site. Friday brings Naked City’s Pro Am night, which gets amateur brewers like us, a little giddy.

Hope to see you all out!!! Long live Seattle Beer Week.

Cavy - back in the day.

***After I first got word of Chris Cavanaugh’s passing, I sent out notice to a few people that have moved on and fallen out of touch with Seattle and its happenings. I knew there were a few that would be deeply saddened by the news. Our great friend and one of my favorite beer drinking companions, Erin Toale, wanted to say a few words as a comment. But her tale was so good, I thought I’d post it separately. RIP Chris. You were loved.***

– Written By Erin Toale

In December of 2006, Timperial Stout and I visited the West Coast to explore a few cities we were considering moving to. Of course, at the top of our list of criteria for future homes was awesomeness of beer culture.  Beer Advocate guides in hand, we set off for Seattle, Portland and San Francisco.

We happened to be in Seattle during a freak blizzard, and after a few minutes of wandering around Fremont (freezing our asses off trying to find it) we stumbled into Brouwer’s warm embrace. We grabbed two seats at the bar and were immediately and warmly greeted by Chris. Since the place was mostly empty (because of the weather), and also because he was the world’s friendliest guy, we spent most of the night talking to him about beer, Pennsylvania (where all three of us grew up), Seattle, and life in general. When we left Brouwer’s later that evening, although it was the first night of a nearly 3-week trip, Tim and I agreed that Seattle was the city for us. Chris was my first Seattle friend, and the reason I decided to move there.

Even though 9 months passed between our initial meeting and the next time we saw him (at which point we were official Seattle residents) Chris greeted us with a hug and introduced us to the whole Brouwer’s crew. What followed were three great years of beer and friendship. Our first two apartments were intentionally within walking distance of Brouwer’s, and we became regulars there. Although I have since relocated, I will always have a place in my heart for the city and my favorite bartender.

Chris taught me a lot about beer but even more about being a good human being. Despite enormous hardships, he was overwhelmingly positive, humorous, and loving. I consider myself lucky to be one of the legions of beer nerds who considered Chris Cavanaugh not only a brew-mentor, but a friend.

Chris, to say you will be missed is a vast understatement. You were one of the kindest hearts I have ever known. Although you were taken from us all too soon, I am glad you are no longer in pain.

A great man.

I learned, this morning, that our friend Chris Cavanaugh has passed away. Chris fought many hard-willed battles with cancer over the past 3 years. He was an amazing guy and friend to beer lovers everywhere.

We last mentioned Chris in an article urging his selection as Washington’s Best Bartender for the Northwest Brewing News Awards. Chris was my favorite bartender in all of Seattle.  In a place where we often deal with annoyed, angered and cocky bartenders, Chris was a breath of fresh air. He was a knowledgeable guy, but most importantly he was kind and friendly. I never met a person who didn’t immediately love him.

Chris had his first bout with cancer a few years back. Brouwers Cafe, his employer when he got sick, helped him raise funds with a head-shaving event where supporters paid money to get their head shaved. Our own Timperial Stout was one of the many who went bald with Chris as he went through some tough treatment. He beat it into remission and fought it off for the past few years.

We will all greatly miss Chris. He became a friend to everyone who spent a night drinking a beer with him. You will be missed.

I am attempting to find out if there is a way to make donations. I will update this post if I learn anything. But please keep Chris’ family and massive amount of friends in your thoughts.

The Man, the myth. Chris Cavanaugh (Photo: ElysianBrewing.com

The Northwest Brewing News has rolled out its annual Reader’s Choice Poll – its time to vote. The Brewing News is a national brewing publication, severed into seven regional publications. Our good friend Geoff Kaiser writes for the Northwest edition, when he’s not manning the ship at Seattle Beer News.

Every year, the Brewing News holds a poll asking its readers to select the very best in the Northwest. Categories for best brewery, brewpub, bar, beer store, home brew shop and perhaps the most heated category – best bartender – are divided state by state. You may vote on the best Northwest beer for each style, as well.

When going through this poll, we noticed that we hit a few stumbling blocks. How do you pick between Hair of the Dog & Cascade Brewing? Is Uber Tavern a better place to grab a beer than The Dray? What the heck is down in Northern California? Don’t be ashamed to have to Rate Beer yourself a group of candidates, as long as you have actually experienced the pub, brewery or beer you intend to choose. But, if you are stuck – let us recommend a few:

Best Imperial IPA

Even with heavyweights like Russian River, Hopworks, Walking Man and Midnight Sun in the mix, and with Washington rising stars Boundary Bay and Port Townsend making their own cases – there can still be only one choice for us. Black Raven’s Wisdom Seeker licked the competition at Brouwers Hopfest. We have no reservations about this choice.

Best Strong Ale

The Northwest has always somewhat lacked in the big beer categories. But, there is no doubt that one strong ale has dominated the Northwest for many year – Hair of the Dog’s Fred. Alan Sprints has been making this beer for ages. If you have a vintage bottle laying around, you know what makes this complex ale so special. Vote with confidence.

Best Sour Beer

For years, I would probably have said that Russian River had this category killed with Consecration. But after recently tasting Cascade Brewing’s Noyeaux, I have reservations. Noyeaux was recently described in a post by our very own Timperial Stout. Check this one out before you mark down one of Russian River’s excellent choices.

Best NorCal Brewpub

We pushed Russian River out of the competition above, but here they take the cake. Backed by unprecedented selection and incredible beer food – there is no better place to grab a collection of beer and a delicious meal.

Best Washington Brewery

Some would say Boundary Bay has the history and fanfare to deserve this award. Some would say that Black Raven is the young gun that should take the title. We don’t disagree, but lets consider a 3rd choice – Snipes Mountain Brewing? You might think we are crazy but the Sunnyside, Washington brewer has been turning heads. Just about everything that brewer Chris Miller has put out of late, has shocked and awed. Food for thought.

Best Washington Bartender

Wow, we have some great bartenders up here in Seattle. We have a ton of love for Rachel up at Naked City, Natasha at The Dray and certainly Amy, down at Collins Pub. These three wonderful ladies have excellent beer IQs and care about their patrons. This gives them serious consideration.

But, to find someone who can advise, entertain, and take excellent care of you, all without being a giant asshole – priceless. Chris Cavanaugh is that guy. Chris can be found at three, count them, three amazing beer spots in Seattle. Once a fixture at Brouwers Cafe, Chris had to leave to tackle cancer. Once he returned to the bar, Chris grabbed spots at Elysian Brewing (Capitol Hill), The Stumbling Monk, and time behind the bar at Brouwers Cafe. There is one reason that he is at these three places – everyone loves him! Chris will give you great attention, wonderful advice, and excellent entertainment. Not once have we ever heard one person dislike him. Vote for this man.

So take a stab at the poll and let your voice be heard! You can access the poll by following this link. Got any other suggestions for choices, please post them in the comments below.