Beer Blotter

Thirsty for Belgians?

If you are following me on Twitter (@timperialstout), I’m sure that you have noticed that I have been blowing up your timeline with beer check-ins via Untappd.  Sorry about that.  Hopefully, you’re just a little jealous that I get to have an entire week of unencumbered liver destruction at the hands of many Eastern and Southern beers that I either very rarely get to drink or have never had before.  Needless to say, I’m having a blast!

I’m pretty sure that I could be happy living in Asheville solely thanks to two establishments.  First, Thirsty Monk.  Thirsty Monk is one of the best beer bars I have ever been to.  The owner actually lived in Seattle for a while and is a huge fan of The Stumbling Monk in Cap Hill, as well as Brouwer’s and Hale’s Ales.  The Thirsty fella is much larger than the Stumbling one, and I’d venture to say that it’s more true to form in its Belgian authenticity.  The layout and minimal food offerings (cheese, soft pretzels, humus plate) bring much reminiscing to my time in the true home of the Belgian Beer Bar Experience.  Though, the top floor is home to all American beer taps, many of which are local.  It’s the bottom floor that is the real lair of the monk.  All taps in the depths are of Belgian style, though not all are imports.  During my visit there were several Belgian styles on tap from American brewers such as The Bruery, North Coast and Allagash.

The best part about Thirsty Monk, other than the decor and great taplist, is that they offer taster trays (four samples) and half pints.  No beer is excluded.  This is very similar awesomeness to Uber Tavern’s relatively new service upgrade in allowing tasters of any beer on tap.  When you order a taster tray at TM you are also given a tasting notes card and a pencil so that you can, of course, write tasting notes and have something to take home with you so that you can remember what you had and if you enjoyed it.  This is especially helpful for me in my current situation…drinking beers that I very rarely if ever have, that is.

That brings us to the second establishment that would make it easy for me to permanently reside in Asheville, Bruisin’ Ales.  Before I made it here I had stopped into a few local markets, wine shops and the other bottle shop in town, Hops & Vines.  No one seems to compare to Bruisin’ Ales in selection, and really, that’s what you want in a bottle shop.  BA has an exceptional selection of locals, regionals and Belgians (lots and lots of Belgians).  They also have a great collection of glassware available and sell t-shirts with their logo on them.

The location is prime, right in the mix of it all downtown.  It’s actually on the same road as Barley’s Taproom and Mellow Mushroom, two great beer bars.  I found the staff to be very kind and knowledgeable.  As is always the case when I’m in a new place with a huge collection of beers that are unavailable in Seattle, I was wildly overwhelmed.  I decided that I should hold off on purchasing the final bounty of bottles that I will smuggle back to Seattle until later in the trip when I have a better idea of what’s good, rare, etc.  I grabbed a few bottles to take back to the dwelling for late night options.  These included Terrapin So Fresh & So Green fresh hop IPA, Terrapin Gamma Ray wheatwine, New Holland Blue Sunday Sour, Weyerbacher Riverva 2010 and Ska Nefarious Ten Pin imperial porter.  Good times.

We'll be out in Kitsap on a gorgeous Saturday - Will you?

Have you ever taken the Kitsap beer trip? We have – its worth the boat ride.

Kitsap now showcases Silver City Brewery, Hales Ales, 7 Seas Brewing, Hood Canal Brewery and newcomers Der Blokken Brewery, Valholl Brewing and Grove Street Brewing. Close by, Jefferson County is the home of one of our faves – Port Townsend Brewing.

Recent expansion brought Silver City a second location in Bremerton, Hales Ales across the Sound to Silverdale and upcomer Der Blokken to the Kitsap fold (Bremerton). Remember, Hales is fresh off a gold medal at this year’s GABF!

So, lets celebrate the Peninsula with the coming of the Fall – Octoberfest! This Saturday, September 25, 2010, the Kitsap Mall will host the Kitsap Octoberfest. The party is billed as an all day family affair, filled with the Peninsula’s greatest brewers. Check out the list of breweries (and wineries) that will be pouring on Saturday.

This event is a one dang good deal – free. You will need to purchase your beer pours, but the festival will give you a great chance to sample a multitude of great West Sound beers from some brewers that you typically do not get a chance to see. We are particularly excited to finally sample Der Blokken, Valholl, and Grove Street.

Head on out Saturday morning and grab some breakfast in Bainbridge before heading West to Silverdale for the festival. The beer begins pouring bright and early at 11 AM and the weather is billed at 70 and Sunny. No better weather to be outside, drinking local beer and eating bratwurst.

Hope to see you all there!

Hales Ales is voting for I-1100?

I just read an excellent article put together by Seattle Times writer Melissa Allison. The article presents a duel look at the positions of supporters and opponents of Initiative 1100. Our blog has discussed I-1100 in the past, and if you still don’t know what it is, read these posts for more on the issue.

In any event, the article takes you on a whirlwind tour of the Initiative, what it seeks out to do, and who is on each side. For instance, did you know that Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors have collectively donated at least $2 Million to the opposition party? Neither did we.

But, what most stuck out about the article was the input of Mike Hale, owner of 2010 GABF gold medal winner, Hales Ales in Seattle, WA. Mike gave a surprising point of view (from the article):

Mike Hale, of Hale’s Ales, a brewery between Fremont and Ballard, figures he would do well in an open market, and said the laws that I-1100 would nix are easily circumvented now.

 

“There are many loopholes and exceptions and shenanigans,” said Hale, who has brewed for 27 years and served on a state task force in 2006 with other industry representatives and the Liquor Control Board.

Hale’s Ales and others create products for Costco and other retailers that no one else buys — for example, beer on pallets without cardboard separations — and sell them at prices that might as well be volume discounts.

Some breweries pay consulting firms to place their beer at eye level in grocery stores, a service cheap or free to the grocers and therefore a gift in exchange for shelf space from breweries, Hale said.

“No one could enforce these silly laws,” he said. But the result is “supporting the middlemen culture [distributors], who have a guaranteed sweet spot.”

I am not sure how this fits into the big picture. Hales Ales is one of the few Washington brewers who bottles and has been selling in volume for some time. That might have an impact on their point of view.

The Guild‘s Heather McClung (Schooner Exact Brewing) made an appearance, resonating the Guild‘s position that I-1100 makes it more difficult for local brewers to sustain pricing and find shelf and bar space. Beer consumers can feel for the Guild’s position, as it certainly would be a blind-side change for brewers in Washington state.

But, its apparent that the Guild is ready for some change. Heather advised that the Guild would like to see slow and steady deregulation – as opposed to the sudden, complete deregulation in place under 1100.

In the end, the issue might come down to trusting Washington consumers to dictate the market. I think that the statement made by Ashley Bach, spokesman for the “Yes to 1100″ campaign resonates much of the sentiment of beer consumers:

“Wineries and breweries are worried about the unknown, but the wine and beer industries are very well established in Washington and consumers are among the most sophisticated in the country and will seek out good products no matter who’s selling liquor in Washington state”

Regardless of where you lean, the article presents a good look at the pluses and minuses. This Initiative might come down to the final week of campaigning. For now, its a toss up for most consumers.

The results are in. Washington takes 7 medals.

Well, the results are in. GABF 2010 is officially over and the results have been tabulated. Thanks, Pizza Port, for not taking all of the medals.

While Washington put up a reasonable fight, the show was stolen by several Southern California brewers, who swallowed up all of the best brewpub awards this year at the GABF.

Here is what we see.

Washington shows up.

Washington appears to have turned in a respectable finish, earning a total of 7 medals (well, if you count Pyramid). Out of the total 237 Medals, Washington will take 1/34th of the medals. But, in a year where the event seems to have been dominated by San Diego brewers, its an ok finish.

Washington award winners include the following:

Hales Ales – Kolsch Ale  – Gold Medal

Chuckanut Brewing – Vienna Lager – Gold Medal

RAM Tacoma – Total Disorder Porter – Gold Medal

Elysian Brewing – Dark O The Moon – Silver Medal

Pyramid Brewing – Apricot Ale – Silver Medal

Boundary Bay Imperial Oatmeal Stout – Bronze Medal

Chuckanut Brewing – Pilsner – Bronze Medal

San Diego is on fire.

This was the year for So. Cal. San Diego brewers, Port Brewing/Lost Abbey/Pizza Port, Ballast Point, Karl Strauss and Stone Brewing, took home a total of 14 medals. Los Angeles brewpub, TAPS, took home three medals, as well.

Pizza Port Carlsbad is the big winner with a total of 6 medals (almost matching Washington state). The brewpub is one of several brewpub locations for the retail line of Port Brewing/Lost Abbey. The Carlsbad location is headed by brewer Jeff Bagby, who took home the Best Large Brewpub of the Year, for the second straight year.

Pizza Port’s San Clemente pub took home the Small Brewpub of the Year, while also collecting the Gold Medals in the two most hotly-contested categories – American-Style IPA and Imperial IPA. We cannot wait to get a taste of these ales during San Diego Beer Week.

One other note: Fathead’s Brewery took home the Silver Medal in the American-Style IPA category. This is the same IPA that floored us during a recent trip to the Cleveland brewer’s pub. Try to get this if you ever visit.

Check out the complete list of winners by following this link. Start planning your trip for next year’s September event!

The entrance.

Week 25 of 52

The Pub at Third Place

6504 20th Ave NE

Seattle, WA 98115

Rank: 4.5/5

Type of Establishment: Pub

Visit: A lazy, summertime, Sunday evening called for a cold beer at a new bar.  We found the perfect one for ultimate relaxation.

BEERS ON TAP —>

North Coast Old Rasputin
Hale’s Cream Ale
Guiness
Mac & Jack’s Amber
Rogue Dead Guy
Three Skulls Blood Orange Wit
Odin Ruby
Maritime Pacific Hefe
Stella Artois
Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar
Georgetown Manny’s Pale Ale
Diamond Knot IPA
Boundary Bay IPA
Hacker Pschorr Munich
Diamond Knot Possession Porter
Chuckanut Pilsner
Ninkasi Tricerahops

The choices.

BOTTLED/CANNED BEER:

None

FOOD OPTIONS:

It’s all explained, in detail, below.  Read on.

BAR OPINION:

Just over five and a half miles north of the Beer Blotter home base, in the beautiful neighborhood of Ravenna, lies a wood-clad fantasy land that we have never before visited. On this day, we changed that.

So here’s the deal – the building is owned by a guy.  The guy owns Third Place Books.  The bar beneath Third Place Books is called The Pub at Third Place.  The Pub at Third Place is owned by a different guy.  The restaurant attached to Third Place Books is called Vios Cafe.  Vios Cafe is owned by the same guy as The Pub at Third Place.  Vios is a Greek restaurant.  You can order food from Vios while at Vios.  You can order food from Vios while at The Pub at Third Place.  There is a small “library” in The Pub at Third Place that has books.  Third Place Books has books.  Third Place Books has really nice wood shelves.  Vios has really nice wood furniture.  The Pub at Third Place has really nice wood EVERYTHING!  Do you follow?

This place is amazing!  This place is beautiful and majestic!  This place defines comfort!  This place epitomizes the Northwest!  This place may have once existed in The Shire!

Can you tell I liked it?  With this inaugural visit, I immediately placed it in my top 10 bars in Seattle.  I can’t believe I didn’t visit this place ages ago!

The moment I approached the door (the freaking door!) I knew I loved it.  Look at the picture above and tell me that’s not inviting.  It looks like it should be the entrance to a grand tree house mansion of some kind.  Once I opened the door and stepped in…it was all over.  My mouth dropped and all of my senses tingled.  I felt like a visitor in a Hobbit Hole.  So much elegant wood, from floor to ceiling, back to front, top to bottom.

I headed straight for the bar and pulled up a very comfortable, leather-clad stool with a back.  I was immediately greeted by the bartender and I ordered myself a Boundary Bay IPA.  Honestly, I was surprised that the beer wasn’t delivered in a wooden mug.  I soon came to realize that the bartender was the only one working the entire establishment, which wasn’t dead by any means.  He was on top of his game, yet incredibly relaxed…tis the way of The P@TP.

Just behind me, a large bookshelf full of classics, reference books, atlases, board games; all sorts of goodies to keep the lonely drinkers occupied.  Obviously, this element plays allusion to the bookstore just above.  On the top of the bookshelf sits the one and only item in the bar that doesn’t belong: a big screen T.V. showing a baseball game.  Luckily the sound was off, and since my back was facing it, I was able to keep its intrusion in the very back of my mind.  In place of the play-by-play – the soothing tunes of Blonde Redhead – pretty much perfect for the mood of the place.

Yeah, it's real.

Most of the gorgeous wooden tables that fill the “dining” area between the bar and the front door are designed for anywhere between 2 to 6 people, with the exception of 2 epic banquet tables.  One in the very front as you enter (slightly fenced off from the rest of the room) and one in the back, behind the bar toward the bathrooms (also a bit removed from the main area).  These tables are long and thin and seem to be a single piece of wood cut from one massive, gnarled tree.  The one in the front seems to seat 8 and the one in the back, 12.  My goal is to one day visit P@TP with a large group and eat at one of these tables.  Quite possibly I’d nibble on some Lembas bread.

Speaking of food, I didn’t partake in the Mediterranean delights offered via Vios, but the menu looked good enough to lure me back in the near future.  Babaganoush anyone?

Ultimately, words can’t describe the serenity of this place.  To be wrapped up in wood like that, well, it’s something you have to experience for yourself.  Head to Ravenna, buy a book upstairs, take it down to the bar, grab a local cold one and sip while you read in a wood cabin forged from the mighty forests of the Pacific Northwest.