Beer Blotter

Fish comes to Everett

There’s always a lot going on in the beer world and we can’t cover all that we’d like to as extensively as we’d like to…so…here’s a brief spotlight on some things that we think are worth noting.

The Fish Tale Brew Pub Heads Northbound

Olympia, WA’s Fish Brewing Co. (Fish Tale Organic Ales, Leavenworth Biers, Spire Mountain Ciders, Reel Ales) obviously is quite prolific in their production and branding.  They have been pumping out some super solid brews as of late, especially under the Reel Ales brand.  10 Squared and Swordfish Double Cascadian Dark Ale are both fantastic and the latest to join the troop, Starfish Imperial Red Ale, is possibly the best Imperial Red I’ve ever had.

Those who have spent some time in our state’s capital know that the Fish Tale Brew Pub is the oldest brew pub in the city and a great place to sample Fish’s many wares.  This past Friday, August 5th, was the “soft opening” of Fish’s newest brew pub in Everett, WA.  This is great news for the northenders because ever since Alligator Soul shut down the options in Everett have been highly limited.

Pic courtest of www.foodgps.com

Tomme Arthur, owner and head brewer of Lost Abbey/Port Brewing in SoCal is someone I respect greatly and admire for his creativity and quality craft. Tonight, at Hopvine, Tomme will be there to enjoy some brews and answer questions.

To entice you further, I have had two very memorable beer experiences with Tomme and/or Port Brewing/ Lost Abbey.

Take one: Seattle Beer Week 2010- The Tomme Arthur Experience. A 5 course dinner at Brouwers Cafe paired with 15 Port Brewing/Lost Abbey beers.

There were the farmhouse ales, the raisin beers, the IPAs, the sours, the stouts….this man does it all. The food was amazing and the beers knocked it out of the park. Tomme joined the group, introduced the beers and took time to answer questions before, during and after the dinner.

My last epic beer journey before I embarked on this 9 month/life long journey of motherhood was in Southern California. Lost Abbey/Port Brewing was my number one stop on this 48 hour trip. A modest taproom embodied that laid back feel of the west coast.

Mongo Double IPA, Santa’s Little Helper and a sneak peak of the next round of Red Poppy all blew my mind, cured my hangover and put a smile on my face.

So head to Hopvine rom 5-7PM today, May 23rd, drink one of these amazing beers and pick Tomme’s brain. You wont regret it!

Tonight, Friday April 15th, Seattle’s greatest craft beer Mecca, Brouwer’s Cafe will be celebrating its 6th Anniversary with a party featuring the newest release in the always impressive ‘Imagination Series’.

This year, Portland, OR’s Hopworks Urban Brewery (also know as HUB) has brewed the signature concoction.  As always with Brouwer’s Imagination Series beers, this beer was brewed in a way that is somewhat similar to a collaboration brew, with significant input coming from Brouwer’s owners and management on the recipe creation and often even in the brewing or bottling process.

The Matts (Vandenberghe and Bonney, owner and general manager respectively) are adamant about making these beers more than just commissioned ales.  For more information about the the goal behind the Imagination Series beers I suggest you take a gander at this interview filmed by the New Brew Thursday crew during this years Hard Liver Fest.

These releases are typically not available through any retailers other than Brouwer’s and Bottleworks (same owners as Brouwer’s), so get it while you can.

For this 6th anniversary, HUB and Brouwer’s created an Imperial Oatmeal Stout.  The keg will be tapped at 6pm and there will be a toast at 7pm.  You can expect to see several other HUB beers on draft this evening as well.  Brewery representatives will be in attendance to help with the festivities and answer your questions.

If we are really lucky we may find previous year’s Imagination brews available, as well as recent Bottleworks Anniversary beers which are created in an almost identical fashion (in collaboration with the brewers that is).  This year’s Bottleworks XII Anniversary release was an “imperial sour wit ale brewed with spices and aged in wine barrels with raspberries” at Placentia, CA’s The Bruery.  It is absolutely fantastic and a must purchase if available.

I had a little bit of a hard time finding information online about previous Brouwer’s Imagination Series beers but I know for sure that the following  exist, or at least did at one point:

2008 – Port Brewing/Lost Abbey Saison with Brett

2009 – Port Brewing/Lost Abbey Ale brewed with honey, raisins and rosemary and partially aged in bourbon and wine barrels.

starting your day right - lots of cold water & Alpine's Bourbon Barrel Barleywine & Chez Monmee Kreik

We had a hectic weekend, bouncing from wondrous beer excursion to the next. San Diego had its way with us. We will need some recovery time to get over having to leave that beautiful place.

But quickly, I wanted to check in and thank those of you that followed us during our excursions, via Facebook and Twitter. I realize that the updates trickled off by Sunday. That’s for good reason, as our energy had faded.

San Diego Beer Week was a smashing success, according to most of the bartenders, brewers and owners that we spoke with during our trip. But, I’m fairly sure the 10 day event wore them thin, and they were pleased to see it end.

We met some pretty amazing people, including Marin Brewing’s Arnie Johnson, Allagash Brewing’s Rob Todd, and the wonderful bar staff duo of Steph and Bob at Alpine Beer Co. During the next week, we hope to discuss more about where and what to do next time you visit San Diego.

For now, my favorites from our visit:

Coolest Place to Have a Pint –  Hamilton’s Tavern – Awesome atmosphere, excellent grub and just an amazingly cool place.

Best Staff to Cure a Hangover -  Alpine Beer Co. Brewpub – Steph and Bob helped us out of our slumber, thanks to amazing sour beer, the best IPAs and some smoked chicken wings.

Best Bar Experience –  Blind Lady Alehouse – Serving flights via amazing bartenders will hook you everytime.

The Full Day –  Stone World Bistro – The first place I have visited (since Water Street – RIP) where I could spend 12 hours. Not the hippest place, but a world of its own.

Best Brewery to Visit –  Port Brewing/Lost Abbey – No food, little culture – all brewing. Check out the barrel room and die.

Best Place to Eat (and drink beer) –  Small Bar – Something called Pork Desayuno (eh?) rocked my world.

Stay tuned for more on San Diego Beer Week 2010.

The label that drove the debate.

Pagans, Witches, Art and Beer are all topics that are creating the controversy surrounding Lost Abbey’s label for their Witches Wit bottle.  This label, established in 2008, depicts  a witch being burned at the stake. Now, its creating quite a stir.

In many countries, many years ago, women who were accused of practicing witchcraft were exiled from society, tortured and in many cases, ultimately killed. So keep in mind when reading this that the label is historically accurate.

Now, for the record, I am staying out of it. This is an intriguing topic with some heated discussions surrounding it. People think this image is offensive to the pagan community and to history past. Lost Abbey views it as original artwork, something they take great pride in, like their beer. Lost Abbey/Port Brewing is one of my personal favorites. I respect the brand and the beer.

But I’ll let you decide by giving you snapshots from the NY Times article, comments by angry people and Lost Abbey’s explanation.

First of all, the meaning behind the label. Head brewer and owner, Tomme Arthur has always done an amazing job with his Lost Abbey brand, creating a story behind each beer. The artwork on the labels are the means by which he tells these stories. The back of the bottle reads:

Whether you’re a wonder healer, a caller of spirits or a lover of black magic, they will find you. And on that day, they will boil your blood, singe your skin and make a point to burn your soul to the ground. From that lonely stake, you’ll be left to contemplate your life of spell casting, obscure texts and a world operated between the shadows of night and day.

Convicted of a dark art, the crowd will gather to watch as they raze your earthen existence. An intolerable pain is the cross you’ll bear that day as you are removed from this righteous world. No one will summon the courage to save you in fear of their life. It sucks. But such is the life of a witch. In honor of your fleeting existence, we brewed Witch’s Wit. A light and refreshing wheat beer, it’s exactly the sort of thing you might expect to find being passed around the center of town on witch burning day. Say hello to the Prince of Darkness for us.

The NY Times article simply states the facts and presents quotes from an outspoken member of the pagan and wiccan communities, a Ms. Noble:

Ms. Noble went home and wrote to her e-mail list. “Can we stop this brewer from their hate imagery?” read the subject line, in all capitals.

“Can you imagine them showing a black person being lynched or a Jewish person going to the oven?” she wrote. “Such images are simply not tolerated in our society anymore (thank the Goddess) and this one should not be, either.”

Immediately, friends and followers of Ms. Noble began sending complaints to the brewery.

In response, Lost Abbey posted a lengthy statement on their website. Unfortunately for the past 24 hours, I have not been able to access their website, so I will do my best to summarize. Essentially, Lost Abbey stated that they did not mean to offend anyone and that the label is original artwork depicting a story. This imagery has been used in artworks around the world for centuries.

The brewery stated that they will be reviewing the label and request to make a change during their November meeting. However, its reported that a decision has already been made to change the image. At the end of this long response, the writer opened the forum for discussion on the subject. I thought this was a nice touch.

The subsequent comments consisted of statements ranging from: “Lost Abbey is great. Tomme Arthur, keep doing what your doing” to “I didn’t find the imagery particularly offensive, but the description on the bottle- specifically, Say Hello to the Prince of Darkness for us very demeaning”. Some were outraged while others backed the brewery’s right to be creative with their labels.

Whats your stance?

Leave a comment or email me at jess@beerblotter.com

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!