Brown-Bagging for Breakfast

It's 8:02 a.m., and the couple in front of me aboard the ferry from Bremerton just cracked open a pair of Miller High Lifes. OK, so, I guess it's not technically brown-bagging if you don't put it in a bag.

Happy Monday.

Topics: Beer

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Meet the New Beav, Same as the Old Beav...almost

Definitely bigger, but not necessarily better, the new Beveridge Place is open, as I'm sure their fans are well aware and already have partaken. The game room is bigger. There's an outdoor deck looking at what will be a new park (now just a crappy gravel lot), and the pub still maintains it's unique tap selection and huge list of bottles.

The owners and staff are the same wonderful people that made this pub so cozy and inviting, but the building itself...well, bars shouldn't smell like model homes. Right? If ever there was an excuse to bring back smoking in bars, it would be to get a patina on this place and fast. I know the owners have plenty of beer tschotchke to adorn the walls, maybe that will make a difference and help the room mesh with the gorgeous back bar.

So, pssst, next time you're at Beveridge Place, you could spill a little beer in the interest of ambiance.

The New Beveridge Place Pub
6413 California Ave. SW
www.beveridgeplace.com

Topics: Beer

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Festival Alert: The Real Champagnes of Beer

This weekend brings one of the most cherished of all beer dates in the Seattle area, the Washington Beer Commission's 2008 Cask Beer Festival. Though there are more and more opportunities to taste cask beer at pubs all around Seattle, nothing compares to Cask Fest.

Cask beer is personality plus. After fermenting, the beer is transferred to cask with all its flotsam and jetsam. This sediment further develops the beer and gives it a soft, natural carbonation. (More on cask beer HERE, along with a mini round up of last year's fest). If you've found yourself intrigued by really good wine, or geek out over hand made cheese, or tried a beer this year that made you stop and think: Go check this festival out. It'll make a beer lover out of anyone.

Off the top of my head, breezing down the list, make sure you don't miss: Big Time Brewing's Mere Mortal, Scuttlebutt's 10 Below, Schooner Exact's 3 Grid IPA, and Water Street's Mayor McPrior's Irish Stout. And anything Scotch Ale. I've sampled the dark chocolate beast that is the 9lb Porter from Georgetown Brewing already this year out of cask. It is so choice.

WABL 2008 Cask Beer Festival
Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion, 305 Harrison Street
Session 1: 12-4pm, Session 2: 6-10pm
(one ticket required for each session)

$40 at door/$35 advance
All you need to know at www.washingtonbeer.com

Topics: Beer

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Guinness; The Best Head - At Home

Who doesn't love a good pint of Guinness? A creamy velvet foam top followed by a gulp of chocolaty stout. Everyone knows that a pint just tastes better when it's been slowly poured from a nitrogen tap at an Irish Bar. A few years ago, Guinness introduced the "surge" can that came with an internal widget that sounded more like you were shaking a can of spray paint than pouring a beer. The surge can was ok but still nothing like the real thing. While picking up lunch at Ballard's Treehouse Bar & Grill the other day, the owner showed me the latest gadget the marketing geniuses at Guinness recently introduced; The Guinness Surger. The Surger (what looks like a hybrid coffee cup warmer from the 80's) requires just a couple of steps beyond just pouring your pint from a can, but the results are remarkable. Once your pint has been poured, place a small amount of water into the reservoir base of the unit. Place pint of Guinness into base of and hit the button. Watch the vibration of sound waves travel up from the bottom of the pint, leaving you with the perfect meringue head without leaving your house!

Just don't try The Surger with your bottle of Stella like these clowns did!

Topics: Beer

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Coming Soon: Costco Brand Beer

The brew blog says we should keep our eyes open for Kirkland's own amber ale, pale ale, and hefeweizen.

Has anyone tried Kirkland wine?

I haven't, but it's certainly not the cheapest bottle they carry. I'm guessing this beer's not gonna be too ugly, aside from the packaging.

Topics: Beer

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Aging Beer: What's out there now

Now is a great time to stow a mix and match case of barley wine in the cellar for next year (my article this week on aging beer). I’ve seen bottles including Hair of the Dog’s 2007 Doggie Claws, Alaskan, Mad River’s John Barleycorn, and Full Sail, not to mention a gaggle of locals around town on the shelves. Matter of fact, every single grocery I cased had at least one barley wine, amazing. I also didn't get to fit into the article that a Belgian (or Belgian style) beers with a cork and over 7% alcohol will give you the most change in character for your aging efforts. They are the beer equivalent of Bordeaux.\

I’m still seeing winter beers from just about everyone. I just got a half case each of Scuttlebutt 10 Below and Ommegang’s beer version of a liqueur, Chocolate Indulgence. (It’s Ommegang, so I will forgive them for a name that sounds like some sort of feminine bath product.) Scuttlebutt’s winter warmer pours like root beer, and some of its aromas are even a little sarsaparilla like. This is a beer I’ve been enjoying a lot the last month, and I want to see what these unique flavors do with a little age. I don’t think there’ll be a huge transformation, but maybe just a little mellowing, enough to make nice with a grill full of Bavarian Meats sausage this summer. (Jonathan, this was the beer you wanted to drink with Hector, or parts of him anyways.)

Topics: Beer

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Science on Tap: Today & Beyond

Twice a month, Science on Tap brings people together to talk about current topics and issues in the scientific community. I'm not one of those quiz night people, but this totally speaks to me. I mean, it's beer...with science!

Science on Tap meets the first Tuesday of the month at T.S. McHugh's on Lower Queen Anne and the last Monday of the month at Third Place Pub in Ravenna. Check their website, ScienceOnTap.org, for more information on upcoming topics. It looks like the group took a break for the holidays, back on January 28th at Ravenna's Third Place Pub with Bill McNeely talking about alternative fuels. Coool... Hey, how about an upcoming discussion on alternative hopping agents?

Today, on NPR station KUOW 94.9 at 2pm Sound Focus will discuss Science on Tap. (Listen Live from this link.)

Topics: Beer

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Lucy Saunders at The Pike

Need a pre-funk before Obama's concert tonight, or just a place to stage your happy hour?

Lucy Saunders, author of The Best of American Beer & Food: Pairing and Cooking with Craft Beer, will sign her book and mingle with guests tonight at The Pike. (Why are these F&B titles always so long!?!) You'll get to enjoy Uli's brats paired with Gary's apple sauerkraut and the Pike stout mustard. Lady of the pub, Rose Ann Finkel says they'll be offering a 6-smapler of beers for $2 with any entree purchase, and a special 3-sampler including the Kilt Lifter (featured in my column tomorrow, about beer and chocolate) and XXXXX Stout with their stout brownie with stout cream. Whoah. I'll be there, and I'm eating the early bird so I can tackle that brownie.

I know I'm supposed to be a wine and spirits professional, but I'm totally enjoying my torrid affair with beer right now. Abbey ale with my pipian, stout with my oysters, and crazy wood-aged ales with my pot roast. The recipes in this book are fantastic, going beyond the usual beer and food pairings (and not a bar-b-que recipe to be found). When I attended the GABF in Denver in October, I went to a media luncheon featuring some of Lucy's pairings, and I've tried a few since. I also met her briefly, such an affable, sweet lady. The perfect someone with whom to spend happy hour.

Lucy Saunders @ The Pike
5pm to 8pm tonight
1415 First Avenue
www.pikebrewing.com

Topics: Beer

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TO DO List for the Winter Beer Festival

This weekend, Hale's Palladium hosts the Washington Beer Commission's 3rd annual Winter Beer Festival. The line up is fantastic, and you owe it to yourself to take the bus and try as many of the three dozen wallop-packing brews as you can. Here's my hit list of 5 beers that are not to be missed:

Georgetown Brewing Company's 9LB Porter: A bittersweet beer loaded with chocolate malt—available for $5 per growler at the brewery, it's been my happy hour killer.

Schooner Exact Hoppy Holiday Winter Ale: If you haven't tasted any of their beer yet, you're not trying hard enough. This beer will make limited appearances around town (Beveridge, Brouwer's), so don't skip a chance to try it this weekend.

Big Time Brewing Damned Spot Strong Scottish Ale: A new recipe from Big Time, this brew plays hide-n-seek with the alcohol. It hides, until you stand up and it finds you. Big Time has a knack for the strong ales, and I need something to get me out of my Old Rip (their oatmeal stout) winter rut.

Pike Brewing's Auld Acquaintance: This one's brought to you by Mrs. Finkel, a toasty amber that has notes of graham and orange. Dynamite with my leftover brussel sprout tagliatelle with walnuts, it's a finely balanced cold weather ale.

Boundary Bay Cabin Fever: Just enjoyed this beer on engine with a burger on Monday, one of my favorite local winter warmers. The flavor of this beer reminds me of younger tawny ports that still have some fruit character. Not that I'd call it fruity, this beer has a few brighter notes than most mega-malt warmers.

3rd Annual Winter Beer Festival
Hale's Palladium (round back of the pub)
4301 Leary Way NW, $23 adv/$25 door
Friday 5-10pm, Saturday 1-10pm
GO HERE to buy tix and GO HERE for more info

Topics: Beer

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Georgetown to Be Hoppier in '08

Just call me Scoop. Last night I got to peek in on the build out for Full Throttle Bottles on Airport Way South, a new bottle shop that's shooting for a January opening. The owner is a savvy lady with a long career in retail and business who has decided to combine these skills with her obsession for beer. The shop will sell kegs to go, domestic and foreign craft beers, and neighborhood favorites. (Might that include Georgetown Brewing Co. in bottles? The shop is right across the street from the GBC...)

"We're also going to carry some wine, since we have twice the space we need. Nothing too fancy, mostly Tuesday night wines that aren't so common," says the owner who for now shall remain nameless.

Man alive, if the layers of 2x4s, paint, and caulk in that space could talk. I stopped counting at 23 different colors, not to mention all the pipes and conduit to nowhere. The space used to be the stable for the old racetrack that filled the space south of Michigan in the 1920s.

Note: Speaking of Georgetown Brewing Company, get to Beveridge Place Pub in West Seattle tomorrow night to meet Manny and Roger and try their firkin delicious 9LB Porter. No, not just a bad pun, the beer is in cask. Perhaps the owner of said new bottle shop might make herself known.

Topics: Beer

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