Went to the beer fest at Seattle Center with a friend from work that brews between 500 to 1000 gallons a year, had a really good time, Haven't had an afternoon buzz like that in 20 years.

Those things are fun. Ever notice how the stronger the brew, the crazier the name? You start out with 4.5% stuff called "Kitten's Smile IPA" and then it gets nastier as you progress to stuff like "Raquel's Welch Juice"...then on to things called "Sodomy Coaxer" and finally stuff like "Convent Slut Love Elixir" that's about 80% alcohol......... then you're glad you have a designated life-saver behind the wheel!

I was at the evening event. Man, my head hurt the next morning.

I thought Best of Show was the Sasquatch Imperial Stout. Damn tasty beer.

I had to wait at work after I was dropped off so I could drive home. Went to Hooters after the function for some wings--- almost wouldn't let us stay--- over the limit!!The guys I went with are old hands at these things(they go to the one in Denver) , he had made up these pretzel lais-- just those small hard pretzels on a string for a necklace. Some of those women are real munchers. Here is the web site for my co-worker
http://www.windminstrelbrewery.com
Some of the guys out at the Snoopy Rod Classic had some of the Soggy Bottom Brown.

Wait....you drink something besides Alaskan Amber and Patron Jerry? Did you happen see/sample the Big E down there Jerry? Don't know if he did that show or not.

http://www.ellersickbrewing.com

Ike

I don't understand the pretzel thing. Seriously. Might as well put a tattoo of "Attention Whore" on their forehead.

Beer geeks. To the max.

Like ANYONE needs to "cleanse their pallats" after 35 farkin' pints of beer....



Did I mention that I woke up having that "Not So Fresh Feeling" on Sunday? Ugh.

I don't remember seeing them there, doesn't mean they weren't there though.

Washington is falling far behind in the microbrew game.

Last summer I ran into more varieties of microbrew out in Backwater Wyoming & Montana than I see in most stores around here. Maybe it's because all the locals here all sold out to AB.

The real Mecca of microbrew we hit was in Colorado. We filled our coolers & cupboards with 10 different 6-packs from all different breweries I'd never even heard of before we moved on into the beerlover's hell of Utah.

When my now favorite son signed me up for the beer of the month club for Christmas last year, I figured no big deal because we have so many good micros available here. I was very surprised at the quality and variety being produced in other areas besides Washington and Oregon.
How something made out of 4 simple ingredients can be made to taste so good in so many varieties is a true mystrey of life and should be explored on a consistent basis.

We did the morning session. Elysian's fig and cherry porter was really interesting. And Rogue's imperial stout was an ass kicker. The new location makes for a bigger crowd, and I miss the food from previous years. Although I do like that the guild moved it to the spring.

We did the Denver trip last year as reps for a local brewery. What a blast! Got free beer, tours of brewerys and distilleries, free food, attended all four sessions.... awesome.

Honestly, I believe Elysian is the best brewery in Washington State, however the fact that they charge 80% more for their brew than anyone else pisses me off no end...for the simple fact that to enjoy their beer costs me $18 for a 9 pack.

They are trying to talk me into going to Denver with them, I'm way out of form for drinking more than 1 day in a row.

The prezel thing worked great---- a little sly smile and then a female chowing some pretzels off your chest. I did like the fig and cherry but it was a little sweet. I also have a vague memory of something from an Anacortes brewery that seemed tasty. Goharley, we most have been there at the same time.

Could have been. My wife was wearing a black shirt that said something about Excommunicated Mormon Drinking Team. I only mention that because she seemed to be getting a lot of attention over it. You might have noticed it.

When we were in Denver we didn't drink to intoxication the entire time we were there. But we were more concerned with tasting beers we can't get here and talking to different brewers than getting our drunk on.

One night when we were pouring beer a guy came up, took a sample, and clicked his little handheld counter. "143" he said. Moved on to the next brewery, filled his glass, "144." That guy was on a mission.

Don't remember eyeballing your wife's shirt goharley. I did hear that due to glass size and line length a person has to work alot harder to get buzzed in Denver.

Ill take the Raquel Welch juice 30 yrs ago.....yummy!

There is a WABL brewery tour going north the end of April(24?), now that I signed up I may have to do a few of those.



WABL Exclusive Opportunity:

WABL Brew Bus Tour- North End Brewers of Great Girth and Grace 08'



Now that long, gloomy winter is finally behind us and spring is officially here, it’s time to get out and enjoy what the beautiful Pacific Northwest has to offer! And what better way for you, self-proclaimed beer geeks, to do that than to take a bus tour and visit some of Washington’s finest breweries with fellow WABLers! On Saturday, April 26th the WABL Brew Bus will take 30 lucky WABL members to the following breweries:



Tentative Schedule*- Saturday, April 26th

8:00am Start gathering at Scuttlebutt Brewing Co. (new production site)

9:30am Bus leaves Scuttlebutt

10:30am-11:00am Diamond Knot Camano Lodge

11:45pm-12:45pm Lunch @ Skagit River Brewery

1:45pm-2:30pm Flyers Restaurant & Brewery

3:15pm-4:00pm Anacortes Brewery

5:15pm-6:00pm Birdsview Brewing

(a quick stop at Chuckanut Brewery to take a peak on the new brewery)

7:30pm-8:30pm Dinner @ Boundary Bay Brewery

10:00pm Return to Scuttlebutt Brewing Co.

*Schedule subject to change



Cost is $50 per person and includes:

- Bus ride

- Lunch at Skagit River Brewery

- Dinner at Boundary Bay Brewery

- A souvenir



There will be no beer served on the bus this time (except maybe a surprise beer) since there will be so many opportunities to drink tasty brews at our stops all day. We’ll have some snacks available on the bus (so you won’t have to drink on an empty stomach!) and also some ice chests to keep your growlers nice and cool. Some breweries will be offering discounts and/or have special brews on tap for this trip (detail TBA). We will also try to put together a list of beers that will be on tap at each brewery so you can make some plans (which beers to drink or fill growlers with, etc).



To reserve your spot on the bus please mail a check ($50 per person) payable to the Washington Brewers Guild to P.O. Box 20014, Seattle, WA 98102 with your name and WABL ID # by Friday, April 4th. This is the only way to reserve your spot (no online registration, credit card payments, etc). There are 30 spots for WABL members on the bus. If we don’t fill all the spots by April 4th we will continue to accept more people. If we receive more than 30 signups by April 4th we will randomly select 30 people. If you are going with your spouse, GF/BF, friends, family, etc, and don’t want to be separated (i.e. husband gets picked and wife doesn’t) then please feel free to write down others’ name(s) with yours. You must be a current WABL member to participate. No non-WABL guests. Or they can of course join WABL before the trip to be qualified. Those who are selected will be notified via email by April 9th.



Washington Brewers Guild

P.O. Box 20014

Seattle, WA 98102



The address for the Scuttlebutt production brewing site is 3310 Cedar St. Everett, WA 98201. There should be plenty of street parking on Saturday. Or if you are coming from far away and wish to spend the night in the area rather than driving back home that night then Holiday Inn (walking distance from Scuttlebutt) is offering a special rate at $89/night for a standard deluxe king or queen rooms (plus tax) for the trip participants. Please mention the “Washington Brewers Guild” when you make a reservation. To take advantage of this special rate you must book your room by April 11th. The special rate is available for Friday, April 25th and Saturday, April 26th.



Holiday Inn, Downtown Everett

3105 Pine Street

Everett, WA 98201

(866) 700-1188



If you choose to drive home on Saturday please watch your alcohol consumption level very carefully. If you feel you shouldn’t drive home please let the WABL staff know, ask someone to pick you up, or arrange a ride with fellow WABL members who live in your area. Also it is a good idea to bring a few growlers to fill and take home with, so you won’t have to feel like you have to everything in one day!



Looking forward to a great trip!





WABL Committee

Lisa Miyashita

Beaux Bowman

Matt Stromberg

the GABF is a great gathering. i went in 06 as a brewer for bridgeport. i was very surprised at all the HOTTIES in denver. everyplace we went the women were smokin. beers were cool too....

My official micro-brew indoctrination is a bittersweet memory.

Ill stretch it out a little to make it interesting.

Rogue Brewery in Newport Oregon occupies a building owned by the Port of Newport.

Years ago I was involved in the structural replacement of the brewery floor which is made up of concrete panels suspended over water. I dont recall my exact title or responsibility, but I was between jobs and Rogues owner, Jack Joyce and I were friends at the time. My wife also worked in administration as well as part time pour-whore, so I weaseled my way into a paycheck functioning as construction liaison/owner rep/forklift driver.

The brewery was jam-packed with all the ingredients to make the ale as well as bottles, labels, caps, boxes, cases and cases of finished product.... and a magically glorious mountain of what is known as "low-fills"

Obviously all of this stuff had to be moved and stored elsewhere during construction.

Low-fills defined: Bottles of ale labeled 22 oz, which only had 20-21 oz of beer inside.

Apparently by law if the label says X ozs, there needs to be exactly X ozs in the bottle or it cannot be sold. In the bottling process, it is not uncommon for the first few bottles/cases of ale in a new batch to be low-filled. The dude at the controls adjusts a few buttons, and viola, no more low-fills.
I guess sometimes the control-dude has more important things to worry about and the number of low-fills off the line can be significant at times.

Rogue put these "low-fills" aside with the intention of dumping them and reusing the bottles. But I guess they eventually realized the cost of labor to recover only bottles would be a wash. So they sat there in boxes, alone, waiting for the magic of a bottle opener to liberate the tasty liquid inside.
Thats when I show up.

"Hey Jack, what'ya want me to do with these low-fills?"

"Take them to the landfill"

"WHAT????"

"dump them in the bay, donate them to the shelter, take 'em home... I dont care"

The words "take them home" was sweet music to my ears.

I called my brother who was living with us at the time and told him to get off his ass and empty the garage. I rented a ryder truck.
By the end of the weekend, my garage, and my neighbors garage were both filled to the roof with cases and cases of every Rogue product made and bottled.

We suddenly had more friends than Oprah.
I immediately put my family on the recipient list for a donor-liver.


We arranged the cases by product. Mocha Porter was up front, next to Sheakespear Stout, which made the best black-n-tans when combined with golden ale. Wife liked the raspberry-weizen and there was plenty of it to go around too. I purchased an auxilary fridge/freezer to chill pint glasses, and store the Davis family's new staple food.



***


Fast forward 6 months.

I dropped my brother off at rehab on the way to the unemployment office.
Later in the day I visited my doctor who was impressed and concerned that I had gained 65 pounds in 5 months.
I asked him if the depression associated with divorce might have something to do with it.


On my desk today is a single unopened 22oz bottle of Rogue "Mocha Porter" with 21 ounces inside.

MMMM, Beeeeeer.

Way to funny....yet strangely sad at the same time. Something to be said for moderation though..although I could dring that dark [censored] all night long...grin.