Today we would like to announce that Washington Beer Blog has teamed up with Un-Cruise Adventures to create the Washington waters beer cruise. For 8 days (7 nights), we will cruise the San Juan Islands, Puget Sound, the Salish Sea, and beyond. We cordially invite you to be one of just 60 passengers aboard the Wilderness Adventurer next April for this amazing experience. And yes, we’ll have beer.

Some time ago, Kim and I were discussing vacations. We both agreed that going on a typical cruise didn’t appeal to us. The obligatory “booze cruise” or “love boat cruise” is just not our cup of tea. Another thing we agreed upon, we were immensely interested in other kinds of cruises—ones that offer smaller boats, less people and more meaningful activities. We’re talking about adventure cruises or un-cruises. Now, couple that with a meaningful beer experience and you would really have something!

Fast-forward to a few months ago when we learned of a Seattle-based company called Un-Cruise Adventures, which just so happens to specialize in the kind of cruises about which Kim and I dreamed.  We discussed our interest with the folks at Un-Cruise Adventures and they agreed that a beer cruise was a good idea, and that Kim and I were the perfect people to host such an adventure. Un-Cruise Adventures refers to it as Whales, Trails and Paddles, but we like to think of it as Whales, Trails and Ales. We’re funny that way. Whatever you call it, this adventure will certainly be a blast.

Activities include many options, like bird watching, whale watching, wildlife viewing, day hikes, shore walks, kayaking, snorkeling, and more.  We will cruise the waters of Puget Sound, the Salish Sea, Hood Canal and the San Juan Islands. We’ll navigate Deception Pass in a 160-foot boat! Cool! There’s too much cool stuff for me to mention here.

Wherever we go, know that we will be drinking beer that is appropriate for the location. Kim and I can make that happen. We’ll do some special tastings, arrange to bring some rare/interesting beers, we’ll pair up fresh local beer with fresh local shellfish, seafood and produce. Who knows what we will come up with? For sure, it will be good.

I encourage you to visit the Un-Cruise Adventures website for more details about the company and for specific information about this beer cruise. We will have more information and will be sure to remind you about it as time goes on. In the meantime, take a look at your vacation calendar for April 2014 and consider joining us.

Kyle Duce opened Locöl in West Seattle back in January 2011. The restaurant and bar was an immediate hit with the folks living in the High Point neighborhood. Before opening Locöl, Kyle talked to his neighbors about what kind of place they wanted in the neighborhood. He simply gave them what they’d been longing for—a comfortable spot to get a good beer, a glass of wine and some tasty food. Over the past two years, the conversation has continued.

Today we share news that Kyle is opening a new business right next door to Locöl, in the spot previously occupied by Sharon’s Westwood Florist at 7900 35th Ave. SW (map). Kyle Duce and his partner Charlie Worden (the GM and chef at Locol) hope to have Tap Station open by July.

The new business venture meets a few needs. First, it will be a growler filling station with both beer and wine on tap. To begin with, there will be eight beers and eight wines on tap. Kyle plans to install at least one Pegas CraftTap growler filler, the same kind of high-tech device used at Beer Junction (blog sponsor) and 99 Bottles (blog sponsor). The draft beer selection will rotate, maintaining a focus on local beers.

“We expect to get the doors open pretty quick,” says Kyle. “Because of the kind of business this will be, there’s not much permitting to do with the city. If all goes as planned, we should be able to open around July 1.”

Alongside the beer, there will be eight taps pouring wine from Seattle’s Proletariat Wine Company, which created a niche for itself by offering top quality wines on tap. Since some of the wines are quite outstanding, but are only available on tap, the idea of filling bottles to go is gaining popularity. The wine will be poured into 750-milliliter bottles. Filling a 64-ounce growler with Proletariat wine would be rather expensive.

Kyles says that beer and wine tasting events will likely be regular occurrences at Tap Station. What other kinds of events the space will host remains to be seen.

Tap Station will also have a couple of reach-in coolers with beer to go. Kyle is not setting out to compete with the local bottleshops in terms of selection; he just aims to provide a place for people in the neighborhood to pick up a good six-pack or 22-ounce bomber. He intends to offer at least one affordable option, such as Rainier Beer, for the unenlightened.

Beyond offering beer and wine to go, Tap Station will also be available as an event space. “Customers often want to make reservations at Locöl for larger groups, which the restaurant is not set up to accommodate,” says Kyle. “The new space will seat groups of 15 to 20 people, with the food catered by the kitchen next door.”

“This neighborhood has seen a lot of changes in recent years,” says Kyle. “A lot of older people have moved on. A lot of young families are moving in, couples buying starter homes, buying up the little bungalows around here. They need someplace to go.”

This news comes on the heels of reports that a sports bar will be opening just a few doors south of Locöl. Westy Sports and Spirits will be located at 7908 35^th Ave SW and will offer beer, wine, spirits and food, along with billiards, skee ball, shuffleboard, and a whole bunch of televisions. Westy Sports hopes to open in time for football season. We’ll keep you posted as that plan comes together.

Jim Parker and Skip Madsen are two familiar faces on the local beer scene. That’s not only because the two happen to have memorable faces, but because they’ve both been involved in the beer business for a long time. In fact, Jim gave Skip his first beer industry job way back in 1992. Ever since, they’ve been known as “Skipper and his Little Buddy,” a nod to Gilligan’s Island. Over the years, they’ve both been working in the beer biz from Montana to Colorado to Oregon and Washington.

These days Skip brews for American Brewing Company. Jim hocks beer for Fort George Brewing. To commemorate their long-standing friendship, the two will host a series of dual-brewers events at pubs around western Washington. Events will feature beers from both American Brewing and Fort George Brewing. Beat that. Here are the details as we have them right now.

BARLEY LEGAL TOUR COMING TO A PUB NEAR YOU

‘Skipper’ and his ‘Little Buddy’ celebrate 21 years in the beer business

“Just sit right back and you’ll hear some tales, some tales from two guys who brew. And when they are not making beer, they like to tip a few!”

Skip Madsen and Jim Parker are familiar faces in the Pacific Northwest beer scene. Madsen is the brewer of many of Washington’s favorite beers at breweries such as Pike, Big Time, Boundary Bay, Water Street and now American. Parker has bounced around Oregon and Washington as a brewer, publican, brewers guild director and now salesman for Oregon’s Fort George Brewery.

But what many don’t know is that these two, who affectionately refer to each other as “Skipper” and “Little Buddy,” got their start in the beer business together 21 years ago in Fort Collins, Colo.

“Jim gave me my first job in the beer business as a bartender at the Mountain Tap Tavern in 1992,” Madsen says.

As Parker recalls, “I had corresponded with Skip about the Montana beer scene when I was publishing my brewspaper, ‘Rocky Mountain Brews’ and he was head of the Zoo City Zymurgists club in Missoula. We first met at a homebrew competition in Fort Collins where I was judging and he won best-of-show. I was in the midst of opening a pub and offered him a job bartending.”

The two became fast friends and soon after, the “Skipper” and “Little Buddy” monikers – a play on the characters from the “Gilligan’s Island” TV show – took hold.

“Skipper is one of the main reasons I moved to Washington,” Parker says. “After he moved here, I ended up back in Oregon, and whenever possible, we would visit each other or make sure to connect at events like the Great American Beer Festival.”

To celebrate the 21 years of friendship and fermentation the two are holding a series of co-brewers nights at pubs around the state, calling it their “Barley Legal Tour.” The idea started at a brewers night the two shared at Special Brews in Lynnwood last month.

“As usually happens when Skipper and I get together, stories started flying and pretty soon we were both laughing so hard no one could hear anything else,” Parker says. “So we decided we needed to do more of these.”

The next stop on the “Barley Legal Tour” is Thursday, May 16 at The Pub on Piper’s Creek as part of Seattle Beer Week. They will also make a two-day stop at Woodinville’s The Collective on Tap on May 27 and 27. They are working on June dates at Pourhouse in Port Townsend and Darrel’s Tavern in Shoreline before celebrating the 21st anniversary of the opening of the Mountain Tap on July 3 at the Copper Hog in Bellingham. After that, who knows?

“We’ll probably continue this all year… as long as there are pubs who will have us,” Parker says. “We’re talking about doing a ‘Tour Shirt’ and maybe even a collaboration beer. In reality, it is just another excuse for Skipper and I to get together, have a few beers and tell stories about each other… some of them are even true.”

Both Fort George and American Brewing beers are distributed in the Seattle area by Click Distributing. Any pub owner wanting to book a stop on the “Barley Legal Tour” can contact their Click representative or contact Parker directly at jim@fortgeorgebrewery.com.

The other night, Kim and I attended an amazing beer dinner at Schooner Exact Brewing. The very next night we attended another breathtaking beer dinner at Tom Douglas’ Brave Horse Tavern. After all, it’s Seattle Beer Week, and fancy beer dinners are a big part of that. We have pictures and some information about those two dinners below. Also below, you’ll find information about an upcoming beer dinner at Tom Douglas’ Dahlia Lounge which just so happens to feature Schooner Exact Brewing. So I guess you could say that this post is about Schooner Exact Brewing, Tom Douglas Restaurants, and beer dinners (past and future).

The upcoming beer dinner at the Dahlia Lounge (Thurs. May 23) is dubbed “Public House Dinner with Schooner Exact.” While Dahlia Lounge is usually a pretty fancy place (by Seattle standards), they will be dressing down for this event and serving dishes that are based on traditional English pub fare. See the complete details below.

Schooner Exact

The Schooner Exact Beer Dinner took place on Tuesday, May 14th at the brewery and restaurant in SoDo. You are aware that Schooner Exact is now a restaurant as well as a brewery, right? You should be. Although the industrial nature of the building and neighborhood may seem an unusual place for it, Schooner Exact’s kitchen pumps out some seriously delicious food. This isn’t your typical pub grub. Chef Warren Peterson previously worked for Tom Douglas Restaurants as a chef and also as the company’s “beer czar” but is now cranking out amazing food at Schooner Exact. You can read about Warren’s move to Schooner Exact here.

For Tuesday’s beer dinner Chef Warren put together a five course meal that not only filled the belly with great food but also paired masterfully with the brewery’s beers, with which he has become intimately familiar. The first and last courses were probably my favorites.

The first course featured a “more crab than salad” crab salad paired with Seamstress Union Raspberry Wheat. The flavors in both the salad and the beer were delicate but also rich and a bit sweet. The pairing conjured thoughts of warm summer days.

The second course was also a big hit. It featured pan roasted Alaskan halibut served with braised artichoke, pancetta and apple, then paired with Generation X IPA. Chef Warren composed a complex dish to pair with his IPA (he actually devised the recipe for this new, limited-release IPA).

The fifth and final course really blew my mind. It featured  Marscapone Panna Cotta with blackberries and toasted almonds paired with Schooner Exact’s spectacular Kriek. The beer is an ultra-rare treat on its own, but paired with the rich sweetness of the Panna Cotta it was nothing short of divine.

Brave Horse Tavern

Wednesday’s dinner at the Brave Horse Tavern featured beers from Black Raven Brewing and Midnight Sun Brewing. This included a collaboration beer made by the two breweries: Son of a Beak Bourbon-Barrel Imperial Porter.

One of the five courses featured very tasty and cute little Belgian sausages, cleverly presented in small cans. It was fun. Even when it is part of an elevated dining experience like this, beer should be fun. Those little sausages were poached in beer, served with a Granny Smith apple mustard, and then paired with Black Raven’s Feral Saison.

The collaboration beer was paired with a braised short rib in a mole sauce. The deep complexity of the beer stood up nicely to the heft of a short rib served in mole, which is no easy task. The beer also added a bit of bourbon sweetness to dish.

The final course was also particularly well conceived and well executed: a “cherry surprise” served with Midnight Sun Brewing’s Sex Machine Sour Brown Ale. No surprise, really, but it was an individual-size cherry pie served with ice cream. Sour on sour is always a lovely combination.

Dahlia Lounge

Public House Dinner with Schooner Exact

PRICE: $50 all inclusive

Purchase Tickets

DATE: 05/23/2013

TIME: 6pm

LOCATION: Dahlia Lounge

VIEW MAP

The Dahlia Lounge is dressing down and getting casual to bring you a special evening of English pub fare with suds from local brewery, Schooner Exact. Chef Brock Johnson has created a four course menu that would satisfy any group of mates in the mood for beer matched perfectly to delicious pub grub. The Schooner Exact Team and Chef Brock will be on hand all night to guide you through this tasty, no-nonsense menu.

MENU:

Gallant Maiden Hefe, paired with ploughman’s platter with homemade cured meats, pickles and spent grain toast

King Street Brown Ale, paired with Brown Ale crepes, foraged mushrooms, melted teleme cheese.

3 Grid IPA, paired with malt battered halibut, green garlic potato, asparagus, ramp tartar sauce.

Profanity Hill Porter, paired with chocolate porter cake, malted mascarpone, honey-hop ice cream, cinnamon toasted barley

Gallery
Photos by Kim Sharpe Jones.

In 1997, long before the birth of this blog, I started an organization called Beer Church. The shortest description I can provide: Beer Church brings beer drinking and charitable giving together, providing beer lovers with fun and affordable ways to support worthy causes. I started Beer Church because I believe that beer’s higher purpose is to bring people together for the betterment of our community. Most people in the craft beer industry agree with me. That is one of the reasons I find my involvement in the beer industry (however ancillary it may be) so rewarding. That said…

Many of you already know the story of Bob’s Brown Ale by Georgetown Brewing and all you need to know is where to find it this year. We provide the list of participating bars below. Others of you do not know about Bob’s Brown Ale yet. You should.

Bob’s Brown Ale is philanthropic brew released once a year by Georgetown Brewing. This ongoing project, now in its 8^th year, continues to gain momentum. Georgetown celebrates the release of the beer each spring on May 14^th with a big party at the Nickerson Street Saloon. Last night at the kickoff party, the crowd consumed 8.5 kegs of Bob’s. Impressive. The beer is out there right now waiting for you.

All proceeds from the sale of the beer benefit Ronald McDonald House. The beer also spurs many special events—silent auctions, for instance—that earn even more money for the cause. According to Georgetown Brewing, Bob’s Brown Ale has raised well over $258,000. They’re modest. According to Ronald McDonald House, Bob’s has raised more than $330,000.

Manny Chao, co-owner of Georgetown Brewing, was a counselor at a camp for sick kids. That’s where he became friends with Bob Hirsch. Shortly after his 21^st birthday, Bob lost his battle with cancer. His fight was valiant, inspiring much more than the beer bearing his name. I know that Georgetown does not want me to heap praise upon them, but they deserve some recognition for raising over $330k for Ronald McDonald House.

Some people say that Bob’s Brown Ale is Georgetown Brewing’s best beer. Personally, I hate using the word best to describe beer. It is always a matter of taste and personal preference. In this case, I’m willing to make an exception. Bob’s Brown Ale is Georgetown’s best beer. The beer is darn tasty, but that has nothing to do with it.

Georgetown is not alone. Most, if not all, of our local breweries engage in charitable giving—donating raffle items for school fundraisers, providing beer for non-profit events, and so on. Other breweries have programs similar to Georgetown’s, with a specific beer designated to benefit a particular cause. It proves the point that local beer is more than a consumable product; it is part of our community.

Cheers to Georgetown Brewing and cheers to Bob’s Brown Ale. Now go get yourself some of that tasty stuff! Here’s where you should look for the beer. You’ll have to check with each to see if and when it’s going on tap.

2nd Street Grill (Yakima)

74th St. Ale House

9lb Hammer

A-town Bistro (Anacortes)

Aldarra Golf Course

Ale House Tacoma

Apollo’s Pizza (Olympia)

Arena Sports Issaquah

Arena Sports Magnuson

Arena Sports Redmond

Attic Ale House

Azul (Mill Creek)

Bar Del Corso

Barking Dog

Beaver Inn (Bellingham)

Benniditios Pizza (Spokane)

Bert’s Pub (Yakima)

Beveridge Place Pub

Bill’s Place (Yakima)

Bravehorse

Brickhouse (Vancouver)

Brown Lantern (Anacortes)

Bubba’s Tavern Kent

Buckley’s Belltown

Buckley’s Queen Anne

Café Mox

Calamity Jane’s

California Pizza Kitchen Bellevue

California Pizza Kitchen Northgate

California Pizza Kitchen Southcenter

Campbell House (Chelan)

Capones Coeur D’Alene

Capones Hayden

Capones Post Falls

Cedar Grill (Maple Valley)

Cedars at Dungeness (Pt. Angeles)

Celtic Bayou Lynnwood

Celtic Bayou Redmond

Christo’s

Circa

College Inn Pub

Columbia City Ale House

Cooper’s

Coug, The (Pullman)

Deluxe Bar & Grill

Doc’s Marina Grill Bainbridge

Doc’s Marina Grill Pt. Townsend

Dog & Pony (Renton)

Duke’s Kent Station

Duke’s Lake Union

Eastside Club (Olympia)

Elk, The (Spokane)

Fiddler

Floyd’s Place

Flying Squirrel Maple Leaf

Flying Squirrel Seward Park

Fred’s Rivertown Alehouse (Snohomish)

Front Door (Boise)

Great Nabob

Gtown Liquor Co.

Harbour Pub (Bainbridge)

Hard Rock Café

Hawk’s Nest

Highliner

Hills Neighborhood Restaurant (Richmond Beach)

Hilltop Ale House

Hooverville

Hudson (Gtown)

Indigo

Ivar’s Acres

Ivar’s Mulkiteo

Ivar’s Salmon

Jabu’s

Jimmy’s on 1st

Jules Maes Saloon

Kate’s Pub

Kirkland Lodge

Lake Trail Taproom (Kenmore)

Latona Pub

Lobby Bar

Loretta’s Northwesterner

Ma’ono

Madison Pk Conservatory

Madrona Ale House

Manito Tap House (Spokane)

Marco Polo

Meconi’s (Tacoma)

Montlake Ale House

Mulkiteo Lodge

Murphy’s

Napoli Pizza

Nickerson St. Saloon

Norm’s (Fremont)

North Bend Bar & Grill

O’Blarney’s (Lacey)

Oddfellas (Auburn)

Ozzie’s

Parilla Grill (Boise)

Parkway (Tacoma)

Pine Lake Ale House (Sammamish)

Pints & Quarts (Lacey)

Pioneer Square Saloon

Porterhouse (Mt. Vernon)

Post St. Ale House (Spokane)

Pour House (Pt. Townsend)

Prima Bistro (Langley)

Pumphouse (Bellevue)

Quinn’s

Rainier Bar & Grill (Enumclaw)

Red Door

Red Hot (Tacoma)

Red House (Renton)

Renaissance Hotel

Roanoke Inn Mercer Island

Roanoke Park Place Tavern

Rory’s (Edmonds)

Sand Point Grill

Serendipity

Shanahan’s (Vancouver)

Sharp’s Roaster (SeaTac)

Shawn O’Donnell’s (Everett)

Shorty’s

Siren’s (Pt. Townsend)

Skep & Skein (Olympia)

Sloop

Smarty Pants

Sport Restaurant & Bar

Sports Center (Yakima)

Sporty’s Beef & Brew (Everett)

Stadium Lodge

State Street (Bellingham)

Stellar Pizza

Sunset Ale House (Issaquah)

Swiss (Tacoma)

Tap House Grill Bellevue

Tap House Grill Downtown

Taphouse Ink (Black Diamond)

Terrible Beauty Renton

Terrible Beauty W. Sea

Tides (Gig Harbor)

Tin Hat

Train Wreck (Burlington)

Traveler

Two Beers Brewing Co.

Up & Up (Bellingham)

Village Pub

Von Trapps

Wedgwood Ale House

West 5

West Seattle Bowl

Westin Hotel (Bellevue)

Wilde Rover (Kirkland)

Wildfire (Pt. Angeles)

Update: Uber is offering a special discount (25%) to Seattle beer lovers. When you order your car this weekend, use the code BEERSEA to get the discount. If you haven’t signed up, use this link and you’ll also get a $10 credit – Sign up for Uber.

Smart phone users, to get the $10 credit be sure to use the invite code: qvzrk

If you’re on a iPhone right now, click here.

If you’re on an Android right now, click here.

Original Post

Seattle beer geeks love Uber, the tavern on Aurora Avenue just north of Green Lake. But there is another Uber in Seattle worthy of your adoration, especially right now as we are in the throes of Seattle Beer Week.  The Uber of which I speak is a service that guarantees you will get home safe. I am talking about the Uber transportation app for your smart phone. Thanks to Uber, if you click here to sign up, you’ll get a $10 credit on your account. You can also download and sign up from Uber’s apps (use the links below to do it directly from your phone).

Understand that this post is not a paid advertisement; it is more like a public service announcement. You, my fellow beer drinker, need to know about Uber. My wife and I are huge fans of Uber and people frequently ask us what we’re talking about when we say things like, “We’ll just Uber home from the beer festival.”

Allow me to explain in simple terms.

Uber is a transportation application for your smart phone. You use Uber to order a driver and car to get you home safely. In the end, you’ll find the cost about the same as a taxicab. There are important differences that make Uber much better than a cab. (I don’t mean to hate on taxicabs; it is just that Uber is better.)

1) Since you have an account set up with Uber, you don’t pay cash. You don’t even tip. You order your car using your phone, the car shows up in a timely fashion, takes you home (or wherever), and you get out. That’s it. You’re done. No pay. No tip. Just stumble to your door. Uber emails you a receipt shortly after you’re dropped off. The receipt is really nice if you have a reason to need a receipt.

2) The cars are nicer. Much nicer. The typical Uber car is a Lincoln Towncar. It’s a bit like being a rockstar. Often, the driver will even have bottled water waiting for you as your slightly inebriated body sinks into the plush and comfy leather seat. One driver even had a bowl of mixed nuts waiting for us. Very nice!

The car options include:

Black Car: The classic “black car option” is the default. Choose this and either a high-end sedan or SUV will be curbside in minutes. Note: choosing “Black” and being picked up by an SUV will not charge you the SUV rates. Seats up to 4 people.

SUV: When you’re rolling with more than four people, request only SUVs, for a higher rate. Seats up to 6 people.

UBERx: The convenience of Uber at a lower price with hybrid and mid-range cars in a variety of colors.

The cars are always clean, quiet, and comfortable. Rock star!

3) You know when your car will show up. You can even get an estimate of how much your ride will cost. When you open the app and pin your pickup location, Uber will tell you that the nearest available car is 5 minutes away, for example. After you order your car, you can track its progress and see exactly where the car is at. Behold the miracle of GPS and smart phones.

I’ve never waited more than 12 or 15 minutes for a car. Usually it’s less, especially when I’m in the city. Example: Last night at 8:45 we ordered an Uber car from Pike Brewing Company. A moment later I received the text message telling me that our car was one minute away,  and the it arrived. Good thing we were already at the curb when we ordered our car. Rock star!

Map shows the area of "most reliable service." Once in the car, the drive will take you wherever you want to go.

Point number 3 above is the most important for me. When you call and request a taxicab the dispatcher gives you an estimate as to how long it will take for your ride to show up. They dispatch a cab and it starts heading your direction. Maybe it gets sidetracked or flagged down by another fare. Maybe not. Taxicabs have burned me too many times. I have waited hopelessly and on more than one occasion found myself walking home from the bar in the middle of the night because my cab never showed up.

When you open the application on your phone, you drag the pin to your pickup location. You can see the location of the nearest cars.

Seattle sucks for taxicabs. For whatever reason, we just can’t get it right. Unless you are in the heart of the city, and it is not a busy time of night for taxicabs, your chances of flagging down a cab in Seattle are just about nil.

Uber fixes all of that. Once you order your car, your driver is on the way. You get a text message telling you so. You can contact your driver directly and vice versa. Your driver will not ignore the dispatch or pull over to pick up a group of 3 people who look like they will be a better fare. This is Uber. It hooks you up with Towncar services–independent businesspeople licensed by the state to provide this service. Towncar operators work under a different set of rules than cabs. They are cars-for-hire. The drivers is akin to a chauffeur and not a cabbie. In this game, good service equals success.

Another thing I should point out, after your Uber ride is done,  the driver and passenger can actually rate each other. I am not sure how it works on the driver’s side, but I’d guess that if you’re a problematic passenger and have a low rating, some driver’s might not choose to accept the assignment when you request a car. They treat you well, you treat them well in return.

Given the fact that the cost of an Uber ride home is about the same as, or less than, a taxicab, I have no idea if I will ever rely on that mode of transportation again.

Simply put, my experience has been this:

• Cost is about the same or less than a cab, especially since you don’t tip when you use Uber.
• I don’t need to have cash, or wait while the cabbie fumbles for change hoping I’ll just say “keep it.”
• The cars are much, much nicer.
• When I leave the bar at night, I enjoy feeling like a rock star and having a fancy black car waiting for me, with a well-dressed driver holding the door open.
• Uber cars smell better.

In closing, Uber rules. Huge fan. Ringing endorsement. Sign up now. Then go get the app. Use it. Be safe.

If you’re too cheap to pay for cabs or Uber, never mind. I understand. That’s your business. I’m just trying to help you get home safe.

From Your Phone

To get the $10 credit on your new account, use this invite code: qvzrk

If you’re on a iPhone right now, click here.

If you’re on an Android right now, click here.

Today the Seattle Beer Broads and Airways Brewing (blog sponsor) release their second annual collaboration beer. The Beer Broads Spring Bitter will be featured at three different Seattle Beer Week events tonight, including the Women in Beer 2013 event at Pike Brewing. This event celebrates the important role that women play in the craft beer industry but is open to individuals of both genders. Last year it proved to be one of the most popular events of Seattle Beer Week. And why not? Gentlemen, what part of this don’t you understands? Women and beer.

The Beer Broads Spring Bitter also goes on tap today at the Beveridge Place Pub (blog sponsor) as part of the This is Washington Dammit! event and at The Pine Box as part of the Can You Handle My Randall event. Here are more details about the beer and its availability.

Airways Brewing press release:

Celebrating Women in Beer: Airways Brewing Company Releases Their Second Annual Seattle Beer Broads Collaboration Brew

Kent-based microbrewery releases Seattle Beer Broads Spring Bitter – a little bit of the Pacific Northwest, with English accents.

KENT, Wash. (May 13, 2013) – Just in time for Seattle Beer Week, Airways Brewing Company is releasing their second annual Seattle Beer Broads collaboration brew, available on draught beginning Monday, May 13. The Seattle Beer Broads is a group of over 160 local women working in the beer industry, celebrating their love of craft beer, and educating other women on the historical significance of females in the craft beer industry. Through events such as beer tastings and festivals throughout the year, the Seattle Beer Broads help to foster a vibrant, diverse craft brew community. The Seattle Beer Broads can be followed by the public on Facebook.

This year’s collaborative recipe and brew session resulted in a bitter using ESB and Crystal malts with Willamette, Cascade, East Kent Golding hops. Amber in color, the Beer Broads Spring Bitter is similar to a British Extra Special Bitter (ESB), but with a Northwest flair. Featuring an approachable 33 IBUs and 5.5 percent ABV, this bitter pairs well with meats, cheeses, or spicy foods, and of course, tastes delicious just on its own.  A portion of the proceeds will go to support education for women entering the brewing industry.

 “For the second year in a row, the Beer Broads were surveyed and said they wanted to brew a beer that fit the season,” said Alex Dittmar, owner and head brewer at Airways Brewing Company. “We came up with a Northwest take on a British classic.”

On Monday, May 13, the Beer Broads Spring Bitter will be released at Airways Brewing Company for pints and growler fills, and at three Seattle Beer Week events: Thirsty Sisters Present Women in Beer at Pike Brewing, This is Washington Dammit! at The Beveridge Place Pub in West Seattle, and Can You Handle My Randall? at The Pine Box in Capitol Hill where it will be poured through lemongrass and orange peel.

For more information about Airways Brewing and its selection of handcrafted brews, be sure to follow Airways Brewing Company on Facebook and Twitter, or visit www.airwaysbrewing.com.

by Casey McLain, South Sound Bureau Chief

In a growing beer scene in Washington, and especially the Tacoma beer scene, Wingman Brewers personifies the evolution of the modern micro or nanobrewery, both in terms of their beer as a creative outlet that competes with the best beer in Washington, as well as the inherent bottlenecks and pitfalls.

One of those pitfalls, and unarguably the better end of the spectrum to be on, is that small breweries have a hard time supplying their customers’ figurative and literal thirst for their products. Wingman Brewers is no different, and after a move to the Dome District in Tacoma, the opening of a tap room, and a huge increase in popularity, I sat down with Ken Thoburn, head brewer and part-owner of Wingman over a couple pints and talked about their upcoming two-stage expansion from their present one-barrel system, and a couple other topics that may show up in future articles, as well as some topics that will never grace these hallowed pages.

Ken on capacity:

“I average between three and five barrels per week, sometimes I can do six. If one week I did a bunch of IPAs, the next week I’m dry hopping those IPAs and I don’t have the capacity to brew as much as I would in other weeks. Our first year we did over 90 barrels, our second year we did over 180. Close to 200. I was shooting for that. If you count the beer I brewed at other breweries it was over 200.”

Ken on the planned expansion:

“We’re getting a seven-barrel system. We’ve been seriously kicking around the idea of getting a seven or ten-barrel system for over a year now. We just didn’t have the money set up the way we wanted, so we waited, and thought about different financing while we got our credit better, because sub-prime lending blows. The estimated time of arrival for our new system is October. We’re getting a seven-barrel system, two 15-barrel fermenters, and a 15-barrel bright tank. This way we’ll be able to do more bottling and canning in house, because we’d like to put more brands in cans and bottles.”

Ken’s views on the saturation of breweries in the Washington market:

“A lot of brewers are just eating it now, with like 15 percent interest on loans. There are too many places that think breweries are the same as restaurants, and too high of a risk. At some point breweries might be, but I don’t think we’ve reached that saturation point. Last year craft brewers in Washington produced about a million barrels, and craft beer sales were about three million barrels. If people want to drink local beer, I think it could tip to about two-thirds Washington beer. Maybe we could have twice as many breweries. We could see more small breweries, up to ten-barrels, that only have to produce for their own tap room. I mean, how many bars are there? Are breweries going to put bars out of business? I don’t know.”

Ken on how expansion will effect Wingman’s creativity and tap rotation:

“We have five taps that we reserve for our beer. Once we have the seven-barrel system we will still brew on the one-barrel system. That’s my test kitchen and that’s what I want to use it for. One barrel at a time; we still make enough money brewing in small batches.”

Ken on Wingman’s ability to expand their distribution radius:

“We don’t know, would be the best answer. We’re hoping that, with our [new] system, initially we’ll be able to do all of Western Washington and some of Eastern Washington. Ultimately we’d like to do all of Washington and Oregon.”

About Casey McLain: Casey is better known as a sports blogger, writing his own sports blog (North and South of Royal Brougham) and contributing to Prospect Insider. He also harbors a deep passion for beer.

There are a number of great events happening at Brave Horse Tavern, Tom Douglas’ beer-fueled restaurant and drinkery in South Lake Union. Click here to see a listing of all the events happening at Brave Horse Tavern. But that’s not the only Tom Douglas location hosting events for Seattle Beer Week. On Thursday, May 16, Chuckanut Brewery and Tom Douglas Restaurants team up for a serious beer dinner at Serious Pie in downtown Seattle.

The private dining room at Serious Pie seats only 16 people so this will be an intimate affair – a chance for you to enjoy a delicious meal with Will and Mari Kemper. I’m honestly surprised that tickets are still available. The menu (below) sounds amazing.

Last night Kim and I attended the Tom Douglas progressive beer dinner. Beers from Elysian Brewing and New Belgium Brewing were served along with great food from four Tom Douglas restaurants. It was a walking tour, moving from one restaurant to the next. It was divine. The beer and food were superb. Tom Douglas’ chefs are really upping their game lately when it comes to beer and food pairing. One of the stops was at Serious Pie on Virginia Street. There, we were seated in the private dining room. Actually, it’s more like a chef’s table: it’s practically in the kitchen. It’s very cool. As you can imagine, the pizza was fabulous.

Chuckanut Beer Dinner at Serious Pie

Purchase Tickets
DATE: 05/16/2013
TIME: 6:30pm
LOCATION: Serious Pie Downtown (4th and Virginia)
VIEW MAP

Course 1
Pils Battered Deep Fried Pacific Sardines, Black Market Hot Sauce Aioli, Pickled Red Spring Onion
with Chuckanut Alt Bier

Course 2
Prosser Farm Beets, Crispy Guanciale, Candied Beer Nuts, Cascadia Creamery Glacier Blue with Chuckanut Marzen Lager

Course 3
House Made Venison Summer Sausage Pizza, Prosser Farm Mustard Greens, Rustico Black Pepper, Pickled Mustard Seeds with Chuckanut Pilsner

Course 4
Butterscotch Budino, Hazelnut Biscotti, Apple Butter, Rosemary Cream with Chuckanut Dunkel

This event is a 21 years and older event
Please feel free to contact Amy at amyr@tomdouglas.com with any questions

I’m trying to find the right word. Coveted. Wildly popular. Sought after. Much-ballyhooed. Cult-inspiring. Pliny-like. How about, damn tasty. Yes, I like that. Two Beers Brewing (blog sponsor) just announced the pending release of its damn tasty triple IPA. Ascension Triple IPA will be released at The Woods tasting room in SoDo on May 18th. This will be the second beer in the brewery’s Alta Series of beers. The first sold out in a week. It’s been almost a year since the world was graced with the first limited release of this exceptionally balance triple IPA, which Two Beers initially brewed as a specialty, one-off beer for the Seattle International Beer Festival last summer. People went bananas for it.

There is something very fitting about this particular beer’s release date being the same date that Mount St. Helens blew her top back in 1980. The term ascension is most commonly used to refer to climbing a mountain. Seeing as how May 18th is a date that made Mount St. Helens famous, I suppose it’s fitting to release a mountain-themed beer on that date. Actually, we’ll chalk it up to serendipity. Here is the press release from Two Beers:

Coveted Ascension Triple IPA Makes Its Return as Second Beer in Two Beers Brewing’s New Alta Series

Ascension Triple IPA launch party scheduled for Saturday, May 18 beginning at 11 am

SEATTLE (May 9, 2013) – Two Beers Brewing has announced the second beer to join the ranks as part of the growing Seattle brewery’s new limited edition Alta Series. Ascension Triple IPA, a powerful yet balanced beer ringing in at 15.4 percent ABV and 100+ IBUs, will be released at the Two Beers Brewing tasting room, The Woods, on Saturday, May 18 at 11 am. Just as with the release of Two Beers Brewing’s Switchback Russian Imperial Stout – the first beer of the Alta Series, which sold out in just one week – only 1,000 bottles of this coveted beer will be available for purchase.

“When we first released Ascension as the flagship beer for the Seattle International Beerfest last year, people couldn’t believe a beer so high in alcohol could be so well balanced and approachable,” stated Joel VandenBrink, founder and head brewer at Two Beers Brewing Co. “It was only available that one weekend last summer and we’ve been receiving requests to bring it back ever since. The launch of our Alta Series provided us the perfect opportunity to do so, as well as give this unique beer the attention it deserves.”

Aged for eight months in stainless steel, Ascension Triple IPA is Two Beers Brewing’s most powerful beer yet. Offering a 15.4 percent ABV and 100+ IBUs, Ascension is a true Triple IPA utilizing triple the amount of hops as needed for the brewery’s Evolutionary (Evo) IPA, the recipe for which acts as the base for this delicious beer. While high in alcohol, Ascension is deceptively well balanced and smooth, featuring a moderately sweet palate with strong notes of caramel and citrus, including grapefruit, passion fruit and tangerine.

As a special bonus, May 18 will also mark the release of Two Beers Brewing’s first sour beer, Flanders Brown Sour Ale. Featuring a base of the brewery’s popular Hearth Winter Warmer re-fermented with Lacto, the Flanders Brown Sour Ale offers a nose of cinnamon and nutmeg, complemented by a unique palate of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, oak and allspice. This limited release beer – featuring 30 IBUs and an 8.7 percent ABV – will be available only in 22-ounce bottles.

Craft beer enthusiasts can purchase 22-ounce bottles of Ascension Triple IPA for $14 each (limit six per customer) on Saturday, May 18 beginning at 11 am at The Woods tasting room, one week before they are released to Seattle-area retailers and bottle shops. Five-ounce tasters will be available for $7 each. Bottles of Flanders Brown Sour Ale will be available for $8 each. Attendees of the Ascension launch party will also enjoy a special lineup of Two Beers Brewing beers on tap, including barrel-aged Evo IPA, barrel-aged SoDo Brown and limited edition Prosperity IPA, as well as nine additional seasonal and year round offerings. Last but not least, popular food truck Evolution Revolution will be on site serving up delicious New American street food.

Featuring four bold, complex ales – each reaching above 9.0 percent ABV and boasting its own distinct personality – Two Beers Brewing Alta Series is designed to offer a unique twist with every sip. Whether its the complexity obtained by aging in brandy barrels, the tartness imparted by fresh fruits or unique twist provided by a complex blend of spices, the Alta Series sets out to distinguish itself from the others and reach the upper limits. In addition to a new look for the growing Seattle microbrewery, including screen-printed bottles and a hand-dipped wax seal, each bottle is signed and individually numbered by the very person who bottled it. The final two beers in the series are scheduled for release in August and November, with Switchback Russian Imperial Stout making its return February 2014.

Follow Two Beers Brewing on Facebook and Twitter (@twobeersbrewing), or visit www.twobeersbrewery.com, for more information and the latest Alta Series updates.