Hops and Props Beer Festival – the roundup and pictures

 

The word of the day was restraint. Saturday we attended two separate beer festivals: the Washington Cask Beer Festival at Seattle Center during the day and the Hops & Props Beer Festival at the Museum of Flight during the evening. Yesterday we posted our Cask Fest Roundup. Today, we do the same for Hops & Props.

Because of an unavoidable scheduling conflict, the Washington Beer Commission was forced to schedule Cask Fest, which historically happens in March, on the same day as the Museum of Flight’s Hops & Props beer festival. In some respects, this was not a problem. Both events sold out easily and the audiences for these two festivals are quite different. However, for those of us wanting to attend both events, the situation required discipline. Like I said, the word of the day was restraint.

The Planes


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Hops & Props is an especially great beer festival if you like airplanes. The annual event takes place at, and is a fundraiser for, the Museum of Flight. Hops & Props provides a unique opportunity to stroll through aviation history beer-in-hand. Where else can you stand beneath an SR-71 Blackbird and drink a craft beer? Where else can you wander amongst the great fighter planes of World War II while tipping a tasty adult beverage?

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I thought that Odin Brewing had the best pouring location. Although it was back in a corner away from the main traffic flow, they were right in front of a  World War II Corsair, which aviation geeks recovered from the bottom of Lake Washington and restored to perfect flying condition. You could find Emerald City Beer Company and Boundary Bay Brewery right in front of the P-38 Lightning.  Yep, if you like airplanes, this is the beer festival for you.

The Beer

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More than 50 breweries served beer at Hops & Props; more than 30 of them Washington breweries. Unlike Cask Festival, this event does not typically showcase uncommon or creative beers. Instead, breweries pour their flagship beers and other offerings that might appeal to a wider audience. Most of the breweries pour two different beers. You do the math. Plenty of beer.

Along with a lot of well-know Washington breweries, Hops & Props featured some newcomers. For example, Beta Brewing (Everett), Barhop Brewing (Port Angeles), M.T. Head Brewing (Graham), and 192 Brewing (Kenmore). The complete list of breweries is too extensive to share here. Suffice it to say that Flyers Brewery and Airways Brewing were both at Hops & Props. No-brainer.

The Crowd

The festivalgoers at Hops & Props are there primarily to support the Museum of Flight, so this is not the typical beer geek crowd. Instead, these people ask Ed Bennett questions like, “So where is Boundary Bay Brewery?” and “Why do they call it IPA?” and “Where can I find your beer?” At Cask Fest, nobody is going to ask those types of questions. We’re beer geeks; we already know that stuff. Hops & Props allows breweries to get in front of a new audience. Not a better or worse audience, just different. In that regard, think of it as a gateway beer festival. Still, plenty of us hardened beer-lovers attend.

The cost of admission, which might cause some people to gasp ($75), includes unlimited tastings. There are ample buffets that you could easily plan on using for your dinner. As I said, this event is a fundraiser for the museum, so most of the people are here primarily to show their support, however plenty of people focus on the beer. If you’re expectations for beer selection are realistic, you will not be disappointed with Hops & Props. Truthfully, some breweries did bring some less-common beers, just not to the same degree as Cask Fest, which showcases creativity and one-offs.

I am a Seattle native; airplanes are in my DNA. I love Hops & Props and the Museum of Flight in general. For those of you who have not been to the Museum of Flight, find a reason. Visit the museum the next time Grampa comes for a visit. If you are the parent of a little boy, that’s your reason. If you’re a beer-lover, Hops & Props is your reason.

 

 

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