We just received some IPA news from Elysian Brewing Company. They plan to get a bit manic about IPA in the coming months.

Also, Avatar Jasmine IPA (one of Mrs. Beerblog’s most favorite beers ever) is about to make its return and is getting a facelift. The brewery reports that after a little hiatus due to difficulties securing quality jasmine flowers, Avatar Jasmine IPA will soon be returning to taps and shelves.

Here is the information about the manic IPA series straight from Dick Cantwell, brewmaster at Elysian:

New Puyallup Brewery just weeks away (plus, Sarah learns some geography)

– by North Seattle Sarah, North Seattle Bureau Chief –

Eric Akeson was an excited man as he was sipping his beer last night at Naked City Brewery and Taphouse in Greenwood.  You see, after making his first homebrew 17 years ago, he’s finally going pro.  Puyallup River Brewing Company is just a few short weeks away from beginning production, pending final inspection approvals and sign-off.

To help Akeson launch, Don Webb of Naked City assisted him in brewing a batch of his Fryingpan Cascadian Red Ale, using Naked City’s equipment, so the public could get their first taste.  The launch went off incredibly well with a standing room only crowd tasting the beer in both cask and draught form.  Puyallup River Brewing already has a lot of ready fans, and many of them turned out to wish Eric luck and success.

The brewery itself will be a small establishment on a one-barrel system, producing six to nine barrels per month.  Akeson plans to bottle a large amount of that for local distribution, but north Seattleites have no fear: Naked City has been promised the first keg of every beer to come out (because we’re special).  He also plans to attend many of the brewing festivals as soon as he’s up and running, so everyone will have a chance to get a taste.

Eric Akeson and Don Webb

As for the beers, there are four staples right now.  The Fryingpan Cascadian Red Ale is a hoppy, powerful red with a beautiful color.  The other beers include the Electron IPA, the Lahar Imperial IPA, and the Point Success Porter.  I asked Akeson where the names came from, and learned that they’re all connected in some way to the Puyallup River and Mount Rainier.  I’m probably most excited to try out the Lahar, after learning that a lahar is basically a giant deadly mudslide caused usually by a volcano.  Yes, that’s right, I learned something last night about geography.  Fryingpan is a glacier just east of Rainier, and Point Success is the second highest summit on the mountain.  Electron was the name of a mudflow from the mountain into the Puyallup River.  Alex Trebek, bring it.

Despite all these hoppy varieties soon to be released, Akeson says his favorite style of beer to drink is a mellow, sessionable pale ale.  He reminisces often back to the craft beers of the mid-1990’s and pines for the no-longer-around Winthrop Outlaw Pale Ale.

Look for the first bottles and kegs of PRB (not to be confused with PBR) to be coming soon.  For those of you that are anxious for updates, Akeson shares his progress on the Puyallup River Brewing Facebook page, and tweets from @puyallupbrew.  Oh, and those of you in the south end, watch out for lahars.

North Seattle Sarah is the Washington Beer Blog’s North Seattle Bureau Chief. Sarah is a regular contributor to the blog. Her blog, northseattlesarah.com, is a leading source of community and real estate information for Seattle’s Green Lake neighborhood and beyond.

The second annual Washington Beer Open House takes place at breweries across the state on Saturday, February 25, 2012. Start making your plans now. This is an early warning. More breweries will sign up and details will come together in the week’s ahead.

What exactly is Washington Beer Open House? All across the state breweries will open their doors and welcome the public. What happens at each brewery is up to the brewery itself. Barrel tasting, food-beer pairings, seasonal releases, and whatever else. Who knows. By all accounts, last year’s inaugural event was a huge success. Read more about last year’s Washington Beer Open House.

There is an interactive map available for your mobile device. The map will be updated continually as more breweries sign up. On Twitter, use the #WaBeerOH hashtag. When we start to learn more about what particular breweries have planned for Open House, we will share that information with you. Also, keep an eye on the official Washington Beer Open House website.

We just received an update from Westport Brewing. Mark Wagner, the Brewmaster, just sent us an email to tell us the following:

“We’ve been in production since late December 2011 and our tap room opened January 1 2012. Our Cohasset Cream Ale is ‘selling like hotcakes’ in Grays Harbor! Take a road trip, see the beautiful coast and have a few pints with us!”

The Washington Beer Blog will visit Westport Brewing in April (if not sooner). We look forward to taking mark up on his offer. Can’t make out to Westport? Find them on Facebook.

It seems the Ram Restaurant and Brewery plans to open a new location in Federal Way. A “Coming Soon” sign now stands in front of the building that used to be a Marie Callender’s restaurant at 31920 Gateway Center Blvd. The location is just off Interstate 5 at the 320^th Street exit near The Commons at Federal Way (SeaTac Mall).

The Federal Way Mirror reports that the Ram plans to open the new location in late May or June. That’s all we know for now. We have a message in with the Ram and hope to learn more about the plan. We will keep you posted.

We also hear that the Ram plans to open locations in Marysville, WA and Wilsonville, OR. More info as it becomes available.

Federal Way – It’s All Within Reach. That’s the city’s official slogan. I find the slogan a bit odd. To me, it suggests that whatever you want, it is somewhere else but at least it’s within reach. Like most other sprawling suburban municipalities, Federal Way is not generally recognized for cultural refinement, sophistication and life’s finer things. People who live there might take exception to me saying that, but I’m talking about perception and not reality.

Say what you will, disparage the city if you must, but know that Federal Way has at least one glowing beacon of sophistication, elegance and class: 99 Bottles specialty beer store. Federal Way’s esteemed beer destination is about to celebrate it’s fifth anniversary.  There will be a party on Friday, January 20th. Details below.

When 99 Bottles signed on as a sponsor of the Washington Beer Blog, we were actually proud. Not just happy to welcome them aboard, but proud to know that Tiffany and Craig Adamowski approve of what we do here at the Blog because we so seriously respect and appreciate what they do at 99 Bottles.

If you haven’t been there, don’t take our word for it. Go. The bottle selection is complete. The store is beautiful and thoughtfully laid out. If for no other reason, go to 99 Bottles to see the growler filling gizmo. It’s very cool. (See our previous post about it.)

In addition to selling great beer, Tiffany and Craig have been champions for the cause, helping to change laws and regulations to benefit their fellow bottleshop owners. In doing so, they have helped shape a better beer world for us all. You really must go see the growler filling gizmo. As you gaze upon its magical wonder, know that it wouldn’t be there if people like Tiffany and Craig had not convinced Olympia that the law needed to be changed to allow shops like 99 Bottles to fill growlers.

99 Bottles is about to celebrate its fifth anniversary. How time flies! We want to wish our friends a very happy birthday and much continued success. You are valuable and respected members of our beer community. Cheers to 99 Bottles!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012, FEDERAL WAY, WASH. — 99 Bottles specialty beer store will celebrate its fifth anniversary on Friday, January 20, 2012.

In its five-years of operation, 99 Bottles has grown from stocking 250 varieties of beer to more than 1,200, plus hard cider and mead. Over the years the store has provided thousands of people with beer style education through in-store events: First Monday Beer Adventure (themes ranging from beer styles to snack pairings), Sip&Shop Wednesday Eves (pouring two staff-selected beers), and special events with breweries and beer experts. As a result, many 99 Bottles patrons are now comfortable hosting their own in-home beer tastings with friends.

99 Bottles’s Five-Year Celebration festivities will be on Friday, January 20, where the swing-top 99 Bottles jug is included for the first 120 individuals to order a 32-ounce fill. Beers on for fills will be posted throughout the day on the store’s website at 99bottles.net/growlers. The annual 99 Bottles Beer & Cake Tasting kicks off at 4:00 p.m. and goes until 7:30 p.m., where three beers will be paired with specially made Irish Death cupcakes by Washington ’s #1 Cupcake Shop, Pinkabella Cupcakes, using Quilter’s Irish Death beer from Iron Horse Brewery of Ellensburg. The tasting fee is just $1 per person, with valid ID. There will also be celebratory drawings and giveaways at 99 Bottles beer store throughout the day.

###

About 99 Bottles

99 Bottles is a premier beer store, voted #1 in KING 5’s Best of Western Washington Beer Store category in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and scoring “World Class” on the highly respected BeerAdvocate.com website. Discover more than 1,000 beers at 99 Bottles, including local microbrews, craft beers from around the USA , and beer from 50 countries. All beer is available by the bottle so you can mix your six packs. 99 Bottles also has eight rotating draft beers for fresh growler fills on a state-of-the-art Pegas CrafTap system. The family owned and operated beer store is located in the suburb of Federal Way , between Seattle and Tacoma , and has become a Northwest destination for beer lovers from around the world. For more information visit 99bottles.net or follow the store at Facebook.com/99bottles.

We are now just one month away from the 3rd Annual Belgianfest. The event organizer, the Washington Beer Commission, has now released a list of participating breweries (below). Belgianfest is an increasingly popular celebration of Washington-brewed, Belgian-style beers.

To accommodate the need for a bigger venue, this year Belgianfest moves to the Bell Harbor International Conference Center on Seattle’s waterfront (Map, directions and transit information). The event takes place on Saturday, February 4th. Advance tickets (recommended) are now on sale.

Belgianfest continues to grow in popularity in conjunction with the public’s appetite for Belgian-style beers. Since its inception in 2010, Belgianfest has landed at the top of the “must do” list for many local beer lovers.

In its first year Belgianfest was a comparatively petite event that took place in a crowded event space in the historic Seattle Brewing and Malting Company building in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. The event quickly sold out and the need for a larger venue was recognized immediately. Last year, the event moved to a larger event space at Seattle’s Magnuson Park. Again, the building was bursting at the seams. The event space at Bell Harbor offers more room for this year’s event and extra space for future growth if needed.  Hopefully Belgianfest has found a home for years to come.

Year one of Belgianfest.

Belgianfest takes place on Saturday, February 4th. There are two sessions: 12:00 – 400 and 5:30 – 9:30.

Tickets are available online via Brown Paper Tickets.

Belgianfest is organized and operated by the Washington Beer Commission–the first commodity commission of its kind in the United States. The Washington Beer Commission was formed in 2006 when the Washington State Legislature authorized the creation of a Beer Commission to promote the state’s microbreweries.

The event is expected to feature more than 50 beers from no less than 24 breweries (listed below).

ADMISSION AND ADVANCE TICKETS

• $30 advance tickets or $35 at the door.
• Admission includes a commemorative tasting glass & ten 4 oz. tastes.
• Designated driver admission is $5 and available at the door only (includes free water/soda).
• Must be 21 years old or older and have a valid ID.
• Bell Harbor International Conference Center (Map, directions and transit information)

BREWERIES EXPECTED TO ATTEND (as of 1/4/12):

American Brewing Company
Big Time Brewery
Black Raven Brewing
Boundary Bay Brewery
Diamond Knot Brewing Co.
Elliott Bay Brewing Co.
Elysian Brewing Company
Fish Brewing Company
Fremont Brewing Co.
Gallaghers Where U Brew
Georgtown Brewing
Hale’s Ales
Hilliard’s Beer
Issaquah Brewery
Lazy Boy Brewing Co.
McMenamins Pubs
Naked City Brewery
New Belgium
Odin Brewing Co.
Paradise Creek Brewery
Pike Brewing Co.
Ram Restaurant & Brewery
Redhook Brewery
Silver City Brewery
Snipes Mountain Brewing
Snoqualmie Falls Brewing
Sound Brewery
Valholl Brewing Company
Wingman Brewers
7 Seas Brewing

The other day I visited the Pyramid Alehouse in Seattle. It was the first time in a long time, I admit. For the past few years seeing the old brewery in mothballs made me a bit sad. Although the company’s headquarters is still in Seattle, Pyramid Breweries halted the last vestiges of its Seattle brewing operations in 2008. The Alehouse remained a good place to go for a beer and a bite before or after an event at one of the nearby stadiums but there was nothing local about the beer.

The dark days are over. Pyramid is once again brewing beer at its location across the street from Safeco Field. Once again, it is the Pyramid Alehouse and Brewery. The Washington Beer Blog welcomes Pyramid Breweries back to our list of Washington Breweries.

While the Pyramid products that you find on shelves around town still comes from the big brewery in Portland, Kim Brusco has resurrected the Seattle brewery and is making delicious beers in comparatively small batches. The Pyramid Alehouse on First Avenue South now serves Brusco’s 100 percent Seattle-brewed beers alongside other Pyramid products.

Perspective

I don’t want this to be a history lesson but to understand the significance of this latest development you need some historical perspective. Here’s why I think this is such a big deal.

In 1985 the Hart Brewing Company of Kalama, WA introduced a beer called Pyramid Wheaten Ale. Hart Brewing was the first American brewery to produce a year-round wheat beer since Prohibition. For many of us oldsters, Pyramid Wheaten Ale conjures memories of a time when good beer had not yet hit the big time. Back in the late 1980s I felt very lucky if I stumbled into a Seattle bar and found two craft beers on tap. And when I did, likely one of those taps was dedicated to Pyramid Wheaten Ale. It was a great product and for many people it was a gateway to the world of craft beer.

It’s a long story but, in short, Hart Brewing became Pyramid Breweries, Inc. There was a public offering in the mid 90s. There were painful mergers and acquisitions along the way. Eventually the great wheat beer from the little brewery in Kalama, WA became nothing but a memory. The Wheaten Ale of the 80s morphed into the Hefeweizen of the 90s and beyond. Still, Pyramid remained a strong brand with roots dating back to the earliest days of the craft beer revolution. For many of us it remains a “Washington beer” in spirit at least. Chalk it up to nostalgia.

One thing that didn’t change from the 80s to the 90s and beyond, Pyramid kept winning medals for its wheat beers.

Perhaps the most confusing episode in Pyramid’s history was the decision to rebrand its Hefeweizen in 2008. (Not coincidentally the same year they decided to shut down the brewery in Seattle.)  In a move reminiscent of the “New Coke” debacle, Pyramid decided to change the branding of its legendary Pyramid Hefeweizen to Haywire Hefeweizen.

Reintroducing Pyramid

The latest changes in corporate structure saw North American Breweries, Inc. (NAB) acquire Pyramid. That’s the short version, anyway. See our original post to learn more about the acquisition. NAB controls a number of different breweries, including Labatt, Genesee and others. Among the changes instituted by NAB, the company rebranded (un-rebranded) Haywire Hefeweizen, reintroducing Pyramid Hefeweizen.

The new, old Pyramid Hefeweizen. Nothing haywire about it.

Another significant change, NAB seems to appreciate a more crafty approach to managing the breweries it owns. Press releases, not to mention the current situation at the Seattle brewery, suggest that NAB intends to foster a spirit of independence.

“Moving away from the tradition that made us great was a mistake,” said Ryan Daley, brand manager for Pyramid. “Our consumers connected with our Pacific Northwest heritage and craft beer brewing tradition… Our beer no longer reflected our rich history.”

Local Flavor

Recent developments at the Seattle brewery seem to be evidence of a change in corporate culture. Pyramid brought in Kim Brusco, a well-known member of the local brewing community, to reopen the brewery and reintroduce Pyramid to the local beer scene. Not content to be just a faceless national brand, NAB seems to recognize the value of making Pyramid cool again. By all indications, it is willing to give Pyramid the freedom to do what it needs to impress the local audience.

I am not a fool and I truly hope this is a sincere sentiment. I have no reason to doubt it at this point.

With experience as a head brewer and brewery manager, Kim Brusco was perfectly qualified to come in and end the brewery’s hibernation. He began brewing professionally in 1990 at a small brewpub in Pioneer Square and then moved on to Pike Brewing. Eventually his career took him to Redhook in Woodinville where he most recently worked as the Brewing Manager.

“At this point in my career I wanted to make some changes,” Brusco told me over a delicious pint of his Imperial Porter. “I left Redhook with only two requirements for my next gig: I wanted to be able to ride my bike to work and I wanted to get back to doing more hands-on brewing on a smaller system. My plan was to take some time off, do some skiing this winter, and just let things happen. Then this great opportunity came up.”

Kim Brusco is also a musician—a bass player. A good rhythm section is always about structure. There is plenty of room for creativity and imagination, but only within the strict bounds of tempo and time. As for the opportunity at Pyramid, it seems that the size of the brewery (15-barrel brewhouse), the location within reasonable distance of his home in Seattle, and the combination of structure and independence appealed to Brusco. At this point in his brewing career, this is where he wants to be .

Currently the Alehouse is pouring Seattle-brewed Imperial Porter and Hop-Tep IPA. Next up is a Spring Bock that is currently conditioning. Expect it to start pouring in a few weeks, though Brusco says he wants to make sure it gets enough time to properly condition. I was particularly impressed with the Hop-Tep IPA, although the Imperial Porter was also delicious.

The name Hop-Tep IPA is homage to a quirky but critically acclaimed film, Bubba Ho-tep, which imagines Elvis Presley living out his senior years in quiet anonymity. Why did Brusco name his IPA after that film? You are free to read-in to it whatever you like.

In addition to feeding the taps at the Pyramid Alehouse, the Seattle-brewed Pyramid beers will soon be available at local pubs. Among others, the Latona Pub and the Beveridge Place Pub (blog sponsor) have already expressed interest in pouring Brusco’s beers.

Über Tavern is closing. There, do I have your attention? Über opened five years ago in Seattle’s Green Lake neighborhood and began dutifully pouring an outstanding selection of great beers, accompanying each pint with a fiery “Don’t call me small” attitude. With 17 beers on tap, the tavern offers more taps per square foot than any other bar in the city. According to the owners, Über Tavern is now in need of a facelift. The bar will shut down for three weeks to undergo a significant remodel.

What does this mean for you? Not only will you get to drink at a new and improved Über Tavern once it reopens in February, you will also get some special deals as the old Über closes. The final day is Saturday, January 21st. When the bar opens at noon that day, enjoy a $2.50 discount on each pint. Every two hours the price goes up 50 cents. Also, Über Tavern plans to pour a very special beer from Cascade Brewing to mark the occasion. Complete details are below.

January 21st is also Niko’s last day at Über. The beloved bartender is defecting to Portland. (Best wishes, Niko!). Find Niko behind the bar until 7:00 p.m. and find him under the bar shortly thereafter. You are invited to come help send him off in style.

Here is the news direct from Über:

BUT SAVE THIS DATE: SAT 1/21/12 @ 12:00 p.m.

WHY?

1) Last day / night of “Original Über”. – We are remodeling, slated to reopen Fri 2/10/12. More on that below.
2) Last day for Niko! Booooooo! – Our good friend & long time bartender is moving to Portland!
3) It is going to be a damn near free-for all. – Don’t miss it.

HERE’S THE DEAL

YOU CAN HELP BY DOING THESE 2 THINGS:

1) KILL EVERY KEG IN THE BAR (read on–we’ll make it easy)
2) Come say good-bye to Niko. It won’t be the same without him.

After 5+ years, our bar is ready for a facelift and we’re going kinda big…for our little place, hence the 3 week closure.  Über has 17 taps. Every one will be replaced with a new keg when we reopen. So let’s kill all the old ones on our last night.

STARTING AT NOON WHEN NIKO OPENS:

- EVERY SINGLE DRAFT BEER will be $2.50 off
- That means a lot of $2 pints and such
- Every 2 hours they go up .50
- By 10:00 p.m. they will be back to regular price, BUT…
- All growler fills will be half-price from 10:00 til close!

It wouldn’t be our style not to roll out some completely off-the-hook keg for such an occasion. We asked our friends at Cascade Brewery in Portland to come up with a VERY SPECIAL keg for Niko’s last hurrah (and ours). Details of the beer will come later, but yes it will also be featured at the same crazy discounts as all the other beers.

It goes without saying there will probably never be a day/night like this at our place again, and many of us will be saying
good-bye to a great friend.

Do it! You won’t regret it. Well you might. But you won’t remember it.

See you under the old bar for the last time,

Your friends at Über Tavern

PS: Niko will be there from 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. behind the bar. Then under it shortly after. Buy him a beer!

Congratulations to Anthony Stone, the recipient of the 2012 Glen Hay Falconer Foundation American Brewers Guild scholarship.  Anthony, one of the brewers at Boundary Bay Brewing in Bellingham, will attend the American Brewers Guild’s Intensive Brewing Sciences and Engineering course. This year the Foundation entertained the largest number of applications in the program’s history.

The American Brewers Guild’s Intensive Brewing Science and Engineering course runs from January through June 2012.  The course is a 22-week distance education program with a final week of residential instruction. The course provides instruction for brewers and home brewers lacking formal training in brewing science. It covers all the fundamentals of beer production and quality assurance.

The mission of the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation is to provide opportunities for professional and aspiring brewers from the Pacific Northwest to further their knowledge and expertise. The Foundation strives to fulfill this mission by offering educational scholarships to an accredited brewing school. Since 2004, the Foundation has awarded fifteen full-tuition brewing education scholarships.

Other recent Foundation scholarship award winners from Washington include Dean Priebe (2010) of Icicle Brewing Company in Leavenworth and Dave Pendelton (2011) of Dick’s Brewing Company in Centrailia.

Here is the press release from the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — December 2011

** ANTHONY STONE PREVAILS IN LARGEST APPLICANT GROUP EVER FOR FALCONER FOUNDATION AMERICAN BREWERS GUILD SCHOLARSHIP **

From a large group of talented applicants, Anthony Stone of Boundary Bay Brewing Company (Bellingham, WA) has named recipient of the 2012 Glen Hay Falconer Foundation American Brewers Guild scholarship. Anthony will be attending the American Brewers Guild’s Intensive Brewing Science & Engineering course which runs from January through June 2012. The Intensive Brewing Science & Engineering course is a 22-week distance education program with a final week of residential instruction. The brewing scholarship is a full-tuition grant along with travel stipend that is offered with the generous co-sponsorship of the American Brewers Guild.

In making its final decision, the Selection Committee members were impressed by Anthony Stone’s hard work ethic, passion, and contributions to the broader brewing community. In the words of committee members, Anthony “embraces his homebrewing roots in the truest sense, even teaching homebrewing at a local college.” Anthony “continually demonstrates his hunger for knowledge” and “dedication to improving his knowledge base and to sharing this with others.”

The Foundation extends congratulations to Anthony and a sincere appreciation to all the applicants for their interest and enthusiasm for the Falconer Foundation American Brewers Guild scholarship.

Also, don’t forget to mark you calendars for May 11-12, 2012 for the 10th Annual Sasquatch Brew Fest in Eugene, Oregon, which is sure to be the biggest and best ever! Come join us for what will be a very special event and celebration of the brewing education, craft brewing, and Glen!! Visit www.northwestlegendsfoundation.org for more information.