Yesterday (Tuesday, Feb 7), Brad Robinson of Odin Brewing was on King 5 TV’s New Day Northwest discussing beer and food pairing. He presented a lovely array of food from Naked City Brewery and Taphouse paired with beers from Odin Brewing, Naked City Brewing, 7 Seas Brewing, Big Al Brewing and Sound Brewery. We share the video below, or you can find on the King 5 website.

Brad represented Washington beer very well and shared some good information with the audience, which is primarily comprised of women who do not normally order a beer with dinner.

It’s great that King 5 decided to do this. Washington beer deserves more of this kind of mainstream attention. Brad and King 5 New Day Northwest producers are to be applauded. Great job!

Here is a press release from Big Time Brewery about today’s big release event. If the introduction of this beer is anything like the release of Pliny the Younger, then there is probably a line outside the Big Time’s front door as I write this. Consider Whiny the Complainer a tribute beer that pays homage to the great beer from Russian River Brewing and all the people who are hopelessly obsessed with it. Here’s the press release from Big Time.

The Big Time Brewing Company is pleased to announce the release of Whiny the Complainer on February 7th 2012 when the doors open at 11:30 am.  Brewed on 12/28/2011, Whiny is a delicious triple India Pale Ale that features an abundant amount of bitterness, hop flavor and aroma from over 3 lbs of hops per barrel.  Hops include, Cascade; Centennial, Chinook; Columbus; Magnum; Amarillo; and Simcoe.  It was dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand.  Original gravity 1.088; Terminal gravity 1.019;  9.1%  abv.

The name Whiny the Complainer was thought up by former head brewer Bill Jenkins – it is in homage to Russian River’s Pliny the Younger – and the patrons who whine because they missed out on their coveted few ounces of PtY.

Whiny the Complainer is the 2,300th batch brewed at the Big Time since batch #1 was brewed on November 10th 1988.  Whiny will be available on draft at the Big Time through the month of February.  It will be served in 10 ounce snifters only.  Seven quarter barrels have been released to the following accounts for release at their discretion:  Beveridge Place Pub; Brouwers Café; Fiddlers Inn; The Hopvine, Naked City Brewery and Taphouse; Wedgewood Alehouse; The Yard Café.

The Big Time is the oldest brewpub in Washington State having opened its doors on December 7th 1988.  Big Time is celebrating its 24th year of serving quality craft beer to beer aficionados in the University District of Seattle.  4133 University Way, Seattle 98105

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.

Next Wednesday the Elliott Bay Brewery and Pub in West Seattle hosts a delicious tasting event featuring a vertical selection of big beers: three vintages of Imperial Stout.

The West Seattle brewpub is a bit off the beaten path for most Washington beer enthusiasts. For the Washington Beer Blog, Elliott Bay is our local pub. You can usually find us there about once a week. Because it is often thought of as a dinner destination more than a beer destination, “The Pub” (as everyone in West Seattle calls it) is underrated. That’s my opinion. Admittedly, I am biased.

When I say “underrated” I’m talking about the beer. Many people don’t know that Elliott Bay’s West Seattle brewer, Dan Ashley, consistently knocks out some great beers, most of which you have never enjoyed unless you frequent the pub.

Ode to Darkness is a tasting event featuring three vintages of Elliott Bay Brewing’s Imperial Stout. The event takes place next Wednesday, January 25th. The beer starts pouring at 4:00 p.m., with a “meet the brewers” session starting at 5:00 p.m.

Below, details about the event and the beers:

The days may finally be getting longer, but it is still that time of year where darkness rules Seattle. So in honor of that, Elliott Bay Brewery and Pub presents an Ode to Darkness. We have broken into our deep, dark cellar and pulled out a couple kegs from years past of our Imperial Stout. We will be serving a sample tray of three versions of our Imperial Stout: ’11, ’10, and ’10 aged in a bourbon barrel.  These samples will be complemented by candied walnuts and chocolate covered cherries, all for $8.00. The event starts at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan 25th, with a meet the brewers session starting at 5:00 p.m.

A little about the beers:
2011 Elliott Bay Imperial Stout: Imperial Stouts were originally brewed for exportation from England to the Imperial Court of Russia. To survive the long transportation in the days before refrigeration the beer was strong. Elliott Bay’s Imperial Stout was brewed to a high alcohol content (9+%) but kept a drier finish, yielding strong coffee and chocolate flavors and aromas, a silky texture from the use of oats, and a dry, coffee-like bitter finish. Significant amounts of hops were used to balance out the sweetness.

2010 Elliott Bay Imperial Stout: So what does age do to a beer? Hop oils breakdown, leaving a less bitter finish; Yeast continues to do its work, fermenting sugar into a little more alcohol; Probably most importantly, oxidation occurs and time mellows the edges from all that alcohol and hops, so the beer is smooth and well-rounded, showing more of the chocolate and coffee and less alcohol and bitterness.

2010 Elliott Bay Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout: Put an aged beer in a used bourbon barrel from the Heaven Hill Distillery and you get all the benefits of aging beer, plus the flavors and aromas developed during the whiskey’s time in the barrel. Vanilla, chocolate truffle, and oak flavors emerge, creating a wholly different experience: the smoothness and rich flavors of a well aged whiskey, without the alcohol bite…the best of the beer and whiskey worlds.

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.

Last spring Big Al Brewing became the first Washington craft brewery to install a solar-thermal heating system. Big Al Brewing flipped the switch in June and started brewing with water heated (at least in part) by the sun. Net Zero Impact, a local solar energy solutions firm, designed and installed the system. The same company recently began installation of a similar hybrid solar-thermal system at Hale’s Ales Brewery in Fremont.

The system at Hale’s Ales Brewery is about three times the size of the system at Big Al Brewing. The project recently began with the dramatic lowering of a 1,200-gallon storage tank through a temporary opening in the brewery’s roof.

Hale’s Ales expects to reduce natural gas expenditures by $15,000 per year. The system will supply 3,000 – 4,000 gallons of solar-heated water per day. The hot water will heat the building and be used in the adjoining pub, but the most significant savings come from using the solar-heated water in the brewing process–a process requiring copious quantities of hot water.

The new solar-thermal hybrid system is one of several “green tech” solutions implemented by Hale’s Ales. The company uses high-efficiency light bulbs throughout the 17,000 square foot facility and manages the building’s lights and heating/cooling systems with an automated energy management system.

“We’ve spent 27 years serving the community with the very best hand-crafted beers possible and making our operations greener is just another way of giving back to our community,” said Mike Hale, founder and president of Hale’s Ales. “Net Zero Impact’s experience working with breweries, exceptional warranty and ability to implement an extremely complex design made it an easy choice to work with the company.”

According to Net Zero Impact, the solar system should prevent 3.3 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere over the next 25 years.

“Northwest brewers have an acute need for hot water and have been early adopters of our hybrid solar thermal technology,” said Barry Andersen, CEO, Net Zero Impact LLC. “We proved the value of the Net Zero Impact system with our installation at Big Al Brewing earlier this year and now, with Hale’s, we’re demonstrating that it works on a large scale.”

The Net Zero Impact system, replacing the inefficient gas-fueled steam boiler, includes:

• 480 solar thermal tubes manufactured by Kingspan Solar,
• a one million British Thermal unit (MBtu) steam boiler,
• a one MBtu high-efficiency hot water boiler,
• a 1,200-gallon water storage tank,
• heat exchangers and programmable controllers for all pump delivery systems.

Kingspan solar thermal tubes transform direct and diffuse sunlight—solar radiation available even on cold, cloudy or humid days—into useful heat in the form of hot water, capturing the sun’s energy, a critically important advantage in the Pacific Northwest’s frequently sun-starved environment.

Inside each tube, solar radiation is collected, concentrated and transferred to an insulated manifold. Super-heated water is then pumped through a heat exchanger to Hale’s 1,200-gallon storage tank. The water is then used to make delicious beer, heat the building, and provide hot water for the pub.

About one year ago we first told you about Reuben’s Brews, when home brewer Adam Robbings’ Roasted Rye IPA took the 2010 PNA Winter Beer Taste by storm (read it) and won first place. Fast-forward. About one week ago someone forwarded to me a curious email from Adam Robbings, who was apparently looking for a metal fabricator and/or a contractor to help build a brewery. About one day ago I received a press release from Adam officially announcing that he is in the process of going pro.

From the brewery’s website: “We are a small, family owned and operated brewery located in Ballard in Seattle, WA.  We plan to have our brilliantly tasty artisan ales available for your consumption in June 2012!  We will have a kid-friendly taproom where you can meet with friends, sample and learn about our beers, and pick up a growler to enjoy elsewhere!  As a small, craft brewery operating on an artisan scale, we can’t guarantee broad distribution of our truly seasonal brews.  We hope you make the trip often to imbibe our frequently changing brews and become a part of the Reuben’s Brews Family.”

Here’s the press release.

REUBEN’S BREWS TO OPEN NEW ARTISAN BREWERY FOR THE LIQUID ENJOYMENT OF ALL BEER LOVERS

Ballard, Seattle WA. December 5, 2011.

Reuben’s Brews is delighted to announce that we have found the perfect location, signed the lease, and are set to open a new artisan brewery in Ballard, Seattle next year! Our family owned and operated microbrewery, named after our son, will open its doors in the summer of 2012.

We are committed to using truly artisan techniques with the finest ingredients to provide you delicious, unique beers. We fully understand that discerning beer drinkers have numerous options when deciding what to imbibe, and we will work our tails off to provide you with brilliantly tasty brews to fill your growler.

You may have already tried our beers. As homebrewers, we were the People’s Choice First Place recipient in the PNA Winter Beer Taste in 2010 with our Roasted Rye PA. Our Best of Show American Brown was brewed by Anacortes Brewery in the fall of 2011, and served in a number of Seattle locations. Our co-founder and brewer Adam Robbings is an award-winning homebrewer with a vast collection of brews he can’t wait for you to enjoy.

Our location will feature a small taproom and brewery, located at 1406 NW 53rd St. in Seattle.  We will craft truly seasonal rotating ales, and we look forward to getting your direct feedback on our creations when you visit our family-friendly taproom.

Please follow our progress and look for ways to get involved in our journey at www.facebook.com/ReubensBrews and www.ReubensBrews.com.

We will be privileged to serve you our brilliantly tasty artisan ales in 2012!

Cheers!

Adam and Grace Robbings