Short and sweet...

Here is what the latest is in a nutshell.
For all you Wheat beer and Hefeweizen drinkers: Yardbird our American Wheat beer is just about ready, we just need some tap space and a bit more time and it will be ready.

There is a barrel or so left of the Ave Rat, and a handful of t-shirts left, about 10 shirts to be exact. If you don't have one and want one, you better get in quick to get your hands on this batch. We think that we will do a different shirt next year, but that is a long way away. It just might come back for next year's street fair.

Meerkat IPA was brewed on Tuesday, so that will be on draft in the upcoming weeks, probably mid July.

Old Sol Wheatwine is on draft, and very tasty. We have very nice shirts as well. On that note, the Old Woolly Barely wine will be brewed shortly, we are thinking mid July, to be ready for it's December 1st release date, a party not to be missed.

Bill is readying his list of beers to take to Denver, I don't dare disclose the details just yet. Hint one of the beers will involve Coffee. Only natural coming from Seattle, I'd say. In other Bill news he will have a post here real soon, if I can keep him on course, I assure you it will be worth the wait.

We have been a bit busier than normal for summer, keep on coming down, we like staying busy.
It looks like summer might arrive just after the 4th of July, I can not wait, lets hope it stays for awhile. That is the ticker at the moment, keep it tuned here for the latest and most current brewery news. thanks and good day.....

It's all downhill....

The Solstice has come and gone and now the days start getting shorter. To ease your pain we will have the Old Sol Wheatwine on tap and in 22oz bottles for the next couple of weeks at least. We think it is great, if a bit on the hoppy side, but oh so drinkable. Liquid sunshine, we have the ability to put it in a glass. Lucky for us summer still might come here in the Northwest, that is if our collective karma brings good weather. If not we have enough beer to make you happy without sunshine. After all water is our life blood so really we should just enjoy the rain.

For those of you that don't know me, I'm there most weeknights with my bald head and my attempt at Bill Jenkins inspired facial hair, and I ride my bike everywhere. We just had Old Sol t-shirts made and I wanted to get them to the Brewery without relying on a car. I believe it is much easier and quicker to navigate our urban environment on a bike than in a car. I have raced many cars across town and won. Here it the photo essay of my journey.

My trusty steed.

I arrive at the Destee nation headquarters in Fremont
Chris( in the Lazy Boy shirt) how dare he, and Jamie, the master printer hear my plan and think it might be a bit much. Jamie goes to get a trash bag to protect the shirts.
A big box of shirts, I will have a t shirt pic here real soon.
The shirts, in the garbage bag, in the messenger bag. Thanks to Chrome for making these large bags.
Here I am ready to ride to the Brewery. It wasn't too far so I added a big hill and went through the Wallingford district to make my journey a bit longer and more satisfying. The only thing in focus here is my thumbs.
No action shots or shots at the Brewery I should have gotten one of Bill holding up the shirts in joy, next time, next time. I had just exerted myself and the lack of oxygen didn't allow me to think clearly. Photo essays will get better and better. There you have it, the t shirts made it to the Big Time without the use of a car, all that human power I harness didn't go to waste. Come in for a snifter, a bottle or a shirt. Hope to see you soon.

What a sucess...

The Mother of all Father's day festivals was very well run and attended. Thank you Lisa. Thank you Arlen. WABL had somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 new members sign up just before the event. They did get a really cool larger tasting glass for doing so. I really wanted one, they were pretty damn cool. While my mission was to get lots and lots of pictures it just didn't happen, there was just too much good beer to be had. That and who really wants to see a large crowd of people drinking beer. We have all been there at one time or another. Not always too much to see. I did snap a few pictures of the keg toss and a few of the attendees. I will make an effort to take more pictures at upcoming events.
Bill will be adding to this post real soon, so I won't go on and on about all the good beers what I liked, or didn't. Decade was a big hit, of course, as was the Big Dance Oaked Imperial Ale. More than once people came asking for it by name and say "it was the best, they heard and the wanted to get some before it was gone."
I am in the process of getting a flickr account up and rolling, after running around and getting the Old Sol shirts approved. They are outstanding. With help from the guys at Destee Nation, they really know what they are doing, so flexible, samples etc. If you ever need shirts these are the gentlemen to go to. Old Sol comes out in two days. I am sure I will be seeing you all there.

Awhile back I mentioned that Teri was the inspiration Kevin needed to make the Old Sol, well recently I found out that she is on a cross country journey, a vision quest of sorts, brewing her way across the country. She is documenting it here. It is worth the read, talk about having some fun.

I will leave you with a few pics from the festival, remember when attending a beer festival in the northwest, beards and utilikilts are part of the uniform.

Drew and Arlen MC the Keg toss. I don't know if you can see it but Drew is wearing his Kilt.

The last contestant in his windup for the Keg Toss.

The Trophy

The man himself Kevin Forhan


Like I said, I really didn't take many pics. Next time, next time. Hopefully Bill will grace us with his words real soon. See you Thursday for the Old Sol release.

Coming soon....

It's that time of year again, can you believe it. It is almost the Summer Solstice and you know what that means.... Old Sol Wheatwine, oh and the longest day of the year, they tell me its all downhill from here.

This beer is brewed on the Lunar New Year and aged until its release on the Summer Solstice, which is Thursday June 21st this year. I hope to see you ordering one or more from me. Rumor has it that it is tasting rather hoppy this year. In 2003 it won a gold medal at the GABF in the Other Strong Ale or Lager category. This year Wheatwine's have their own category, we are tossing around the idea of sending it to Denver again.

It was originally brewed in 2002 by Kevin Forhan, the inspiration was provided by Teri of Steelhead fame. This tasty beverage is brewed with 46% Wheat, mostly Simcoe and Amarillo hops with a bit of Warrior hops as well. Here are the specifics for those of you that like to be in the know: OG 23.6 Plato, 1.100SG, 9.75% by vol., 7.75%by wt.

Right now we are in the end stages of tweaking the t-shirt design with our very good friends down at Destee Nation in Fremont. If you ever need t-shirts made these are the guys and gals to go to. I know you will like it. They will be ready for the release date. We will also have 22oz bottles available upon it's release. I hope to share the evening with you all.

Come celebrate Father's day...

Come on out to what I have heard is one of the best festivals, The Mother of all Fathers Day Festival at St Edwards Park in Kenmore. After last years move in to Seattle it is back to where it should be. With Brewers Games like the Keg toss and the cart race what could be a better way to spend the day. Lets all hope for sun. We have tickets available for sale, come in and see us.

We will be bringing the following beers:
The Big Dance Oaked- Imperial Amber
This was a new beer this year. We brewed it for March Madness to rave reviews. I imagine that with some oak flavor it will be a hit, don't miss it.

Decade IPA- What is there to say, for those that know, if you don't you want to have some of this batch, oh the aroma.

Firecracker Northwest Pale- Which is no longer on draft. This beer was a hit at the pub. It is very well balanced, unlike Aurora for who it is named, we still love her though. Here is the official description:

A hoppy, Northwestern interpretation of the style brewed to honor Aurora, one of our long time kitchen employees. Three hop varieties (Cascade, Mt. Hood, and Willamette) and a hefty dose of malts come together into a beer that, like its namesake, is feisty, full-bodied, and not to be messed with. O.G. 14.8, 5.5% ABV.

Trombipulator Belgian Tripel- What is there to say about this beer that has such a following. It was originally brewed to honor our 500th brew. Rumored to be named after a George Clinton album title.

In other news the Mt Rainer Hopfest is in fact on draft now.

Yardbird- an American Wheat beer was recently brewed and will be coming on in the next couple of weeks, just in time for summer.

Check out what the other breweries are bringing here.

Hopfest arriving soon

We brew a Hopfest beer once or twice a year, it is a single hop pale ale. The purpose is to showcase the unique characteristics of the chosen hop. We are about to release the latest addition Mt Rainer Hopfest. A few days ago we had it on cask and I found it to be very balanced beer, with slight hints of citrus. It reminded me that summer was on the way or maybe that it had arrived. Lets face it summer appears to be close at hand here in the Northwest, with temps hitting above 80 a few times. Stop on in for a pint, if the beer isn't enough incentive for you then there is always the a/c.

Mt. Rainier, originally cultivated in Oregon, has a complex parentage, including Hallertau, Galena, Fuggles, and other hops, and exhibits some noble hop characteristics, but is higher in alpha acid (currently 6.2%). The extraordinary aroma is reminiscent of licorice with a hint of citrus. -tastybrew.com

For more on hops check out this.

Hopunion talks about hops here, and here.