Below is a press release about the new Saint Florian IPA from Silver City Brewery, a beer from which part of the proceeds of the sale of every bottle and keg will go to the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters Benevolent Funds. Cheers to Silver City for raising money for a great cause.

A special cask of this new IPA will tapped and presented to local firefighters on Wednesday, March 7 at 5pm at the Silver City Restaurant. There will also be a kick-off event featuring the IPA at the Cloverleaf Sports Bar & Grill on Saturday, March 10 at 5:30pm to begin a week-long fundraiser. The beer will also be available 22oz bottles and on draft in the Puget Sound area.

Press Release:

Bremerton, WA – March 1, 2012 – Today Silver City Brewery is proud to introduce Saint Florian India Pale Ale. Saint Florian, the patron saint of firefighters, is now the namesake of a northwest IPA designed to raise money for Washington State Council of Fire Fighters Benevolent Funds. Part of the proceeds from each bottle and keg of Saint Florian IPA sold goes directly to the Benevolent Fund where the beer is purchased in the region. Silver City Brewery co-owner Scott Houmes said, “We are very proud to grow our long-standing relationship with Fire Fighters and the Benevolent Association. Saint Florian IPA enables us to extend that relationship to other areas around the Puget Sound.”

Silver City Brewery has helped raise money for the Professional Fire Fighters of Kitsap County Benevolent fund every year since 2001 through their annual Oktoberfest Celebration. In that time, the Oktoberfest event has helped raise over $40,000 for the Professional Firefighters of Kitsap County Benevolent Fund.

Saint Florian IPA will raise funds wherever it is sold in Washington. Of this Brewmaster Don Spencer said “We are very honored to present Saint Florian IPA as way to help raise funds for the Benevolent Fund around the Puget Sound. We hope it will also help raise awareness about the Benevolent Fund, as well as the story of Saint Florian, the Patron Saint of Fire Fighters.”

Saint Florian IPA will debut at Silver City Restaurant in Silverdale, WA on Monday March 5th. A special cask of Saint Florian will be tapped and presented to local firefighters on Wednesday March 7th 5:00pm at Silver City Restaurant as well. Saint Florian IPA will arrive in retail stores in 22oz bottles & on draft around the Puget Sound throughout the month of March.

This past Saturday Brouwer’s Cafe held the 10th Annual Hard Liver Barleywine Festival featuring over sixty barleywines on draft all in one day. A long line of dedicated drinkers from all over the NW formed early (I think the first person was reported in line around 7:30am?) before the doors cracked open at 11:15am. In addition to tables of people sampling all the wares, a judging is held for the festival starting at 9am. Here are the results of that judging, with some comments on the process and results afterward:

1st Place: Lost Abbey The Angel’s Share Brandy Barrel 2011
2nd Place: Firestone Walker Abacus 2011
3rd Place: Black Raven Old Birdbrain 2010
4th Place (Toughest Tiger Award): Lost Abbey The Angel’s Share Bourbon Barrel 2011

There are two rounds to the judging, with the first round kicking off at 9am. Around 30 or so people with various involvement in the beer industry or respected palates are blindly given samples that they then score on a standardized scale. The score sheets are then collected and tallied, and a certain percentage of the beers with the top average score from the judges then move into a second round of judging. Ten beers advanced into the second round this year for further evaluation. This second round included 7 judges this year (including myself) who do not participate in the first round judging, and each were given a full flight of all ten beers. After individually giving each beer consideration, the group then discusses all beers in the flight and comes to a consensus on the top beers. Opinions are given, and the majority wins when deciding the final rankings.

This year, all of the top four beers from the judging turned out to be barrel-aged barleywines that stray (some more than others) from the traditional BJCP definition of English-style and American-style barleywines. These results are in stark contrast to last year’s Hard Liver results, when two more traditional-style, non-barrel-aged barleywines took the top spots.

Some people take issue with winning beers all being barrel-aged. As for myself, I have no complaints. This is not a BJCP competition for traditional barleywines only. While I’d love to see a more traditional-style beer in the top spots, it is hard to argue with the beers that ended up there. There just wasn’t an impressive enough traditional-style barleywine in the final ten to knock these barrel-aged beers out of their winning spots (not saying there wasn’t one at the festival, just not in the final flight).

I also think the winning beers reflect what the average attendee at the festival would vote for as their favorites if you went around table-to-table and polled them. The Angel’s Share Brandy Barrel is just a beautiful beer, with the barrel-aged flavors really complimenting the base strong ale flavors. I don’t think the barrel character was even close to dominant in the brandy barrel version. This “fresh” 2011 vintage is complex, yet smooth and not at all too sweet. The 2nd place Abacus is a little more rough around the edges, but still a wonderful beer. I was pleased to find out that the 3rd place beer turned out to  be the Black Raven. I had this as my #2 overall beer in the flight and really enjoyed the mix of assertive hops and malt, with just a bit of barrel-character. There were some flaws coming through, but the strengths far outweighed those flaws for me.

If you are one of the people who don’t like to see the barrel-aged beers dominating the top spots, what were your favorite non-barrel-aged beers from the festival? I really enjoyed the Big Al, but I didn’t stick around too late and didn’t try much else outside of the final tasting.

If you didn’t make it this weekend, fear not as many barleywines will still be available on tap at Brouwer’s this week. Stop in and see what is still available.

Cigar City Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 5.5%
This beer isn’t available locally, but see below to find out where you can order it from online.

Intro: Cigar City Brewing has been helping to redefine the beer scene in Florida since Joey Redner opened the brewery in Tampa, FL, in 2008 with Wayne Wambles as brewmaster. On the strength of their unique and flavorful beers, they’ve been ranked in the top 5 spots of Ratebeer.com’s Best Breweries in the World list for at least the past three years. As often as possible, they try to incorporate local ingredients and traditions into their beers, hence the “Cubano-style” of this example.

Description:
Pours a very dark brown with medium, fluffy light brown head. Coffee and sweet chocolate come through strongly in the aroma. I can sometimes have issues picking things up from the aroma, but it is loud and clear here. Lots more chocolate and coffee follow in the flavor, but everything is kept nicely in balance. I don’t pick up any off flavors, and the bitterness is kept in check; many coffee beers can be astringent in the finish. The medium-light body is just barely big enough to carry the flavors, but it works well while keeping the alcohol at a pleasantly low 5.5% ABV. An imperial version of this would be outstanding as well I’m sure, but I really love low alcohol beers with this much flavor.

Overall, this is a really nice example of a coffee-flavored beer that I’m glad I have a few more bottles of (I’m going to have another one right now). It’s full-flavored, yet smooth and sessionable. I’ve had several beers from Cigar City that justify the substantial hype (in beer communities) surrounding this brewery, and this one is no different.

Verdict: Buy It
While not available locally, I ordered mine online from Luekens Liquors, located in Dunedin, FL. They ship to WA, and the prices are reasonable. The shipping cost is no more than what it would cost you to ship a box if doing a trade with someone online via Ratebeer or BA. They also have several other bottles from Cigar City and other local breweries available.

Brewery Website
Ratebeer Info
BeerAdvocate Info

Commercial Description/Press Release:

This rich brown ale is redolent with Cuban-style roasted espresso beans, sweet caramel and toffee and hints of dry nuttiness. Cuban Espresso is a popular drink in the Cigar City of Tampa owing to its many Sicilian and Cuban immigrants. The beans for Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale are roasted locally by Mazzaro’s Italian Market and Deli in St. Petersburg to our exact specifications.

800 cases of Two Beers cans headed to OR

Several places around Seattle have mug clubs, but good luck getting a spot in one. Most fill up very quickly and are rarely opened up to new members. Two Beers Brewing is rolling out The Woods Mug Club on Wednesday, March 7, and just fifty people will have the chance to sign up in person at the Two Beers Brewing tasting room. More details follow in the press release below.

Beginning next Wednesday, March 7, Two Beers Brewing fans can sign up to be a member of the Mug Club. The year-long membership is only $75 and offers great perks at The Woods tasting room including your own personalized 21 oz mug (filled for the price of a 16 oz pint), an exclusive mug club t-shirt, exclusive tastings of new beers, discounts on cans, bottles and keg purchases, a big end of the year Mug Club party and more.

We’ve been looking for a way to say thank you to all our loyal fans and this is it. We’re only opening up 50 spots to the public, so those interested are encouraged to sign up soon in person at the Two Beers Brewing tasting room, “The Woods.” You will find more information about the benefits, rules, regulations and more on our website: www.twobeersbrewery.com/news/join-mug-club-woods-tasting-room

Two Beers also recently announced that their beer will be pouring at CenturyLink Field for Sounders and Seahawks games starting on March 17:

Beginning March 17, Sounders and Seahawks fans will be able to enjoy TwoBeers Brewing during games at CenturyLink Field! Three of Two BeersBrewing’s handcrafted brews – SODO Brown, Evolutionary IPA and Immersion Amber – will be on tap at various locations throughout CenturyLink during the 2012 season. Husky fans will also be able to enjoy the new offerings when they head to CenturyLink while their own stadium is being renovated later this year.

For those not heading to the game, Two Beers Brewing’s newly-remodeled SODO tasting room is just a short drive away from the stadiums, featuring 12 taps and two large flat-screen TVs for enjoying the game.

And, finally, Two Beers recently announced that they will begin sending beer to our neighbors down in Oregon. The image above (from their Flickr account) is of the initial shipment of 800 cases of cans.

Press release:

BELLINGHAM, WA – The Love of Beer, a documentary about women in the Pacific Northwest brewing industry, will make its Washington debut Wednesday, March 7 with two screenings at the Pickford Film Center in downtown Bellingham.

The Pickford (Bellingham’s non-profit community theater), the Bellingham Beer Lab (a cooperatively owned brewery incubator) and the local homebrew club (Bellingham Homebrewers Guild), joined forces to bring filmmaker Alison Grayson to town for a pair of screenings and a beer-tasting reception. The first screening will be at 7 p.m. With the second screening at 9 p.m. In between, there will be a beer tasting reception with Grayson and possibly some of the women featured in the movie. The film is being screened in the Pickford’s T1 theater, which is 21 and older only so that patrons can take beer and wine into the theater.

The film premiered Aug. 11, 2011 at Portland’s Bagdad Theater with more than 350 people in attendance.

Tickets are $9.50 for the general public and $6.25 for Pickford members. Tickets are available online at pickfordcinema.org.

Synopsis:

The Love of Beer is a documentary celebrating the women at the forefront of the Pacific Northwest beer community.  As of 2011, there are 1,927 breweries operating within the United States– more than 1,900 of these are craft breweries. While the industry is expanding rapidly, growing 11% by volume in 2010, women within the industry are a vast minority.

Traditionally, brewing was a household chore that fell upon women.  It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that brewing shifted from a woman’s small enterprise to the domain of male factory workers. Beer and brewing gained a “men’s club” stereotype and, further enforced by marketing and popular media, the industry has remained a heavily male-dominated field.  However, in the Pacific NW, women are fighting their way towards being some of the most influential people in the brewing industry. From the farm to the consumer, Pacific NW women are setting new standards for brewing and changing the way the nation looks at women and beer.

With a heavy supporting cast and featuring Sarah Pederson, publican of Saraveza, and Tonya Cornett, award winning brewmaster of Bend Brewing (now at 10 Barrel Brewing), The Love of Beer provides an intimate portrayal of the women in the Pacific NW craft beer industry.  These inspiring women are not afraid to fight discrimination and make sacrifices for the sake of their craft. While they acknowledge that their struggles are opening doors for females everywhere, they’re not doing it for feminism or equality…they’re doing it for the love of beer.

Reviews:
-“I watched the documentary with a lump in my throat and tear in my eye. Thank you for creating this documentary. It was moving in many ways and thank you for addressing the taboo subject of childbearing as a professional woman. Cheers to amazing women!” -Julia Ratcliff

-“The Love of Beer captured the extraordinary personalities & talent of the women you highlighted in the film…On the way home I stopped at the store and bought a craft beer from one of the brewers I saw on screen.”- Annette Hadaway

-“A sensitive yet honest appraisal of women’s strength and joy. Cheers to The Love of Beer and all involved” -The Beer Babe

-”What a great portrayal of passion in brewing, and the women who help spearhead the craft beer movement. Simply awesome.” – The Beer Goddess

email:   theloveofbeermovie@gmail.com
website and trailer:    theloveofbeermovie.com
imdb:    www.imdb.com/title/tt2040553/

facebook:    www.facebook.com/pages/The-Love-of-Beer/219482591397332

twitter:    twitter.com/TheLuvofBeer

A lot of beer geeks talk about getting into the beer industry but don’t quite know how to make that first step. If you are one of those people and live near Federal Way, you might want to check out this job posting at 99 Bottles, one of the region’s great bottle shops. Note that they are looking for someone to work full-time; Tue/Wed/Fri/Sat from 10am to 8pm. They are looking to fill the position pretty quickly, so don’t hesitate if you are serious about applying for the job.

Check out the listing for all of the details and to get an application, but here is their job description summary:

Job description
The Beer Clerk works with a sense of urgency, loves beer, enjoys a physically active work environment, performs data entry accurately, has strong beer knowledge, and has an outgoing personality.

Congrats to Full Throttle Bottles on four years of helping Seattle beer drinkers explore the ever-expanding selection of craft beer! Join them tonight from 5pm to 7pm to taste a selection of quads, along with cake.

We will be tasting these on Wednesday, February 29th, 2012 from 5-7pm. Only $3 or bring your own non-disposable glass to be GREEN and save $1!

For THIS TASTING ONLY (from 5-7pm) we will NOT be able to redeem any Living Social vouchers, please redeem them at any other time the shop is open.

Sour beer at Schooner Exact. Click to see the rest of my photos.

This was one of those weekends where there were just too many great beer drinking options to choose from (talk about 1st world problems, huh?). Friday kicked off with a sold-out beer dinner at Trellis featuring Hopworks that got rave reviews. Saturday’s major event schedule included breweries across the state participating in the WA Beer Open House, the sold-out-for-months Hops & Props festival at the Museum of Flight, and the kickoff of the week-long Barleywine Bacchanal at Beveridge Place Pub. Throw in some Pliny the Younger madness at Bambino’s and a pig roast at Little Water Cantina featuring Odin beers and you’ve got yourself a hell of a weekend. It’s almost as if Seattle Beer Week started early and someone forgot to tell me.

My activities for the weekend included touring some breweries for the WA Beer Open House on Saturday, and then heading to Beveridge Place Pub for the 2nd day of their barleywine festival on Sunday. I made it to Schooner Exact, Two Beers, Hilliard’s and Northwest Peaks for the open house, and all places were packed with beer-crazed fans. It was a special treat to taste some of the sour beers straight from the barrel at Schooner Exact, and a cask of double dry-hopped Evolution IPA at Two Beers was probably my favorite beer of the day. Reports from breweries across the state confirm that the 2nd year of the WA Beer Open House was indeed another great success.

Tap room at Two Beers Brewing.

I made it to Beveridge Place Pub just as the doors opened at noon on Sunday, and the only beer kicked was the popular Black Raven Old Birdbrain. I luckily got the very last ounce of the Firestone Walker Abacus, which was fantastic as expected. Following are some thoughts on the beers I tried (either my own 3oz sample, or a taste of a friend’s). I didn’t take notes, so this will be brief & not very detailed…

Big Al Ol’ No. 1 ’11 – Loved this one. It was balanced but still had a good deal of malt complexity.
Terminal Gravity Bucolic Plague ’11 – Very nice malt-focused BW.
Elysian Cyclops ’08 – This was outstanding with a few years of age on it. Just had the fresh ’11 batch in our last NWBN Tasting Panel and it was a bit rough.
Deschutes Mirror Mirror ’09 – Enjoyable as always. Holding up well, but oxidation is starting to take over.
Wingman Barleywing ’11 – I wasn’t a fan of this Belgian-style barleywine at first, but it grew on me a little. Unique and worth trying.
Fremont Snuggle Bunny ’11 – Something funky was going on with this one…not a fan.
Alaskan ’08,’09 & ’10 – The ’09 was the star of this vertical with a smooth malt profile and no off-flavors. The ’08 was too oxidized for my liking. The ’10 was solid.
Anacortes Old Sebastes ’08, ’09 & ’10 – The ’08 was a beautiful beer, but the ’09 and ’10 both had some infection issues. The ’10 vintage won 1st at Brouwer’s Hard Liver Fest last year, so I was sad this keg had gone downhill.
Diamond Knot Icebreaker ’10 – This one was sadly lifeless with no carbonation and the flavors were pretty dead.
Fish 10 Squared ’11 – This hop bomb is definitely one that toes the border between barleywine and imperial IPA. I love it.
North Sound Vertigo ’11 – Not a fan. This had a sourness that was way out of place.

You can see the rest of my photos from the WA Beer Open House on Flickr.

Taster trays are the way to go.

You might want to get a good night’s sleep tonight, because you’ll need all the stamina you can muster if you are planning on taking advantage of all the beery options in the Seattle area tomorrow. While many local breweries will be opening their doors for the WA Beer Open House, Beveridge Place Pub will be kicking off their 10th Annual Barleywine Bacchanal when they open at noon.

The Bacchanal celebrates one of my favorite beer styles over a week-long period (through Sat, March 3) where they will rotate a ridiculous amount of great beer through twenty-four taps dedicated to barleywine. I enjoy barleywines in part because of the range of flavors you can get from the style. Traditional English-style barleywines are focused on the malt flavors, while many American-style examples ramp up the IBUs and focus on the hop profile. You’ll find barleywines that take both avenues to the extreme, but the best examples are balanced and smooth.

Due to the high alcohol content (average ABV of around 9% probably), most barleywines age quite well. Beveridge Place will feature multiple vintages of several barleywines that they will pour at the same time so that you can taste a vertical and see how the beer has progressed over time. I highly suggest this. While barleywines can still taste great after even five years or more, I find that most hit their sweet spot after a couple of years of aging. So, I’ll be looking forward to some of the ’10 and ’09 vintage brews.

Following is a preliminary list of what will be available. Note that not all of these will be on at once, but that they will be