Beer: The Only Way to Survive Zombies

Tis the season for goblins, ghosts, and ZOMBIES!  While we all will be welcoming costumed youngins' on our porches tomorrow night, let's not forget about the always frightful and ever looming threat of zombies.  After surviving the Dawn of the Dead Dash last Friday, I realized that I couldn't have done it without beer.  Behold the top three reasons why beer will undoubtedly help you survive a zombie invasion.

1.  Beer will help you not care!

When my girls showed up for a zombie run with bags of dress up clothes, I shuttered.  Not being a dress up kind of gal, I poured a big glass of brew, took a deep breath, and embraced it.  In a real zombie invasion, the first step should be to drink a couple beers.  It does wonders for calming nerves and after a couple, you forget what you were even worried about to begin with.

2.  Beer will motivate you!

After being debriefed at the safe house prior to the zombies being released, I looked down at my race bib.  Was that a free beer waiting for me if I survived?  Instantly, I felt like I could fly.  Trying to convince the girls that they could also move fast might have been the more difficult task.  Knowing that motivation would have to occur prior to the finish line, the promise of a cold beverage at my favorite tavern immediately spurred their speed.  Soon, we were between checkpoints, safe at my neighborhood watering hole, oblivious to the obvious threat.    

3.  Beer will heal you!

The day after any zombie dash, I mean invasion, it is imperative that your "hair of the dog" consists of water, barley, hops, and yeast.  Nothing cures a pounding headache from zombies more than another brew.  With the end of the world right around the corner, best to start stocking up on your favorite beer in order to survive.  We are less than two months away!

While the idea of zombies might be comical to some, my experience was real.  Be sure to understand and respect the power of the brew.  Your post-Apocalyptic survival might just depend on it!


Dawn of the Dead Dash
www.dawnofthedeaddash.com

Brewette Does Wine

Although dipping into the wine world might seem like a slight departure from the norm for this Brewette, my love affair with wine has been a long and winding road.  Almost a decade ago, I would spend my weekends talking to sippers and gulpers at the Silver Lake Winery tasting room in Woodinville, WA.  I had my share of intellectual conversations over one ounce pours of vino.  While I still make my way to a tasting room every now and then to imbibe, I haven't ever been behind the scenes of wine making....until last Saturday at Two Mountain Winery.

  

Two Mountain Winery, located in Zillah, WA, is a 10 year old estate winery owned by Matt and Patrick Rawn: two brothers with a passion to keep the family farm land profitable.  Being classified as an estate winery means that they grow all their own grapes for the wines that they produce.  They also sell their grapes to several wineries in Woodinville, California, and even some on the East Coast.  

The first half of the day was spent with Matt, the winemaker.  He let us see all the equipment and helped us understand exactly what goes into winemaking.  We were able to taste fresh pressed juice, newly fermented wine (which ironically tasted like beer), and wine that had been punched that morning and was still in the fermentation process.  The basic ingredients start the fermentating process with wine as is with beer:  potential sugars, yeast, yeast nutrient, and oxygen.  The potential sugar in wine is measured as Brix, instead of Plato.  Conversionally speaking, the difference between Plato and Brix is 0.1%.  While Plato measures the potential fermentable sugars from extract or grain, Brix measures the dissolved sugar to water ratio in a solution.  Much like brewing, winemakers measure the sugars prior to fermentation as well as after in order to determine the alcohol content.  Matt had a few hydrometers and graduated cylinders to show us how it was done.  A few more samples of wine in process, and then it was our turn to go out into the fields.

The second half of the day was spent with Patrick in the vineyard.  After a quick ride out to Copeland Vineyards, we found ourselves amongst 40+ acres of grapes.  While Patrick talked with us about the family legacy of farming in the Yakima Valley, I began to inhale all the ripe Merlot grapes around me.  Although some varietals had already been harvested, there were still plenty to snack on.  Patrick gave us a plastic bag and set us loose.  Our task: to pick grapes from all regions of the vine.  We were to get a cross section of the Merlot grapes in order to determine whether they were ripe for picking.  While Matt used hydrometers during the wine making process to measure the Brix, Patrick used a Refractometer to gauge the sugars of the fruit straight off the vine.  A  Refractometer measures the density of a solution based off how sunlight refracts through the liquid.  We squished up our selection of grapes and then put a bit of the juice into the refractometer.  According to our tastes and the actual sugars in the grapes, we all agreed  it would be prime time to harvest.

While we didn't get to actually make wine, the day spent behind the scenes of this winery made their wine taste even better.  Matt made sure to note that a lot of good beer goes into making great wine.  Well, this Brewette would have to agree.  Two Mountain wines are top notch...and I've got beer to thank for that!


Two Mountain Winery
www.twomountainwinery.com
2151 Cheyne Road, Zillah, WA 

Peter Peter...Pumpkin Beer Drinker?

The 8th Annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival made it's way to Georgetown this past weekend.  Boasting over 60 unique pumpkin beers on tap, including beers that never make their way to this coast, three sessions of the fest were guaranteed to be chock-full of beer lovers.  In fact, all presale tickets were sold out.  With 13 beers just from Elysian alone, I was anxious to try beers from some of my other favorite breweries.  A list of new to me pumpkin beers from 10 Barrel, Naked City, and Georgetown Brewing made me anxious to start filling up my Jack o' Lantern tasting glass.  After hours of gourd filled brews, I found my top three pumpkin pleasers.

Pumpkin Pleaser #1:  Elysian's The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Elysian hit it out of the park on this one.  Having many of their own beers at the fest, they provided a varied yet distinctive line up.  This Imperial actually won the silver medal at GABF in 2007.  It has pumpkin all throughout out the brewing process: mash, boil, and fermentation.  What I really enjoyed about this ale was the subtle yet not overpowering pumpkin spices.  There was just enough cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice to accentuate the pumpkin but not feel like I was inhaling a spice rack.

Pumpkin Pleaser #2: Naked City's Boo Radley

Being a fan of Naked City for awhile, I waited in line to try their new to me pumpkin brew.  Boo Radley was brewed with 80 pounds of sugar pumpkins.  Spices were added three separate times throughout the brewing.  This resulted in a well balanced palate of spice and squash.  With a mild ABV weighing in at 6.8%, this pumpkin treat was quite drinkable.  If the line wasn't so long for this one, I probably would have gone back over and over again for more.

Pumpkin Pleaser #3:  Big TIme's Hop Goblin
Unbeknownest to me, Big Time has been making beers with our beloved pumpkin since the 1990s.  That being said, it is no surprise that they have honed in on what works and what tastes fantastic.  The Hop Goblin has  an 8 pound per barrel ratio of meat from organic pumpkins.  While the actual pumpkin gets added to both the mash and the brew kettle, the spices appear to have been sprinkled throughout the process.  If you haven't tried this one, defintely worth a trip out to the U District to have some of this "dessert in a glass."

The Great Pumpkin
(Yes, there was beer in there!)

While the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival has already come and gone, it isn't too late to try some "gourd"eous beers this fall.  Take a trip to your local speciality bottle shop (my favorites being World Beers and Pint Defiance) and grab a few pumpkin brews.  It is only fair that when the Trick or Treaters are making their way to your house this Halloween, you are enjoying your beer treats too.

Hoptoberfest at Beveridge Place Pub

Each October, Beveridge Place Pub in West Seattle, dedicates 20 taps to IPAs from Washington State.  In a quest to identify BPP's house IPA for the year, beer drinkers are able to nominate any IPA from the state for it to be in contention.

I found myself at BPP Wednesday night to blind taste these hoppy treasures.  After studying the ballot, I was quite impressed with so many of my favorites in the running.  After grabbing a few willing friends with a common thirst for hops, we embarked on our blind tasting.  In a blind tasting, all of one's preconceived notations go right out the window.  One is forced to critique and judge each beer against the next. That night, I was preferring the crisp citrusy IPAs that had a more mild malt background.  My top three choices on our tasting tray were 1, 4, and 8.

1.  Georgetown Brewing: Lucille IPA
This IPA showcases Amarillo, Simcoe, and the "C" hops (Columbus, Centennial, and Cascade).  The hops in this IPA take center stage with their floral and citrusy flavors against the mild pale malt base.  I couldn't get enough of this taster.  In fact, I think I made sure to finish it off myself.

4.  American Brewing Company: Breakaway IPA
A completely unbiased choice, I was drawn to this taster.  It is true, I have helped brew this IPA with the boys at ABC.  But I promise you, that didn't factor into my choice.  What I enjoy about American's beers are their overall balance with hops and malt.  It is not a surprise that this easy drinking IPA became one of my choices for the top three.

8.  Boundary Bay IPA
Once upon a time, almost a decade and a half ago, I found myself exploring the world of craft beer when Redhook ESB reigned king.  I quickly acquired an affinity for hoppy "expensive" beers, compared to the yellow fizzy filled cans my cash strapped college friends drank.  BB's IPA has been one of my faves since then.  Rounding out my top three choices, this IPA in particular symbolizes my love for Washington brews.

While I chose these as my top three, there wasn't an IPA in the Elite Eight that I didn't like.  If you can't get to Beveridge Place before next Wednesday, be sure to get in there from Oct. 25 through Nov. 4 in order to taste and vote on your choice from their top three.  With many election decisions ahead of us, make sure that you do your part as a craft beer loving American!

Beer Review: Dark Side of the Cascades

 

On Wednesdays at American Brewing Company, the crew releases a new brew.  Whether it is bringing back an old favorite or putting a test batch on tap to gauge the public interest, making the trek up to the Edmonds tasting room is proving to be a necessary jaunt.

This week, assistant brewer Dan Payson debuted his version of a Cascadian Dark Ale (also known as a Black IPA or an India Black Ale) entitled "Dark Side of the Cascades."  Dan, who has been working with Skip Madsen at ABC for the last 16 months, described the beer as an ale that "epitomizes the northwest with it's coffee and hop flavors."  Many CDAs on the market have one of two issues: they either use too much malt and not enough hops, or they use too many hops, which ends up overpowering the malt. 

 Dark Side of the Cascades finds that perfect balance of malt and hops.  

While catching up with Dan, he mentioned that he had been working on finding that perfect balance for awhile.  After months of tweaking the recipe, Dan realized that he just needed to go back to basics.  By the buzz of excitement in the tap room, you could tell that everyone agreed.  CDAs appeal to not only IPA drinkers, but also Porter and Stout lovers.  A couple sitting at a nearby table couldn't stop raving about how much they enjoyed Dan's new brew.  "It's like I am expecting it to be heavy, but then I get this awesome hop flavor," noted one patron.  While this release was only a test batch, it seemed unanimous that Dark Side of the Cascades would be a hit as a regular tap handle.  "It is something you can enjoy during our 10 months of winter," joked Dan.  I couldn't agree more. 


Upcoming New Release Wednesday at American Brewing Company
October 31 @ 6pm: Pumpkin Ale.  Skip and Dan embark on their first pumpkin beer.  Rumor has it, they are aiming for some bacon flavors.  Yes, I said BACON.  Get dressed up and come hungry.  Big Mike will be making some of his famous sausages!

American Brewing Company  180 W. Dayton St #102  Edmonds, WA  98020

Trio of Colorado Brewery Towns

The last day of my Colorado Beerventure this year was focused on road tripping with the brewery boys. It was time to get out of the city, let the rubber hit the road, and see where the day took us.

Boulder: The Berkeley of the Rockies
A cute college town with a handful of distinctive breweries makes Boulder my choice destination to go back to school. Today my schooling was at Avery and Twisted Pine. Meeting the boys at Avery for our breakfast beers, we tried an assortment of IPAs, Ellie's Brown Ale, The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest, and their Bolder Weisse. Per my current hophead status, I thoroughly enjoyed their Cascade/Centennial IPA and Chinook Wet-hop Pale.
Convincing the crew to make one more stop prior to heading up to the mountains, we made our way to Twisted Pine Brewing Company. With fifteen taps, we opted to share a ten beer sampler between the five of us. Twisted Pine took home some hardware at GABF the day prior for their Westbound Braggot and Big Shot Espresso Stout. Besides those solid brews, we sampled eight others, notably their Ghost Face Killah and Raspberry Wheat Ale. GFK boasted to be the hottest beer this side of hell.  With my minuscule sized sip, I thought that I was going to breathe fire. Allegedly gas masks are worn when brewing this beer. With the name of a Wu Tang Clan member, you have to expect some crazy heat from this one. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, TP's Raspberry Wheat Ale had to be the best fruit beer I have ever tasted. Fresh raspberry and crisp wheat flavor flooded my taste buds in an attempt to put out the flames from GFK.

Nederland: Home of Frozen Dead Guy Days
The allure of a brewery at 8236 feet prompted us to caravan up to Nederland. This mountain town holds a festival each year based on the story of a body found in the shed of a resident's yard. This resident, originally from Norway, Trygve Bauge, transported his grandfather's body to the United States and up to Nederland with the hopes of opening up his own cryonics facility along with his mother, Aud. Deportations and evictions led the city to eventually find out about the frozen body. Thus a festival was born. Events including Coffin Racing, Costume Polar Plunging, Ice Turkey Bowling, and a Parade of Hearses litter this town the first full of weekend of March annually since 2002.

Ok, back to the beer. Wild Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery's aroma captivated our hungry bellies. Instantly we became enticed with their pulled pork sliders and five different choices of BBQ sauce. A Redemption Oatmeal Stout, Hop Diggity IPA, and Mountain Mama Cherry Wheat helped wash all those tasty morsels down. Keeping an eye on the clock due to our impending 9pm flight, we decided it was time to descend off this mountain treasure and enjoy our final brewery of the day.

Longmont: The Armpit of Boulder
I can't disagree more with Longmont's nickname. Granted, living in Tacoma, Washington for the past 17 years has desensitized my sniffer to the infamous Tacoma Aroma. While enjoying Left Hand Brewing's sunny patio during the afternoon, I didn't get any hint of that supposed turkey processing plant that stinks up the town. That being said, I would like to rename Longmont to Colorado's Best Kept Secret.
I had been thirsting for Left Hand's Milk Stout on Nitro all weekend. Upon coming back into town from Nederland, we stopped off to a busy pub with plenty of seating both in and outside. That aforementioned sunny patio was a perfect locale to enjoy that Milk Stout on Nitro. Words can't thoroughly describe that delectable creaminess. While the brew boys tried the Polestar Pilsner, Oktoberfest, and the Wake Up Dead Stout, my favorite of the day, by far, was the stout. After finishing that coveted last sip, it was off to the airport to head back to Seattle.

Fellow beerventurers, take note. While Denver, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs feature a plethora of first class breweries, be sure to take the time to get out into the mountains and explore. Let the altitude affect your attitude and enjoy a pint for me.

GABF in 23 Hours

 

From Friday at 5pm to Saturday at 4pm, my life was centered around the Colorado Convention Center for the 31st annual Great American Beer Festival.  Starting back in 1982, this festival showcases American beer at its finest.  Attendees are able to sample thousands of different beers from around the country.  This year, over 580 breweries and 2700 different beers made their way to Denver, Colorado.  Indulgence and excess?  Yes!

Friday night's session ran from 5:30-10pm.  This session was the absolute highlight of my weekend, as it was when my very own beer was being poured at the ProAm booth.  Only 94 homebrewers across the country were entered into this competition.  Each homebrewer teamed up with a professional brewer to create a commercial batch of their award winning homebrew.  The homebrewer had to have won a medal in an AHA (American Homebrewers' Association) sanctioned competition.  Also, the professional brewer had to be entering beers in the GABF competition from their brewery.  When all those stars align, you can enter the competition.  Big deal?  Heck yes!

After beelining it to my beer to have the first sip, I meandered throughout the festival.  Maybe I did some silent disco dancing, maybe I stood in an atrociously long line for a beer and cheese pairing, maybe I dressed up like a moustache wielding cowgirl, and maybe I threwdown and lost at Cornhole.  Regardless of the events, this much is true: Friday was the best session ever.

Catching some shut eye between Friday night and early Saturday morning proved to be easier said than done.  Saturday morning was the GABF award's ceremony in the Wells Fargo Theater.  After a beer toast was made, the announcements were underway.  While I didn't receive a medal for my Irish I Was Irish Red, three other very talented homebrewers did.  The brewery that I collaborated with, American Brewing, ended up winning a bronze medal for their Baltic Style Porter.  So proud seeing those guys up on stage!  

Immediately following the awards ceremony, the Saturday afternoon session began.  This session was "Members Only," which meant that only BA (Brewers' Association) and AHA members were eligible for tickets.  Besides the commarderie of the crowd, the attendees of this session also received actual tasting glasses, as opposed to plastic ones in other sessions.  While it was a classy touch, it quickly became hazardous when these glasses slipped out of beer drenched hands and crashed on the cement floor.  Dodging glass chards and trying newly awarded medal winning beers proved to be quite an afternoon adventure.

 

GABF 2012:  You have once again broadened my beer horizons.  I was exposed to thousands of new beers, dozens of new friends, and a realization that following my dream of brewing is exactly what I need to do.  See you next year, Denver! 

Colorado Beer Adventure: Day 1

For the past two years, I have marked my calendar and planned a vacation specifically around the Great American Beer Festival.  Each fall, GABF comes to the Colorado Convention Center in beautiful downtown Denver, allowing each of its attendees to explore a unique and over indulgent beer fest.  While this trip's focus was obviously the festival, it was difficult to stay put in a state that boasts having over 100 craft breweries.  Our tour of the Centennial State began right when we stepped off the plane.

Stop 1: Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont

After picking up credentials and an overflowing schwag bag from GABF, we headed north to enjoy our first beer of the day.  Previous beer pilgrimages through Colorado have led me to an Oskar Blues facility.  However, this was my first time at their actual brewery.  Walking into the tasting room, we were greeted with a swarm of industry representatives, TV cameras, and laughter.  Easily finding a spot at the bar, we ordered a Gubna and G'Knight: two of my all time OB faves.  One of the assistant brewers, and our server, Dennis, starts chatting with us about our trip, GABF, snowboarding, and such.  Before we knew it, we were about to embark on a private tour of the facility.  

Dennis led us around the brewhouse, showing us everything from the mash tun to the grain mill.  We were introduced to a slew of staff that are undoubtedly the heart and soul of OB.  Not only did we get to see their filtration system full of diatomaceous earth, but we were invited to take handfuls of fresh Chinook hops and crush them in our hands to truly experience that delicious aroma.  Our tour concluded with a sample of some Gubna right out of the tank.  Amazing!

Stop 2:  Odell Brewing Company, Fort Collins

With our thirst temporarily quenched, we continued our trek north to the Fort.  Although FC has some heavy hitting breweries, our mission was only to visit Odell.  While the brewery was packed, we were able to easily get two pints relatively quickly. Myrcenary and  St. Lupulin were instantly at our table when a loud booming voice announced a brewery tour.  After travelling all day, we hopped right off of our stools, snagged the last two wristbands, and followed this limited group into the brewing facility. 
An impressive fact about Odell is that they have been running as a debt free brewery for several decades.  Quite an impressive feat when walking around this high tech brewhouse.  We meandered through the grain area, fermentation vessel yard, and into the warehouse full of freshly bottled beer.  Their filtration system is all centrifuge.  This 600K piece of equipment is responsible for the crystal clear beer I have grown to love.  Before our bubbly tour guide released us, she made sure to fill our pints with some fresh St. Lupulin.

Stop 3:  Freedom's Edge Brewing Company, Cheyenne

After consulting our Find Craft Beer app, we knew that we had no other choice but to drive 30 more minutes north to Wyoming in order to drink beer from an old brothel.  Downtown Cheyenne is not only well kept, it sported some neat old town architecture.  The tasting room felt as though we were going back in time.  Sitting at small tables in a parlor like setting, we enjoyed their 1890 IPA and Funkin' Pumpkin Ale.  With GABF tickets burning a hole in our pockets, we hopped back in the car and headed to Denver.



Stop 4: Great Ameriacan Beer Festival, Denver

Needless to say, I could go on and on and on about GABF.  Inevitabley within the next few blog posts, I will.  We spent only a few hours at the fest getting our bearings, sampling some beer, and chatting with old friends.   With a full day of travelling, drinking, and exploring under our belts, it was time to rest up for the rest of the weekend.

Colorado, you have once again surpassed my expectations.  I am overwhelmed by your hospitatlity, the friendliness of your people, and the sheer brillance of your beer.  If you keep this up, I may just have to move here.

Oktoberfest Northwest: Where nailing, bagging, and beer drinking meet!

The annual tradition of Oktoberfest found its way, once again, to the Puyallup Fairgrounds.  Along with the schnitzel and the lederhosen, came the best two drinking games ever: Hammerschlagen and Cornhole.  Nothing combines better with drinking beer like throwing and striking, right?

Hammerschlagen is traced back all the way to the early 1800s in Germany.  The game itself was played at the very first Oktoberfest.  Who would have thought that over 200 years later yours truly would be Champion of the Wood? (Oh you know my Mom is proud of that statement!).  Basically the game is played with a stump of wood, a stein full of beer, some nails, and an affinity for using the opposite end of a hammer.  The goal is to get the nail all the way into the wood with the fewest strikes possible.  It is not required to hold your beer while playing.  However, you quickly realize that your opponent's lack of smooth striking could result in unnecessary spillage of said beer.  Therefore, holding your beer, or drinking it quickly, instantly becomes a necessity.  The player that drives the nail in first, wins.

In contrast, Cornhole is a partner game (keep laughing my euphemistic friends).  Some of you might know this as a "bean bag toss" which, let's be honest, just isn't as fun to say.  Two sets of partners stand across from each other and aim to get their bags in the hole.  Points are awarded by getting the bag in the hole (three points) or getting the bag on the board (one point).  The goal is to be the first team to get to 21 points.  Just like Hammerschlagen, drinking isn't required.  But I, to this day, have yet to meet an avid Cornholer that was led to the sport with anything other than beer.  While my champion status didn't carry over into the arena of Cornhole, I did pick up some useful terminology: 
Dirty bag: a bag that is on the board but hanging off enough to touch the floor.
Shucker:  a bag that landed on the board and by doing so, knocked off the opponent's bag.
Hooker: a bag that makes its way around a blocker (a bag blocking the hole) to get in the hole for the point.  

Needless to say, if I could increase the numbers of hookers and shuckers I toss, I would be able to get around the blockers and avoid a dirty bag.  So fellow beer drinkers, don't let Oktoberfest season pass you by.  Get on your lederhosen and bone up on your Cornhole and Hammerschlagen game.  Your own set of euphemisms are just around the corner!  

Not Your Average Beer Blog

The decision to start a blog was not made in haste.

After nearly three years of brewing, countless visits to breweries, an affinity to try new beers, and a passion for the brew itself, I have finally done it.  Turns out, I have a lot to say.

I don't claim to know everything about brewing, nor beer, nor really anything in particular.  What I do know is that I like what I like, the more hops the better, I will drive days for beer, and frankly I need to brew more.

So fill up your pint glass, buckle up, and enjoy the ride.