May 2007
Hi All,
Next Saturday, May 5, Steve and Frances Shaw are hosting the Big Brew just north of Silverdale. Contact us for directions.
Note from Steve-
Big Brew on the 5th is still a go
Regarding logistics for the 5th, we will be brewing on the back deck and patio areas in back of the house.
What time shall we start, 9AM as before?
We have three 10x10 gazebo roofs so we can keep any rain off that might try to dampen our day.
Prost, Steve
Steve's directions from last year:
Bring your equipment. Mash in starts at 9:00. There will be at least one brewer and several samples including Poor Richard's Ale and a strong dark belgian, both brewed 2/18/06. Join us for the nationwide coordinated toast at 10:00AM PST ( we will have a couple of make-up toasts for those who missed it).
Our water is from our own well and has 150 ppm total alkalinity, 90 ppm of calcium hardness, and also has some Fe (iron) at .13 ppm. There is plenty of it, if you care to use it in your brew, but if you are concerned about the Fe, suggest you bring your own brew water. I have made three recent batches with this water and use a little star san 5.2 in the mash and sparge water, I cannot detect the Fe, but they have all been darker brews with a little chocolate or black patent malt. Just want to let brewers know.
Plenty of parking in the back, take the gravel driveway west of the small shop and there is a loop driveway in the back. We will plan on brewing on the back deck and brick patio.
Bring your gear over and make a batch. No one will care if you struggle with your new set-up, maybe we could even help you.
I believe Steve will fire up the BBQs, so bring anything you want grilled.
Brewing begins at 9AM, yes 9AM. The International Big Toast takes place at 10AM. There's plenty of room for everybody to brew. Pick one of the designated Big Brew recipes, or brew whatever you like.
Big Brew=National Homebrew Day
http://beertown.org/events/bigbrew/index.html See this site for all the details.
In 2006: Over 7,000 gallons were brewed by more than 2,500 participants at 229 sites worldwide.
June meeting at Darryl Elves' on Wednesday, June 20, 7PM
The Elves' live on the shore of Liberty Bay across from Poulsbo.
The Kitsap County Fair homebrew judging will take place in July. Brew early, brew often, brew boldly. Note, we will not accept a dozen entries of the same BBIS with different names applied to it.
Some folks are dreaming up logos for etching of our glassware buy. Keep looking around for great glassware and great prices.
The official WSB April meeting/bourbon barrel filling at John Altman's in Indianola was a hoot. We filled the barrel to the bung with everyone's tasty takes on our imperial stout recipe. The barrel started leaking as soon as we got about 10 gallons in there and it dripped faster and faster for a couple hours, but then it started to slow down. It dripped as fast as 90 dpm. By 11PM it was down to one drip every 18-20 seconds. By morning the wood had completely swollen and it dripped no more. By the way, the barrel smelled great, empty and as we filled it, and the drippings tasted quite bourbony from the very first drop. If nobody's brew infected the batch (we all taste tested them and gave them a thumbs up or thumbs down prior to racking) we should have some amazing stuff to share for many club meetings to come. After the imperial stout the barrel shareholders voted to brew up a big English style barley wine. We're still coming to a consensus on the recipe, but we're leaning towards something like J.W. Lees Harvest Ale, with all Maris Otter Malt, all EKG hops, plus water and one selected yeast. We used Irish Ale yeast for the BBIS and may use it again for the BBBW for its great dry fruit characteristics. If you're interested in joining the barrel crew contact El Jefe Matt Riggs (mattriggs1@mac.com) in case anybody backs out, or skips a batch 'til our third brew. We're tentatively leaning towards pulling the BBIS and adding the BBBW in late May. John will taste the brew soon, and often, to let us know how it's progressing.
Brad Ginn our webmaster has posted Vic Keranen's pics of the barrel filling on our website--
Thanks, Vic, for the pics. Check out the site to see the gallery.
http://www.westsoundbrewers.org/
Brad
Our monthly/quarterly/annual(?) Seattle pub crawl went well, just in case you think you went along but can't remember it. We started at Pike Brewing, then hit Elysian (Capitol Hill), Big Time (U District), Duck Island, Uber, Collins Pub, and a few diehards hit the Owl&Thistle and missed a few ferries.
We're open to suggestions for the next crawl; city, destinations, date, breweries or pubs, etc. Come to the Big Brew and discuss it, we may do one in late May to celebrate the pulling of the BBIS.
See attached jpg
Hi,
I thought you two might find this one pretty hilarious. You probably don't know, but the first Canucks playoff game went to four overtime periods (a usual game is 3 periods, so this one went 7). It's the six longest game in the history of the NHL (sudden death overtime...you play until someone scores). Obviously, Playoff Game #1 for the Canucks is a huge thing up here. The graph below shows Burnaby's drop in water pressure as people peel themselves away from the game and take a leak during the period intermissions. You can see the water pressure drop bigtime during the intermissions and then rise again while the game is back on. Hilarious!
Later,
Bri
Some may see this as a reflection of Canadians' love for hockey, I prefer to see it as a reflection of their love for beer. If you imbibe a few each period and only have a few minutes at the breaks to relieve yourself it's amazing their sewer system and water supply didn't fail.
Yeast: Plant or Animal?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070423/sc_nm/fossil_fungus_dc
Mystery fossil turns out to be giant fungus Mon Apr 23,
5:29 PM ET
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Scientists have identified the Godzilla of fungi, a giant, prehistoric fossil that has evaded classification for more than a century, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
A chemical analysis has shown that the 20-foot-tall (6-metre) organism with a tree-like trunk was a fungus that became extinct more than 350 million years ago, according to a study appearing in the May issue of the journal Geology.
Known as Prototaxites, the giant fungus originally was thought to be a conifer. Then some believed it was a lichen, or various types of algae. Some suspected it was a fungus.
"A 20-foot-fungus doesn't make any sense. Neither does a 20-foot-tall algae make any sense, but here's the fossil," C. Kevin Boyce, a University of Chicago assistant professor of geophysical sciences, said in a statement.
Francis Hueber of the National Museum of Natural History first suggested the fungus possibility based on an analysis of the fossil's internal structure, but had no conclusive proof.
Boyce and colleagues filled in the blanks, comparing the types of carbon found in the giant fossil with plants that lived about the same time, about 400 million years ago.
If Prototaxites were a plant, its carbon structures would resemble similar plants. Instead, Boyce found a much greater diversity in carbon content than would have been expected of a plant.
Fungi, which include yeast, mold and mushrooms, represent their own kingdom, neither plant nor animal. Once classified as plants, they are now considered a closer cousin to animals but they absorb rather than eat their food.
Samples of the giant fungi have been found all over the world from 420 million to 350 million years ago during a period in which millipedes, bugs and worms were among the first creatures to make their home on dry land. No animals with a backbone had left the oceans yet.
The tallest trees stood no more than a couple of feet (a meter) high, offering little competition for the towering fungi.
Plant-eating dinosaurs had not yet evolved to trample Prototaxites' to the ground. "It's hard to imagine these things surviving in the modern world," Boyce said.
Some intriguing/annoying top beer lists
http://www.mensjournal.com/feature/0610/bestbeer.html
http://www.playboy.com/style/features/best-microbrews/
http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers Beer Advocate's top 100 beers. Considering that their raters gave Sierra Nevada Bigfoot a D- in their new magazine, this list isn't too bad.
Here's ratebeer.com's current top 25 (go to the search site, don't select a style or location, select "Highest Rating" then press Search.
Beer Rating Total RatingsNärke Kaggen Stormaktsporter
4.55 43Westvleteren Abt 12
4.53 9623 Fonteinen Framboos (Framboise)
4.49 29Surly Darkness
4.44 56Three Floyds Oak Aged Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout
4.41 71Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout
4.41 478De Dolle Stille Nacht Reserva 2000
4.4 122AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout
4.4 162Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon First Edition
4.39 21Hair of the Dog Dave
4.37 25Mikkeller X Imperial Stout 2006
4.36 41AleSmith Speedway Stout
4.36 674Rochefort Trappistes 10
4.35 1441Bells Expedition Stout
4.32 935Kuhnhenn Raspberry Eisbock
4.29 315Three Floyds Dreadnaught Imperial IPA
4.29 7443 Fonteinen J & J Oude Geuze Blauw
4.27 30Westvleteren Extra 8
4.27 670Lost Abbey The Angels Share
4.25 98Stone Imperial Russian Stout
4.25 9273 Fonteinen J & J Oude Geuze Roze
4.23 30Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2001/2003-Present (18%)
4.23 840Dieu du Ciel Aphrodisiaque
4.22 39Foothills Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout
4.21 30De Dolle Speciaal Brouwsel 20
4.21 122The Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter
4.21 206Struise Pannepot
4.21 345
Beery events around the region from the WABL Newsletter:
Meet the newest members of Washington Brewers Guild:
Schooner Exact Brewing Co. & Skookum Brewery
The following two breweries have joined the Washington Brewers Guild recently. Please say hello If you see them at the breweries, events, etc (both of them will be pouring beer at the 2nd Annual Washington Brewers Festival on June 16th & 17th at Saint Edward State Park). Request their beers at your local pubs and support the newest members of the Guild!
Schooner Exact Brewing Co.
3021 SW Bradford St.
Seattle, WA 98126
www.schoonerexact.typepad.com
Skookum Brewery
19529 17th Dr. NE
Arlington, WA 98223
www.skookumbrewing.com
April WABL Event @ Anacortes Brewery
Anacortes Brewery, the host of next WABL event, is preparing some fabulous beers for our upcoming get together on April 29th. A different version of the Belgian ale that received rave reviews at this year’s Cask Fest and Golden Lizard Belgian Wit with all kinds of spices (coriander, grains of paradise, orange peel, angelica root, cumin seed, licorice root, etc) will be on tap along with cask IPA, Doppelbock, ESB and other usual suspects. There will be a brewery tour, giveaway of Anacortes schwag (it’ll be trivia questions from the brewery tour so listen carefully!) and WABL members will receive a 10% discount on food at the Rockfish Grill.
Sunday, April 29th, 3pm-
WABL Event @ Rockfish Grill/Anacortes Brewery
320 Commercial Ave.
Anacortes, WA 98221
www.anacortesrockfish.com
If you are looking for a place to stay in town, the following places offer reasonable rates:
The Cap Sante Inn (just a few blocks from the brewery)
906 9th St.
Anacortes, WA 98221
(360) 293-0602
www.capsanteinn.com
The Fidalgo Country Inn
7645 SR 20
Anacortes, WA 98221
(800) 244-4179
www.nwcountryinns.com
American Craft Beer Week
Celebrate the Flavor and Diversity of American Craft Beer! May 14-20, 2007 is designated as a time for all legal-drinking-age Americans to explore and celebrate the flavorful beverages produced by our small, traditional and independent brewers. Craft brewers produce flavorful beers that combine classic European recipes with bold American innovation. For information about the brewery events and the Great American Beer Tour visit www.americancraftbeerweek.org
Scuttlebutt Brewing Update
Scuttlebutt Brewing started production at the new facility on April 1st. They have brewed four batches so far and plan on being at full production by the end of the month. The new facility will soon house two more 40 bbl tanks scheduled for delivery on April 17th.
Puget Sound Pro-Am Competition
This competition aims to provide homebrewers the chance to have their beers produced commercially by local breweries. While this concept has been done before, this competition will be unique in the fact that several breweries will be participating and brewing multiple winning beers! Not only will your beer get judged in an AHA/BJCP sanctioned event, but local professional brewers may taste and select your beer to be brewed on their systems and sold to the world!
If the breweries select winning beers of American Homebrewers Association members, they will be submitted to the Great American Beer Festival’s Pro-Am competition for the chance to bring home gold medals for the brewery and homebrewer! Please keep in mind that in order to have your beer sent to the GABF, you must be an AHA member at the time of the competition so join now!
More information available at www.bewbc.org/pro-am/
Georgetown Bob’s Brown Ale
Yes, it’s that time of the year again! Georgetown Brewing Co. will continue its annual tradition and brew Bob’s Brown Ale again this year.
Bob's is a special beer brewed in honor of their friend, Bob Hirsch, who fought cancer valiantly for many years. He lived his final days to the fullest and he is an inspiration to many people. Bob's Brown Ale will be released every May 14th (Bob's birthday). 100% of the proceeds from Bob's will be donated in honor of Charles "Bob" Hirsch to the Seattle Ronald McDonald House to provide a "home-away-from-home" for Children's Hospital patients and families.
br> Only 60 kegs will be brewed and no bar will get more than one keg. 5 kegs will be reserved for growlers from the brewery. The release party will be held on May 14th at Nickerson Street Saloon followed by a cask night at Beverage Place Pub (date TBA).
Please check www.georgetownbeer.com for more details.
Boundary Bay Brewery receives the 2007 Bellingham Mayor’s Arts Award
Boundary Bay Brewery to be presented with Mayor’s Arts Award Nominated by Bellingham Arts Commission, local business is to be recognized for its support of local music, emerging artists, film, and offsite participation at museum.
Bellingham Mayor Tim Douglas has announced the 2007 Mayor’s Arts Award winners, and Boundary Bay Brewery, represented by Owner Ed Bennett and General Manager Janet Lightner, is honored to be among the recipients.
A reception is scheduled for Thursday, April 19 at 6:30pm, in the Rotunda Room of the Whatcom Museum of History and Art, with an awards ceremony to follow at 7:00pm.
WABL Exclusive Offer
Every month, WABL members enjoy a number of exciting offers from Washington Brewers Guild, Guild member breweries, and sponsors. This month's offers are:
April WABL party @ Rockfish Grill/Anacortes Brewery
Now there’s more reason to look forward to spring. In April Anacortes Brewery is inviting WABLers to taste their fabulous beers! The event includes a brewery tour and prize giveaways, and the WABL members will receive a 10% discount on food at Rockfish Grill. So don’t forget your passport!
Mother of All Fathers Day Beer Festival
It’s the biggest beer festival of the year so it’s only appropriate that perks are huge too! At the 2nd Annual Washington Beer Festival WABL members will receive a special WABL-only tasting glass (GLASS, not plastic!) and an extra tasting token, and of course there will be a WABL Beer and express line at the entrance too.
Event Calendar
5th Annual IPA Festival
April 15th – 30th
Cooper’s Alehouse
8065 Lake City Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
(206) 522-2923
www.coopersalehouse.com
There will be over 30 IPA's from the Northwest and around the world between, including many hard to find beers as well as a couple made especially for the event. There will be tastings, samplers, and food specials as well.
WABL EVENT!
April WABL Event @ Anacortes Brewery
Sunday, April 29th, 3pm-
Rockfish Grill/Anacortes Brewery
320 Commercial Ave.
Anacortes, WA 98221
www.anacortesrockfish.com
Shellfish Slurp & Fish Tale Brewery Bash
Sunday, April 29th, 5-8 p.m.
Fish Brewing Co.
515 Jefferson St. SE
Olympia, WA 98501
www.fishbrewing.com
The 2007 Slurp features live music and a live auction, and, of course, all the shellfish you can eat. Proceeds from the live auction will benefit PCSGA's Shellfish Habitat Rejuvenation Fund. Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association partners with Mother Nature to protect and restore shellfish growing areas. Advance tickets are $45 or $55 at the door.
Pike Brewing Tasting @ 99 Bottles
Wednesday, May 1st, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
99 Bottles
35002 Pacific Highway South, A102
Federal Way, WA 98003
(253) 838-2558
www.99bottles.net
Host, beer guru and merchant of beer Charles Finkel of Pike Brewing Co. in Seattle.
Lazy Boy Brewers Night @ Wedgewood Alehouse
Tuesday, May 1st
Wedgewood Alehouse
8515 35th Ave. NE
Seattle, WA 98115
www.lazyboybrewing.com
Lazy Boy’s 1 year anniversary party with giveaways!
Tamale Feed
Saturday, May 5th, 5-9 p.m.
Boundary Bay Brewery
1107 Railroad Ave.
Bellingham, WA 98225
www.bbaybrewery.com
A Cinco de Mayo Celebration with live music and poetry to benefit Community to Community Development. Boundary Bay will also be rolling out a limited run brew, Chili Beer, which is a version of their popular Blonde Ale, ‘chili hopped’ with roasted pablano and jalapeño peppers. It is a light refreshing ale with a spicy chili kick.
McMenamin’s Olympic Club Pub Brewfest
Saturday, May 12th
The Olympic Club Pub
112 N. Tower Ave.
Centralia, WA 98531
www.mcmenamins.com
Featuring two bands, great food, and of course, great beer.
The UnTapped Blues Festival
Saturday, May 12th
Benton County Fairgrounds
1500 South Oak Street
Kennewick, WA 99337
www.untappedblues.com
Georgetown Brewing Bob’s Brown Release Party
Monday, May 14th
Nickerson Street Saloon
318 Nickerson Street
Seattle, WA 98109
www.georgetownbeer.com
Alpine Brewing Brewers Night
Thursday, May 17th
Anthony’s Woodfire Grill
Everett Marina Villa
Everett, WA 98208
Groovin' for Grizzlies
Saturday, May 18th, 5-9 p.m.
Boundary Bay Brewery
1107 Railroad Ave.
Bellingham, WA 98225
www.bbaybrewery.com
A family friendly event in the beer garden to benefit the efforts of Conservation Northwest. Salmon BBQ, Hug-A-Bear Booth, performances by The UpFront Theater, kids’ crafts and later, Hoola Hoopin' with Yogoman. Cover is $6, 12 and under free. Get $1 off with a bike to work sticker!
Alpine Brewing Brewers Night
Saturday, May 19th
The Mint
1608 Cole Street
Enumclaw, WA 98022
Lazy Boy Brewers Night @ Fred’s Rivertown Alehouse
Tuesday, May 29th, 7 p.m.-
Fred’s Rivertown Alehouse
1114 1st St.
Snohomish, WA 98290
(360) 568-5820
Cask Night with Lazy Boy Belgian Strong Ale!
Lazy Boy Brewers Night @ Fred’s Rivertown Alehouse
Wednesday, May 30th, 7 p.m.-
Fred’s Rivertown Alehouse
1114 1st St.
Snohomish, WA 98290
(360) 568-5820
Another Lazy Boy 1 year anniversary party!
Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Tasting @ 99 Bottles
Saturday, June 9th, 12-3 p.m.
99 Bottles
35002 Pacific Highway South, A102
Federal Way, WA 98003
(253) 838-2558
www.99bottles.net
Host, brewmaster Kevin Gessel of Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Co. in Snoqualmie.
2nd Annual Washington Brewers Festival
Saturday, June 16th- Sunday, June 17th
Saint Edward State Park
14445 Juanita Dr. NE
Kenmore, WA 98028
www.washingtonbeer.com
New and Seasonal Releases
Alpine Brewing
Alpine Weizen-Bock
The golden color of this spring seasonal indicates a full-bodied beer with a velvety smooth taste which accentuates its malty character. This delicate flavor is in harmony with the fruity, estery, banana-clove flavor one expects from Weizenbeers fermented with an original Bavarian yeast strain. Imported aroma hops provide a delicate, subdued balance to the natural sweetness of the malts.
Big Time Brewing
Trombipulator Belgian Tripel
A Northwest interpretation of a Belgian tripel, Trombipulator was 1st brewed to commemorate Big Time's five hundredth brew. A very big and pale beer, it weighs in at 18 degrees Plato (1.072 Specific Gravity), and is very heavily hopped.
Nemesis Strong Ale
Subtle background maltiness and restrained hops are no match for the complex fruitiness and higher alcohol typical of a vigorous fermentation. OG 20 plato (1.080), FG 4.7 (1.019), 6.4% ABW, 8% ABV.
Georgetown Brewing
Bob’s Brown Ale
A big and brown ale with lots of hops. A blend of 2-row Pale, Caramel, Chocolate, Munich, and Roasted Barley Malts is used, then loads of Centennial and Crystal hops are added to make this a meaty brown brew. Alcohol by volume is 6.3%. Release date: May 14th. See the news section above for the story behind Bob’s Brown Ale.
Elliott Bay Brewing
Von Boorian Line
Elliott Bay is taking on yet another brewing challenge in 2007...managing a Belgian yeast strain. The plan is to brew a recipe at each of the pubs on an alternating basis so as to keep the yeast active and viable. This will mean some new recipes in addition to variations of some old favorites. The first batch, a hoppy Belgian pale ale called Hop von Boorian, is pouring now. The new Burien location will feature three other beers brewed with the same yeast: Saison von Boorian (farmhouse style spiced w/ cardamom), Noir von Boorian (Belgian black ale), and Fuerte von Boorian (9.25% strong ale).
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Homebrewing Events
Brew Calendar:
From beertown.org
National Homebrewers Conference
June 21-23, 2007
The 29th Annual National Homebrewers Conference is headed for the Rockies June 21-23, 2007!
Make your plans to attend the world's foremost homebrewing conference in Denver, CO. It's Homebrewing with Altitude!
Pro-Am Competition
October 13, 2007
Brewers Association and the American Homebrewers Association are pleased to announce that the GABF Pro-Am Competition will be held again in 2007. GABF awards ceremony held October 13, 2007 in Denver. For more information click here.
05/19/2007
Cascade Brewers Cup
Woodinville, WA, US
Contact: Jim Lanning
Phone: (425) 398-3910
Email: jlanning_hg@msn.com
Web: http://cascadebrewersclub.org
05/19/2007
The 25th Annual Oregon Homebrew and Microbrew Festival
Corvallis, OR, US
Contact: Joel Rea
Phone: (541) 758-1674
Email: joel@brewbeer.cc
Web: http://www.hotv.org
05/30/2007
North American Beer Awards
Idaho Falls, ID, US
Contact: Gregg Smith
Phone: (208) 705-2667
Email: Gsmithbeer@aol.com
Web: http://NorthAmericanBrewers.org
06/02/2007
Sasquatch Homebrew Competiton
Eugene, OR, US
Contact: Denny Conn
Phone: (541) 998-8580
Email: denny@projectoneaudio.com
Web: http://sasquatchbrewfest.org/homebrew.html
06/09/2007
Puget Sound Pro-Am Competition
Kent, WA, US
Contact: Mark Emiley
Phone: (206) 251-1344
Email: markemiley@earthlink.net
Web: http://www.bewbc.org/pro-am
08/05/2007
Western Washington Fair Amateur Beer Competition
Puyallup, WA, US
Contact: Grace Nilsson
Phone: (253) 845-9791
Email: pat@thefair.com
Web:
08/18/2007
AHA Club-Only Competition Strong Ale
Houston, TX, US
Contact: Mike Heniff
Phone: (281) 489-3762
Email: m.heniff@earthlink.net
Web: http://www.beertown.org/homebrewing/schedule.html
10/09/2007
AHA Club-Only Competition Bock
Dallas, TX, US
Contact: Larry Kemp
Phone: (817) 595-3511
Email: kempbrewing@aim.com
Web: http://www.beertown.org/homebrewing/schedule.html
11/03/2007
Novembeerfest
Kent, WA, US
Contact: Tim Hayner
Phone: (253) 631-2816
Email: president@impalingalers.org
Web: http://www.impalingalers.org
