Pacific Northwest Beer Chick

Breweries, Beers & Good Times

2012 Gig Harbor Beer Festival May 21, 2012

Filed under: beer,Beer Festivals,breweries,Micro brew,Pacific Northwest Beer,Seasonal beers,Summer Beers,Washington beer,Washington State Micro Breweries — pnwbeerchick @ 9:12 pm

Last weekend the beer Gods truly smiled on me. The sky was blue, the temperature was perfect, and the first annual Gig Harbor Beer Festival was held less than a block from my home! Who could ask for anything more? As usual, for the sake of length I will share my top favorites of the day.

Local Logger Lager (Everybody’s Brewing, White Salmon, WA) – 4.8% ABV The best beer of the event! Clean and crisp with a honey sweetness. Saaz and Golden hops create a light hoppiness that does not overpower the sweetness. Golden Grahams cereal came to mind immediately. A truly delicious beer!

Hulaweizen (7 Seas Brewery, Gig Harbor, WA) – 5.6% ABV A very different beer for this brewery. A lovely wheat beer brewed with coconut water and lemon grass. The pungent sourness of the lemongrass really comes through balancing out the sweetness of the coconut. I really hope 7 Seas makes this beauty one of their permanent beers!

Dog Zebra (Valholl Brewing, Poulsbo, WA) – Wonderfully hoppy beer! This lovely IPA had a lot of great citrus flavors and bite. The aroma was like walking through a grapefruit orchard. Wish I had more!

Agate Pass Amber (Hood Canal Brewery, Kingston, WA) – 5.5% ABV Fruity and hoppy, this well-balanced beer had notes of honey and pears. Not too sweet, not too hoppy. Great beer for a hot summer day.

Autumn Scotch (Der Blokken Brewery, Bremerton, WA) – 7% ABV I love scotch ales, but this one takes the cake! Thick, malty and sweet, Autumn Scotch has an unusual butterscotch aroma and flavor. The body is more on the fuller side and the finish has a “candy-like” sweetness. This is a great beer for kicking back and relaxing.

The festival, for the most part, was very well-organized. Unfortunately, the organizers seem to have made the same mistake most first time festival organizers make and misjudged the expected attendance. Most of the brewers were out of beer by 4:00 and the festival still had three hours to go! The use of available space for the festival goers was another issue. The festival surrounded a huge gazebo that had tons of shade. This area was blocked off and not assessable to the festival goers and instead used to store boxes of t-shirts and the token booth (1 guy, 1 table). We were forced to squeeze into what little shade we could find and had to stand as there we no chairs or tables anywhere. I also feel this would have been a great opportunity for the surrounding restaurants to have a small food cart or something in the area. Instead festival goers had to leave the festival, walk to the restaurants, and wait for over an hour for food.

I had a great time and, of course, the beer was the best part. With a few tweaks, Gig Harbor should have a heck of a festival next year!

Cheers!

Liz

www.7seasbrewing.com

www.everybodysbrewing.com

www.hoodcanalbrewery.com

www.valhollbrewing.com

www.derblokken.com

 

 

 

Coming Soon: Wingman Brewing’s new tasting room, Gig Harbor Beer Festival, and some new summer beer releases! May 16, 2012

Filed under: beer,Beer Festivals,breweries,Craft Beer Trade,Micro brew,Oregon Brewers,Oregon Micro Breweries,Pacific Northwest Beer,Seasonal beers,Seattle Beer,Summer Beers,Tacoma Breweries,Washington beer,Washington State Micro Breweries — pnwbeerchick @ 10:42 am
 

A little bit of summer in every box… May 1, 2012

Filed under: beer,breweries,Craft Beer Trade,Seasonal beers,Summer Beers — pnwbeerchick @ 10:04 pm

I have been a big fan of the Boston Beer Company since I began my beer journey twenty years ago. Though many beer enthusiasts may feel Samuel Adams is too commercial or popular for their taste I personally feel it is still one of the best craft breweries in the country. Yes, it is a larger brewery and quite popular. But does that mean the beer is no longer good? Absolutely not! Boston Beer Company has proven time and time again that it is still one of the top craft brewers in the country. And it’s this commitment to excellence that once again shines through on this year’s summer seasonal releases.

I picked up a case of Samuel Adams’ summer seasonal beers and will definitely go back for more. The pack contains a variety of six different beers (2 of each beer): Belgian Session, Summer Ale, East-West Kölsch, Cherry Wheat, Noble Pils, and of course the flagship Boston Lager. While I love all of them I decided to focus on four of the summer releases.

Belgian Session – Strong banana clove and spice aroma. Medium body mouth feel but not heavy. Brewed with Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops and American Ahtanum hops creating notes of flowers, honey and toffee linger and the finish is sweet but not sugary. This is a lovely Belgian-style beer.

Summer Ale – Crisp and lightly hopped. Lemon peel and the rare African pepper, Grains of Paradise, are used in this pretty beer.  Orange blossoms, honey, and fresh oranges dominate but this is no “chick beer.” The finish is clean and snappy. Light to medium bodied.

East-West Kölsch   – Jasmine up the wazoo! This floral beauty is brewed with jasmine flowers, cloves, and plenty of hops. Yeast, hoppy and sweet this Kölsch finishes on a spicy note. This is an incredible beer. But, again, definitely not a chick beer!

Cherry Wheat – This gem has been an overall favorite of mine for close to twenty years and one of the reasons I look forward to summer! I’m serious!! Brewed with fresh Michigan cherries, the aroma and taste is just incredible. There is no mistaking the fruit but it is true fruit flavor and does not have that weird “fakeness” that one sometimes sees in fruit beers.  I have a hard time just drinking one.

Most major grocery stores carry the Samuel Adams Summer Variety Pack. If you are one of those folks that feel Samuel Adams is too commercial all I ask is that you give it another shot. Remember, Jim Koch was one of the first “micro-brewers” just starting out. He just happened to produce a great product that became successful. After all, isn’t’ that why anyone starts up their own business?

 

Cheers!

Liz

www.samueladams.com

 

 

Upcoming event… April 25, 2012

Filed under: beer,Beer Festivals,breweries,Micro brew,Pacific Northwest Beer,Seasonal beers,Washington beer,Washington State Micro Breweries — pnwbeerchick @ 10:44 pm

 

WHEN: Saturday, May 12th, 2012.

TIME:  Noon-7:00pm

WHERE: Uptown Gig Harbor Pavilion (4701 Pt. Fosdick Dr.)

ATTENDING BREWERIES:

  • 7 Seas Brewery
  • American Brewing Company
  • Der Blokken Brewery
  • Dicks Brewing Company
  • Everybody’s Brewing
  • Harmon  Brewing Co.
  • Hood Canal Brewery
  • Port Townsend Brewing Co.
  • Silver City  Brewery
  • Sound Brewery
  • Valholl Brewing Company

Pre-sale tickets are $20 or $25 the day of the event. Admission includes a 2012 commemorative taster cup and eight taster tokens. 21+ up only. You can purchase tickets through the festival website, www.gigharborbeerfestival.com or from www.brownpapertickets.com.

I will definitely be there!

Cheers!

Liz

 

Texas summer in the PNW! April 22, 2012

Filed under: beer,breweries,Craft Beer Trade,Micro brew,Seasonal beers,Summer Beers — pnwbeerchick @ 7:59 pm

Summer in the PNW cannot come soon enough! Luckily the summer seasonals are already churning out. And apparently a little brewery in Texas knows what summer should taste like. I have been a huge fan of Spoetzl Brewery’s Shiner Bock for years. Well, I happened upon a new concoction released for summer. Shiner Ruby Redbird is a wonderful citrus seasonal brewed with Texas Ruby Red grapefruit juice and fresh ginger. The grapefruit flavor is not the hoppy kind, but the sweet, juicy kind. The ginger sweetens ups the tart of the grapefruit by adding a light pungent character creating a very well-balanced, flavorful beer. Mt. Hood, Citra and Cascade hops along with Munich malt give a little extra kick and texture to this lovely crisp beer. The finish is clean and sweet and at 4% ABV it is perfect for the hot summer days.

So next time you’re sitting in your fold up chair with your feet in the kids wading pool, don’t forget to grab one of Shiner’s finest. It’s a great start to a lovely, hot summer.

Cheers!

Liz

www.shiner.com

 

 

Spring forward with two new seasonal releases! February 16, 2012

Filed under: beer,breweries,New Belgium Brewing,Seasonal beers,spring seasonal beers — pnwbeerchick @ 5:47 pm

Though the weather in the PNW is still a bit on the chilly side, the beer choices are lightening up a bit. Yes kids, it’s time for spring seasonals! You know… the light, fruity, hoppy beers that drink nicely on cool, breezy days and crisp nights. I recently picked up a couple of fresh releases to get me in the mood for those flowery spring days.

New Belgium’s spring seasonal for 2012, Dig Pale Ale (5.6% ABV), is brewed with Sorachi Ace, Nelson Sauvin and Cascade hops and has a beautiful citrus aroma. Grapefruit, lemon rind and mango come on strong with grassy notes in the finish. It’s crisp and clean and quite refreshing. Dig Pale Ale is a lovely spring ale.

Changing styles a bit, Deschutes Brewery’s Red Chair Northwest Pale Ale (6.2% ABV) is the polar opposite of Dig Pale Ale. Red Chair is lightly hopped and gives just enough punch for the PNW palate. Seven select European and American malts gives a smooth and slightly caramel finish. Red Chair is medium bodied and quite yummy.

Although Dig Pale Ale is more of a classic style pale ale, I think Red Chair is equally as tasty. Both are available at the local grocery so run in and grab a sixer!

 

Cheers!

Liz

www.newbelgium.com

www.deschutesbrewery.com

 

Sierra Nevada Gets Ruthless January 29, 2012

Filed under: beer,breweries,Micro brew,Seasonal beers — pnwbeerchick @ 11:14 am

Tired of being snowed in? Winter weather got you down? Well Sierra Nevada Brewing Company has found a remedy. Ruthless Rye IPA is this year’s spring seasonal brew. I was very excited to see this release for a couple of reasons: 1) Sierra Nevada is a favorite in my house and, 2) the label is just so darn gorgeous. But it’s what was inside the bottle that sent my heart a flutter.

Brewed with Chinook, Citra, Bravo and experimental hops, Ruthless Rye starts your experience with a beautiful, fresh grapefruit aroma. The grapefruit comes through loud and clear on the first sip. The taste is citrusy, rustic and the finish is clean and snappy. The rye creates and interesting “rustic” and peppery quality. Any “hop head” will enjoy this beer. And at 6.6% ABV it’s just right for cold winter nights and breezy spring days. Ruthless Rye IPA is a great beer for meals, but even better as a stand-alone.  Like I said, it is the spring seasonal beer for 2012 and on shelves now so grab some before it’s gone!

Cheers,

Liz

www.sierranevada.com