tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47112646619056633782023-11-15T10:07:10.558-08:00The Seattle Beer BlogA Bi-weekly report on Beer in Seattle and the surrounding metro area. Reviews of local Beers and festivals as well as interviews with local beer icons.Alexander "Xandy" Bustamantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09047901654135879532noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711264661905663378.post-81626262573327127292009-05-27T16:41:00.000-07:002009-05-27T16:50:28.688-07:00"The Ultimate Beer Vacations Part 2: Belgium's Trappist Breweries<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Arial;">It is time to do something different for your guys weekend, bachelor party, man date or whatever you choose to call your male bonding experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While last time I told you about all that is glorious in Sunny Colorado, (yes it is sunny there almost all the time by the way, 300+ of sunshine) it is time to step out of your boundaries with your friends, and no unfortunately I am not talking about taking dance lessons with your cubicle mate Bob.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Arial;">What I am talking about is taking a trip to Belgium, where those who choose to go on a more permanent guys weekend, monks, make some of best beers in the world.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">As even a casual beer drinker you may have heard of all the Buzz Belgian beers receive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>From hearing about their quality from a local bartender or noticing the strangely named microbrews referring to the devil, doubles, triples or blond’s (who doesn’t like hearing about blond’s after all) Belgian’s have been the ‘in’ beers for quite sometime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you are lucky you may even be able to find a dedicated Belgian beer bar near you.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">But why settle for hearing about the great Belgian beers, when you can make the trip to the heart of artisan beers yourself?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">While this trip may not for the faint hearted (and by that I mean those operating on a tight budget) it will guarantee to make every beer snob in your town jealous, and chances are this trip would make even the brewer at your local watering hole buy you a couple of pints just to try and be invited.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">So if you are a beer lover, and feel like making the ultimate pilgrimage to the holy land of beer (literally) I invite you to take an Ultimate Beer Vacation.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b>Trappist Road Trip: Belgium, Monks, and Techno....Oh My!</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i>What Beers to look for</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Well you are in Belgium to drink Belgians so you better beef up on your Wits, Doubles, Tripels and Quads for this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Beer In Belgium is actually very easy to categorize and most Belgian beers appeal to even the most untrained pallet, as they are sweet, spicy, and most important, highly alcoholic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>To overly simplify the styles for you: Wits are wheat’s, Doubles are brown, Triples are golden, Quads are deliciously boozy, and Lambic’s are fruity and can taste like Sour green apple occasionally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There you go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you are new to Belgians stick to the Wits and Triples, and for those who enjoy a challenge stick to the quads and lambics as these styles rank as some of the best the world has to offer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Seriously they are good.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i>How to travel</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Well first by plane, unless you are a very good swimmer or have a friend that operates a pirate ship (Arrrh!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fly into Brussels, it is directly in the middle of the small country of Belgium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Belgium, besides being the holy land of beer, also happens to be the country in which the famous WWII Battle of the Bulge took place, so if any of your friends start complaining about being your wingman as you chat up a native, or that all this good beer has made his tummy ache, simply remind them of Vince Vaughn’s famous words “Band of Brothers, watch it sometime.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Now there are two ways to travel to the Trappist breweries in Belgium depending on you and your friend’s personalities; by car or by bike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">While by car is by far the easiest (and quickest) way to hit the Trappist breweries, Belgium is known as one of the best cycling countries in Europe, and is small enough to make such a trip feasible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In fact one the largest craft breweries in the US, New Belgium Brewing, even named their brewery and one of their beers, Fat Tire Amber Ale, in honor of the owners bike tour through Belgium that helped inspire them to start their own brewery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So if you and your friends are avid cyclists this would combine two great trips into one, but for me….the beer and a car is good enough! (though not at the same time of course)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i>What to Do</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">While there are seven Trappist breweries I am going to keep my recommendations down to visit the just one Trappist and one ‘non’ Trappist brewery…wait what the heck is a Trappist brewery?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">A Trappist brewery is a brewery operated by an order of Trappist monks, pretty simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>All Trappist brewery profits go to support the monks who live there as well as charitable causes, which is pretty cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Also if your lady-friend gives you a hard time about going to Europe with your buddies instead of her…you can just tell her it is for a good cause.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The reason I am telling you to go to just one Trappist is quite simple as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Trappist monks don’t like people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Instead they like to brew some of the best beers in the world and drink it in private.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">(When you think about it though it makes a bit more sense, no one bothering you, just you and your guy buddies, and of course unlimited quantities of the best beer in the world?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>These guys have it made! I wonder if they get ESPN?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">If you are a true Beer aficionado by all means go to all of the Trappist Breweries…but for the average man two breweries is enough as most of the action in Belgium happens in it’s larger towns such as Brussels.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Your first stop should be to what can be considered the best brewery in the world, as they produce, at least according to consumer websites like beeradvocate.com or ratebeer.com the best beer in the world; Westvletren 12, more commonly referred to as the Westy 12.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While you cannot actually visit the brewery you will visit the nearby café de Vrede which is the one of the only legal spot to buy Wstvletren products in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While it may seem a little absurd to visit a café in a tiny little country in the middle of nowhere for one beer…just trust me its worth it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The westy 12 is a quadruple and can only be described using Ben Franklin’s famous words “Beer is God’s proof that he loves us”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This beer is pure joy and if you get a chance to go to Café De Vrede, make sure to buy several bottles to bring back with you as not only is it fun to say you have the best beer in the world in your cellar (yes cellar this beer) but you can make a pretty penny selling them to people like me who can’t afford to go to Belgium very often.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The next brewery I would recommend (and these guys are actually nice enough to let you in) is St. Bernardus brewery, and while it is not a traditional Trappist brewery, it is still one of the best breweries in the world and lucky for you is only a few minutes away from the Westyletren Brewery and its famous beer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While you can find St. Bernardus in better beer stores and bars in the U.S. nothing quite beats having a beer where it is made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Make sure to call and reserve a tour, and while most of the time the tour guide may not speak English, (mostly likely just French and Dutch) it will give you a sneak peak into what a traditional Belgian brewery looks like.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The rest of you time in Belgium should be spent visiting the many beer pubs and bars that will not only have some if not all of the Trappist brewery products available but will also carry many of the other Beers (and real Belgian Blondes) that make this tiny country famous.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">During your stay in Brussels you must visit Le Bier Circus (no clowns included) with over 550 beers this is a beer festival unto-itself and considering most of them are vintage Belgians ranging from Iambics to Quadruples you can have quite a night at this place.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">When you want to step away from Beer for a while (yes I said it and now I am going to Beer Hell) you might want to try out one of Brussels’ swanky clubs like Le Fuse where you can find not only a stiff drink but also listen to Europe’s latest techno beats with world class DJ’s while trying to improve our current state of international relations.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">So if you are in the mood for a guys weekend that centers around the best beer in the world, monks, techno, and girls with pretty accents, a Trappist road trip is what you need my friend. So go to Belgium and enjoy an Ultimate Beer Vacation.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Coming up….</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Oregon Brewers Festival- The largest lawn party in the country.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Alexander "Xandy" Bustamantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09047901654135879532noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711264661905663378.post-77564338379950569612009-03-23T13:15:00.000-07:002009-04-10T11:27:34.399-07:00The Ultimate Beer Vacations<div>While bachelor parties and guys weekends typically revolve around a trip to Vegas or a golf weekend at a world class course, I suggest that next time you and your friends go outside the realm of normality and go for something a little frothier. After all to find out that "what money you had in Vegas, stayed in Vegas" or a round at Pebble Beach simply affirmed your friends' intuitions that you still shoot over 110, can get a bit redundant. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So instead of pulling a typical guys weekend, go on an outing that doesn't revolve around blind luck and snake eyes or seeing how many balls you can lose in the rough, go on a Beer Vacation, because after all you really play golf and go to Vegas to drink Beer anyways.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have provided four glorious weekends that will make you and your buddies trips legendary around the office, and that will even make the annoying scratch golfer in accounting jealous. While these may not be the only beer vacations in the world I can tell you that they are four of the best, and you will be guaranteed to have the man date of a life time on any of these adventures.</div><div><br /></div><div>In part one (of four) we will explore the grand daddy of all American Beer festivals........</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Great American Beer Festival: Denver, Colorado. Sept. 24-26, 2009.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Commonly refereed to as the GABF this festival is a solute to the over 1,400 breweries in the United States, While you will be able to find everything from PBR to Bud Light, the real highlight of this trip are the 2,000+ Craft Beers available at the festival. Last year over 1,200 Beers were tapped making it the largest variety of Beers available at one location in the world. With 4 days of drinking and over 40,000 people in attendance the GABF is best described as a the most sophisticated frat party you have ever been to. </div><div><br /></div><div>To give you an idea of what you are up against if you felt the need to try every beer; you would have to consume 30, 12 ounce beers, at all four sessions. Oh, and by the way, the beers Alcohol By Volume ranges from 3% to over 12% so you better start training now.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Festival starts Thursday September 24th this year and runs through Saturday night. The best thing about the festival is that besides the 4 sessions of unlimited pours for around $50 a session (or $230 dollars for ticket to all four sessions, if your friends are man enough) is that there are literally hundreds of other smaller beer events across the Denver area being thrown in celebration of all that is Beer. To simplify things I will recommend 3 stops outside the Hall of Beerdom that is the GABF that you should see to make the weekend a complete extravaganza of Beer and good times.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Thrusday-</span></div><div>Make sure to stop off at Falling Rock Tavern on the day of the first session, a 15 minute walk from the GABF at the Denver Convention Center. This is ground zero for GABF as all the brewers, judges, and beer geeks can be found hanging out here and pre-gaming before the festival starts. In fact Falling Rock even has a countdown clock to the GABF down to the second last second. So while arriving early will get you a good seat and a chance to rub elbows with the brewing elite, do keep in mind that you have a long night of beer ahead of you and try to keep the pandemonium to a minimum as you still have to try and drink a couple thousand beers that night.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Friday-</span></div><div>Another great stop for you and your buddies is a quick drive to Golden, Colorado home of the largest brewery in the World, Coors Brewing Company. This will give you a chance to learn a little bit more about how your favorite beverage is made as the tour takes you through all the stages of Beer making from malting grain to the impressive bottling room where you can watch them pump out cases of Keystone Light at a rate that boggles the mind. Oh did I mention that the tour is also completely free and includes free samples of some of the fine products made by Coors? And try not to stare to much at the young Co-ed's that come up to work from the University of Colorado at Boulder who are serving you your drinks in the tasting room after all you can probably see them at the festival later that night.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">-Saturday</span></div><div>As Saturday will truly test you and your friends beer drinking skills with two sessions of drinking, with what can only be described as the potential for a blurry night a quick late night trip is in order. Go to nearby Illegal Pete's for a late night Burrito and enjoy one of the their 7 beers on tap. A local favorite this is great way to cure that hangover before it even starts. </div><div><br /></div><div>So instead of choosing a typical Guys weekend go for something out of the ordinary, after all how much better can life get then unlimited beer, good friends, and nice scenery (both of the female and natural variety).</div><div><br /></div><div>need more information to plan your trip? check out these sites...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.kayak.com">Plane tickets, hotels ect</a><a href="http://kayak.com/">.</a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.beertown.org/events/gabf/">Great American Beer Festival 2009</a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.fallingrocktaphouse.com/">Falling Rock Tap House</a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.colorado-for-free.com/FreeThingsToDoColorado/Coors.htm">Coors Brewery Tour</a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.illegalpetes.com/">Illegal Petes</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Denver not exotic enough for you and your friends bachelor party? After all you only get married once, maybe twice. Next week.....</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Trappist Road Trip: Belgium and the Netherlands.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div>Think Euro-Trip with beer. </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Alexander "Xandy" Bustamantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09047901654135879532noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711264661905663378.post-70123054237157077072009-03-12T16:39:00.001-07:002009-03-14T12:08:39.583-07:00"Pub Review: Having a Beer at the Pike"With all the brewpubs in Seattle to explore it was a hard choice to pick my second brewpub to put through the torturous test of a Seattle Beer Blog Review. <div><br /></div><div>Being a new Seattlite (Seattlan? Seattlanite? San Diagan?) I decided to go to The Pike Brewing Company as I figured any brewpub named after Pike's Place must be worth its weight in...... Salmon.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first thing I really enjoyed about The Pike was the fact that it had to be in the 'classiest' of neighborhoods in Seattle. The neon sign pointing the way into the brewery was right in line with the multiple Gentleman's clubs sitting within ogling distance of the Pub. Once in the pub all fears of being recruited to work the corner that night swiftly floated away as the Pike itself felt like a good ole' American brewpub.</div><div><br /></div><div>With two bars and posters and wall hangings paying homage to American brewing history from Shlitz to Budweiser it seemed like the Pike was a place that respected the past as well as <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer, a good start in my book.</div><div><br /></div><div>After sitting down and having a few tasty pints, I quickly forgot that I was simply a block away from Pike's Place Market and a one eyed dancer named Gezabelle. The Pike is a very friendly pub and it felt more like a local hangout in the midwest than a brewery in downtown Seattle. It seemed everyone was loving the Pike from the two out of towner conventioneers next to me raving about the Hefeweizen to the mother and daughter catching up over a pint and a salad. I was quickly brought back to Seattle though, as I noticed the crazy man with a missing front tooth and sporting an outfit of 'H.O.B.O.' brand denim chatting up the bartender (while drinking their very good IPA, so maybe he was not as crazy as he looked) which all in all just added to the character of this great downtown pub.</div><div><br /></div><div>The <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer was quite good and while they didn't have many offerings, 6-8 depending on the season, two Beers out-shined the rest and really made an impression.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first was the Pike Naughty Nellie, an organic golden ale. As far as organic <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eers go this one is at the top of my list, with none of the grassy or earthy flavors that I usually associate with organic beer (or dirty hippies for that matter). This <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer was a great suprise as it is labeled as a light drinking golden ale but really tastes like an easy drinking American Pale Ale. If I had to choose one Beer at Pike to drink for the rest of my life, Nellie would be my choice.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second outstanding offering from the Pike was Pike Tandem, a double ale that can only be described as an A-Rod Brown. The <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer was Pike's juiced up MVP, with deep molasses notes and a sweet candy sugar taste that was well balanced by bittering hops and coriander. While it was heavy enough to make you get dizzy after a few yet it was still light enough to make you order a second, which made this <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer a dangerous one. If you are a fan of Browns this is a must try in my book.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Beer Recommendations</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Ken Griffey Jr.-</span> </div><div>Pike Naughty Nellie, after having a couple you will eventually have to return for some more.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">An angry Leprechaun- </span></div><div>Pike XXXXX, an Extra Stout that will make anyone with a hint of Irish decent wear Green on St. Patrick's day.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Your Fancy Aunt Nancy-</span></div><div>Pike Tandem, anyone with such sophisticated tastes should drink well, and this Brown is as good as they come.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Gezabelle the one eyed stripper-</span></div><div>Pike Kilt Lifter, no explanation needed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall the Pike was a good choice and makes some fine <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer. If you are a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer lover and visiting from out of town or a local who loves to check out Pike's Place on a sunny day I would highly recommend stopping by and enjoying a good pint at the Pike. Just make sure you double check that you are walking into the place with the right neon lit sign.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cheers!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Alexander "Xandy" Bustamantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09047901654135879532noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711264661905663378.post-83056972919402183342009-01-29T14:27:00.001-08:002009-02-16T15:24:25.882-08:00"The difference between Beer Lovers and Beer Snobs" on Primer Magazine"Don't Be a Beer Snob!"<div><br /></div><div>I hear this phrase every so often from my girlfriend (usually followed by a tiny fist of fury to my shoulder) as I am trying to explain to her the complexities of a Belgian Sour or when I cough 'don't do it' under my breath as someone buys a 24 pack of the 'silver bullet' at the corner store.</div><div><br /></div><div>After her latest "don't be a Beer Snob" comment I have been thinking about what it actually means to be a 'Beer Snob' and more importantly why do I hate to be called one?</div><div><br /></div><div>After all being a Beer Snob is being the exact opposite of everything that is great about Beer. Beer is enjoyed by everyone from CEO's to wine makers to construction workers, it is cheap, it is refreshing and best of all it is an equalizer. Everyone enjoys sitting down and talking over a Beer while watching the game. Heck it's an american tradition.</div><div><br /></div><div>With over 78 recognized styles of beer and over 1,400 breweries operating in the United States there is a Beer out there for Everyone. While I may not like a certain Beer, chances are that it is someone's number one, all time favorite, mouthwatering, Beer soul mate and that is pretty cool.</div><div><br /></div><div>So after many days of contemplation and sucking down several Bud Lights (just to prove to my girlfriend that I am not the Beer Snob she claims me to be) I have finally decided what it means to be a Beer Snob, and what it means to simply be a Beer Lover.</div><div><br /></div><div>A Beer Snob:<br /></div><div><ul><li>Only drinks Belgians, IPA's, Imperial Stouts, etc. and believes it is beneath them to drink anything else.</li><li>Laughs to himself when they see someone order anything but a micro.</li><li>Wears designer jeans, a cardigan, a sports-coat, and brand new loafers when enjoying their favorite brew.</li><li>Has never considered homebrewing.</li><li>Only orders from the 'Beer book' instead of what is on tap.</li><li>Orders a round of their favorite Belgian Sour for their friends, who have no idea what a Belgian Sour is.</li><li>Is an asshole.</li></ul><div>A Beer Lover:</div><div><ul><li>Drinks whatever their friends are drinking.</li><li>Picks the Beer with the funniest tap handle.</li><li>Wonders why they picked the $10 imperial stout when their friend orders the delicious $2 PBR.</li><li>Wears their favorite brewery T-shirt, Costco jeans, and a sweet pair of tennies.</li><li>Can Brew at home</li><li>Asks the Bartender what they recommend.</li><li>Buys everyone a round of their favorite Beer.</li><li>Is generally a good person.</li></ul><div>So what does this all mean you ask? I don't want to be a Beer Snob you say. How do I avoid being a Beer Snob you ponder?</div><div><br /></div><div>Well here are some simple rules to follow:</div><div><br /></div><div>Never:</div><div><ul><li>Say a Beer tastes bad.</li><li>Complain if the service is slow, they are simply taking time to age your beer after-all.</li><li>look down upon someone buying a Beer you don't like.</li><li>Sniff a Beer in Public. (just make sure no one is looking)</li><li>Tell someone you have a great palette.</li><li>Wear a Cardigan.</li></ul><div>Always:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>Offer a friend a taste.</li><li>Practice Beer Karma. (buy a round for your friend)</li><li>Learn something new about Beer.</li><li>Ask people what <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">their</span> favorite Beer is.</li><li>Finish your Beer. (mom says it is just polite)</li><li>Try something new.</li><li>Tip well. (a dollar a Beer is good)</li><li>Say Cheers!</li></ul><div>There you go. Now instead of a Beer Snob you are a Beer Lover, and trust me everyone loves to hang out with a person who loves Beer. Being that guy that everyone wants to have a Beer with is easy, just be a good person and try not to break the rules to often. Trust me, it is a lot better than getting physically abused by your girlfriend.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">note: </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">If you are wondering why I capitalize Beer then check out my first article under </span><a href="http://seattlebeer.blogspot.com/search/label/Beer%20Musings"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">beer musings</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></div></div></div></div></div>Alexander "Xandy" Bustamantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09047901654135879532noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711264661905663378.post-78866287792859610542009-01-14T14:16:00.000-08:002009-01-22T12:59:30.932-08:00Elysian Brewing: Tangletown<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>My Colorado roots has led me to choose Elysian Brewing's Tangletown Pub as the first victim of my beer adventures in Seattle.<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Elysian has recently signed up with Colorado's own New Belgium Brewing (the maker of Fat Tire) in a loose partnership to share brewing facilities. The belief is that New Belgium can use Elysian's smaller brewing facility to experiment with new flavors and Elysian can use New Belgium's large brewing facility to produce more beer. Basically everyone wins, especially us, I mean, come on, greater availability of Elysian across the region and new<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> scrump-a-delicous B</span>eers from New Belgium? Thank the Beer Gods!</div><div><br /></div><div>So I figured with this new brewing partnership between my old home and my new I should go check out what Elysian has going on.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the things that has always attracted me to Elysian (besides the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer of course) is their ancient Greece theme and as a nerdy history major I imagined Elysian's Tangletown to resemble something out of Troy with manly men drinking out of gigantic jugs and chasing...how do you say this...'promiscuous young ladies' around the bar.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well unfortunately for me the place looked like...well...a nice <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer-pub. </div><div><br /></div><div>Luckily the food and the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer more than made up for the lack of sultry ladies.</div><div><br /></div><div>They had everything from your standard pale ale to belgian sours to irish stouts, pretty impressive. Their immortal IPA and Perseus Porter were the definite stand outs of the group. The IPA was very hoppy at first yet the hops disappeared quickly enough to make you crave another sip before you even heard the glass hit the polished steel bar top. The Porter was also very impressive with a roasted barley (think coffee) taste that made me feel like I actually was sucked back into ancient Greece and pounding liters of the stuff with Odysseus.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With over 10 rotating beers and 2 cask condition ales on tap the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer was definitely flowing at Tangletown and I can see why this is one of the most popular spots in the Greenlake neighborhood.</div><div><br /></div><div>The food was also quite impressive and I would highly recommend their Dragontooth pulled pork BBQ sandwich. Marinated in their Dragontooth stout, (hence the name) it was quite a sandwich and gave me that 'Me, Man, Me Have Meat' satisfied feeling.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Seattle ale house culture definitely came through the pub as well, with everyone from Microsoft techies on laptops, to families, to hip urbanites enjoying a frosty brew. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer culture in Seattle differs from many other places in the simple fact that people here treat <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer-pubs like the gang treated the coffee shop on Friends, as place to talk and hang out. While in Colorado people did talk to one another, most people go to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer-pubs for the<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> B</span>eer and not the social aspect. It's kind of nice actually, now I can tell my friends and family that I am not going to the local pub to drink but instead to 'socialize'. Making my doings a little easier on dear ole Mum.</div><div><br /></div><div>So here is what you have been waiting for, my Do's and Don'ts at Tangletown:</div><div><br /></div><div>Do: Drink a new style of great <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer.</div><div>Don't: Drink their Belgian Sours, they are in no way sour which kinda defeats the purpose.</div><div>Do: Order food.</div><div>Don't: Run around in a toga with a bronze age sword screaming I am SPARTACUS!!! while drinking out of a pitcher and spilling half of it on your shirt. After all it is an ancient Greece theme and not ancient Rome. Dummy.</div><div><br /></div><div>And now the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer recommendations:</div><div><br /></div><div>For Brad Pitt in Troy- </div><div>Perseus Porter. It will even put some hair on Brad's chest.</div><div><br /></div><div>For your buddy's artsy girlfriend who just talks about Salvador Dali all day- </div><div>Pandemonium Belgian Sour. Yeah I said it wasn't any good but who's kidding she isn't going to know the difference.</div><div><br /></div><div>For a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer God-</div><div> Immortal IPA. The <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer is immortal by definition so it must be made for a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer God.</div><div><br /></div><div>For the Microsoft techie- </div><div>The Wise ESB. Well balanced and easier to operate then Windows Vista.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well go forth ye and enjoy a good Elysian <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cheers!</div><div><br /></div><div>note:</div><div>SCRUMP-A-DELICOUS (adj.) 1. Something that is better than scrumptious and delicious, combined. 2. Something that is equivalent to a real life Never-ending Gob-stopper. Usage- The ice cream was scrump-a-delicious. </div><div><br /></div><div>Yeah. I made up a new word.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Alexander "Xandy" Bustamantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09047901654135879532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711264661905663378.post-48425238932042685922008-12-17T13:38:00.000-08:002009-01-20T10:42:37.984-08:00The Seattle Beer Blog: The difference between 'beer' and 'Beer'Craft Breweries, Microbreweries, Macrobreweries, Regional breweries, Brewpubs, Multi-national Conglomerates.....<div><br /></div><div>The list goes on and on and it can get a bit confusing when you start playing the name game in the brewing industry. </div><div><br /></div><div>In fact the only thing you can be certain of these days is that every single brewery has a different definition of what it means to be a microbrewery or a craft brewery. From defining it under the strict-guidelines of the Brewers Association or the newly found faux-brand image of Michelob it may seem to the average beer connoisseur that it is impossible to figure out what all of these definitions mean. You might as well take a swing at it and grab the nearest beer with a slogan that has some sort of 'craft' buy-line. Right?</div><div><br /></div><div>Wrong. That is why I have simplified it for you. I have eliminated all the messy slogans and shareholdings. I am making it easy. Follow this simple guide and you will find what you want. After all there is simply beer and there is Beer.</div><div><br /></div><div>beer.</div><div><br /></div><div>beer is what you drank in high-school. beer is what you can buy at Costco in pallets. beer is what pays for all those funny ads during the Super-bowl commercials. beer is designed to be the lightest most drinkable substance on earth. beer is 'made' by people who drink Champagne, fly jets, and have never even heard of wort. beer is a great American <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">invention</span> and in some instances (oh no!) I have occasionally been known to still chug a beer.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now for <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer tasted like pee when you were in high-school (to much flavor for your feeble young mind). <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer is sold in a 12 pack-maximum and most of the time as simply a 22-0z bomber. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer is made by people who are the brewmaster, the bartender, marketing director, and the CEO all at the same time and they fly Southwest. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer donates its money to green initiatives and sponsors the local road-bike team instead of doing a TV commercial. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer is an American <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">rt form </span>and I would never dream of wasting a delicious <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer by chugging it.</div><div><br /></div><div>This Blog is a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer blog. While I appreciate beer's many great additions to our society like beer-pong, flip cup and those lovely ......AND TWINS!!!! commercials I will not speak of beer very often.</div><div><br /></div><div>What I will talk about is Seattle's great <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer culture. From festivals to Homebrew clubs, from <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer reviews to interviews, I am going to explore the great <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eers of the Northwest. Occasionally you may hear me complain about the state of the beer industry or CoorsMillerMolsenKeystoneColt45's latest attempt to trick the consumer into drinking one of their products but I will always strive to tell the reader about the best of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer in Seattle.</div><div><br /></div><div>So come along with me and feel free to drop me a line if you have a great Beer for me to try out, if you want to know who actually makes the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer you are drinking, or if you know of a great festival for me to attend.</div><div><br /></div><div>So enjoy the blog and drink a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">B</span>eer. Cheers!<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Alexander "Xandy" Bustamantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09047901654135879532noreply@blogger.com2