Perhaps Dave Siler (the new “production manager” at Hale’s) brought the Firestone Walker with him. That’s where he came from. Maybe we’ll get to meet him tonight? We’ll see.

Cheers,

Kendall & Kim Jones
(aka Mr. and Mrs. Beerblog)

Let’s face it, if you’re reading this blog you are probably a beer geek. Well, here’s a really good option. Go on Friday night. Unofficially, that’s beer geek night at the festival. Not only will parking be free on Friday night, but the brewers will be bringing out their most interesting and creative beers. For example, the other day I was fortunate enough to sample the cask-conditioned Pinetop Red Ale from Elliott Bay Brewery, which had been conditioned using fresh hemlock needles. You will only get this beer at the Friday night session of the Brewers Fest. (Read about that beer.)

Friday night is a 21+ event, so no kiddies allowed. If you sometimes get a bit annoyed by the hording masses that show up on Saturday and Sunday afternoon and interfere with your beer geek experience, this is the answer for you. (Remember the line at Laughing Buddha’s booth last year?) Friday night will offer you a smaller crowd, no kids, and select breweries serving select beers. There will be live music and food vendors as well. And there are no parking issues on Friday night!

Get the details at http://www.washingtonbeer.com/wabf.htm

This is your last chance to drink 2009 Bob’s. Come out to Sport Restaurant and Bar tonight for our FINAL Bob’s Brown fundraising/drinking event for the Seattle Ronald McDonald House. Phew… my liver needs a break. It should be a good one. Keg is tapped at 6PM and we’ll have some cool giveaways including an autographed Edgar Martinez Jersey (SWEET!). Hope to see you tonight. Cheers, -Manny

We here at the WBB say, “twist my arm.” While Sport isn’t a great beer bar, we are suckers for a worthy cause, we love to catch the M’s there, and they certainly do have a good Kobe beef burger. Maybe we’ll see you there?

Follow Up -

We went to the event last night. Hosted by Ian Furness (KJR sports radio), the evening included a raffle for some really cool prizes. Someone walked away with an autographed Edgar Martinez jersey. Someone else walked away with a luxury suite –which handles up to 16 people– for an upcoming Mariners game. Lots of other great stuff, too. We even scored some M’s tickets!

Bob's Brown Ale - Sport Restaurant

Just in case people were not in a giving mood, they showed a video about a young family that has lost two children to cancer. The video really drove home the point about the importance of Ronald McDonald House. It was “pin-drop” silent in there. Not a dry eye in the house. Ronald McDonald house really does provide an angelic service and we’re proud of Georgetown for supporting such a great cause.

The event was the last in the series. No more brown beer until next year. They were very close to reaching their goal of $50,000. We’ll assume they did. We saw a lot of people drinking brown beer.  Cheers to that and cheers to Bob!

Alpine Brewing Company - Oroville, WA.

Oroville is a beautiful little town, but it’s not exactly located at the center of the Universe. It’s nearly three hours north of Wenatchee. It’s two hours northeast of Winthrop. That having been said, a significant part of your visit to Alpine Brewing is the gettin’ there. We approached Oroville from the northwest. After spending the night in British Columbia’s remote and beautiful Similkameen Valley, we repatriated ourselves at an adorable little boarder crossing near Nighthawk, WA. About 30 minutes later, we arrived at the brewery in Oroville.

The border crossing at Nighthawk, WA. Seriously.

Bart, who is the brewmaster and owner of Alpine, splits his time between King and Okanogan counties.  We’d made contact with him but were not able to meet him at the brewery. He was on his way, but we had a schedule to keep and unfortunately we missed each other by about an hour. Luckily, Jerry was there. While Bart might be the brewmaster, Jerry will tell you, laughingly, “I’m the one who does all the work.”

Jerry was cleaning kegs and getting ready to fill them. He showed us around the brewery and obviously has a lot of pride in what he does. He referred to the beer as “his” marzen. That’s the kind of attitude you want hear!

When we visited, it was about 11:30 in the morning. The pub was empty. We can only imagine what it must be like when crowded with thirsty regulars, stopping in for a bit of relief from the hot Okanogan sun. The brewery and pub is much larger than you’re imagining. In Seattle, this location would be worth millions of dollars.

Jerry was preparing to transfer the marzen from the conditioning tank to kegs and offered us a sample of some extremely fresh beer. Usually we don’t drink before noon. Usually we aren’t in Oroville getting beer straight off of the conditioning tank either, we reasoned.

Mrs. Beerblog serving herself a very fresh Marzen.

Not surprisingly, the beer was magnificent. Alpine’s beer is always excellent but is not always easy to find around the Seattle area. We sure do enjoy it whenever the opportunity arises. Of course, it could not taste any better than it did that morning.

Alpine Brewing claims to have Washington’s only copper brew kettles. As far as we know, that is true. Jerry said, “If I’d known we were going to be taking pictures I would have polished them up. These babies really shine when I get them all polished up.” With or without the spit-n-polish treatment, the copper kettles are quite beautiful. You know, if you’re in to that kind of thing. We are.

Washington's only copper kettles.

Oroville is way out there, but you really should make the trip. It is an amazingly beautiful part of the world and Oroville has not yet been “Walmarted.” The locals still buy their baked goods at Linda’s Bakery and their produce at Don’s Fruit Stand. You can get a latte, but not from Starbucks or Tully’s. It is an inviting and charming small town with a great brewery to call its own.

Just up the road in Penticton, BC, they have an annual beer festival — the Okanogan Fest-of-Ale. In 2010, the festival is schedule for April 9th and 10th. What a great reason to make the trek to the lovely shores of Osoyoos Lake and visit our friends in Oroville.

Here’s the 4-1-1

Alpine Brewing Company
PO Box 2320
821 14th Ave
Oroville WA 98844-2320

Phone: 509-476 9662
E-mail: sales@alpine-brewing.com

Silas has formal training and professional experience in the culinary arts but has also worked as a self-described “keg monkey” for Arlen Harris at the LaConner Brewing Company. He was also instrumental in opening the Rockfish Grill and Anacortes Brewery. Today, he is the proprietor of the Porterhouse Pub — Mt. Vernon’s exceptional beer destination.

We just spent a few minutes with Silas at his new digs in West Seattle’s Admiral Neighborhood, where he will soon open a second Porterhouse Pub. The location could not be easier to find. It is literally next door to the historic Admiral Theater, near the corner of Admiral Way and California Avenue. If you know the neighborhood, we’re talking about the space that was formerly Black Bird.  It is a great space in a great neighborhood. Heck, the bar even has patio seating!

In Mt. Vernon, the Porterhouse is a “grown-ups only” establishment (21+). Anyone who knows West Seattle understand that it would be foolish to not allows parents to bring their kids. It’s a demographic reality. Silas is a West Seattle native and a new father, so he will make the West Seattle Porterhouse an all-ages pub.

There will be 25 tap handles pouring a rotating selection of west coast beers, with an emphasis on local beers. Cheers to that! They will likely have a featured brewery each month. That brewery will host a brewers night to kick things off and then will have four tap handles for the month.

Silas described the food as being, “Pub food with an ecclectic twist.” He also explained that he has an abnormally large number of farmers and gardeners in the family, so you can look forward to fresh, locally grown veggies.

He told us that he hopes to open in July. While we admire his vision and the purity of his intentions, we’ll be amazed if that happens. Very, very happy, but amazed. We will keep you posted as thing progress.

It just so happens that West Seattle’s Admiral neighborhood is the place that I call home. With all respect to Circa, my neighborhood so desperately needs a great beer bar. Mrs. Beer Blog and I could not be happier that Silas is bringing his show to town.

Both Pike Brewing Company and Silver City Brewing Company won four medals. Flyers Restaurant and Brewery (Oak Harbor) brought home three medals (congrats to Tony Savoy, the brewer at Flyers).  Three of Washington’s newest breweries — Big Al Brewing, Black Raven Brewing, and Chuckanut Brewery — brought home medals in their first attempt. Can I get a “Hell Ya!”

You can see the complete list of awards, and learn more about the awards, on the North American Brewers’ Association Web site.

Gold Medalists

Chuckanut Brewery – Dunkel

Silver City Brewing Co – Fat Scotch Ale

Pike Brewing Co – Pike Entire

Redhook Ale Brewery – Belgian Tripel

Silver Medalists

Ram Brewery (Tacoma) – Big Horn Hefeweizen

Silver City Brewing Co – Beautimus

Chuckanut Brewery – Strong Bock

Flyers Restaurant and Brewery – Spitfire Best Bitter

Harmon Brewing Co – Brown’s Point ESB

Pike Brewing Co – Pike Pale Ale

Black Raven Brewing Co – Trickster IPA

Flyers Restaurant and Brewery – First Flight Amber

Silver City Brewing Co – Ridgetop Red

Ice Harbor Brewing Co – Sternwheeler Stout

Pike Brewing Co – Old Bawdy Barleywine

Ram Brewery (Tacoma) – Big Horn Blond

Bronze Medalists

Ice Harbor Brewing Co – Kolsch Brand Ale

Silver City Brewing Co – Copper Mt. Bock

Pike Brewing Co – Pike IPA

Flyers Restaurant and Brewery – Barnstormer Brown Ale

Boundary Bay Brewery – Imperial Oatmeal Stout

Scuttlebutt Brewing Co – Old #1 Barley Wine 2008

Redhook Ale Brewery – Slim Chance Light Ale

Big Al Brewing – Smoked Porter

Hales Ales – Cerebus (Tripel)