Time to tweek thangs...

Wednesday Sept. 22nd

Hitting up E9 for dinner tonight!! Took myself out on a date because I'm awesome and independent like that. Plus no one could meet up til later and I needed some vittles.

Enjoyed some Seamstress Union on tap to go with my fish sammy and TATER TOTZ!! holy gawd, lurv the death out of those little things. Per pissed liBEERian SOP, got in a pretty heated debate about Dogfish Head beer with my bar mates, but as always... I came out on top @ the end of it. Pretty stellar for a girl who labels herself as a bottom, eh? Let's face it, I know a thing or two about the awesome that is Dogfish Head beer. I did introduce some newbies to the greatness that is SU and they were compliant. However, how militant can one be when flat on the floor with a bar stool pressed into their neck while I'm sitting on it with a cute smile and saying "Here, try this." Lucky for them, they enjoyed it and I'm slowly learning that drinking solo in public is not for me, I need babysitting or at least semi-attentive supervision.

Dinner. Drinks. Moving on to...

The RedHot's Farewell to Summer Beer and Ice Cream Social

I already penned (typed... whatever) a post about the Red Hot and this particular event, a Red Hot affair in the 253, so I won't bore you with reiterating all I had to say about it. Here's the lineup for this fun event: Unibroue La Terrible (sans ice cream), Schooner Exact Gutter Punk'n w/ vanilla ice cream, Boundary Bay ESB, Sum-a-Dis Pilsner by Double Moutain & Ommegang Rare Vos.

Thursday Sept. 23rd

Top of Tacoma with MGD, Basil & TPG3

Back @ the old stompin' grounds for an entertaining evening in a 253 locale. Enjoyed some Schooner Exact 3 Grid & a Mocha Death by Iron Horse Brewery. IH somehow concocted a beer that tastes like amazing cold coffee minus the alcohol. Perfect breakfast drink, thanks Iron Horse for making my hungover mornings bearable and tasty-licious!!

** for those of you wondering... yes I drank on Friday, but it was just Shocktop **

Saturday Sept. 25th

BJ's in Southcenter with Miss Massey to soothe the sore and achy mess that was my body after the Weekend Warrior Workout.

Imbibed some Boulevard Single Wide IPA to accompany my grilled shrimp tacos and avocado rolls. Dee. Lish. Us. Had tasted Single Wide in the bottle a month or so ago with MGD, and it was mutually agreed upon that hitting some up on tap could be possibly most magical. This little happy mobile dwelling ale delivered like a manufactured home with a foundation. So I had multiple of course. My thoughts on the beer: a light amber pour with a thick head. lightly carbonated and smooth with a lacy after-coating. As you can see, scientific terms are my specialty.

Single Wide IPA in the gorgeous wknd sunshine.

After sharing a crazy morning workout and a day full of errands, two small appetizers to share on top of 2 big beers, made afternoon shopping extremely entertaining. Think trying on fur coats & granny sweaters over our clothes and buying hideous silk paisley luggage at a low low price of "we can't find the tag on this so can you just pay us to take it since it's so damn fugly?". Lots 'o laffs to be had that day.

later that night...

Hit up Puget Sound Pizza w/ MGD for some artichoke topped pie, super sucky service & Sierra Nevada Hop Harvest Nitro. It may or may not have gone unnoticed but I didn't scrape a single topping or piece of anything off my pizza, but it's worth mentioning now. Still trying to earn some star stickers on my 'eat pizza like a normal human being' chart so that I can win a trip to NYC. Not to mention, while reading the 'I saw you' section in the Seattle Stranger, I'm pretty sure I was mentioned in there twice. That makes for a darn stellar dinner in my book.

Aaaaaand since we can't do anything half assed, onto the PARKWAY we go!!!

Before mentioning any ales we consumed it has to be said that a Tap Night Tacoma poster was already up for display so I took a pikshur for easy referencing later. Fist bump of excitement, then blew it up. & I'm pretty sure there was a good 30m where I waxed poetic about the loss of Pluto as an official planet in our solar system. Thanks for listening, I wasn't drunk. Just deliriously tired. Runneth of the mouth hole syndrome begins.

We partook in all of the following ales: Left Hand Sawtooth Pale ale, Beer Valley Leafer Madness, Mad River Rorschach Wheat Wine. (whoa!!)

Sunday Sept. 26th

Literature & Libations book club meet up @ Parkway Tavern

Peeps in attendance were Basil, Laura, MGD and myself with a late edition of TPG3

Decent turn out of my peeps and we actually did a ton of reading, it was great and felt promising for the future of our little club. Literature on the menu for that evening was 'Gregor the Overlander' & 'He says Beer, She says Wine'. Damn we're productive & nerdy; at least it was rounded out by a Yankee game later in the afternoon. During our 8hr stint in our corner booth we had some/much of the following:

Rude Parrot IPA (my notes since I don't have a ratebeer.com account: golden pour with a medium lace and small head. tangy taste in the middle with a tart but yummy finish)

Elysian Men's Room Original Red

Issaquah Pumpkin Frog

Lips of Faith/New Belgium Sah ti

Russian River Damnation

Full Sail Lupulin Fresh Hop

L&L Admin... representing hardcore!

Basil sitll smiling among the mess

The scene unfolds...

Rude Parrot IPA & an effective bargaining chip.

As you can imagine, 8 hours spent in a bar can create a lot of hilarity but there is only one pied piper in this blog so I will leave you with a lesson that was hard learned (and earned) on my part. When soaking and stripping the label off of a beer bottle, the next step is to press it flat while it dries. Check. Usually... doing this in a book or magazine is ideal. This book SHALL NOT be a library book! Nor shall it be a library book about BEER. The inevitable will happen: when you are reading it at an L&L meeting, paraphrasing notes for ultimate beer knowledge retain-ment... all of sudden you look down and declare "what the balls is all this water damage doing in this book??!!" as your perfectly dried and pressed beer label flutters into your lap. Awesome. I should know better, considering where I work, but in my defense I did wrap it in a paper towel first. 

Best leave such heavy lifting to the professionals. I can't peel a label on a bottle but I sure know how to open one... with the proper tools. Some of us were meant for greatness, others will find their own path.

My misguided attempt to handle a label removal myself...

& hereby vowing to stick to what I know, bottle opening.

Oh what a world, what a world when kissing one's muscular bicep becomes the height of fashion.
So very truly yours,

the pissed liBEERian

P.S. Due to some of my friends current state's, I have been doing some thinking. Let's all say a small prayer that I don't get pregnant or have some infection requiring antibiotics... the blog will suffer and so shall you my dear readers. ;)

a Red Hot love affair in the 253

This post has a been a long time coming. It's like a bad fight with a lover, always best to cool down before saying something you regret or have to explain later. My deal with the Red Hot... where to begin? I would compare it to the likes of an abusive relationship. They kept beating me down with bad service & misinformation and I keep coming back for more. Granted, I like it a little rough sometimes.  So I may have been setting myself up for this torture. Also, I got laser focused on a few things beer related so that when obstacles occurred... I may have been a little overboard with my reactions. Haha, yes I can admit it.

There was a time when I thought that the Red Hot and I would never make peace but after last night's event (Farewell to Summer Beer & Ice Cream social) I feel that we have come to a place of neutrality. A possible waving of the white flag, maybe even an exchanging of phone numbers...?

Started the evening out solo, ended up at E9 for a post work pint (or 2, it was Seamstress Union after all) and some grub. Went with a fish burger and tots. Gimme some freakin' totz!!!! I love those happy little potato fuckers. Enjoyed my time at the bar drinking away and writing some notes about things when I overheard some knuckle heads next to me dissing on Dogfish Head beer. I was eavesdropping profusely when I had to interject with an innocent "Are you talking about DFH? Well let me tell you a thing or two about a thing or two boys..." and went from there. I'm loyal if nothing else and was able to make some new friends that jumped onto the Schooner Exact SU bandwagon quicker than most. Pretty successful 90m of my time. Neither of them asked for my phone number so I'm assuming they were actually listening to my thoughts on craft beer, not just humoring me.

Hopped on down the street to Red Hot around 7:30p to score some seats for the Farewell to Summer Beer and Ice Cream social. As usual... packed. Which always seems like a lot of fucking work to me, I would prefer to set up some reserved (embroidered with my name) areas at all my fave pubs. Seeing as how tonight was a night for making quick friends, I sought out a half empty table and pulled my best Tracy moves to inspire some share-age.

How to score a table in a completely packed pub. Here's the breakdown...
1. Locate a large table occupied by an older couple. They tend to take in stray birds (singletons) and leave early on in the evening.
B. Possess any combination of the following: large breasts, winning smile, sweet & charming disposition, have a non-sociopath look about yourself and look a bit displaced. Large breasts will win over the hubby 1/2 of the equation and charm usually does the trick with the wifey.
3. Ask in a polite manner some version of the following: "Do y'all mind if I share this table with you, since you are only using half?"
4. How can they resist? In my experience, it's been fool proof at most places. Being old and it being a weekday, the couple left after about 10m of sharing. Win, seats for me & my fwends in a place that is practically standing room only!

After my table became 3/4 empty, a son and dad team (Curt & Brian, very cool guys) pulled their best moves to come share the space with me and my 1st libation choice of the evening, a glass of the Unibroue La Terrible. Their charms worked just fine, they were a laugh and a half and bought us free drinks without us knowing.

Not long after, TPG3 & MGD showed up and we had a grand old time as always do in the special way we always do. Would the threesome now be considered an ice cream sandwich? For this special occasion, I had to go with the Schooner Exact Gutter Punk'n ale & Jeff's Vanilla ice cream float. I'm not even sure how to describe all that is a beer float. Good but weird? Creamy but weird? Definitely not bad and I would be tempted to try one again with a really unique stout (Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout perhaps?).

The other ales of choice for the evening were the Boundary Bay ESB, Sum-a-dis Pilsner by Double Mountain and the Ommegang Rare Vos Tripel; which I found to be very tasty. I think my paper ice triangle ice cream hat really added something to the evening.

There are a couple things that defined this evening & have reinserted the Red Hot back into my book of good. Hence the reason for this post.

1. As I was sitting around and enjoying my uni-brow beer, I noticed the general atmosphere of the joint. Busy, lots of laughing and good times and it is truly a chill place. Not my personal style for a pub but definitely a place where it's comfortable to just stand around anywhere and hang out. There is a lot to be said for that.

2. After a mishap with the water retrieval issue, where I kind of felt like a dumb ass and blamed it on the employee for being all condescending about it... I went back to my table to bitch about her bitchiness and how she was the same way when I last black listed this joint. About 5m later she came over, beer float in hand and gave me $1 off the price. I had to get all self deprecating in my special way and ask her to please not cut me off, I really am too dumb to find water... I'm not drunk. She laughed and said "It happens all the time. Now you know and can make fun of the next person who can't figure it out." My issue with the staff was then resolved over discounted beer & a cheap laugh. Totally redeemed.

3. The Red Hot is a 253 gem & solid in the hearts of many who patronize it.  It will never be a regular on my list of must-drink-here places (as I can stomach nothing there food-wise, stupid body), but I can now finally see the good side of these guys. It's unique, it's hip & it's local. Good on ya Red Hot, nice work.

Militant attitude diminished while bringing the jazz hands and guns everywhere I travel,

the pissed liBEERian

The Weekness in Me

Monday, Sept. 13th

Tap Night Tacoma numero uno, dos, tres, CUATRO, cinco, cinco, seis. Okay, just #4.  I have no control when Sublime songs start taking over my brain & mouth hole.  Did TNT a solid this time w/ MGD and TPG3 in tow.  Made it out to 3/5 of the participating pubs. Three way fist bump of local participatory goodness!!

Potion 9, Imperial Red, Seamstress Union in da Sun. So purdiful!

E9 ~ came for the Dry-Hop Imperial Red but stayed for an out of nowhere Seamstress Union tap & tried E9's new release: Potion 9. Enjoyed the Red, but loved the citrus flavor & wheaty goodness of the Potion 9. This tasty ale has more body than Marilyn Monroe. Yummy. However, I did gain some new info on E9's growler policies because really folks, what's accessible Seamstress Union if you can't take some home? Not a regular E9er so I don't have a huge adoration for the place, them being elitist bastards doesn't help their cause much after this evening in gaining a bigger place in my heart of hearts. Growler fills available only for their own brews and they will only fill their own growlers. What. the. fuck. ever. MGD did nab some stellar pics of pints though. Onto the next pub. Peace.

Red Hot ~ Serving up Everybodys Brewing Dry Hop Country Boy IPA all special like. Shared a full pint while aimlessly looking for a place to sit & watch Monday night football. Bar stools were vacated & we bellied up. Due to spending all of our $ at Brouwer's Hopfest, we were on a strict ale budget for the night. See Example A(le):

How destitute ale lovers drink when debit cards go missing and payday is a few days away.

  Trying to keep it a low key night and enjoy the event, we discovered teeny tiny (KEWT ALERT!!!!) tasters were only $1.50 each. Perfection. Sipped on some baby pints of Dogfish Head Burton Baton, Hale's Obrien's Harvest (cask), Airways Brewing Jet City ESB, Maui BC Coconut Porter & Boulevard Brewing Tank 7 Saison. As I continue to torture myself with visits to RedHot, I would like to mention the following noteworthy tidbits that continue to mold and shape my opinion of this establishment:

1. The smell of their food is stomach churning for me. It's well loved by many, but as soon as I notice that tube steak smell, I have to bounce soon after. Can't eat it & apparently can't be around it for long periods of time without my face trying to divorce my nose.

7. Found out that Schooner Exact just obtained a new harvest of raspberries so we may not have seen the last of Seamstress Union. Just when I was ready to say goodbye...

3.8. The RedHot is a place that I WANT to like, but don't all that much. They did score a few points this evening though. I am trying to be open minded in light of some upcoming events they are hosting which sound fun, so as of now they are off probation. Will report back near the end of September...

Showed up for the beer, stayed for the giveaways. Anytime I'm handed a red ticket stating "Keep this Coupon" with a randomly generated 6 digit number on the bottom... I'll be chillin' for a bit to see what my winnings might be.  With that being said, here is our batch of non winners: 747310, 747268, 747312, 747269. Really thought that last one would be something special. Meh.

Parkway Tavern ~ Event ale being served was Georgetown Brewing Lucille IPA & we also grabbed a final pint of Great Divide Titan on zee Randall. Washed it all down with 2/3 of a artichoke and spinach slathered garden burger. Nobody does a good slathering in my general direction like Parkway can, lemme tell ya.

Hump Day, Sept. 15th

AmPro Homebrew Contest Winner's ale on tap @ Parkway Tavern. Here is the 411 on the contest, from what I could decipher above the bar noise anyways. 53 entries taken in over over two months, most of them submitted within the first 2 weeks. Due to rating regulations on some site or another, many brewers entered themselves into the wrong categories for their beer type and were therefore declined.This statement was met by a resounding "boo" amongst the bar crowd until a snarky Parkway ale wench declared "Learn how to follow directions!" to be met with many a laugh and game show style clapping. An announcement of an Aphrodisiac Oyster Stout winning something or other was met with many a "woot woot" & catcalls all around. Mob mentality should never be overlooked, especially when it comes to sex. Yay sexy time.

Here is the lineup from L to R (& my random ass notes):

Goldmine Kolsch by Mark Guth (ABV 4.45%) Pissed LiBEERian randomly generated score: 2.6 out of 5
Have not experienced much kolsch style ale but this one had a nice body to it. Bitter finish & my notebook tells me that it was "Meh, only okay."
Dave's Pale Ale by David Greenwood (ABV 5.5%) PL Score: 3.4 out of 5
Was warned by the staff that this pale ale was very reminiscent of an IPA. So when the tasting sheet list did not match the way the beers were lined up in front of me, I thought for a bit that it was the Blood Fingers IPA. Very hoppy for a pale ale. Strong aroma (have learned that 'skunky' is a bad descriptive term) but with a sweet floral nose. Hazy caramel color, which seemed dark/unusual for a pale ale but lent to a crisp taste and finish.
Bloody Fingers IPA (such a sucker for a cool name) by Brian Tetrault & Ben Satterwaith (ABV 5.5%) PL gives it 3.6 out of 5
Very good IPA, in the book of this LiBEERian. Sweet hoppy smell that was not over powering with a light finish.
Dark Divide CDA  by Michael Hunt (ABV 7.1%) 2.4 out of 5
As I sat down and ordered my flight of ales, Michael's wife felt the need to introduce herself and shamelessly promote her husbands beer. Love it, yay wifey!
Sadly no notes were taken on this one, my friends must have all shown up by this time & I get distracted very easily. I didn't dislike it but it also did not leave a strong impression. For how dark this CDA was, it was very light bodied. Then again, I'm not sure that those two things are even related.

 Nicely done guys. Can't wait for the next competition! Truly a thing of beauty @ the low low price of $7.00, no?

As some friends departed for the Woody Brewer's night @ Red Hot, I stayed on at Parkway to enjoy some good conversation and tastes of the Ninkasi, 2 Beers (which my notes tell me I found thin, but with a floral nose and somewhat soapy taste) Fresh Hop, & Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout. There isn't much that gets me more excited than beer & literature coming together. It has to be said, I lurved the Rogue Shakespeare just be-fucking-cause.

Headed over to Red Hot to meet up with peeps and had a grand time riding (okay okay, just sitting next to) the big woody Deschutes barrel. I feel sorry for anyone within earshot of our conversation. There was a lot of TMI, even for THIS girl. Missed the prize giveaways but enjoyed a pint of the Abyss 2009. They might as well list it under the "malt" category of beers (if there is one, if not I just made it up...), the Abyss was SO thick. Makes sense that it was so black... do the math. Hahaha. Strong coffee taste, it took me awhile to get through this one. Had some of my friends pint of the Deschutes Miss Spelt Hefeweizen (so appropriate, now where did I leave that red pen?) which was scrumptious. Just for sitting around and having a ton of laughs, the swag guy gave me & my fwends a pair of Black Butte pint glass each. So for some of us, the night was not an entire loss.

Thursday Sept. 16th
Had many a house errand to do this evening, decided a libation was a must to get me through. Busted out my
Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale, hailed to be brewed with pagan spirit. (which one, I wonder?)

I think the following text messaging pretty much sums up my experience:
Me: Okay, whoa! Pumking is like drinking liquefied pumpkin pie with a very tart and "arghhhhhhh!" aftertaste.
MGD: Is that a good pirate "arghh!" or a bad mouthtaste "arghh!"?
(I promptly turned around to TPG3 and ask if she would like to share it with me. mauhahaha.)

My thoughts are that this pumpkin ale isn't bad, it's just a LOT to take. Goes in smooth, goes down all crazy like. Just like a... nevermind.  Maybe better as a taste just to experience the Pumking, not 22oz worth. Being that this ale carried a taste that I won't soon forget (and couldn't if I tried) it has me very excited for Elysian Brewing Company's Pumpkin Beer Fest in October. I have not tried that many pumpkin ales (so maybe I'm totally off on my assessment on the Pumking and will change my tune soon?) and would love the chance to try (small amounts of) many at the same time to compare and contrast, before they hook me up with some pumpkin carving action & costume contests.

Friday Sept. 17th 

@ my best fwends house very late Friday night. Stayed up til 2a making tissue paper puff balls & drinking DFHead Festina Peche. Can't believe we created such awesomeness for the party while managing to keep her hubby out of my bag of beer I had to store in their fridge over the weekend. Craftiness... Level 10. Beer hoarding... Level Expert. Check out my awesome entry into our cupcake decorating contest! Go Team Schooner Exact, I heart you, I really really do. I won't bother posting the other pics I took with these cupcakes later (per request), that might get me into some REAL trouble. (however, thnx Bex!)

Saturday Sept. 18th
Made it home from baby shower extravaganza weekend to partake in a Ladies Choice Private Beerfest w/ MGD. Sucked down (finally!) our growler of Schooner Exact Hopvine 15th Anniversary (I only had one, that beer is too much for this girl), DFHead Punkin Ale & a dry hopped St. Rogue Red ale. Very yummy indeedy doodly.

Had some good times catching up til about 3a pass out time, slept in WAAAAAY late then decided with it being 3p & sunny... should probably do something with the day. Which brings us to:

Sunday Sept. 19th

Road trippin' it up to Black Raven Brewery for the first time. Very cool interior. Think big wooden barn doors to the brewing rooms, huge over sized tables and chairs and a relaxed atmosphere. Oh... and free nuts with a nearby pizza place that delivers. Score! I hate it when I have to BYON everywhere.

Enjoyed a pint of the Trickster IPA and got a taster of all they offer. My commitment phobic tendencies really love the idea of a taster. All the variety one could want, but none of the sacrifice or obligation to see a pint through to the end if it's not for you. Taster @ Black Raven included (from light to dark beers):

• Hoppy Lager Pilsner
• Sun Thief Kristalweizen (an unfiltered German style wheat)
• Hefeweizen
• Totem Pale Ale
• Trickster IPA
• Tamerlane Brown Porter
• 2nd Sight Strong Scotch Ale
• La Petite Mort 2010 (very tasty!! French for 'the little death' & a metaphor for an orgasm. It basically felt like one in my mouth but I opted to only enjoy a wee bit since I'm sure a 'little death' and driving don't always work out when you are a woman & I was the captain of this trip.)

Decided to acquire some Tap House Grill libations in Bellevue as we made our way home.  Yay for 'build your own taster'!! Ordered up: Oskar Blues Gordon (tasted & smelled like strawberries without really being sweet), Boulder Hazed & Infused (didn't like it as much as I did out of the bottle on Virtual Beer Tasting night), Dogfish Head 90m IPA (mused that I could probably pick a DFH beer out of a blind tasting lineup), & a Boundary Bay Dry Hop Amber, which happened to feel like a shot of whiskey going down every time I swallowed.

Enjoyed pints of the Ninkasi Kraken, 2 Beers Summer Hop, Old Horizontal barleywine in addition to an Ahi Tuna sammy, Tipsy Corn & Salmon chowda and the She Devil sushi roll.  All while watching the Giants bend over for the Colts & stupid ass Redskins highlights that I am still pretending don't exist. Lame day for football in my world. Good thing I got the news on the Skins loss in OT to the effing Texans while I had many a beer in front of me. There's always next week...

Tap House Grill is a great place to belly up to the bar and enjoy the creativity in tap handle making. I am uber in love with the steampunk Dogfish Head handle. Briefly considered running behind the bar to see if it's little gears of happiness actually rotate.

'Twas decided that for a Sunday, enough was enough, and started the the journey out to the car to head back home. However, being the ale lovers that we are we had to stop next door @ Rock Bottom to see what their beer action was all about. Had a good time people watching @ the bar while sipping on some Jasmine Wheat & 'some kind of hopped Pale Ale'. (The Rock Bottom site is a pain in my ass to look up their beers on, so I'm really effing over it, 'some kind of hopped pale ale' it is.)

A pretty eventful & fun week, as they all usually are. Looking forward to a few slow ones coming up, most of my plans are written down with very erasable pencil. ;)

pissed liBEERian 

Photo credits - Pissed Libeerian & MGD.

a wish is a dream, your heart makes...

you asked for it, u know who u r, live blogging. private beerfest underway. dogfish head punkin, hopvine fifteenth anniversary ipa and rogue dry hopped red to be paired with the final season of bsg.

History of the Growler... grr, rawr & stuff

As a liBEERian, I can say with good authority that reading will take you far in life. Whether it be a classic work of literature or the back of a paper menu @ the Red Hot. Here is what I have learned this week about the history of the Growler & some handy tips in it's usage, from the latter.

History of da Growla

"In the late 1800s and early 1900s, fresh beer was carried from the tavern to one's home by means of a small metal pail. Rumor has it that when the beer sloshed around the pail, it created a rumbling sound as the CO2 escaped through the lid, thus the term 'growler' was coined.

Before WWII, city kids use to bring covered buckets of draft beer from a local tavern or brewery to workers at lunchtime, or to their parents at dinnertime... a practice called 'rushing the growler'.

Some suggest that growlers are named for buckets of beer once given to factory workers before their stomachs began to 'growl' from hunger.

In the 50s and 60s, waxed cardboard containers with lids were used to take home beer - it's said that they were round and resembled take-out soup containers. In many US states, it used to be (and still is) illegal to sell alcohol on a Sunday. (eff that noise! & thank you 99 Bottles for ignoring it) So, if you wanted beer on Sunday, you went to a tavern & bought some of these containers of draft beer. Hallelujah!"

Growler Tips & Tricksterz

ways to get the most out of your growler experience

• Post growler fillage, keep cold and out of light. (I prefer the growler holder in my trunk, which will soon (hopefully) become a growler cooler) That means keep refrigerated @ all times. Helpful safety concern brought to my attention by MGD: "Most good craft brews are unpasteurized and so without this heat treatment bacteria can and will thrive at room temps." Essentially, open & drink it now bitches.
• Do not open the growler until you are ready to consume all of it's tasty insides. When sealed, a growler can last for many days. After it has been opened, the beery goodness starts to go downhill so suck it down.  Within 48-72 hours it will be undrinkable.
• If growler is filled with unfiltered beer, gently roll the growler before pouring to remix the contents within. 

On a more personal note... everyone does the growler 'dance' a bit differently. My favorite way to enjoy a growler is by grabbing 2 pint glasses, some movies & that super awesome 1/2 gallon of whatever; then head into bed to share with another. Makes for a happy threesome in my personal experience, good to the last drop.

pissed liBEERian

P.S. Oops, almost forgot... because Urban Dictionary adds humor to so many things, I've included a few other fun definitions for a 'growler'.



RedHot Tacoma. Back side of menu. Publication date: Unknown. Date of Menu reading: 9/13/2010.

Week 'O De Hopz

On to a short week from Labor Day, here's the 411 on my tastings. Otherwise known as - Yummy things I put in my mouth starting on Monday ending on Sunday. Smell, drink, repeat.:

Mon. Sept. 6th

@ the Rock in Federal Way with MGD

Drank 2 pints of their Rock Steady Red which is very delicious. Normally don't go for the reds (only when it comes to beer, don't freak out Basil) but this was very smooth, resembling a wheat taste. I liked it a lot.

The Whut? Okay: Randomly ended up all over on Monday. Got a massage in the a.m. which made me feel all drunk like, then ran on a treadmill for 30m. Hilarious. Next time, gym first then a massage. Picked up MGD from SeaTac (yay!) and on the way back (for the 2nd time...) we hit up 99 Bottles for some future beer tastings and had dindin @ the Rock. Very yummy topping secured pizza amidst vacay present giveage and catching up.

I just found out that 99 Bottles is hosting 'style' night every Tuesday so you can taste and learn about the 25+ styles of beer. Sounds awesome and a perfect way to learn loads while meeting fabulous libation drinking folks. I work late every Tuesday. Meh. Totally bummed and bitching about it to MGD & I'm pretty sure the response that I heard was "Hang around me more. Are you too good for beer @ my house now? 'uck's sake, woman." However this is my interpretation of that: "We should hang out on a specific day once a week and do this. It means I'll have to answer less texts, it's better that way. Beer shall be free and flowing. I'll teach you everything I know." hahaha. Or something like that.

Wed. Sept. 8th

Where we be at: 1022 South in Tacoma with MGD, Basil & Rue

Wall of Awesome @ 1022

What we b drankin': Seamstress Union & a Journey to the End of the Night (martini made with Zacaba 23yr old rum, cold press coffee, cayenne & cocoa.)
What a great night: Facebook is not only the bane of my existence (total free time vacuum) but a blessing in many ways. Logged in to see a post made by 1022 South that they are now serving beer again. I just had to give them a little ring a ling to see if Seamstress Union was there. I inquired and dude @ 1022 replies "Is this the girl that always emails me about SU?" Yes, yes it is; now answer the fucking question. So I contacted my fave beer drinking crew to meet up and per usual SOP, the good times began to roll. I thought the SU tasted a bit off. In my mind it was because when the 'lines blew' on these kegs a few weeks ago, the beer has been sitting there the whole time. Does this = badness? I did realize that I am currently kinda over SU (I flew too close to the sun, yay for OCD being all up on my passions and ruining them) and that's why it felt off. Don't despair, more on that later as I will be scribing a farewell letter to SU.

**I am currently too worn out from Brouwer's Hopfest last night to go into the plethora of details as I play catchup for the week, so here's a list of things I remember that will most likely only make sense or inspire a reminiscent laugh from my mates that were present**

Succulent nectarine bribery. Random inflation of growler prices, SE chalkboard proof of life pictures. What does a doctor look like? The allowance of vegetarianism & the denial of funky nail polish. 'Cross table face punching. Natural Harvest collection. Animals vs. Random varietals has nothing to do with eating or not eating meat. Stuck doors. How long is too long to shake a martini and why the F is it so loud? Regardless of breasticle size, this face is a $ maker. "She would like to order this martini, because I want to try it." What upstanding establishment runs out of basil? Next time, BYOBasil. Lit&Libations suddenly had a french immersion, we oui wii.Good fun, as usual.

Thurs. Sept. 9th
Virtual Colorado Beer Tasting Event
As this was a solo mission, I had to take notes and attempt to actually think about the beer I was drinking. Had to happen sometime... be scared. I even went sans lip gloss for the occasion.

6:30p New Belgium Fat Tire in a can-can: Cracked that puppy open @ go time, love the sound. From the (very aesthetically pleasing) can, I found Fat Tire to taste a bit lighter in the can than drinking it from the bottle. Very caramel tasting, perhaps from all that wind powered goodness New Belgium harnesses?

 6:57p Boulder BC Hazed & Infused Double Dry Hop: Paired with a thin crust margherita pizza. A dark amber color in the glass, very carbonated and fizzy. Borderline IPA face making but with a light sweet finish. Very good IPA for this girl, entirely drinkable and enjoyable. I super likey.

(stopped keeping track of time, was downing 2 beers an hour watching the 1st NFL game of the season)

New Belgium Ranger IPA: Love the label. Nice pop graphic goodness. Set it out to warm it up a bit. Nice and lacy; just the way your mother likes it. Very strong but light feel inside my face. Smooth in the beginning, pretty bitter finish. 70 IBU's in this puppy, a bit too much for me to enjoy a lot of.

Great Divide Raspberry Ale: Very crisp. Floral. Light. A muy bonita cerveza. Fuschia colored in the glass, makes me feel I'm drinking out of rose colored glasses. Yeah.... crack myself up.

So all in all, a fun event. Even though I didn't blog about my ales at the time of consumption, it was fun knowing fellow beer geeks around the globe were doing the exact same thing I was. Yay for solidarity!

Wknd of 10th - 12th
The much anticipated Brouwer's Hopfest in Fremont!! What a great place (some say the best bar in America) to try some ales & chill out for a few days. Glad they didn't start making us pay rent, although those couches were MIGHTY comfy.
Where: Schooner Exact Tasting Room & Brouwer's Cafe
Who: MGD & Me
What we drank:

Wee Heavy

Hopvine

Schooner Exact

Wee Heavy

Hopvine 15th Anniversary IPA

Gallant Maiden Hefweizen

Brouwer's Cafe

Midnight Sun Sun Hop Dog Double Wheat
Black Raven Dry Hopped Trickster firkin
(Winner of the weekend!)
Naked City Ace in the Hole
Ram Black Sheep cask
Walking Man Homo Erectus
Double Mountain Molten Lava
Dogfish Head Burton Baton
Southern Tier Unearthly
All paired with some cheese plate goodness, mahi mahi & kangaroo steak. No, I'm not kidding & yes I did try it. Remind me not to do that again. No meat no mo, especially the kind that tastes like cow that ate a fish.
(Please insert one Iron Girl to make our day perfect for a threesome, yay Shanna! Great way to start out a day)
Bottleworks 
 Silver City WhooPass DIPA
Pliny the Elder
Greenflash Imperial IPA
Weisen Edel Weisse
(& bought a whole host of brews to try @ home)
2nd Round @ Brouwers
Fremont Interurban
Hales Harvest Cask
Iron Horse Chinook Firkin
Skagit Dry Hopped Copperhead
Anthem Hops Cider
Double Mountain Molten Lave
Left Hand Twin Sisters
New Belgium Belgo
Thornbridge Hall Jaipur

Cheers!

Wow... what a list but it was over 2 days and 3 people made the effort (and we discovered sampler sizes, thank goodness) so we tasted everything in a fairly efficient manner and even turned a newbie back to the dark side, the IPA side. Left with some interesting parting gifts, one ale even left 2 little hop leaves in my mouth. That was super exciting after the initial "uh... what the F is that??!!" They are currently drying on my desk, will flower press them later. That's not a joke. I'll probably ghetto laminate them.

Our view of the world that day. Magic!

That's the week for you, it's been a busy one ale-wise but they all seem to be that way lately... weird. So many fun events, so little time. For any of you who are concerned about the amount I consume, please be comforted in the fact that I exercise almost every day of the week and stick to a (mostly) super healthy vegetarian diet. Still young and having fun, wouldn't have it any other way right now.

Signing out w/ a "Congrats!" to Black Raven Trickster. Will be journeying to the Black Raven Brewery soon. Here is a quote on your behalf.
"Who cares how time advances? I am drinking ale today."  

Edgar Allan Poe

Harvesty goodness coming your way...

*Update ~ removing an event for super secrecy reasons that were revealed @ Parkway last night & adding an event of muy importante-ness*

The time has come for scarves, yay! Oh and my wallet and liver may start a petition demanding that I pick and choose between beer tasting events, and stop trying to attend them all. Here is a list of awesome NW stuff (that I may or may not be at depending on the results of my petition) coming up for Fall:

Wed. Sept. 22nd ~ Parkway Tavern is hosting their 2nd Brewer's Night featuring Boulder Brewing. As of now they are scheduled to throw it down with Mojo (on tap & Randall), Hazed and Infused, and Flashback.
For those toting around a DD, then you can head to...
Wed. Sept. 22nd ~ RedHot is having a 'Farewell to Summer beer and Ice Cream social'. Yes, this means beer floats & I fully intend to pop my beer float cherry on this event. Hope RH knows how special this night should be fore me. Soft music, candle light, etc.
Sept. 24th - 26th ~ Fremont Oktoberfest & Brew-Ha-Ha 5k
Sept. 29th ~ Parkway Tavern. David vs. Goliath event. Schooner Exact & Big Al Brewing vs. Elysian & Pike. The line in the sand has been drawn & my calendar is cleared.

Oct. 1st thru 11th ~ Parkway Tavern & Red Hot will be exclusively featuring taps from Washington breweries during this time period. Can we say epic?
Oct. 1st - 2nd ~ Tacoma Craft Beerfest
Mon. Oct. 11th ~ 5th Tap Night Tacoma
Wed. Oct. 13th ~ Brouwer's Washington Beer Fest (Details TBA. However... beerfest + brouwer's = magic. Go ahead and count me in.)
Oct. 16th & 17th - Pumpkin Beer Fest @ Elysian Brewery in Capital Hill. 30+ pumpkin style ales and mudda effing punkin carvin!!!

To think, I shed a few small tears as August concluded when I imagined all the ale drinking antics and hop-portunities would end along with summer. In this case, I don't mind being wrong.

things i do for no good reason...

Are listed here:
1. run. i want to be a runner, but don't want to have to run all the time in order to become one.
2. have the inclination to do/attend every beer related activity possible.

So that brings us to the events of my upcoming evening.
A: 1st 2010 NFL Season game. Vikings vs. Saints. Football season gives me super giddy feeling that resonates all the way down to my tight end.
2: Make zucchini bread w/ the large squash on my counter, courtesy of being mom'd by Basil.
G: Participate in the (1st ever) Virtual Colorado Beer Tasting. Yay!

Do I care about Colorado? Not particularly. Capital building is all shiny like.
Do they make any of my 'must have' beers and therefore giving me a reason to drink them? No.
Do I want to eventually attend the Great American Beer Festival they host there every year? Oh hellz yes.

It does however give me a cause to try some new ales and styles I have not before, effing magical. Plus it gives me a fun beer blog related activity to do at the same time as other peeps who feel the need to spread the good word about beer. Ahhhh-sum. Will be drinking Colorado brewed beer while perfecting my culinary skills by attempting to create a healthy version of my fave sweet loaf & enjoying the beginning of pigskin season... sign. me. up. Sounds like a bomb diggity night to me!

Here's the lineup...
New Belgium Fat Tire (in a can, which I have never had before. plus my taste in beer is changing, will be fun to do a review of FT)
New Belgium Ranger IPA
Great Divide Wild Raspberry Ale
Boulder Beer Company Hazed and Infused Dry Hopped Ale (first Colorado brewery ever opened)

Essentially how this Virtual Beer Tasting dealy works is: You buy ales made by any Colorado Brewery, the event starts at 6:30p (our time). You start tasting and reviewing on blogging sites, Facebook, Twitter etc as a collective. I'm thinking this might be a perfect combo with my football watching. Will blog later about my thoughts, opinions and whether or not this was all worth my time. ;)

Week in the Kneez

Been a light week, consumption wise. (perhaps normal for normal people, but light for this off-centered girl if you reference the last few 'weekly' posts)

Wednesday Sept. 1st, 2010

da Where and da Y: @ home. Drinking some Dogfish Head beers I haven't tried before. I was asked for some suggestions and realized I must consume more of their brand in order to give a proper one. 

da Ales: Dogfish Head Midas Touch & DFH Indian Brown Ale. Hold on to your nipples kids, I busted out my "Rate That Beer" pad for this duo. Was still paranoid about Tacoma Pipe & Tobacco dude snatching up all the DFH goodies at MSM deli so I went after work. Got these ales & 2 bottles of World Wide Stout for the low low price of $30. It's expensive to have good taste, alright! I need to start finding sponsorships.

da Assessment:

Started off with the Indian Brown Ale. As you can see on my Rate That Beer sheet, I didn't overly love it. Gave it a 3/5 but I think that has more to do w/ it not being a style I particularly care for. However the quality is there 100%. My notes on the Brown Ale tell me that I found it to be "very toasted tasting. stout/porter like minus the thickness". Drank this ale while cooking. 

In preparation for this tasting, I looked up the appropriate glassware and food pairings for both ales. Since every recommendation was meat based except one, I decided to go with the risotto to accompany my Midas Touch. I took it a vegetarian notch further, made some grilled eggplant toozle. Gonna list the beer sheet qualities 'cause they ended up pretty entertaining for this one:

Label - Goes with my Sofa

Color - Mine for Amber or Copper

Clarity - Sparkles in the Sun

Head - Not worth getting up for. (hahahahaha.... ha. didn't know such thing existed, wonder how Dick's Cream Stout would rate in that category?)

Aroma - Rich enough for fireside

Mouthfeel - Tingly effervescence

Flavor - Sweet like ye olde malt shoppe

Finish - Lingers longer

Notes & Impression - It's Grape!! haha (yes, I actually wrote that) Majorly mellows after it warms up. Less crisp tasting. Could drink only 1 @ a time but it's different & complex. Mouthfeel: goodness. 

'nuff said on both those. Typical Dogfish greatness.

 Saturday Sept. 4th, 2010

Where & w/ Whom: home, but of course chilling with TPG3 (mai roomie) & watching movies

Wut: Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat & Stone Ruination IPA while eating a homemade Mahi Mahi burger and sweet potato

So yeah...: Spent all day running around, ended up with some tasty treats from Trader Joe's and World Beers @ Tacoma Pipe & Tobacco. Started with the Cherry Wheat while cooking dinner. I like to cook with alcohol, sometimes I even add it to what I'm making. ;) Pretty traditional/normal wheat beer as it enters the mouth but !!SHAZAM!! when you swallow. Yes... that's what she said. It's like a maraschino cherry burst in my mouth tube. Very nice for a fruit beer, not overly fruity or syrupy. Smells great and the taste delivers like FedfreakingEx. Highly recommend to try it at least once, it's very different.  

Now for the Stone Ruination IPA. I'm drinking it right now as I type this. I could probably type up 10 more blog posts in the time it will take me to finish this and y'all know I'm a wordy bitch. I think TPG3 said it best when I shuddered and handed her the glass to try: "Uhhhhh. It raised my arm hair!!!" Or maybe I said it best when I took a drink, had to lay my head down on our coffee table and announce "Owie, it hurts my face." Yeah, you could put your weed in there, that's how skunky it is. Total classic IPA face making. 1/4 of a pint down... guess I'm going to be up awhile trying to knock it back. I will not let this beer be the ruination of me, but the 100+ IBUs make it a hefty challenge. Good thing I'm stubborn.

Sunday Sept. 5th
Locale: Bumbershoot beer garden with TPG3 & Blainal
Ale: Redhook Longhammer IPA & a swallow of Budweiser Lime
Okay all that I am going to say is that Budweiser Lime tastes like a port-a-potty smells. That beer is so white trash it should have a little wife beater beer koozie.

An ode... to all thangs Dogfish Head.

Sup bitches, happy Labor Day Weekend. Two things have prompted me to scribe this post:

1. I was recently asked for some suggestions/recommendations on Dogfish Head beer to drink and sell.
2. I'm planning a beer/fancy dinner pairing party where I will need approx. 10 different ales to go with each course.

So in contemplating DFH beer I realized that I have mostly only tried their seasonal and special release beers. Granted, I am on an overall mission to try everything they offer and produce, this makes it a little difficult to plan in advance. So I'm sure you are just as curious as I am to see the Dogfish Head Release Schedule. I hope it brings ease to your mind, life and ale consumption journey; like it has for mine. Lucky me, I was only halfway through making a super elaborate, color coded, itemized spreadsheet of release dates when I found this handy link. My hard work = irrelevant, yet still worthwhile. I do what I do for YOU!

The link is amazing in all of it's Dogheaded full color glory but to lay it out all quick like, here is what's coming up. Fuck it, I just love making lists. Starting w/ zee current month. Since I love charts and lists of ALL kinds, here is a key to the symbols you may see:

* - I have tasted
! - If I were married, my relationship w/ this beer could be considered an affair. That's how much I lurv it.
# - Seasonal
~ - Occasional (this better not mean: don't get your hops up, we'll consider releasing it when we damn well feel like it)

Sept - Punkin Ale*# & Pangea~
Oct - Punkin Ale*# & Olde School Barleywine~ (hawt damn!! ABV 15%) & Squall IPA~
***Just so you know, as I'm typing this... I'm getting super stoked. It's my virgin year as a DFH lover so there is much I have not tried!! Okay, back to business.***
Nov - Chicory Stout# & Burton Baton~ & WORLD WIDE STOUT*!~ (I have 2 bottles in my fridge on super hoard status. It's okay to be a bit green eyed over it's ABV 18% goodness) & My Antonia~
Dec - Chicory Stout# & 120 Minute IPA*!~ (Oh dear heavens, please let it be so! I'm jonesing since SIB and my mouth had been denied since the August batch was FOILED! I need something to make Black & Tans with, a Dirty Ho can only hold the flame for so long against a 40 Proof Heaven & Hell) & Fort~

Jan - Nada. So I hope you stocked up on some of the above awesome in a bottle or can hit up a year round ale.
Feb - Red and White~
Mar - Aprihop*!# & Burton Baton~ & Black and Blue*!~  (delicious fruit beer!!) & Squall IPA~
April - Aprihop*!# & Immort Ale~ (looooove this name) & My Antonia~
May -A whole month devoted to... 120 Minute IPA*!~
June - Festina Peche*# & Sah'Tea*~
July - Festina Peche*# & Burton Baton~ & Theobroma*~
Aug - 120 Minute IPA*!~ (not this year unfortunately, quality control was off. why ya gotta tease me right after SIB guys? damn.) & Chateau Jiahu~

2 big thank yous to hand out award show style. 1st thank you goes to MGD for coming to SIB all three days over 4th of July weekend, and especially for getting up ass early when hungover from day uno & dos. We made it to the special Dogfish Head pour by 1p, despite our 'loitering' line start & a trip to get more glasses. A day/wknd that for sure changed my approach to beer drinking forever. It's great to be #1, eh! Foam fingers for next time. Our view from the front of line:

2nd thank you goes to Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. You guys are amazing. A small op built from the ground up with off-centered people producing amazing and unique brews. I am a fan for life, come heaven or hell; and I've made sure that everyone around me knows that. You are so awesome, I would even buy a $40 beach towel from you. Just so I can wrap myself up in your logo and enjoy all that it is... all over my body. Kudos, you are the reason people plan vacations around beer. Delaware... here I come.

You've caused me to save bottle caps. You've made me soak and peel labels. Okay in all fairness someone did that for me & I have helpers w/ the bottle cap collection too but you've created a monster. You've been worth every second of my time, and the time of those who indulge my DFH fetish; as far as I'm concerned

Oh
     and
             one
                      last
                              thing...

If anyone feels like buying me a present, here is #1 on my list:
It can be found on the DFH website.
Holy mutual love of DFH & Steampunk.
Just in case you want to know what time your IPA
is coming. Happeh sigh.