The festival of winter with beer is coming!

The Washington Beer Commission's Winter Beer Fest is coming to a (the) Hale's Palladium near you (if you live in Seattle) this weekend! Get your tickets and more information here all quick like if you haven't already done so. After finding out that my day off of work was going to be harshly retracted, I was sad. After fighting the good fight (busted out a smidgen of bitchiness over my non-refundable hotel room) and getting my Saturday off from work sorted back out, I was happy. After reading the beer line up for this weekend, I was SUPER happy. So happy in fact that I'm going to list the beers below for you (with my must have beers in fantastic colored fontitude) and then proceed to begin working on my color coded, prioritized festival beer drinking list. Which I will NOT misplace like I did with my Brewers Festival list of grandness (insert moment of silence).

7 Seas Brewing
1) 2011 Wheelchair Barleywine
Brewed in the tradition of British-style Barley Wines, our 2011 offering displays burgundy/brown hues, a thick off-white head of lacey foam, toasted malt, a strong presence of raisiny, vinous fruit aroma and warming alcohol.  Crafted with British Marris Otter, dark crystal and aromatic malts, liberally hopped with Glacier and East Kent Goldings, we also added 60 LBS of locally sourced Washington State Clover honey to the boil kettle.  With its’ coating, silky rich mouth-feel, and complex interplay of deep caramel malt, ripe fruit aroma and sturdy alcohol, 7 Seas 2011 Wheelchair Barleywine is a colossal, yet refined brew. 10.6% ABV
2) Ballz Deep Double IPA
A mash tun packed mostly with Pale Ale Malt and several different varieties of Crystal malt provide a firm, slightly sweet malt flavor while copious amounts of resiny Yakima Valley hops go berserk on bitterness, flavor and aroma. 8.4% ABV
3) Port Royal Export Style Stout
Port Royal Stout (Foreign Export Style), combines seven different malt varieties to create intriguing flavors of dark chocolate, espresso, and roasted barley. Nugget and Mt. Hood hops offer a soft floral nose and just enough bitterness to balance the creamy, smooth finish. Dark and ominous in appearance, Port Royal Stout is a great sipping companion for any drizzly Northwest afternoon. 6.8% ABV
4) le Havre (the Harbor) Belgian Winter Ale
This seasonal offering is fashioned with reverence towards the long-standing tradition of Trappist Abbey-style beers of Belgium.  Brewed with Pale Ale malt, oats, and dark crystal malts, hopped with Fuggles, and fermented with authentic Belgian Abbey yeast, the ale reveals intricate layers of spice, fig, bitter chocolate and delicate alcohol.  An inviting, yet complex brew that implores us to relax, silence ourselves, and take a moment to appreciate what’s genuine, simple, and beautiful in life.  8% ABV



American Brewing Company (updated by ABC brewer Skip Madsen)
1)Winter Classic - A strong dark ale 8.5% ABV
2) Sour Version of ABC's Brown Ale

Anacortes Brewery
1) Cask Noel Winter Ale
Noel Winter Ale – Brewed to celebrate the holiday season, this winter warmer uses various aromatic specialty malts and has a prominent hop character from mild American Noble varieties. 7.0% ABV  45 IBU
2) Klosterbier
Klosterbier – Originally brewed at the Anacortes Brewery under the guidance of the visiting Brewmaster of Kalt Loch Brewery in Bavaria, this beer is modeled after a dark lager brewed by Kalt Loch for the Engelberg monastery. Our version uses Perle hops and a portion of apple wood smoked malt. 5.3% ABV  35 IBU
3) Broadsword
Broadsword Scottish Ale – This strong Scottish ale has robust malty flavors with subtle smokiness and a balanced bittereness from Perle, Cascade and Mt Hood hops. Broadsword is made with Black Patent, Caramel, Chocolate, Munich and Peat smoked malts for a dark color and rich flavor. 8.3% ABV  35 IBU

Big Al Brewing
1) Winter Warmer 2011
A dark Strong Ale with deep toffee and milk chocolate malt flavors, firm bitterness and a kick that will put the Happy in your Holidays. 7.5% ABV
2) Winter Warmer 2010
The 2010 Vintage of our popular winter seasonal. 7.5% ABV
3) Nut Warmer (long time lover, oh how I heart the Peanut Butter beer by Big Al!)
Our take on the classic & traditional PBDA (that would be a Peanut Butter Dark Ale  for the non-beer geeks out there) 7.5% ABV


Big Time Brewery
1) Yule Fest
A dark Christmas Ale not fk’ed up with spices.  Complex malt character from multiple crystal malts. 7.3% ABV
2) Perspective IPA
Simcoe and Amarillo make this IPA a hop bomb that every hop head loves to detonate in their mouth. 6.1% ABV

Black Raven Brewing
1) Gunpowder Plot Bourbon Nitro Porter (What about the treason??!!)
Porter aged in a bourbon barrel with chocolate and coffee. 6.2% ABV
2) Festivus Seeker
Double IPA with cranberries, ginger and herbs. 9.1% ABV

Boundary Bay Brewery
1) Vintage 2008 Cabin Fever
A strong ale or “Winter Warmer” with dark red-brown color and a very rich malty flavor. Dry-hopped lightly with Cascades for a pleasant aroma and slightly spicy hop finish. This big beer is deceptively strong. yet tastes very smooth thanks to extra long cold conditioning. Three years of aging have transformed this brew in a rich. old-style ale. Original Gravity: 1.072
2) Barrel Aged Scotch Ale
Traditionally strong, this ale is a unique beer with a similar malt profile to its more famous cousin Scotch whiskey. Roasted, unmalted barley provides a distinctive flavor. A thick creamy head and a beautiful red hue are two of the trademark results of its brewing process. Hopped just long enough to achieve balance with the malt, the end product is incredibly smooth with a finish that lingers. This brew was aged in a Dry Fly Distillery Whiskey Barrel. We are thrilled to be collaborating with this new distillery located in Spokane, WA. Original Gravity: 1.064
3) Imperial Oak Aged Oatmeal Stout
Lightly hopped, it is aged for one month to allow the medley of dark malts and oats to celebrate their union. This brew was aged with toasted French oak adding hints of oak & vanilla. Vintage 2010. Original Gravity: 1.090

Chuckanut Brewery
1)Dunkel
Chuckanut's Dunkel has won a total of 5 medals (4 gold & 1 silver) from the GABF, World Beer Cup 2010, and NABA. 5% ABV; 22 IBUs
2) Brewer's Choice TBA 

Diamond Knot Brewery
1) Front Street Bitter
Originally a batch of IPA that went sideways, this one is straw– to light-copper-colored, medium-bodied ale with some grassy, herbal goodness imparted by a generous Willamette dry-hop.  40 IBUs; 6.6% ABV
2) Industrial Ho!Ho!
A robust ‘winter warmer’ ale, ruby brown in color with a slightly sweet, fruity nose. Very hoppy, yet balanced with a sturdy malt foundation. 60 IBUs; 8.5% ABV

Elliott Bay Brewing
1)Organic Noale Holiday Ale
Brewed with a Dunkel Weizenbock recipe in mind, our winter seasonal ale uses 40% wheat malt to achieve its hearty texture and blend of caramel and roasted malts for color. 8.9% ABV
2)Three Threads Barrel-aged Blend
We dug deep in the cellar to fashion this one-of-a-kind blend of three different beers which were aged in oak barrels.

Elysian Brewing
1) Bifröst Winter Ale
Named for the mythical bridge connecting the mortal world to the heavens. Brewed with pale malt and small amounts of Munich and Crystal malts. Bittered with Simcoe and finished with Amarillo, East Kent Goldings and Styrian Goldings hops. Starting gravity 18.4° Plato (1.074), alcohol 6.35% by weight. 58 IBU 7.6% ABV.
2) Bye-Bye Fröst
An extremely strong pale ale made with huge amounts of two row pale and small amounts of Munich and Cara-hell. Bittered with Magnum, Amarillo and Styrian Goldings; finished with Amarillo and Styrian Goldings hops. Additionally dry-hopped with  Amarillo. Starting gravity 23.6° Plato (1.099), alcohol  8.3% by weight, 10.6% ABV.
3) Dragonstooth Stout
The name is referential to the founders of Thebes, warriors who sprang from the earth when the teeth of a slain dragon were sown by Cadmus. Made with 10% rolled oats, roasted barley, Crystal, Munich and chocolate malts. Bittered with Magnum, finished with Cascade and Centennial hops. Starting gravity 20° Plato (1.080), alcohol 6.2% by weight, 60 IBU. 7.45% ABV.

Flyers Restaurant and Brewery
1)Daybreak Breakfast Stout
A rich black oatmeal stout infused with coffee from Fidalgo Bay Roasting Co.. Smooth and very easy to drink, beer for breakfast you bet! English Barley Malts, and a generous portion of oats are used along with English Challenger Hops for balance. 7% ABV
2) Hop Duster IPA
We went with Crisp pale ale malt and lots of Columbus and Cascade hops on this one! When some is good and more is better is concerned this hits the mark, 7% ABV and tons of hops all the way through.

Foggy Noggin Brewing
1) Christmas Duck
A mouthful of sweetened roasty flavors that linger long as a roasty dryness. Satisfying in every respect and a pint of the holiday spirit each time. Everyone deserves to celebrate Christmas year-round. Jingle Beers! Jingle Beers. 6.6% ABV
2) Powder Keg
A Coffee Stout. 7.2% ABV

Fremont Brewing
1) Abominable Ale
A tasty winter ale to snuggle up to, released for the winter months when snow blankets the terrain of the mind and the body craves warmth and…Dark and roasty, chocolatey, malt flavors balanced by Noble hop aroma and subtle hoppy spice. Warm up to it. Don’t be Scared to be Abominable. IBU: 50 8.0% ABV
2) Bourbon Abominable Ale “Bbomb”
The 2011 Kentucky bourbon barrel-aged edition of our winter warmer.  Bourbon, wood and vanilla add to the dark and roasty, chocolatey, malt flavors and subtle hoppy spice.  Aged in 20 year-old bourbon barrels until just right. Warm up to it. Don’t be Scared to be Bbominable. IBU: 50 ABV: 9.5%
3) The Sister Imperial IPA (sister a beast? my male sibling may agree with that sentiment...)
The Sister is a beast. Are You? Brewed with both extract and pellet hops, the Sister will sit on your palette and beat you down. And you’ll like it. Washington Imperial IPA, All Hail The Hops…and Great Head….from the Malted Wheat.  Down and Dirty: Pale Malt, White Wheat, Vienna Malt with Amarillo, Bravo, Calypso and Columbus hops. IBU: Billions and Billions 9.0% ABV

Hale's Ales Brewery & Pub
1) Brewer's Choice TBA
2) Brewer's Choice TBA

Icicle Brewing
1) SnowBockalypse (Doppelbock)
Deep brown lager with ruby highlights. Heavy, rich, and sweet malt notes carry this beer, with a slight warming sensation at the finish. Bocks were originally brewed in Germany, with the Doppelbock variation being attributed to the Paulaner Monks of Munich, who brewed this beer for their fasts when they were not allowed solid food. Doppelbocks served as “liquid bread”.  21 IBU. 7% ABV
2) Priebe Porter
A dark, rich and full bodied ale with a sweet aroma.  Strong malt flavors and character with a dry roasted finish. This Robust American Porter is full of dark chocolate flavor, complemented by the firm presence of Yakima grown hops.  Named for Head Brewer, Dean Priebe, this beer won many home brewing awards for Dean before he started brewing professionally.  Served in an American crafted traditional 16oz. pint glass. 34 IBU. 6.5% ABV

Iron Horse Brewery
1) Cozy Sweater
Vanilla Milk Stout 4.5% ABV
2) Brewer’s Choice TBA (if this equals Mocha Death then it's at the top of my list)

Naked City Brewery & Taphouse
1)Big Lebrewski
The Big Lebrewski is made with copious amounts of 2 row Pale Malt, Chocolate Malts and Roasted Barley along with Magnum and Cascade Hops. Lactose is added for a rich creamy mouth feel. After primary fermentation, the beer is transferred onto 2 lbs of Kahlua soaked medium toast French oak cubes and allowed to condition for an additional month. The resulting beer is bold and rich with roasted coffee and chocolate notes and pleasant alcohol warmth. 9% ABV
2) Bing
English Style Old Ale aged on a combination of Bing and Tart Montmorency Cherries. 8% ABV

Northern Lights Brewing
1) Winter Ale
This hearty seasonal offering is crafted in the likeness of Northwest style winter warmers. We utilize 2-row pale, Munich, and Crystal malts plus 5 kettle additions of hops and dry hopping to create this deliciously hoppy winter ale. Rich maltiness and citrusy hop profiles mingle with fruity esters and alcohol to create a beer with classic northwest characteristics and a great drink for the holidays. 7.5% ABV
2) Frankin Stout
Imperial Stout. 9.5% ABV

Pike Brewing Company
1) Pike Auld Acquaintance
A Winter treat, infused with Curacao and sweet orange peel, cassia bark, nutmeg and coriander. 32 IBU. 5.00% ABV
2) Pike 5X Stout
Malt: Pale, Crystal and Roasted. Hops: Chinook, Willamette, East Kent Goldings. Color: Black IBU 65 7.00% ABV
3) Pike Imperial Stout
Hops: Chinook, Willamette, Columbus, Goldings. Malts: Pale, Crystal and Roasted. IBU 80 9.00% ABV

Port Townsend Brewing
1)Winter Ale
A rusty colored ale created by a multi faceted malt bill with enough cascade hops throughout to let you know it’s winter on the Peninsula. 7% alc/vol
2) Brewer’s Choice, TBA

Ram Restaurant & Brewery
1) Ol’ Mallwalker
“The beer formerly known as Seligher” – A festive strong ale deep copper hued with a sturdy malt backbone and assertive hop character – pouring 2009, 2010 and 2011. 9.5% ABV
2) S’no Angel (she's s'no angel folks, I'm telling ya)
Our Winter Wizenbock features a rich and complex malt profile with hints of fruit, spice and chocolate and a smooth, warming finish. 6.8% ABV

Redhook Brewery
1)Winterhook
Cask Conditioned Spiced Winterhook. We put a twist on our winter seasonal by spicing it up with nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and a bit of vanilla, then cask conditioning it! The base liquid is RedhookÂ’s 27th brew of Winterhook which has roasted chocolate notes that smooth out the quick, spicy hop finish. The rich body and nutty, malty backbone make this winter ale slightly naughty and very nice. ABV 6.0% / IBU 45
2) Down Under Stout  (I enjoy anything that's smooth and goes down easy, saves my talents for later)
A“Dark, Smooth and Goes Down Easy.” A smooth and creamy brew that is loosely modeled after Australian and sweeter styled stouts. Brewed with plenty of specialty malts, this stout is dark in color with a rich and decadent taste. ABV 7.0% / IBU 55

Rock Bottom Brewery (Seattle)
1) Saison
2 row, Munich malt and Flaked Rye. Hopped with Nugget and Mt. Hood. Brewed with Lachouffe yeast strain. Crisp, fruity and spicy in the tradition of of French/Belgian Farmhouse Ale. 5.4% ABV, 26 BU.
2)IPA
Pilsner malt. Hopped with Citra, Ahtanum, and Amarillo. Dry-hopped with Amarillo. Dry and aromatic IPA with notes of citrus and tropical fruit. 7.0 % ABV, 65 BU.

Schooner EXACT
1) Hoppy Holidays
A rich, malty beer with an assertive but balanced hop character. This beer greets you with hints of chocolate and dark fruits on the nose. Flavors of rich dark malts with chocolate undertones play over your tongue and finish with a prevalent earthy hop finish.
2) Hoppy the Woodsman (had it, love it)
This bourbon barrel- aged beer gives off an aroma of malty sweet chocolate with vanilla and oak undertones. Flavors of dark pit fruit will conjure up memories of fruitcake are intertwined with vanilla and oak flavors imparted from the barrels. This medium bodied ale finishes smooth and boozy with a good hop bite.
3) Barrel-Aged Imperial Porter
After brewing batch 100 on our 10bbl system, the brewers at Schooner EXACT squirreled away some of the beer to age in bourbon barrels. This very limited-release beer is the happy result.
4) Foxy Mocha Brown
Back by popular demand, this version of our classic brown ale is perfect for those dark Seattle evenings. Malty, rich nutty brown mingles with the energizing flavors of Schooner EXACT’s own hand-roasted espresso.

Scuttlebutt Brewing
1) Oaked 10 Below (I wonder if this will be anything like the Evil Twin Soft Dookie I had in Portland last weekend... 'twas like drinking a melted chocolate bar!)
This Imperial Dunkle is like drinking a chocolate brownie.  Rich chocolate flavors with a hint of vanilla are balanced with molasses.  Very drinkable without being too decadent. The fresh American Oak creates another layer of complexity without compromising the strengths of the beer. 7.4% ABV
2) Sea Hag Scotch Ale
A complex malty brew with a hint of smoke. 7.44% ABV

Silver City Brewery
1) Silver City Winter Bock
Just as old world brewers aged their beer in snow-covered cellars, Silver City stores Winter Bock for five weeks at near freezing temperatures. Cold conditioning makes Winter Bock the smoothest, most flavorful way we know to celebrate the winter season.  7% ABV
2) Silver City Old Scrooge Christmas Ale
Silver City Restaurant and Brewery is proud to present this limited batch of our very own British style barley wine ale. Old Scrooge is a rich and malty ale with all the character of a fine wine. Its character will fully develop over time. Intriguing notes of apple, cherry and apricot occur naturally as a result of its unique fermentation and extended aging. To fully appreciate this special Christmas Ale, we recommend serving it in a brandy glass near 55 F and slowly savored. 8.5% ABV

Slippery Pig Brewery
1)Black Boar
Black Hefeweizen. Made with locally roasted wheat, and a touch of lemon verbena.  6.5% ABV
2) Emasculator
Dark and malty Doppelbock. Brewed with local blackberries.  10% ABV

Snipes Mountain Brewery
1) Miller Reserve: Pumpkin Death ’10 (Oh. Hell. Yes)
A massively drinkable, cherrywood smoked pumpkin imperial stout.  Last year’s vintage is tasting good. 8.0% ABV
2) Julekalender (Imperial Oatmeal Chocolate Stout, are you effing kidding me??!!)
Imperial Oatmeal Chocolate Stout 8.5%
3) Ye Olde Roza
Barleywine 13% ABV

Snoqualmie Falls Brewery
1) Avalanche Winter Ale
Designed to take the chill off of our stormy Northwest winters, Avalanche is the prefect combination of complex malt flavors and distinct hoppy goodness. 6.8% ABV and 48 IBUs
2) Black Frog Irish Oatmeal Stout
Creamy and smooth, a classic nitro stout with chocolaty flavors and a satisfyingly dry finish. 4.8% ABV

Two Beers Brewing
1) Infused 20:20 Blonde
20:20 Blonde infused with lavender, rose, currants and elderberries
2) Infused Evo. IPA
Evo. IPA infused with mango pieces, apple bits, calendula and orange peel
3) Infused Jive Espresso Stout
Jive Espresso Stout infused with coconut shreds, cacao nibs, cinnamon, star anise

Valholl Brewing Company
1) Stouty Stouterson (If you see me running around the festival on Saturday, I'll most likely just be repeating this phrase the whole day.)
Imperial Oatmeal Stout brewed with sweet potatoes, raisins, cinnamon, and brown sugar. 11% ABV
2) Brewer’s Choice TBA (If this ends up being their Anise Nystagmus Black Licorice IPA, I'll probably wet myself)

Wingman Brewers
1) Stratofortress Belgian Strong Ale
Aged on black rum soaked cedar.  The familiar smell of cedar fills your nose as you breathe in the toasted wood aroma of this ale.  Then strong flavors of fig and fruit give way to a sweet rum and spice finish. 11.4% ABV
2) Cerise Noire Lambic
Brewed with black cherry tea and fermented with cherries.  The tea adds a delicious herbal bite that pairs well with the wild brett flavors. 7% ABV
3) Ace IPA
A Belgian meets American style IPA. Distinctly Belgian malts complement a healthy portioning of Citra, Centennial and Cascade hops. Light malty flavors up front give way to a distinctive hop kick. 7.4% ABV


Check out the good times that were had by everyone (READ: Everyone ='s me, if I had fun then I assume everyone else did too) at the 2010 Winter Beer Fest. Can't wait for dark beers of a strong like fashion & some mistletoe merriment!!!

Ohhhhhhh the weather outside is frightful,

But winter beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeers are so delightful!

If ever you loved me soooooOoooo,

I can't think of anything beer related that rhymes with 'oooOooo'!

the pissed liBEERian

WABL Brewers Festival 2011

It's timeline time!!! Yay. Clap.

21 days since I've been in a bar (Jubelpalooza @ Parkway Tavern).
Approx. 90 days since my last 'real' blog post (& by real I mean not some random event FYI that I posted to make myself feel better about not writing a real blog).
Approx. 4 months since I attended Brewers Festival in Kenmore, just now sitting down to write about it.

Hmmm, well that last part is fairly typical while the two facts before it are not. Been an interesting/rough/random couple of months in the life of zee pissed liBEERian so I'm attempting to get back to business and jump back on my horsey horse. I looked at this blank page forever, thinking I actually forgot how to do this. Let's find out, shall we?

WABL's Brewers Festival was something I was so very excited about. Happy dance excited. I think for 2 reasons: It is the event that got me started in beer blogging (SIB of 2010 also played its part) and I'm fairly certain that summer was invented just to make outdoor festivals of beery goodness even more amazing than they already are.

This is my unamused fake smile which clearly says 'Let me the hell in already, I'm dying of thirst!'

In preparation for the event, I gathered all of the information on which breweries would be pouring which beer on which days. Then I used that information to create a color-coded, date-prioritized spreadsheet that was our plan of attack. This thing was effing sick. I was approached many a time during the festival with questions as to where I got my oh so amazing beer guide. I was in love with this thing. Festival goers were in love with this thing. MGD and I wrote all of our beer notes (by 'our' I mean his notes, I make the medium for our ease of festival going but I have higher social obligations that are a priority over taking notes plus I end up writing all over myself) and other info onto these lovingly created sheets of paper.

So guess what the one thing was that we went home without, late Saturday night? Good thing we have photographic evidence as to the reason why...

I guess MGD's fancy camera finally caught me at a not so cute time. Had to happen eventually. Camera awareness skills: -3

Certain things happen when I've been drinking all day and those things include putting on my stupid clothes (fuzzy ball ski cap), going to the house of  a complete stranger we met at the festival in order to try his home brew, playing Mario Kart for hours while sitting next to a cat the size of a small bear cub (MGD's editing notes would like it stated for the record that it was actually the size of a BIG bear cub) and losing possessions that are of the utmost importance to me and my blog. Oh and making random weird faces (READ: lack of any camera awareness resulting in my usual pretty poses) while going off on some drunken tangent. You know, the usual.

But that was at the very tail end of our night, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start where it all started, at the Schooner Exact booth!!!

Schooner Exact Seamstress Union Epiphany Beer Reunion, two fisting with Heather McClung. In a platonic way of course.

Schooner Exact was one of our highly prioritized stops as they created the Seamstress Union beer that I first had at the 2010 Brewers Fest. And they are Schooner Exact of course. Lovely picture of Hutch (SE Brewer) and myself sporting his new aprons from Germany. After a quick costume change, we got Kim Sharpe Jones (of Washington Beer Blog) in on the action. I totally love/hate that pic of us but it's too damn funny not to post. Kendall and Kim of the Washington Beer Blog had a whole tent at this festival complete with WBB swag and a prize drawing, which was way awesome. If they & their blog have reached 'Tent Masters' level then I just MIGHT be able to get away with running around wearing a sandwich board that says 'the pissed liBEERian' on it. Might.

Snipes Mountain Brewery was pouring a Bourbon Barrel Aged Sour Pumpkin Stout (I know, right?!), so we made sure that was one of our first stops on Saturday morning. The beer drips (blasphemy!) all over the sign are courtesy of me. You're welcome Snipes. I tried to convince them that it gave their sign an authentic, rustic feel and I offered to lick it off the sign as well. I have a 'gesturing' problem more than a drinking problem. I had only had 3 or 4 beers by that point. I have to set stuff down when I need to talk because I need my hands free to tell a story. I'm sure a lot of you have heard me say "OMG, hold this 'cause I have to tell you something!!".  The Sour Pumpkin Stout was quite delicious, hence the licking offer.

One of the best parts of Brewers Festival is the keg toss. MGD weaseled his way up on to the stage (EDITING NOTE BY MGD: He said he didn't 'weasel' and never has. He simply walked up to the stage.) to snap some great shots of the event on Saturday. We are quite a magical team with my big breasticles and his big camera, people rarely stop us from doing anything or ask questions. It's probably why we found ourselves chillin' at the post festival Brewers after party, drinkin' some super secret beer. Where I 'accidentally' stole a Trivial Pursuit card. I call it an accident because I have no idea why I took the card, I'm not the type of person who steals stuff. I'm pretty sure it made complete sense to me at the time in my world of having drunk all day.

So the keg toss... pictures are worth a thousand words. Here's a bunch so you can stop reading for awhile. Plus, the facial expressions of these guys kills me. It looks like most of them have to poop.

As I mentioned before, I sadly lost my uber collection of notes on the beers we drank. I still have the beer lineup from the event and in looking through it I can pretty much guess what we drank and what we liked. See below.

7 Seas - Cascadian Dark Ale & Rude Parrot IPA (both MGD & I found the Rude Parrot to be phenomenal!)
Baron Brewing/Three Skulls Ale - Imperial Red
Big Al - Sourlicious & Five Star Chile IPA
Big Time - Cherry Trombipulator (Cherry Style Belgian Triple)
Black Raven - Possum Claus Bourbon Pecan Ale
Boundary Bay - Ginger Peach
Elysian - Rhubarbarella
Fish Brewing - Swordfish Double CDA
Foggy Noggin - Bit O Beaver (English Bitter)
Harmon - Vanilla Porter & Rajah's Royal IPA
Howe Sound - Pothole Filler (Imperial Stout)
Kona - Longboard Lager & Wailua Wheat (Nothing I haven't had multiple times but I had to keep going back to get swag. One lei, 3 gecko keychains & and bomb ass Kona beach towel that required some serious eyelash fluttering and annoying persistence that I have trademarked.)
Mac & Jack's - C U Lator Barleywine Ale
Northern Lights - Blueberry Creme Ale
Odin - Thor's Equinox & Odin's Gift (I distinctly recall sloshing my Equinox all over my hand due to some heavy gesturing while talking about the sour stout called Thor's Intrigue to the pourer. Real smooth on my part.)
Port Townsend - Green Tea Gold
Ram - CoConut Porter & Berry White (Raspberry Belgian White Ale)
Schooner Exact - Seamstress Union (yay!) & Bravehorse Pale Ale
Scuttlebutt - The Dirty Blonde (that's what he said)
Skookum - Cabernet Barrel Molasses Stout
Snipes - Sour Pumpkin Stout
Three Skulls - Cutthroat Imperial Red
Two Beers - Ginger/Lime Panorama Wheat & Infused Evo IPA (plus we got free koozies for stopping by!)
Wingman - Pomegranate P-51 Porter, Bourbon Barrel Porter, Blackberry Sour Ale (EFFING BOMB DIGGITY)

Dang, that's a lot of beer. I'm sure there are more that our collective group tasted and loved but this is what I can list with much certainty due to our usual preferences and I know how we be rollin' at festivals, yo. 

In between beer tasting I divided my time evenly between the following delights:

Ignoring Micah's muscles...












...but reaping the benefits of his tattoo placement prowess along with one of my very best gal pals.












Grabbing a quick Kenny (Port Townsend) hug before I talked him out of his Parkway Tavern sweatshirt. Add that to the swag list.












Harassing the mini golf guy during my 300th attempt to sink a putt. Maybe my time wasn't so evenly divided... He felt sorry for me and finally gave me a WABL Golf Ball. Swag list, add it.



















Somehow Brian and Mike (7 Seas) manage to mutually serve me and ignore me at the same time, great skills guys! Only to be matched later when I almost talked Mike out of that great shirt by telling him I'd switch with him at the end of the day. It was a plan until one of us didn't show, pretty sure it wasn't me...

Entertaining the locals with what I'm sure was scintillating conversational skills on my part.












Lending a hand at the last minute Friday rush in the Big Al tent. Where I quickly realized that I am designed to drink beer and socialize, not pour beer for others. These people all ran up and scared the crap outta me!
 











 Chased bubbles.












And wrestled fellow beer blogger Mike Besser (Brewdad) over a beer/token trade. I forget who won but that probably means it was him.












I'm sure many of you know, I heart Tacoma. It is with so much pride that I got the chance to see how awesome the Wingman Brewing guys did at the festival. They had a giant line of people wanting a taste and then who kept coming back for more, each day until they sold out. They were the darlings of Brewers Fest, great job guys!!

Kenny Thoburn of Wingman Brewers & their ridiculously long line

As you can tell from below I actually DO love hanging out with my brother (on the left),

just not in combination with my good friend who is like a brother to me (on the right)...

they bust out the 'time to harass our little sister' act a little too effectively as a team.

the pissed liBEERian

Real brother, me, fake brother

How we do welcome home presents...

Anyone in my 'real' life has heard me incessantly whine about MGD being outta the country for the last few months. A third of a year to be precise. Maybe not whining so much as walking around looking sexually deprived and sad at random times. Since I slowed down (way down) on blogging, you in the virtual world have been mostly spared of said patheticness.

Decided to get a massage this morning and then go bottle shopping in my released toxin creating drunken stupor. It's like grocery shopping when you're hungry. Had to find the perfect welcome home present for my sweetie, only 5 days left.

 
 Tacoma Boys

1. Reel Ales Starfish Imperial Red Ale
2. HUB Galactic Imperial Red
3. Iron Horse 509 Style American Pale Ale
4. Elysian Dark O The Moon Pumpkin Stout
5. Goose Island Pere Jacques 2010
6. Snipes Mountain Sunnyside Pale Ale




  
Metropolitan Market

1. Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout
2. Deschutes/Boulevard Conflux No. 2 Belgian IPA
3. Southern Tier Mokah Stout

World Beers @ Tacoma Pipe & Tobacco

1. Reel Ales Swordfish Cascadian Dark Ale

2. Southern Tier Pumpking

3. Dogfish Head Faithfull Ale

4. Pelican Bad Santa

5. Iron Horse Mocha Death

6. Maui Brewing Flyin' HI.P.Hay.

7. HUB Abominable Winter Ale

8. Left Hand Sawtooth Ale

I don't know how you people roll but this is how we be doin' the welcome home thing in our house.  Assuming it's all still here by the time 5 days have gone by...

  

all bottled up, 

the pissed liBEERian

Science Cafe @ Swiss Pub (Tues, November 8th, 6:30p)

Okayokayokay. This time I REALLY mean it. I'm going to try and make it to the Swiss on the 8th. I missed the October Science Cafe about Crows for some random reason. I got so excited about the topic of the upcoming one that there is some extra motivation to suck it up and attend. 

It also provides the perfect excuse to get out of any last minute house cleaning the night before MGD comes home from his waytoodamnlong trip.

The Quiet Sky: Searching For Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - 6:30 p.m. - Swiss Pub

After 50 years, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) hasn't detected any artificial radio signals. Should we have expected to hear something by now? Can we learn from the silence? Join the University of Puget Sound's Bernard Bates, Ph.D., at the November Tacoma Science Café to explore the ideas behind SETI, how non-scientists can actively participate in the search, and what conclusions might be drawn from our last half-century under a "quiet sky."

Click here for more information.

Ell. Eeee. Uuttt.

the pissed liBEERian

Do not fret, this is NOT on my body.