Belgianfest - Washington Beer Commission style yo!

Weebles WABL, but they don't fall down! WAshington Beer Lovers did the Belgian beers justice this January during Belgianfest. Talk about sensory overload! I didn't realize until recently that so many beers fell into the Belgian Beer category. I'll also shamefully submit that I didn't know that Krieks fell under the Belgian umbrella until right before attending. For anyone who possesses as little knowledge as I formerly did, you can find out more by visiting BelgianBeerMe.com. Because the Krieks are my fave, here's a quick rundown on the style:

Kriek - Well, other than being delicious in my mouth they are categorized as a lambic made with cherries or cherry extract. Similarly Peche (peach), Framboise (rasberry), Cassis (currant)etc.

And now for the even funner stuff... PICTURES!!!! We (we ='s MGD but look, it's MY blog) took a ton so I'll let them do most of the talkin'. For once.

The Representing Breweries
(in order of our visitation)

First stop of the day, Elliott Bay BC

Those pouring for Odin Brewing know their stuff! We got quite the education on mace & it's use in Odin's Pearl.

Issaquah brought a whole lotta Menage-a-Frog along

Anacortes Brewery is having a bit too much fun on the job...

but know how to get down to business when beer is involved.

Dinner & a show. Oh Three Skulls, you always make me laugh.

Big Time Brewing looking as happy as was appropriate

Cheers from Hale's Ales

Quite the selection at Elysian Brewing

Snoqualmie wouldn't give me any beer until I gave them 1 wooden token and said 'Triskaidekaphobia' 3x fast

Something must be good at Black Raven to already be partially out of order

Silver City Brewing

Boundary Bay Brewery

Featuring Carl from Big Al Brewing. Happy brewers make great beer!

The Belgianfest Scene 

(the crazy crowd & late night antics)

Very early crowd shot. Can you spot Brew Dad?

Getting friendly with Kim from the Washington Beer Blog

They say Big Al is so nice 'cause it's freakin' true. He shared his Belgian waffle with me. This was right before I laughed and blew powdered sugar all over him. Please keep your big mouth jokes to yourself.

Mischievously toying with the Scuttlebutt paddle. You should see the look of concern (for his own safety) on MGD's face from behind the camera. Priceless.

A great shot of the entire Belgianfest crowd!

MGD enjoying some Big Al with owner of Beveridge Place Pub, Gary Sink

Even though I look a little crazy eyed, I think we are basically way kewt together.

Chris Miller from Snipes Mountain shows us how it's done. Twangzister... be gone!

Sweet Delirium Tremens suspenders, I lurv those little pink elephants!

Evening crowd shot, not a chance of winding down anytime soon!

Rarely do I have a problem taking matters into my own hands, especially when it comes to a lack of Big Al in my glass.

Snipes Mountain Twangzister is good until the very last drop. Even Bill Jenkins from Big Time lends a hand in order to extract the not-so-bitter end

 Effing Around w/ Big Al 

(a beer festival just isn't a beer festival without these guys!)

Please take a moment to notice the proper pinky placement by yours truly

How could a Belgianfest be complete without waffles!

Cheers from the Big Al booth with Micah Sims

Belgians of Outstanding Nature 

(what our unit loved most from the fest)

Big Al Kriek (well duh...)
Black Raven Pour Les Oiseaux (4 grain farmhouse ale/saison aged in French oak white wine barrels with brettanomyces)
Elysian Brewing Backhanded Compliment (Belgian-Style IPA)
Odin's Pearl White Ale (sweet and spicy Belgian hybrid Wit, made with mace)
Ram Brewing's BBBLage-A-Trois
Snipes Mt. Brewery Twangzister #3 (had the last of the 3 yr old Belgian strong aged in a bourbon barrel with house cultures and obnoxious amounts of Montmorency cherries, blended with a non-infectious Belgian strong that was fermented with two strains of Belgian yeast and Belgian candy syrup. And a partridge in a pear tree.)

Wrapping Up

If it looks like we had fun it's because we did. Major fun and laughs were had both day and night. If the Cask Beer Festival this weekend (another WABL event) is half as great as Belgianfest was, I'll be wearing my ridonkulously happy lady face.

If you are interested in attending the Cask Beer Fest on Saturday April 9th, click here for more info & tickets. I've heard this WABL event sells out like crazy time so hop on it!


the pissed liBEERian

I used this picture twice because I heart it so much. Deal with it.

Photography & Editing by TheRealMGD

Effing sourpuss is present & accounted for at the Parkway sour beer share.

The sourpuss being me, in case you were wondering. Although it might be hard to imagine a grumpy girl when looking at my pictures (a happy smile is always present), but it's utterly impossible for me to be in a cheery social mood if I'm upset. Bad news delivered earlier that day on the home front. Hopefully any surliness on my end came off to my loverly beer tasting companions as just a sourpuss reaction to the beers. I did in fact have a very nice time and am excited for the next installment of the Brew Tribune drinking league.

Everyone attending brought a sour beer to share and Parkway treated us to some special stuff straight outta da keg. Here's what went down, literally, and my 'special' notes on them.

1. Cascade Kriek - Bourbon barrel variety from the tap, a subtle tartness that went down smoothly.

2. Cascade Kriek - Higher carbonation than the previous Cascade, very tart with a light amber color. I had some of this again last evening and found it to be much more drinkable as it warms.

3. Oud Beersel Oude Kriek - Heavy bodied with a loverly raspberry colored pour and a nice oak taste with added cherryishness.

4. La Folie '09 Oak Aged - Drastically mellower in the luscious tart department than it's current year counterpart (which I am a ginormous fan of) and for some reason smelled like bacon. Yeah I don't know what's up with that either but I still drank the eff out of it.

5. Ommegang Zuur - Tasted a bit smoked and only slightly tart, not very impressive from the bottle. I had it on tap at Bottleworks back in November and found it to be phenomenal. Don't plan on buying another bottle but I'll surely grab a pint when I see it on tap.

6. Russian River Sanctification - Enjoyed the Sanctification better out of the bottle than on tap during Parkway's Russian River night. Light in body with a tart lemon taste and golden pour.

7. Cascade Vlad the Imp Aler - A perfectly balanced sour with all the tartness right up front & none of the face/cheek puckering at the end. Another fabulous Cascade Brewing selection!

After finishing the beers in our lineup we turned our dump bucket into a grog and everyone had a taste, whether they wanted to or not. I'm always a willing participant to put something new in my mouth hole and I'd rate the grog as my personal 3rd place for the evening. Cascade Kriek Bourbon Barrel (1), Vlad the Impaler (2), GROG (3).

There was some random talk of Parkway having a permanent tap devoted to sours but I'm not holding my breath. Mostly because there is too much good beer to drink for me to keep my mouth closed that long but it didn't sound overly likely. Unless you guys want to ditch the PBR perma tap... :) All beer serves a purpose, I suppose.

Will tap into my inner pep squad next time and bring my happeh face for Round 2 and further editions of the Brews Tribune,

the pissed liBEERian

 Photo & Editing credits to MGD