Birthday spankings... coming right up!

 Happy Birfday to me! Happy Birfday to meeeeeeeee! 

Happy birfffffffffffffffffffffffffffday dear mysEEeeelf... 

Happy. Birfday. To. Me.

Today, August 2nd, marks one year since the pissed liBEERian was brought into existence. Wow, has it been a wild ride. In honor of the occasion, I am republishing my very first post with edits and notes. I got a laff and a half reading this again, hope you do too. Enjoy!

pissed = drunk (not mad)

liBEERian = me

I have noticed a theme developing in my life over the last 2+ mths or so. The search for delicious ales, delivered to me either in full pint form or 4oz tasting glass, has officially BEGUN. I think Brewer's Fest 2010 officially started my slight obsession. Some people critique food, some people breakdown vino & it's many elements. For others... there is beer. [EDIT: Oh sweet, sweet delicious beer. Twas a combo of Brewers Fest & Seattle International Beer Fest that spawned the blog, for the record.]

I started drinking beer about 6yrs ago. Started LIKING beer around 3-4yrs ago. All of my male friends and brother have a pretty diverse palate when it comes to ale and I was starting to feel a little left out, possibly uncool. So I made myself try new things (new @ that time =ed anything that wasn't Corona w/ lime wedge) and failed miserably. Beer was purdy gross. I resigned myself to loving the oh so palatable Blue Moon & the occasional Mac & Jacks Serengeti Wheat. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy both but my mind and mouth crave more. Sigh... what's new? [EDIT: I've now pretty much blown all of said friends & sibling out of the water when it comes to having a diverse palate. They call me a beer snob and I'm okay with that. There's just too much interesting and new beer out there.]

Beer exploration took an abrupt halt when I stopped most of my drinking (vino and mixed drinks consumed rarely, beer never) to pursue fitness and weight loss for a stint of 6mths. Still keeping fit and active but have slowly added tasty ales back into my diet.[EDIT: Definitely slowed down on the consistent fitness portion of my life but I'm getting back into it. Unless I want to give up eating completely, I have to counteract all the beery goodness with something.]

Now that I have a few beer related festivals (along with the drunken bruises and fantastically fuzzy memories to prove it) under my belt, I have been fervently pursuing info from breweries around the nation, as well as local pubs for specific brews. The beer that got me started on such madness is Schooner Exact Brewing Company's Seamstress Union, a raspberry wheat ale.

 

I had it for the 1st time at Brewer's Fest 2010, handed over my little wooden chip not knowing the magnitude of what was about to hit my mouth. I then proceeded to spend many more chips (my own and my date's) at their corner tent location. 4oz a pop is not enough to get my fill! [EDIT: 4oz is still not enough, I have 2 mini growlers of Seamstress Union at home awaiting my private celebration. Yay seasonal beer! The 'date' in question who graciously let me spend his wooden money on SU was the one and only MGD. Neither of us knew that he would become so instrumental in my life's work but low and behold, he's still hanging in there.]

I spent the following weeks harassing the brewers @ Schooner Exact (who were kind enough to load me with info on the beer and where they had most recently delivered kegs in Tacoma) along with local pubs to find out where and when it was going on tap. Finally found it @ 1022 South in downtown Tacoma. Walking from work to my car @ 9p, I phoned Chris at 1022 to inquire on SU and I think he was as excited as I was over the ale "come on down!! we have it right here for ya". Met my partner in crime, MGD (used his real name in the original blog but he's become kind of a big deal so we try to retain his secret identity for privacy sake), for a pint. It was a mutual consensus that it was a) amazing and b) just as good, if not better than we remembered.

I felt fairly relieved that I hadn't built up it's amazingness in my head. Even though I will submit, I am fairly enamored with Seamstress Union. NOTE TO SCHOONER EXACT... take it off seasonal, make it year round!! Still planning on marching my charms down to the SE tasting room in Seattle to talk them into this. [EDIT: I've probably drank more Seamstress Union than most and I will still say, it is one of my favorites still. My tastes have changed drastically regarding beer, over the last 365 days but SU will always remain steadfast in my heart and hopefully in my mouthhole. They did me a total solid by winterizing the beer and creating Midnight Union, Seamstress Union's evil dark counterpart.]

Some of us require Seamstress Union year round. I was told specifically (by the Real MGD) "I don't want to be around you when SU isn't available any longer". Hahahaha, enuff said. ;)

Ale related goals and the Essential point of this BuhLog: 

[EDIT: Let's see juuuuust how far I've deviated from my aims in the beginning...]

-Not planning on writing such a novel every time, this is just a small peek for you into my plight. Straight to business from here on out. [EDIT: Hahahahaha, how's that been working out so far? As wordy as ever, thank you very much.]

-Review beers I've tried [EDIT: Or list beers I've tried, especially the ones I loved, and link things to MGD's reviews on Rate Beer. Same difference.]

-Review pubs & breweries where I have sought out these libations (current fave: Parkway Tavern) [EDIT: Yup, still Parkway. They have, and always will, rock my stripey socks.]

-Find cool suppliers of eclectic bottled brew (current best a tie between 99 Bottles and Whole Foods) [EDIT: Success! We've found Binny's, World Beers of Tacoma, Bottleworks & beyond]

-Report on the many random occurrences that tend to happen while consuming the good brew (free age related beer & leaving SIB w/ 2x as many glasses as we started with) [EDIT: Essentially what my postings have been about. Recorded works of my musings & randomness regarding beer, life and events.]

-Learn to love IPA's (it is a type of brew that seems to have the most variety available 'round these here parts and with the coolest names, I think I can make it happen. I am single minded to a fault when there is something I want.) [EDIT: Results are in. I spent the better part of this year drinking mostly IPAs. I've developed an appreciation and can tell you what I like & I don't when it comes to them. However, I don't love IPAs. They still have rad names & my IPA face isn't quite as scary or frequent these days. It still rears its crazy head at times when I drink things like Arctic Panzer Wolf by Three Floyds BC.]

Well, there ya haze it. This last year has not only changed my little world, but my life. And as such things go, the more things change the more they stay the same. Still having fun during every minute of it & excited for the promise of more good times to come.

I've spent some time thinking about what ambitions I have for my little bloggy blog. I always wish I could be a million times more on top of stuff and consistency (you know, like a little more firm. possibly less runny...) can always use improvement. Here are my hopes for myself in the upcoming year (uh, no promises):

• Post weekly on events all around Tacoma. Not just my fave places but everywhere in the 253 with fun Seattle happenings thrown in.
• Bust out the event recaps in a more timely fashion (ahem, photo editing needs to be muy rapido MGD! heehee) and catch up on past event postings that never made it to publication.
• Start interviewing some of the great brewers around here about their awesomeness (instead of just spouting my undying love for them and their creations) & maybe start poking them more often for info about what new things they have coming our way.
• Update blog page, possibly move to a new site.

Yeah... that'll do for now on the goal setting. It's not freakin' New Years. 

Now for my favorite part, speech time. SPEECH!!!!

A huge thank you needs to be dealt out to many. I am so blessed and thankful for so many who have contributed to making this blog (and the last year of my life) what it has become. Local brewers (for themselves & the awesome beer they make): who I've spent much time getting to know and make beer events funner than a fun thing, my merry minions (they are an assorted and random group): they've accompanied me on many beer related journeys and endeavors or just been enthusiastic about my plight, and anyone who reads & enjoys my blog: if there wasn't anyone to read it, there wouldn't be much of a point.

Have to add a special 'thank you' to MGD. He falls into the minion category (on FB, the RealMGD has hailed himself as '#1 minion to the Pissed Libeerian' so don't think this is only my doing) but in truth, my blog would not be what it is without him. During the course of this last year he has been my photographer (& always manages to capture perfect moments and kudos for always making me look my bestest), editor (luckily he understand the way I talk/write so he only edits actual mistakes & rarely my grammar), partner in crime (he's always primed and ready for the next big beer adventure with a camera in one hand, a taster glass in the other and a smile), and my man. Who I totally way super duper heart. Like... a lot.

Chilling by the fireside at the opening of the 7 Seas PNW Beer Garden.

He has been indisposable to the blog (& myself) when it comes to attending many an event, remembering facts and info as my notes fail me, creating amazing pictures to beef up all my verbal spewage and helping me with all kinds of ideas and brainstorming for new things to do for the blog. After I'm done typing this all out, I'm totally gonna go create & ghetto laminate him a "Beer Blog Minion of the Year" award. Those of you who know me, know I'm not kidding.

See ya on the other side...

the pissed liBEERian

aka Tracy

aka 5 thousand other aliases

Photography by The Real MGD & Basil & Myself & a random person in the 7 Seas Beer Garden
Editing by The Real MGD
Style & Inappropriateness by The pissed liBEERian

What do a Sounders game, a beer potluck & Uber Tavern all have in common?

My weekend. That's what.

Sometimes I arrive at the end of my weekend with the thought: "What the hell was I thinking?" Now that thought can be based on many an incident but in this case it was centered around too much partying while fighting off a cold. Which. Will. Not. Die.

So here I find myself on a Monday at zee Berry thinking that I could use a nap/cuddle/stronger medication, and simultaneously wondering if I'm going to make it through the upcoming week/weekend of beer events. More on those later, here's what I've been up to over the last few days.

Hump Day

Started to get sore throat about halfway through my work day. Chose to ignore and proceed as normal, decided to skip Ice Cream Social at The Red Hot in favor of extra sleep. No delicious dairy confections paired with Schooner Exact's Seamstress Union. Sigh.

 Thursday

Woke up feeling additionally crappy, was advised by friend to drink tea and ignore existence of cold. Decided that if I wanted to go to the Sounders game that night, I'd have to make it through 5 hrs of work first. Survived 5 hours of paid slavery, picked up MGD, then stopped by the Schooner Exact tasting room for pints of Seamstress Union (!!!) that I missed out on at said Ice Cream Social. Rolled up into Sounders game and had a blast. High scoring, great energy & Big Al's Brougham Bitter on tap. WinWinWin all around.

Met up with Big Al, Micah and a multitude of other fwends for a post game drinkup at Sluggers, a sports bar across the street from Qwest Field. Them peoples is crazy. The good kind of crazy. Okay, MY kind of crazy. An after party is never complete without an after-after party so we all headed to DC's in Renton after Sluggers. I certainly know that I had fun because I remember taking part in some Kung-Fu at one point. Yeah... Plus, I can't read my beer notes very well. Something about "but I play one on T.V." (definitely don't know about that either, but HA!). Things get fuzzy after that.

 

Friday

My day off and thank the sweet flying spaghetti monster for it. MGD & myself spent all day in bed. And when I say all day, I mean ALL day. I think there was a random food run around 2p (in between Firefly episodes, best sci-fi series EVA!) amongst bouts of sleeping/coughing/whinging/sneezing but we really didn't get up & civilized (showered & wearing pants) until abouts 6p. And only then because we had a Beer Potluck to attend at Amocat Cafe in Tacoma. Here's a run down of the awesome beers and randomness that ensued (as per usual at a beer share) during the course of the evening.

Homebrews totally dominated the evening, check out who brought what below.

Matt LaCroix (one of our fave home brewers and not only because he brings me Pho-King tofu sandwiches & delicious cranberry ale, he's a rad guy to boot) delighted us with a beer made from grain of the barleywine he entered (& we judged) at the Parkway Pro-Am Homebrew competition and his Cranberry Winter Ale made with effing Craisins. I know, right?! Went home with a few extra bottles cause I super heart it and cause he's super generous.

Kenny Thoburn (of Wingman Brewers in Tacoma) provided some interesting bottled beers that he (Wingman) didn't make and I didn't try, but after a long conversation about how much I hate smoked beers he felt it necessary to run back to the brewery and grab us something called Ham Beer. Not an official Wingman beer but something Kenny dreamed up, brewed & bottled quite some time ago ago. It's been sitting there getting all aged 'n shit, just waiting for it's destiny to come to fruition. Fate would have it that Ham Beer's destiny would be too offend my mouth. Well done Kenny. :) At least he gave me some bourbon barrel aged Wingman Porter right out of the fermenter to chase it with. Mouth hole happy, once again.

Walked away with a M&M pint glass!

Charles W. Smith (of Monocle & Mustache Brewery) brought us some of his Sour Mash to try as well as his Robust Porter/CDA. The Robust Porter was a winner in Parkway Tavern's recent Pro-Am competition. Over the last 2 potlucks, I haven't had a beer of his that I didn't immensely enjoy and I am excited to try more in the future. This time he had the whole family in tow, which made for a group of eclectic & diverse tasters. And by family I mean his wife, sister, etc. Not his kids, so settle people.

Morgan Alexander (Amocat Cafe owner and the host with the most for Beer Potlucks) is starting to remind me of Bill Nye zee Science Guy. Or at the very least, I feel that we are turning into his beer guinea pigs at these little get togethers, what with all the random stuff he makes us taste and supply feedback on. We had 3 awesomely interesting porters:  Root Beer, Cola & Pomegranate. The first 2 were very complex and tasty but next time I'd appreciate some ice cream to throw in there buddy... A pomegranate porter was very nice as well. Morgan has ambitions to recreate his own version of Pliny the Elder so his experiments have been dubbed as the Pliny Killer Project. We tasted versions #3 & a modified #4 this evening.

Goes good with smeat too!

BrauHaus dudes brought a 4 yr old Cherry Barleywine (uh... holy mouth happy), Hessian Weizen, Goes Good with Meat (yes that IS the name and I was informed that it also goes well with Sea Meat, like fish 'n clams 'n stuff. Smeat, hahahaha!).

Bootlegger Beers leftover from MGD's trip
SKA Brewing - Modus Hoperandi IPA & Summer Blonde Ale (Colorado)
3 Floyds - Dreadnaught (Indiana)
Salmon Fly Honey Rye - Honey Rye (Montana)

Other beer-pearances were made by Trade Route's Hoppy Bitch IPA, Anderson Valley's Summer Solstice (extremely good & sessionable) as well as a Growler of Schooner Exact's Seamstress Union. Which I managed to 'splode all over my pants upon opening, shocking. There was a ton of other brew present as well but either we didn't get around to drinking it or I didn't write them down.

'Twas a lovely evening of revelry although there are some things I'd rather forget. At one point I overheard the term 'Chicken Nipple Sauce' being used. Don't wanna know, glad that convo was at the other end of the table. I also feel comforted knowing that the best meat Kenny T. has ever tasted has been that of the meat off a rabbit's face. Wow. That story I DO know and wish I could forget. Sick.

Ended the night in a cozy booth @ Puget Sound Pizza enjoying our fave pie & the Stranger 'I Saw You' ads before calling it a night and heading back to the ranch.

Saturday

Feel sicker upon waking, I'm sure it had nothing to do with the Potluck beers. Hate life in general and experience most boring day of work ever. Somehow manage to talk my way into having a Red Bull delivered before quitting time then headed to Lakewood to watch one of my good buddies perform in the musical: Sweeney Todd. Epically hilarious, so very much laughing managed to wash away any feelings of grossness for a bit.

Sunday

Feel even sicker all night, manage to fall asleep by 3a. Wake up at 4a after a nasty nightmare, refuse to go back to sleep due to sheer terror of having same dream. Body gives in around 4:45a and sleep until 8a. So yeah, feeling great! Time to go to Seattle to watch rugby. Lay/nap/feel like death in sun for 3 hours, achieve patchworky sunburn due to lackluster effort in sunscreen application. Eat lunch and attend Uber Tavern's 5 yr anniversary party so we could sample their special offerings which included: Cascade 2009 Sang Noir, De Proef K-O (Knock Out), Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast Stout & a Boneyard Notorious IPA3. Stayed long enough for MGD to take in all my pitifullness and declare it time to go back home to the 253.

Delicious Sang Noir with some bomb party mix.

During said trip he was promptly informed that my whinging and pathetic-ness would increase exponentially during the drive, thus landing us at Safeway for medicine & animal crackers. It has to be stated that my dude is very sweet and has the patience of a saint. You think I'm a handful when I'm 100%? Try me at roaming temperatures, lame coughing fits and constant nose blowing. Not to mention a side of medicine induced nonsensicalness to shake things up a bit. Good times all around. At the very least, I'm sure he finds me amusing.


Which takes us to Monday. Still feeling pretty nasty but it's survivable. It was a great weekend filled with interesting beers, fun people, new experiences and the usual good times we like to roll with. Freakin' Mazal tov.

Just another manic ThursdayFridaySaturdaySundayMONDAY

the pissed liBEERian

Sporting a Bustard Eagles scarf at DC's

Photography courtesy of MGD & my own bad ass skillery
Editing & 'what the eff are you talking about?' by MGD

WA Brewers Festival, coming atcha!

I can say in all seriousness that I have been looking forward to the Washington Brewers Festival since driving home after the last one ended. Reasons for such excitement are included below:

1. I tasted my first Schooner Exact Seamstress Union, and approximately 10 more to follow.

B. I became the owner of a T-Shirt that says 'darn tasty' across the chest.

3. 'Twas the first beer event I attended with MGD & therefore magically fun.

&

IV. The pissed liBEERian was born.

While my actual blog anniversary date is August 2nd, 2010; Brewers Fest really started it all. It opened my eyes (& mouth hole) to all kinds of different beers and a world that had been completely foreign to my universe. I had my epiphany beer (Seamstress Union) and had a freakin' blast that day with assorted friends. Next came a weekend pass to Seattle International Beerfest and I never looked back from Blogdom.

Whether you have the imbibing of ale down to a fine art or consider yourself a newbie to the scene, I highly suggest you attend this event put on by the Washington Beer Commission. It's been awhile since my last festival and I'm stoked to see some old friends and make some new ones as well.

MGD & myself will be attending both Friday and Saturday this weekend with minions (to be trained) in tow. The festival starts on Friday, June 17th and runs through Sunday, June 19th. Read more about the Washington Brewers Festival here and go here to purchase tickets.

I've included below a current lineup (subject to change) of what's pouring this weekend and highlighted the ones I have at the top of my color-coded, ghetto-laminated list. I'm organized like that & bored at work more often than not. Hope to see you there!!

Brewery	*Friday only
192 Brewing Co.
Shticky Blonde Ale
Apple Ale
Kenmore Gold
Another IPA
Nilla Stout*
7 Seas Brewing
Cascadian Dark Ale
British Pale Ale
Ballz Deep Double IPA
Alaskan Brewing Co.
Alaskan Raspberry Wheat
Alaskan Summer Ale
American Brewing Co.
Breakaway IPA
American Blonde
Breakaway Caboose
Hop, Skip & Go Natural – Organic Pale Ale*
Anacortes Brewery
Anacortes IPA
Anacortes Hefeweizen
Helles Lager
Locomotive Breath
Baron Brewing / Three Skulls
Blood Orange Wit
Imperial Red
Big Al Brewing
Summer Ale
Big Hoppa
Brougham Bitter
Brewers Choice - It's Big Al... you know it's gonna be good!!!
Big Time Brewery	Sat/Sun Only
Decade IPA
Cherry Trombipulator
Black Raven Brewing Co.
Wisdom Seeker
Citrus Hefeweizen
Kentucky Coco Jones
Possum Claus Bourbon Pecan*
Boundary Bay Brewery
IPA
Ginger Peach
Tripel
Cascadia Dark
Ski to Sea ESB*
Chuckanut Brewery & Kitchen
Kolsch
Vienna Lager
Deschutes Brewery	Sat/Sun Only
Twilight Summer Ale
Hop In The Dark CDA
Double Mountain Brewery Vaporizer India Red Ale Hop Lava Continental Lager Diamond Knot Brewing Co	Sat/Sun Only
Blonde Ale Blonde
Indian Pale Ale
“666” Industrial Bavarian*
Elliott Bay Brewing Co.
Organic Demolition Strong Pale
One Hop Pale Ale w/citra
West Side Brown Ale
Black Ops Belgian-style CDA
Elysian Brewing Co.
Loser Pale
Prometheus
Avatar
Rhubarbarella
Emerald City Beer
Dottie Seattle Lager
Firestone Walker
DBA
Union Jack
Hemp Ale
Nectar IPA
Fish Brewing Co.
Leavenworth Boulder Bend  Dunkel
Fish Tale Organic Blonde Ale
Spire Mountain Dry Cider
Swordfish Double Cascadian Dark
Flyers Restaurant & Brewery
Pacemaker Porter
Afterburner IPA
Humbles Blonde Ale
Barnstormer Brown Ale
Daybreak Breakfast Stout*
Foggy Noggin Brewing
Bit O Beaver
Christmas Duck
2011 Anniversary Ale-English Old
Fremont Brewing Co.
Universale Pale Ale
Interurban IPA
Summer Solstice
Dark Star
The Brother Double IPA (Dry Hopped)
Gallaghers’ Where U Brew	Sat/Sun Only
The Magic Bus
The Counterfeit Rye
The Monk
Georgetown Brewing Co.
Manny’s Pale Ale
Lucille IPA
Brewer’s Choice
Golden Hills Brewing Co.
Clem’s Gold
Lizzy’s Lager
Ben’s Brown
Em’s Easy
Grove Street Brewhouse	Sat/Sun Only
Rye-rish Red
IPAcalypse
Hale’s Ales Brewery
Hale’s Supergoose IPA
Hale’s Kolsch
Hale’s Pale Ale
Harmon Brewing
Rajah’s Royal IPA
Vanilla Porter - Highly Recommend!!
Hood Canal Brewery
Walker Wheat
Dabob Bay IPA
Big Beef Oatmeal Stout
Howe Sound Brewing Co.	Sat/Sun Only
King Heffy Imperial Hefeweizen
Howe Sound Lager
Total Eclipse of the Hop
Pothole Filler
Iron Horse Brewery
Quilter’s Irish death
IPA
High Five Hefe
Issaquah Brewing/Rogue
Kolsch
Hop Bomb IPA
Blue Square
Kona Brewing Co.	Sat/Sun Only
Longboard Lager
Wailua Wheat
Mac & Jack’s Brewing Co.	Sat/Sun Only
African Amber
IPA
C U Lator Barleywine Ale
Maritime Pacific Brewing
Decompression Ale
Extra Pale Ale (X.P.A.)
McMenamin’s	Sat/Sun Only
Terminator
Copper Moon
Naked City Brewery & Taphouse
Hoptrocity
Yankee Drifter
New Belgium Brewing
Ranger IPA
Fat Tire Super Cru
Somersault
Ninkasi Brewing	Sat/Sun Only
Brewer’s Choice
North Sound Brewing Co.
Hop Chops IPA
Baffing Spoon Scottish Ale
Bitter Rain ESB
Northern Lights Brewing Co.	Sat/Sun Only
Solar Winds
Chocolate Dunkel
Blue Berry Ale
Odin Brewing Co.
Thor’s Equinox
Odin’s Pearl
Odin’s Gift*
Old School House Brewery
Ruud Awakening IPA
Hooligan Stout
Pike Brewing Company
Pike Monk’s Uncle Tripel
Pike Dry Wit
Pike IPA
Pike Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale
Port Townsend Brewing Co.
Oaked Scotch Ale
Triple Dry Hopped Hop Diggidy
Green Tea Gold
Pyramid Brewery
Live Wire
Uproar
Pyramid Hefeweizen
Apricot Ale
Ram Restaurant & Brewery
Berry White
CoConut Porter
Redhook Brewery
Redhook Pilsner
Redhook Wit
Copperhook
Dunkleweizen
Rock Bottom Bellevue
Brewer’s Choice
Roslyn Brewing Co.
Roslyn
Brookside
Schooner EXACT
3-Grid
Seamstress Union - Yeah....
Schoon Lyte - Hahahahaha!
King Street
Bravehorse Pale Ale*
Scuttlebutt Brewing Co.
Gale Force IPA
Nitro Tell Tale
The Dirty Blonde
Scuttlebutt’s Tripel 7*
Silver City Brewery
Ziggy Zoggy
Ridgetop Red
Whoop Pass
Skookum Brewery	Sat/Sun Only
Murder of Crows
Jackass IPA
Effenheffen
Hooskal Stout (Barrel Aged)
Snipes Mountain Brewing	Sat/Sun Only
Moxee Pale Ale
The Letter “C”
Lil’ Chief
Dos Borrachos
Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company
Plant 1 Powerhouse IPA
Steam Train Porter
Summer Beer
Dry-Hopped Plant 1 Powerhouse IPA*
Sound Brewery
Kristal weizen
Bevrijder
koperen ketel
O’Regans Revenge
Stone Brewing Co.	Sat/Sun Only
Stone Smoked Porter
Stone IPA
Trade Route Brewing	Sat/Sun Only
Mango Weizen
Jet Stream
Hoppy Bitch IPA
Two Beers Brewing Co.
Ginger and Lime Panorama Wheat (Wheat Beer)
Immersion Amber
Father’s Day Festival Exclusive Infused Evo. IPA
Trailhead ISA (India Session Ale)
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.	Sat/Sun Only
Black IPA
X114 Rotator IPA
Citra Blonde
Wingman Brewers
Bourbon Barrel Porter*
British Table Beer*
Pocket Aces Double IPA*
Pomegranate Porter (Sat)
Belgian Sour Ale (Sat)
North West Red Ale
P-51 Porter (Sun)
Blue Beards Espresso Roast Porter (Sun)
Pin-Up Pale Ale (Sun)

So, just a couple beers then... right. This is why I have an entourage. It's gonna be a fun one, count on it.

Whether an epiphany happens in your mouth or somewhere else, 

it's still an epiphany.

Cheers!

the pissed liBEERian

Drink with the Devil. If you dare...

Good to the last drop.

In fact, all it's drops are good. Helloooooooo Schooner Exact Seamstress Union. Found this precious tap flowing at the Ale House Pub & Grill in Tacoma, WA last night. What a perfect reward for filling out not 1, but 2, Tacoma Drinks WA Beer punch cards (thank you very effing much, we even impressed ourselves). Rock star status... official. Plus the added bonus of realizing I am a kick ass shuffle board player. Holla!

Check out the Ale House sometime. It's a cool enough local joint with a ton of taps going (almost everything Full Sail carries!), sports to watch & games to play and hosts trivia night on Wednesday where you get to spin a big Price is Right style wheel if you win. Big money, big money!

A week in the life... Take 1.

To me, a week begins on a Monday. Lunes. Poniedzialek. Lundi. I don't get those people who think it starts on Sunday. Is it a religious thing? Or an attempt to make Monday into Day 2 of the work week, in order to hate it a little bit less? I personally love Mondays, fresh start & new adventures to be had.

I am trying to keep tabs on all the beer that I drink, yet find it hard to really sink my teeth into sites like ratebeer.com. I think because I suck at defining beers beyond "balls to the wall, hells yeah this is good!" and that really gets in the way of my quest to appear smarter than I am. I'm slowly learning some super sexy descriptive terminology that I can use (somewhat correctly) though. What it means to be floral, sour, lacey, what is fresh & not from a keg.

I'm sure this plight will either scare me into becoming a card carrying member of AA (sorry, guess that's coin carrying depending on how long you stick with it) or at least make me go back to calorie counting. I just don't want to forget anything that goes into my mouth! As I prefer not to harass my loyal readers with a daily update, I plan to compile libations during the week and post it on the day of rest. Keeping in mind that I may at some point experience a week where I drink nothing at all... yeah, anywaaaaaays.

There are particular elements I find important in all beer drinkage that I will try to include so that you can really get a grasp on what my mental/emotional/physical state was at the time of ingestion:
-what I drank
-what I thought of what I drank (messy analogies and adjectives will be thrown around)
-where I drank
-possible food pairings
-possible friend pairings
-and the oh so important: how I felt about it as a whole package.

Or it will be just a list of what I drank and when. Because I'm lazy and it's a pain to type a lot through my phone while @ a bar and having fun. So we are off and running, here goes Week 1.

Tuesday 8/17

Ale - Dogfish Head Theobroma (Very different than I imagined it would be. Imagined it would be spicy/sweet and possibly thick, much like DFH's Sah'tea. Yet it was a mild and a very tasty ale, totally worth the hoarding of a few weeks awaiting MGD's return) & SE's Seamstress Union (uno Growler to share, usual awesomeness that it is. Currently trying to seek a balance between enjoying til the last drop/drinking it as fast as I can so I have a reason to go back to the tasting room/not hoarding it because it will go bad... so I was informed.)

Location/Person enjoyed with - MGD's house. Okayokayokay, his bed. That's where we like to drink while watching movies. Plus dude was all laid up with issues o' de spine. Poor guy. Kept him nicely stocked with ale though, to help ease the suffering. I'm a good nurse like dat. Watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Time Travelers Wife (thnx babe) & fell asleep to some episodes of Battlestar Galactica.

Food - Hummus Plate x 2 from the Top of Tacoma. Very tasty combo of hummus, onions, grilled pita, tomatoes, cucumbers & kalamata olives. With a side of super sexy breath.
Wrap Up - Chill night in general, good for a Tuesday. I tend to not have a lot of down time during the week, especially if I'm at my own home. It was nice to eat, drink, kick back in some 600tc business and do just about nothing for a bit. The food was just what my body wanted (light and satisfying) and the beer found a happy home in there too.

SE's Seamstress Union sighting!! On tap @ Top of Tacoma. Too bad my to go Hummus Platterz were ready to go when I arrived so I couldn't stay for fresh pintliness. If the SU isn't enough to bring me back later this week, the new treasures in the vending machine are.

Wednesday 8/18

Ale - Schooner Exact Seamstress Union raspberry wheat (uno pint)

Location - @ home, on my couch. listening to country music with my roomie and getting overly annoyed with Facebook's photo editing/organizing

Nomz - enjoyed with a faux chicken burger

411 - Tasted excellent but I have a sneaking suspicion it's what kept me up til 2a. I think if I drink beer @ night, I need to drink to excess for a restful nights sleep. Lesson learned.

Thursday 8/19

Ale - SE's SU (2-3 pints, I honestly can't remember because I didn't pay)

Location & Fwends - Top of Tacoma Bar. Decided to hit it up post workout with my buddy JoLyn for general SU consumage and local paper reading (dammit fucking Stranger not having the "I saw you" section). Was pleasantly surprised to see MGD saving our fave corner booth when I showed up. Score! (BTW, great prices on pints @ Tops. $3.00 and it wasn't even happy hour)

Nomz - decided that I had already had hummus and Boca burger within a week @ the Top, I should get the only other thing I eat there, a caprese salad. Note: Tops has uh-maze-ing food, I'm just a weirdo who doesn't eat meat. It's limiting. Can I get some basil with a side of mozzarella and tomato? Yummy! Oh... and one single salt & vinegar chip. Yep, still gross. Confirmed. Jo almost gave me her pickle, I asked for it and she lovingly turned her plate in my direction. I inquired if she liked pickles and she revealed that she loves them, but would let me have hers. True friend right there, what a sexy bitch.

The Haps - Usual good antics @ Tops. Overly drunk people made of pure muscle being boisterous and entertaining. Since MGD & I had bugged the owner/employees about obtaining some Seamstress Union for us... it felt amazing to go and pay homage to their greatness. Tops and SE, you rock! Oh and it's worth mentioning that the vending machine is full of awesomeness again. Think KitKats & Pregnancy Tests. PBR 40oz beer koozies &  huge temporary tattoos of '253' in scrolly pretty red letters. Which I know own at the low low cost of $4.00.

Friday 8/20 

(btw... it's hitting me as I review my week in drinking that I drink a lot. Maybe not a ton at once, but often. No worries, I'm sure week 1 is just extra exciting...)

Afternoon - Captain of solo mission

Ale - SE Seamstress Union, 2 pints. Trying to finish off my growler so I have a reason to head back to SE.

Location - My bed @ home, sitting around all dressed up and nowhere to go while listening to music and eating grapes. I would have eaten more if I had known that was going to be all I had for dinner. Waiting around, doot dee doot.

This is a two parter so hang tight.

Evening - Private Beerfest #4 @ MGD's house.  

Ale -Dogfish Head Punkin ale, Spanish Peaks Honey Raspberry ale, Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron (bought this ale to round out my DFH cap collection but the ale was darn tasty), Rogue Brutal IPA, Dick's Silk Lady, Houblon Chouffee Dobbelen IPA Trippel

Location & Partner in Crime - MGD's casa, mostly in the cucina. After tasting #5 or so, moved to the living room because standing was becoming difficult. Threw on some Bob Marley, lounged back in my favorite chair looking cute in my new sundress, and let the night progress to where all private beerfest adventures end up. Use your imagination. 'nuff said. However I will say that Friday night was a first for me. I have never been reprimanded for not drinking enough or keeping up. Sweet nothings of "Drink your beer!!" came at me multiple times. Not sure why but it was kinda hot. Promises to drink faster next time, although I was 2 pints deep at the beginning and skipped dinner. Just sayin'.

Saturday 8/21
Ale - SE Seamstress Union, Growler finish off
Location - @ home watching Unforgiven

Sunday 8/22
Ale - lotsa Seamstress Union, by the pitcher.
Locations - Top of Tacoma Bar for the 2nd meetup of my shuper shweet book club: Literature & Libations.
(we meet up every 2 wks to read our own books & share suggestions, drink coffee/ale/etc depending on the location of choice. Totally chillaxed time with fun people. A great time to be had by all, come check it out! We will be posting our next meetup soon. 6 members in attendance and counting... not too shabby as we have doubled our members from round 1)

There is my week in review, holy cow it was a fun one...
the pissed liBEERian

My Questitude

pissed = drunk (not mad)
liBEERian = me

I have noticed a theme developing in my life over the last 2+ mths or so. The search for delicious ales, delivered to me either in full pint form or 4oz tasting glass, has officially BEGUN. I think Brewer's Fest 2010 officially started my slight obsession. Some people critique food, some people breakdown vino & it's many elements. For others... there is beer.

I started drinking beer about 6yrs ago. Started LIKING beer around 3-4yrs ago. All of my male friends and brother have a pretty diverse palate when it comes to ale and I was starting to feel a little left out, possibly uncool. So I made myself try new things (new @ that time =ed anything that wasn't Corona w/ lime wedge) and failed miserably. Beer was purdy gross. I resigned myself to loving the oh so palatable Blue Moon & the occasional Mac & Jacks Serengeti Wheat. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy both but my mind and mouth crave more. Sigh... what's new?

Beer exploration took an abrupt halt when I stopped most of my drinking (vino and mixed drinks consumed rarely, beer never) to pursue fitness and weight loss for a stint of 6mths. Still keeping fit and active but have slowly added tasty ales back into my diet. Stoked to hear this today, true or not: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3079028/Beer-can-help-you-get-slim.html.

Now that I have a few beer related festivals (along with the drunken bruises and fantastically fuzzy memories to prove it) under my belt, I have been fervently pursuing info from breweries around the nation, as well as local pubs for specific brews. The beer that got me started on such madness is Schooner Exact Brewing Co.'s Seamstress Union, a raspberry wheat ale. I had it for the 1st time at Brewer's Fest 2010, handed over my little wooden chip not knowing the magnitude of what was about to hit my mouth. I then proceeded to spend many more chips (my own and my date's) at their corner tent location. 4oz a pop is not enough to get my fill!

I spent the following weeks harassing the brewers @ Schooner Exact (who were kind enough to load me with info on the beer and where they had most recently delivered kegs in Tacoma) along with local pubs to find out where and when it was going on tap. Finally found it @ 1022 South in downtown Tacoma. Walking from work to my car @ 9p, I phoned Chris at 1022 to inquire on SU and I think he was as excited as I was over the ale "come on down!! we have it right here for ya". Met my partner in crime, Cole, for a pint. It was a mutual consensus that it was a) amazing and b) just as good if not better than we remembered. I felt fairly relieved that I hadn't built it's amazingness up in my head. Even though I will submit, I am fairly enamored with Seamstress Union. NOTE TO SCHOONER EXACT... take it off seasonal, make it year round!! Still planning on marching my charms down to the SE tasting room in Seattle to talk them into this.

Some of us require Seamstress Union year round. I was told specifically "I don't want to be around you when SU isn't available any longer". Hahahaha, enuff said. ;)

Ale related goals and the Essential point of this BuhLog:
-not planning on writing such a novel every time, this is just a small peak for you into my plight. Straight to business from here on out.
-review beers I've tried
-review pubs & breweries where I have sought out these libations (current fave: Parkway Tavern)
-find cool suppliers of eclectic bottled brew (current best a tie between 99 Bottles and Whole Foods)
-report on the many random occurrences that tend to happen while consuming the good brew (free age related beer & leaving SIB w/ 2x as many glasses as we started with)
-learn to love IPA (it is a type of brew that seems to have the most variety available and the coolest names, I think I can make it happen. I am single minded to a fault when there is something I want.)

See ya on the other side...
pissed liBEERian
aka Tracy
aka 5 Thousand other aliases