Cos I'm TNT, I'm dyn-o-mite!

Howyagoing!? The Real MGD here, standing in for the PL on this momentous occasion: the TNT blog preceding the one year anniversary of the blessed event. As a lifetime member of CAMRA, I'm stoked that Tacoma has such a motivated group of publicans and Real Ale drinkers who dreamt this baby up and executed it.

While the taplist for the March TNT was a bit uninspiring, I showed up at the Park Way in the late afternoon with a full head of steam and decided that I'd make an effort to get around to all participating pubs this time around, come hell or Pissed LiBEERian.

The PW were their usual welcoming selves and I sipped a DFH Aprihop while awaiting the arrival of my better half who was working until 1800. Once joined up and fueled up, we headed off to The Red Hot to see what the Iron Horse Oak-Aged IPA was all about.

Photographic documentation of the PL's entrance led to the discovery of a stealthy interloper. I have no idea who or what this thing is, but am fairly certain that if the PL had seen it she would have soon been parts per million. My best guess is that the Cheshire Cat shagged a waterlogged Gremlin.

The atmosphere at TRH was pretty relaxed and the Iron Horse IPA was pretty reasonable while the Aprihop was a bit disappointing. DFH apparently have changed the formula this year and it’s not for the better IOHO. But we had things to meet and people to do, and the Cheshire Gremlin was still stalking the back of my mind, so we strolled down to Engine House No.9 for a pint of their Amarillo IPA on cask.

One whiff gave me the chills: butterscotch all the way, which is usually a bad sign in the nose of an IPA. Butterscotch or popcorn butter is a marker of infection or contamination and is to be avoided at all costs.

We quickly headed off to The Swiss, eager to put memories of ale confections behind us. The Swiss was its usual relaxed Monday night self and, as has been the pattern developing over the past year-plus, showing off some interesting ales in addition to the featured Hale’s Dry-Hopped Mongoose. As a bonus, we ran into my good mate and the guy I love to lock for, Jerry the Nomad Prop.

 Next stop was Doyle's and the Fullers was tasty but fairly routine at this point, especially after Swiss goodness.

  As all roads (in the world of the PL & myself) lead to Park Way, we finished off our night with a 2nd stop in.

SJ serving up pints from the Randall

TNT ='s 2 thumbs up from Justin

Dragging the PL away from the Park Way, never an easy task.

I mean seriously, can you blame her? Check out the taplist.

 
The announced brews for the 1^st anniversary of TNT, hit it up in your mouth hole tonight at 6p:

Red Hot - Everybody's Brewing Dry-Hop Country Boy IPA
Parkway - Everybody's Brewing Imperial IPA
Doyle's - Fullers ESB
Swiss - Pike Dry-Hop Double IPA
E9 - E-9 Imperial Bourbon Barrel Stout

Tap Night Tacoma, it's better than a punch in the junk.

kind of a big deal,

The Real MGD

(with permission of the pissed liBEERian)

Photography & Writing by The Real MGD
Reading, approving, laughing & thanking by The Pissed LiBEERian

Tap It on the B-Side!

Tap Night Tacoma headed your way on Monday, December 13th. Here's the action, Jackson!

My preferred route is detailed below. For those of my peeps who religiously attend Tap Night, let's try and coordinate our tapping efforts so we aren't all 'hitandamiss' like. Yeah?

Red Hot -Lazy Boy Dry-Hopped Orange Peel IPA

E-9 - E-9 Cascadia Dark Ale

Parkway Tavern - Schooner Exact Hoppy Holidays

Doyle's Public House - Ayinger Celebrator

Swiss - Boundary Bay Dry-Hopped IPA

Tap it... if you dare.

the pissed liBEERian

 Somebody @ zee Berry patron made a comment about my body being like a Coke bottle. (there are really no restraints on the commentary that goes on 'round here)  His friend countered that it was more like a 'diet coke' bottle. I think they totally just called me skinny & hot. SCORE!! :)

And we now conclude the 'Tacoma Drinks WA Beer' event 2 Growlers richer & what can only be described as a happy ending known as 'Tap Night Tacoma'.

Ahhhh, the invention of the beer punch card. Bingo style sheet to be defiled with special made Red Hot & Parkway stamps with the promise of a special edition Tacoma Drinks WA Beer Growler upon completion. Somebody let it leak that I am a marketing persons dream; this event was MADE for me. A legitimate reason to go drink and review lotsa awesome ale. Okay guys... you talked me into it.

There is way too much randomness to go over from 10/1-10/11 so I'll just list up the ales we had and other B.S. I personally find muy importante to our overall enjoyment. Enjoy!

Go Team Washington!

 Pike Dry Wit, Elysian Men's Room Red, Big Al Harvest. 2 crazy days @ Tacoma Craft Beer Festival. 1 visit to the Schooner Exact tasting room & a Jack Johnson concert to follow. Nautical Night @ Parkway involved 7 Seas Cutt's Amber & Ballz Deep, Port Townsend Oak aged Scotch Ale on cask & Old Bawdy Barleywine & Green Tea Gold, Snoqualmie Stout, Schooner Exact King St. Kriek. Harvest Night @ Red Hot entailed Two Beers Fresh Hop & Pumpkin Spice and Schooner Exact Gutter P'nkn & Fresh Hop. Enjoyed some Elysian Immortal IPA, Scuttlebut Hoptopia and Port Townsend Straight Stout on nitro.

One night @ home I tried out the Wells Banana Bread Beer... yeah, whoa. I passed out early so I didn't have to finish it and could pass THAT buck. Took trips to both World Beers on 56th in Tacoma and 99 Bottles in Federal Way for Dogfish Head swag and lots of bottled goodness. At this point I think we are set for the next 10 private beer fests... I'm currently formulating a private punch card to use so we can start working on some of the stuff I've been stocking up on. I think it might help open up some room in my fridge for actual food. A brewery crawl to visit both Odin & Big Al in West Seattle. Will blog more info on those trips later...

Back to punch card drinking... Fish Tale Organic Amber Ale, Elysian The Immortal IPA, Lazy Boy Belgian Gold, Schooner Exact Fresh Hop, Two Beers Crooked Belgian Wit, Snoqualmie Black Frog, Big Al Sourlicious on cask, Boundary Bay IPA (the head had a cool swirly nebula and we missed the effing photo opportunity which equaled sadness for this girl because I heart astronomy.) Hit up Crown Bar in Tacoma for some mac 'n cheese, burgers and fried oysters. Yes, the best eating decisions are ALWAYS made late at night.

Moving on to the pinnacle of our adventure...

VICTORY!!! Growler #1 secured. Final beer stamp was Diamond Knot Industrial XIPA. Finished #6 @ Red Hot. They took my picture but walked away quickly when I started giving my acceptance speech so I did it in my head. Had a Fremont Interurban IPA, hit up some pesto pizza @ PSP then onto Parkway to finish things off.

As you can tell from the picture, the sun shineth down on our victory ales...

and again... VICTORY!!! It truly creates a sweet mouth feel. The winning beers for Growler #2 was the Big Al IPA and the Burris Octoburrfest. Once again, 6th to complete a card @ Parkway. Did you know that 6 - 5 = 1? That's right. Number FUCKING 1. Forgot the foam finger at home... sigh. Must be more boyscout-ish in the future. You would think that I of all people would carry around a beer drinking survival kit of some kind for these occasions. Oh... now THERE'S an idea!

We kick it old school.

Rounded out the night with Mac & Jack's Imperial IPA & Elysian The Immortal IPA then onto the Alehouse in University Place for some Schooner Exact Seamstress Union and a teeny Shuffleboard smack down.

Does this seem like a lot of booze? Guess what? That's because it is. There were 24 beers per punch card and by 10/11/10 we were the owners of two Growlers'... you do the math. Then factor in 2 FULL days @ Tacoma Craft Beer Festival, visits to 3 breweries and a few other random locations... Yeah. Wow is right. Don't worry, we're impressed with us too.

Bye bye paycheck...

Bye bye healthy liver...

Bye bye all of my free time...

Hello 11 days of awesome time spent with MGD. Having many a laugh, many a pint & many an awesome memory to bring home in addition to our limited edition Growlers.

"No babe, we can't stay in tonight for a movie and a few beers. Yes, I know we have filled Growlers burning a hole in the fridge. We chose to accept this mission and still have empty spots on our cards... put your shoes on. Now. Please." (insert irresistibly cute pissed liBEERian smile) See Example A(ale) below, could you say 'no' to that? :) If your answer is 'yes', well... you shouldn't.

Could this shirt be more perfect? I truly do heart WA beer. Thanks eyeluvbeer.com!

Mustered up some (nonexistent) energy for one final day of TdrinksWAbeer. After all, it's freaking Tap Night. I rambled on last week about how great this event is, how everyone should come out for it and questioned why there wasn't better advertising for it. I couldn't be a lame ass no show and ruin my street cred.

Tap Night Tacoma #4, I ask you... when & where else could I find Georgetown Lucille IPA on tap, cask AND on the Randall; all in one evening? Seriously people, nowhere. (okay that may or may not be a lie, but F off; it seems pretty awesome to me!)

Due to all of my strenuous efforts in punch card filling out... I didn't accomplish much for Tacoma Tap Night. However, here is what I was able to sample due to the combined efforts between myself & MGD:

•  E9 - Dry Hopped IPA
• Doyle's - Morland Old Speckled Hen (plus a hummus plate because I was working on the equation of 'super hunger + cranky = hankry')
• Parkway - Mac & Jack's (new!) Yerba Mate IPA (the Double Mountain Vaporizer was the listed cask ale for TNT but that was before they decided on the dates for WA beer week. Therefore it had to be thrown out like the little piece of Oregonian trash that it was. Hahahaha, I'm totally kidding. That was just fun to say.)
• Swiss - Georgetown Lucille IPA

My pick of the night would have to be the M&J's Yerba Mate. A very enjoyable IPA but my stomach was really done tolerating any level of hoppiness. It was starting to feel like the apocalypse was happening in there. Thank the sweet flying spaghetti monster for MGD, he totally carried this event. Considering I almost left after visiting E9 I was so sick of drinking. I know, okay, I know. A super scary thought. A day or two off and I'm back to normal, ready to blog it up and make some arrangements for the next few events. I won't abandon you, my faithful readers!! Here, take a free hug.

Anywho... like I was saying. Favorite beer was the Yerba Mate but my fave moment was when I drank it so slowly that eventually MGD just took it from me. Then said "Are you actually going to drink anything tonight, or are you beyond done? Steal my beer instead..." and handed me his ever so lovely (partially emptied) Schooner Exact Gallant Maiden. Happeh sigh.

We also found it to be highly entertaining that out of the 24+ Parkway ales on tap, it was pretty impossible to find something we haven't already tried over the last week or so. Yay for punch card drinking. We truly know how to get 'er done. I believe the pivotal moment that brought us here was when I was looking over our 2 collective cards in dismay and thinking "How on Earth are we going to finish 1 punch card let alone 2? Did you actually NEED a Growler?" I handed the sheets to MGD who stated "This is a piece of piss. It's on like Donkey Kong. Get your coat." Who knew we could be so efficient as a team?

Thanks Red Hot & Parkway! You made my October totally interesting. It hasn't been the easiest 11 days of my life, but it was worth every bit of my time and energy and moola. Can't wait to see what y'all come up with next.

Check out my previous blogs (also known as: amazingly funny & marvelously informative musings by thePL) on Tacoma Craft Beer Festival and Tap Night Tacoma if you crave more oh-so-delightful information.

switching to the H2O for a damn minute, the pissed liBEERian

 Oh and BTfreakingW... you only dream of having minions as amazing as I do. Much like the Beer Bitch who writes for NWBrewing News and has her feet rubbed down as she scribes her articles, I am equally blessed. Spent many an hour out drinking while spending our punch card completion night in style. MGD brought me this awesome morning care package the next day because I was too tired & cranky to cure myself from so much fun. Heart bubbles.

You wanna tap this?

Due to what I find to be highly insufficient plugging and advertising, I am going to start doing my part to promote Tap Night Tacoma. This is an event that happens on the 2nd Monday of every month at local pubs and taverns around the general 253 area.

At 6p sharp, a city wide selection of cask ales are tapped for the enjoyment of the masses at approximately 5-6 locations. The breweries who provide the casks are usually well known & it may even be beer you've consumed before. However, I'll give you four reasons that this is a must attend event so listen the fuck up... I only want to have to repeat myself once a month (approx. a week before the event as a reminder).

1. Support your local businesses. We don't need to pump any more of our hard earn $ into the hands of any more Red Robins and Applebees. Stay away from chains, obvious. Kthnxbai.

2. You may have had Schooner Exact's 3 Grid IPA (winner of the blind IPA David & Goliath event @ Parkway Tavern on 9/29) but have you had their 2-5-3 Grid IPA? This was a special made brew for a previous Tap Night Tacoma. You will see all kinds of great new ales and tweaked old favorites featured.

3. Help keep great events alive! More bars should collaborate and host events like this. I totally dig how much the Parkway and Red Hot are into doing special & weird things in the sake of craft beer. It gives me a reason to go out (because my social life is really lacking right now, as is my beer drinking...) and shoves them deeper and deeper into my heart of hearts. I've become bored just showing up @ a bar to drink nowadays. Other than doing it to keep my loyal following going... I want a reason! I am a marketing persons DREAM. You make a punch card for WA beer... I'm fucking there with my sleeping bag and toothbrush.

4. Cask ale is da bomb! It offers a richer taste and has more character, while at its freshest. It is unfiltered and unpasteurized, served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide or nitrogen around room temperature. The live product in it's natural state, kind of like traveling back to the Mesozoic period to see real dinosaurs vs. a field trip to see some fossils @ a museum. Yep... just like that.

Hope those points hit home and you make it out to the next Tap Night Tacoma, Monday October 11th @ 6p. Here's the lineup:

The Red Hot - Naked City Dry-Hopped Impact IPA*
Engine House 9 - E9 Dry-Hopped IPA
Doyle's - Morland Old Speckled Hen*
Meconi's - Maritime Pacific Imperial IPA
The Swiss - Georgetown Brewing Lucille IPA
Parkway Tavern - Double Mountain Vaporizer*

I starred the ones I am the most excited to try, then followed it with one based on convenience. I mean come on, if I'm gonna hit Red Hot why wouldn't I walk across the street to E9? Please note that I put Parkway last because it is my most favoritest and I like to save it. I haven't made it to all locations yet on a single Tap Night and when I'm done traveling, I head to Parkway to finish my evening for the cask ale they are serving up and whatever else looks delicious.

I will do what I can to help this event be a success. Not only by promoting it and attending, but I am only one liBEERian. I don't understand why I can only find out info on what's being served and where for this event by seeing a random poster @ a pub (which works for me, I go often but there are many who don't) or MAYBE hearing some info on Facebook the day of the event. Can't Tap Night Tacoma have it's own FB page? I'll even make it if that's what it takes to get the good word out because it's TNT and it's dynamite.

 

the pissed liBEERian

Tap this.

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.