January's Tap Night Tacoma & Science Cafe

Tap Night Tacoma

Looks like Tacoma will be tapping into some great stuff this January! I'm personally stoked about the Rich Brewery Old Slug Porter and the E-9 Meridian Dry Hop Tacoma Brew. 

Make it down to one of the following places for a pint of cask ale on Monday, January 9th. Drink Local. Do what I say.

All casks will be tapped at 6p sharp and here's the lineup:

Red Hot - Pike Brewing India Pale Ale

Parkway - American Brewing Breakaway IPA

Doyle's - Rich Brewery Old Slug Porter

Swiss - Port Townsend Hop Diggidy IPA

Engine House No. 9 - E-9 Meridian Dry Hop Tacoma Brew

Science Café

(Alternate title I just made up: "Why it's cool to be a nerd: beer & science.")

The Physics of Music: Using Light to Study Sound
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - 6:30 p.m. - Swiss Pub

From clarinets and violins, to drums and cymbals, vibrations create the complex sounds that we hear from musical instruments. At the January Tacoma Science Café, join the University of Puget Sound's Rand Worland, Ph.D., to discover how he uses lasers to produce images of these vibrations and how differences in vibrations alter how we perceive sounds.

The Swiss Pub is located at 1904 Jefferson Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98402.

Science Café is a recurring monthly event in Tacoma and parts of Seattle. You can learn more about it here and see if there are some topics coming up that you'd be interested in traveling to Seattle for.
You know, if that's your thang.


the pissed liBEERian

Happy 4th Anniversary to The Red Hot !!!!

Today is a day for celebration as we pile some love on the wonderful Red Hot of the 253. It is their 4th Anniversary (which is the 'fruit & flowers' anniversary if you're all traditional like that and trying to pick out a gift for them) and they are hosting a casual BBQ soiree today (Saturday, August 13th) in celebration of their glory and achievement in awesomeness.

Party goes from 11-9p, so find some time to stop by and pay your respects. 

For more info on the event and a big fatty thank you message from The Red Hot, check out their blog/website. Here's the draft lineup for today:

• 7 Seas Bloody Seas Bloody Mary-infused Beer (Uh yeah, delicious! It'll blow your mouth hole away)
• Snoqualmie Falls pub-only keg of Little Si Kolsch
• Cascade Brewing Test Drive IPA
• Cascade Brewing Lime/Ginger/Honey Sour
• Two Beers Heart of Darkness Imperial CDA

While I've known of the Red Hot's existence for a couple years now, they officially weaseled their way into my heart of hearts at Tacoma Craft Beerfest last October. After a string of experiences I had at The Red Hot (some of it was them & some of it was me), it became the place that I wanted to like so very badly, but just didn't. Through the hard pressed efforts of the Red Hot just being cool in the way that it is and owner Chris Miller (one of the nicest dudes you'll ever meet), they now have a perma-place in my heart.

They've stayed true to their nature of serving up delicious/quirky/gourmet tube steaks, on-site execution of any jerks who dare to enter, and pint after pint of great craft beer. 

Wishing The Red Hot many more years of success, keep up the great job in true Tacoma fashion!!

Some of my favorite moments at The Red Hot...

A post gym drink up. Yes, that's what I wear to the gym & yes, I go to a bar after the gym.

The Red Hot is an enthusiastic participator & amazing force behind Tap Night Tacoma (2nd Monday of every month, real cask ales poured at several locations around the 253). We try to make it for every one if we can, whether we have enough funds or not. We're hardcore like that.

Ice Cream Social at The Red Hot

 One of my All Time favorite local events: Tacoma Drinks Washington Beer
2 weeks.
2 punch cards.
2 dedicated imbibers.
Too many pints to count.
(not really, I just prefer not to think about how much money we spent and how much beer we drank)

2 growlers earned.
Pictured above are our first set of victory beers & me claiming Growler #1 at The Red Hot.


way less of a jerk, because of you Red Hot
the pissed liBEERian

 This is me being less of a jerk @ Tacoma Craft Beer Fest. 

 

Photography by that one guy, the Real MGD or something like that. I'm sure I took some of these pics too.

Tap into Tacoma's Night, Events full of Brewers & an Anniversary bash worthy enough to sail the 7 Seas

Lots of local awesomeness going down this week for your enjoyment and merriment. Free yourself up some free time and hit up one of the following events.

Monday 

Tap Night Tacoma (casks tapped at 6p) Hit up any of the following locations to try some real cask ale and support local loverliness. One of my favorite ongoing Tacoma events.

Red Hot - Black Raven Trickster IPA
Parkway - American Brewing 2x Dry Hopped Breakaway IPA
Doyle's - Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted
Swiss - Fish Tale Reel Ales Starfish Imperial Red
E9 - E9 English IPA

A visit to the Red Hot during a long ago Tap Night. MGD & I somehow had no $ yet a strong desire for cask beer so we made things happen.

Wednesday

There are two brewers nights going down this Wednesday so pick your favorite place (Red Hot & Parkway), brewery (Sound Brewing & Airways Brewing), or just make time to hit up both.

Red Hot: Airways Brewing Night (starts at 6p) Airways will be the featured brewery this evening and have promised the masses an external release (was initially poured during the Airways Taproom Grand Re-Opening event last Saturday) of the Über Hag. I tried the Über Hag at the Taproom party and it was delicious. Über Hag ='s Sky Hag IPA aged in bourbon barrels... yes please & thank you.

and...

Parkway Tavern: Sound Brewing Promo Night (starts at 6p) The following beers will be a pourin' into zee pints: Triple Entendre, Dubbel Entendre, Kopperen Ketel Belgian Pale, Bevrijder Belgian Double IPA, Poundage Porter, O'Regan's Revenge Red and Kristallweizen.

Saturday

The 7 Seas Crew & their stately Queen at Strangebrew

7 Seas Brewing 2 Year Anniversary Bash (12-8p) Head on over to Gig Harbor for the day to celebrate with the fun & talented people behind 7 Seas Brewing. There will be live music, BBQ and of course many a proper pint for you to be holdin'. The event is 21+, cash only and piratey speech is strongly encouraged.

arrrrrrrrgh you going to be there?

the pissed liBEERian

Yeah, I do what I want. & I wanted more beer.

Photographic stylings by none other than the Real Ehm. Gee. Dee.

Happy Anniversary Tap Night! Only 1 spanking?

It's 7p on Sunday evening and it's also Mother's Day. In 23 hours, Tap Night Tacoma will be celebrating their 1 Year Anniversary. A mother of an event. An occasion in Tacoma that starts promptly at 6p on the 2nd Monday of every month. Where deliciousness is consumed by the pint, in the form of cask ales.

The lineup looks good, not sure if I'll be attending this round due to extenuating circumstances but I hope the peoples of the 253 & beyond can make a good showing. Stay tuned for (what's sure to be) an amazing write up on the evening MGD & I took the plunge and did the entire rounds.

Which might not seem like a big deal since there are usually 5-6 cask beers involved, depending on how many locations participate. But think about it, we went to Parkway and Red Hot so you know there were more than just the featured cask ale consumed.

Made for quite the endeavor and a somewhat arduous journey, but we have photo documentation to prove it was accomplished. We're kind of rock stars like that.

technically the 2 of us,

the pissed liBEERian & the real mgd

(it's official now, we announced it on facebook)

April brings a shower of Beer Festivals

So screw the umbrella-ella-ella, just look to the sky and open your mouth!

Lot's of greatness is happening in zee month of April! These are a few of the things I have on my agenda and beyond for the tail end of March and into April:

Tues. 3/29 - Ninkasi Brewers Night @ Parkway Tavern (6p, Tacoma)
Wed. 3/30 - Ninkasi Brewers Night @ The Swiss (7p, Tacoma)

Fri. 4/1 - Give Blood, Get Beer. Cascade Regional Blood Services will be in two locations taking pints of your yummy red stuff in exchange for coupons to be redeemed for pints of the yummy beer stuff. Head on down to The Rock (11a, Puyallup) or The Spar (1p, Tacoma) to participate in this great program!
&
Fri. 4/1 - Hop Scotch Spring Beer & Scotch Festival (5p-12a, Fremont Studios, Seattle) $30 at the door, $25 for advance tickets. For more information on what is being offered at the festival, click here.

Sat. 4/2 - More Hop Scotch Spring Beer & Scotch Festival (1p-12a, Seattle) This is the day I am hoping to attend. It sounds like a really fun event benefiting the Seattle International Film Festival.

Wed. 4/6 - Anderson Valley Brewers Night @ Parkway Tavern (6p, Tacoma) & Chuckanut Brewing Brewers Night @ Red Hot (6p, Tacoma)
&
Wed. 4/6 - KCLS (King County Library System) will be hosting a free 'Basics of Homebrewing' course at their Federal Way 320th location. Registration in necessary, good thing my merry minion Basil took care of all that for us. (7-8:45p, Federal Way)

Thurs. 4/7 - NATIONAL BEER DAY in the U.S.! Holler. There are many beer related days to be celebrated throughout the year. Well, in all fairness, I am of the opinion that beer should be celebrated every day. However, National Beer Day is the only one with a historically significant date. In 1933, FDR signed the Cullen-Harrison Act. This law was enacted on April 7th which then allowed the brewing and sale of beer in the United States after 13 very long (& dry!) years. Bye bye Prohibition!! In celebration of the right to drink (& be merry!), the Harmon Tap Room will be tapping their T-Town Blonde for the first time. (4-7p, Tacoma)

Sat. 4/9 - WABL's Cask Beer Festival. Yeah... I'll be taking the day off for this one. (12-4p & 6-10p, Seattle) $35 Advance/$40 at Door. This event sells out every year so be sure to pick up tickets early! Mmmmm, cask beer. A whole freakin' festival full!

Sun. 4/10 -  Deadline for entering Parkway Tavern's 2nd Annual Am-Pro Homebrew Competition. See their Facebook page for details, judging takes place on April 17th.

Mon. 4/11 - Tap Night Tacoma (6p, Tacoma) Cask conditioned ale will be tapped at multiple locations around the Tacoma area. Look up & 'like' Tap Night Tacoma on Facebook for all the latest info on what's being served and where on the 2nd Monday of every month.

Thurs. 4/14 - Upright Brewing @ Parkway (6p, Tacoma) Impromptu Brewers Night so no schwag, just yummy beer.

Wed. 4/20 - Airways Brewery night @ Parkway Tavern. (6p, Tacoma) Genius creators of the Sky Hag IPA & T-Tail Blonde Ale, can't wait for this occasion! The Airways Tap Room in Kent will also be featuring something yummy on cask every Thursday so go hit 'em up, they are open til 8p. Also at The Red Hot, stop by for Victory Brewing Glassware Night. (most likely 6p, but stay tuned through RHot for more info) They'll be giving way a buncha pilsner style glasses like these!

Thurs. 4/21 - WINGMAN BREWERS RELEASE PARTY!!!!! Yay, finally. The Red Hot will be hosting said event and pouring Wingman's P-51 Porter & Ace IPA. (6p, Tacoma) I'm. Effing. Stoked.

Fri. 4/22 - Beer Share/Potluck (one of my fave events!) for invited guests at Amocat Cafe (7p, Tacoma) Expect all kinds of interesting ales to share & people to imbibe with. 

Sat. 4/30 - One we've ALL been waiting for... The Annual Parkway Tavern Barleywine Fest. (2p til close, the two five freakin' three) More details on this little shindig to come.

Get ready to have your mouth hole rocked!
the pissed liBEERian 

I'm gonna need my energy for all this fun junk...

Photography credited to MGD, you know, the 'real' one. 

Tapping into some lovely suds in the 253 tonight!

Per standard Tacoma operating procedure, it is the 2nd Monday of the Month & therefore Tap Night Tacoma. Starting at 6p you can enjoy a loverly pint of fresh cask ale at zee following places:

The Red Hot - Iron Horse Oaked IPA

The Parkway - Schooner Exact Imperial Porter

Doyle's - Fuller's Mr. Harry's (Wexford's Irish Ale won't be served on cask as advertised)

The Swiss - Hales Dry Hopped Mongoose IPA

E9 - E9 Amarillo IPA

Tap Night always seems to be on a Monday that follows a particularly busy & excessively fun weekend for me, but I have my priorities straight and know my role. Actually, MGD more or less informed me of my role when I suggested that we perhaps take the night off.  Something to the effect of "I'm bringing my camera. Put your happy face on and suck it up, I'll see you at 6p."

I'll be der tappin' T-Town,

the pissed liBEERian

A heart full of Tap Night

 Celebrate your love (of beer!) this Valentine's Day by doing a Tap Night Tacoma pub crawl. This beautiful event takes place on the 2nd Monday of every month. Casks of the following beers will be tapped at the following locations in The 253 (feel free to just read the poster if you are too lazy to read the words that are coming out of my fingers):

• The Red Hot -Maritime Pacific Islander Dry-Hop Pale
• Parkway Tavern - Big Al Brewing Hop Villain Black IPA
• Doyle's - Greene King Abbot Ale
• The Swiss - Diamond Knot Industrial XIPA
• Engine House #9 - E9 Chocolate Stout

All casks are tapped at 6p sharp and last until the beer runs out! 

Cheers Big Ears!

taptaptappin' on heavens door,

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!! :)

Clear your schedules and get your drinking arm ready to go!

Take a peek at some of the fun events coming up for November, what the what?! I believe I'm going to have to clone myself another pissed liBEERian or get my minions to attend events on my behalf. There is just no way I can do it all!

I don't appreciate being teased with  pics of DFHead 90m IPA laciness that is on tap all the way in San Antonio. But even I can't argue that it's gorgeous.

Ta Da... Novembeer!

11/2 - Style Night featuring Fresh Hop Ales @ 99 Bottles, Federal Way 5-7:30p
11/4 - Tacoma Science Cafe @ Harmon Brewery, Tacoma 7p
11/4 thru 11/6 - Cask-O-Rama @ Beveridge Place Pub, Seattle 6p-12a
11/8 - Tap Night Tacoma #6, Tacoma 6-9p
11/11 - Walking Man Brewers dinner @ The Eastburn, Portland 6-9:30p
11/12 thru 11/4 - Hoping to fit in a pre-birfday jaunt down to PDX during this weekend for a Big Daddy Kane brewery crawl, Portland (Stay tuned! I will be blogging about the detailed, mapped out, Google created itinerary of this plan sometime next week...)
11/13 - Beer Trek 2010 @ Phinney Center, Seattle 7-10p
11/15 - Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Party @ Brouwer's Cafe, Fremont 5p
11/17 - The pissed liBEERian celebrates her 29th birthday! (I accept spankings in lieu of gifts)
11/17 thru 11/21 - Walking Man 10th Anniversary celebratory goodness @ Walking Man Brewing, Stevenson
11/18 thru 11/23 - Jetting off to New York for 5 fun (& ale) filled days with MGD. I am super stoked to hit up some east coast craft brew. Ithaca Flower Power and Iona (hailed as Brooklyn's Irish pub for those who aren't a fan of Irish pubs), you are 1st on my list.
11/24 - Honey, the Parkway Ruined Thanksgiving @ Parkway Tavern, Tacoma 5p (Hahahaha, I love the name! I don't care how jet lagged I am from flying in from NY the night before. I also don't care how energy deprived the mandatory All Staff conference leaves me the next morning, I am going to this event and dragging everyone I can with me.)

Hope you can make it out for a few of these events and support local craft beer, I know I'm going to do my darnedest. 

The pissed liBEERian

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.

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.