Author: Nat Pellman

It is that time of the year when a very special Northern Washington couple honors the memory of their late best friend to help raise money for a very noble cause. The Shadow Hike-a-Thon, now in its 9th year has raised over $40,000 for the Old Dog Haven in Oak Harbor and we are happy to partner with them for a second year.

Once again, they are partnering with their (and our!) friends at The North Fork on Mount Baker Highway to brew Gray Muzzle IPA with some proceeds benefiting the Old Dog Haven. This special brew will be available on June 21st after the Tiger Mountain hike here at Brouwer’s, beginning at 5:30 pm. As we did last year, all proceeds will go to the charity. We are happy to be able to help out a wonderful organization with a very noble goal.

From their page: “Old Dog Haven was founded in 2004 to provide safe, loving homes for abandoned senior dogs who have almost zero chance of adoption in a shelter. We do not have a kennel; all our dogs live in homes as members of temporary or permanent (Final Refuge) families. We take dogs 8 years and older from shelters and occasionally from owners in Western Washington. We adopt out dogs that have a reasonable life expectancy; however, more than 90% of our dogs are Final Refuge (permanent foster) or hospice residents – too frail, old or sick for adoption. ODH’s mission is to give these dogs a loving family and good quality of life in their final months, years, weeks or even days. We also assist owners who need to re-home their senior dog and help shelters and other rescues place their seniors.”

For more information about ODH, please visit: www.olddoghaven.org

Blend of spontaeneous and mix culture blonde ales aged in red wine barrels. Refermented on 2 lbs per gallon of sweet dreams peaches. Racked into fresh American whiskey barrels on black tea leaves and bottles conditioned with brett.

Vern’s Peach Tea

Vern’s familial ties to Belgium are well documented; hell, he even opened a restaurant in tribute to them. Fewer though, know that he has family in the deep-south – Alexandria, Louisiana to be exact. Thus, the time-honored tradition of sitting on a porch and drinking fruited iced tea watching the days pass by is near and dear to his heart. Well, in comes his good neighbor, Eric, who had a great idea for a beer – Peach Tea!

Well gee, what a swell idea. What they’ve done is blend North Fork’s mixed culture blonde ale with some spontaneously fermented brew just for the occasion. It was then refermented on a ton of Sweet Dream Peaches, known around for their size and sweetness, at a rate of two pounds per gallon. It was then racked into fresh whiskey barrels on black tea leaves. After sauntering along, it was finally ready and then put into bottles with brett to recondition. Now, it’s ready for you to enjoy in your best rocking chair on a warm day.

You’ve Got Ale!

An absolute defining sense of self. Local. Hoppy. Hazy. IPA.

That’s what we are offering you. We’ve collaborated with our good friends at Matchless once again to bring you some hazy love to make that man sitting in the elevator wish he was as lucky as you.

We’ll be releasing the beer at Bottleworks on Wednesday, July 10^th and having a get together at Brouwer’s on Thursday the 11^th at 6 p.m.

Stop by The Shop Around the Corner for a good read, pick some daisies, and join us for a pint where we can reminisce about a simpler time filled with dial tones and the three words that could make any heart flutter – You’ve Got Ale!

Are you tired of all those sticky stouts from the previous weekend? So are we! So we’re taking them all off and replacing them with something a little more seasonal. That’s right, it’s sour time! Our favorite festival of the year rolls on to give the Seattle beer nerds community a chance to do lasting damage to their palates.

We live for the question, “What’s your sourest sour on right now.” The answer is, “yes!” On May 16^th, hop on over to Fremont for one of the biggest days on the Seattle beer calendar. We’ll have sunshine, snacks, sour beer, and slambics. You won’t want to miss it!

Another Night with Great Notion (2019 Ed.)

Beer Week is soon upon us and as you are all aware, we host a couple pretty cool events during that time. Well, we usually sprinkle a smaller night in there to round things out… usually. This year, being the gluttons for punishment that we are, we’ve decided to host one of the most talked about breweries in the PNW – Great Notion down in Portland. Last time we hosted them, it was a packed house and all 6 kegs kicked within a couple hours and we’d expect nothing less this time around.

We’ll be tapping 5 or 6 of their hoppy treats (we’re keeping a couple goodies for Stout and Sour Fest) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14^th. Come out for a (hopefully) beautiful sunny day during an off day of Seattle Beer Week.

Oh goodness, is Seattle Beer Week here already? It feels like just yesterday we were drinking Barleywines and hoping for some sunshine and warmth. Well, here we are: sweating, pounding lagers, and hoping for some gray and rain. My how the tides have turned.  Well, we have a way to turn back the clock…

Come on in May 10^th to remind yourselves of a simpler time, huddled en masse trying to survive Snowmaggedon by drinking dark, boozy beers and eating hearty food because the local co-op ran out of turnips and kale. We’ll have stouts on stouts on stouts the entire weekend.  Stop in, order some heavy beer and some heavier food, and forget about that big ball of fire in the sky; summer can wait.

In the United States, we’re lucky to be able to enjoy most of the fine Trappist beers that are available – in the bottle. Until very recently, the only regularly available Trappist on draft was Chimay Triple, the famous white label. Recently, they released their other offerings, but remained the only widely available draft Trappist – until now…

One of the classic Monastaries has decided to start sending over one of their delicious brews. Westmalle, operated by the Cistercian monks outside of Antwerp, is sending us fortunate souls their Dubbel on draft. Originally founded in 1794, the monks began brewing in the 1930s out of an old cow bard they made in into a brewery. The rest, as they say, is history.

The first shipment is going to be very limited and we’ve been able to procure one of those first kegs out west. We’ll be tapping Westmalle Dubbel on April 11^th. Please join us the evening for one or two, or try it with its bottled brethren. We’re really excited and hope you will be too.

3^rd Annual Drunk HERstory

It’s that time of year again where we try to give back to the community and give the Badass Women of Craft our stage to try and raise funds for on organization that’s near and dear to us – Planned Parenthood.

That’s right! Drunk HERstory, now in its third rad year, will once again be held at Brouwer’s Café on March 27^th. After the success of the past two years, we couldn’t keep the train from rolling on. This year, we’ll have 8women representing 8 breweries and they will regale you with tales of awesome women throughout the ages. The night will begin at 6 pm with an introduction by a representative from Planned Parenthood and then move into 4 unique skits to educate and entertain our guests.

Please join us again this year for Drunk HERstory as we try to help out this wonderful organization!

Event Details:

Saturday, March 23rd @ 11am Bottles go on sale at Bottleworks.

Saturday, March 23rd @12pm The Party starts at Brouwer’s look for past Anniversary beers and Orval to be pouring!

The idea of a partnership between Brouwer’s and pFriem has been a topic of conversation since Josh pFriem opened his doors six years ago. While both parties knew it would be awhile before the fledgling brewery would be able to make that a reality, the conversation never ceased. Over the years, on the Washington and Oregon bike trails, Josh and Nat kept the idea alive. When it became time in June of 2017, a small contingency from Brouwer’s made the journey to Hood River to discuss a possible 13^th anniversary brew for the restaurant.

In sitting down with Josh and Gavin, ideas began to be thrown out in the open. pFriem already had a list of wonderful lambic-inspired selections that would’ve been perfect for a custom blending project. That whole time talking through it, everyone knew there was something out there that begged the question that there was a fruit that needed to be worked with. Nat, from Brouwer’s, was the first to ask what that fruit was. Gavin mentioned that he’d always wanted to work with huckleberries, but that it wouldn’t be an option since there would be no way to source that many foraged berries during the upcoming harvest and having it in time for March. Neither side willing to back down from a new challenge, the decision was quickly made to schedule it for Brouwer’s 14th anniversary and see how many huckleberries we could get our hands on in the meantime. It soon became time to take the hastily scribbled line, “Light sour base w/ huckleberries aged in neutral or white wine bbls,” and turn it into something tangible and delicious.

Like many of the fruited pFriem brews, this one starts out as a lambic-inspired base beer that was brewed in January of 2018 and spent 8 months in former white wine barrels to give the beer a nice, soft, lightly tart profile. The barrels were then blended together and racked back into those barrels on top of a ton of huckleberries; there is one pound of huckleberries for every gallon of beer in the barrel. This brew will also serve as a milestone for pFriem, as it is the first time they’ve aged beer on the fruit in the barrels the base beer was aged in, following a long tradition of making fruited sours in the old country.

While we eagerly wait for the experiment to bear fruit, the jammy nose of the huckleberries juxtaposed with their sharp tartness has given everyone involved the impression that we are in for something truly special: a uniquely northwest ale made by a wonderful Oregon brewery for a Washington craft beer stalwart using ingredients from both – a true Cascadian partnership.

Tasting notes:

A beautiful hue of reddish violet crowned with slight pink foam; deceiving notes of jammy berry pie and citrus lead into crisp acidity, light funk, a bit of berry, and minor notes of oak. Finishes off-dry, tart, and clean.

Details about this release/fundraiser–

March 7th @ 11 am 4 pack cans will go on sale at Bottleworks $2 from the sale of every 4 pack will be donated directly to Evergreen

March 7th @ 6pm Dirt Church IPA draft release here at Brouwer’s Cafe where all the proceeds from the draft sales will be donated directly to Evergreen

We are hoping between the two we will be able to raise over $2000.

Structures will hosting a similar event in Bellingham the following week.

Here’s a little blurb about how this beer came about:

Everyone has something they are passionate about, maybe even worship, and for us that’s Dirt! Those beautiful and challenging ribbons of dirt we call trails, that take us deep into the forest, high up into the mountains, and sometimes to the grandest of vistas. Dirt brings us together and lets us be alone, makes us work hard for even the smallest thrills, brings us joy yet dishes out its certain share of pain! Yet we go back to it over and over again, seeking that connection to the ground, the perfect texture, the fluidity of moving over and through it. The dirt, the trails, they are part of us now!

This is how the idea of Dirt Church IPA was born. Most of us can’t be there to build and maintain the amazing network of trails we have here in the Pacific Northwest, but we can certainly help support the awesome and hardworking people who do. The Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance and Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition (WMBC) are on the ground (and in the dirt!), making sure our favorite trail systems stay in great condition.

So we are pleased to announce that Brouwers Café and Bottleworks, along with Structures Brewing, will be collaborating on a special Dirt Church fundraising event series. We will host limited beer release parties in Seattle at Brouwer’s for Evergreen, and in Bellingham at Structures for WMBC, with a portion of the proceeds from cans and draft being donated directly to these amazing MTB trail groups.   Look for the release to be in March of 2019.

Nat Pellman at Brouwer’s Café in Seattle is passionate about Mountain Biking and Beer. He is friends with James and Max at Structures, and quite enjoys collaborating with them on special beer releases, as well as having a cold one (or two!) at their Brewery after a good ride in Bellingham.

17^th Annual HardLiver Barleywine Festival

It’s hard to believe that’s it’s been 17 years since Bottleworks decided to host the first HardLiver. So much has changed since then. Seattle has been an exponentially growing community bringing with it new ideas, people, breweries, beers, and bars. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is its taste for pain – both emotionally and physical. As far as emotional pain, get a grow light, we guess; what do we know, we aren’t doctors. The physical, though? Now we might have something for that.

Of course, we are taking about Barleywine! That hop and malt treat disguising itself as beer. After sustaining yourself on egg nog, mulled wine, and whiskey through the winter it’s time to come back to barley. As is tradition, we’ll have more barleywines on draft than is doctor recommended.

We’ll be hosting this time-honored tradition again the last Saturday and Sunday of February. We’ll have at least 40 beers on draft celebrating the old and welcoming the new. Join us that weekend for some light drinking and friendly fellowship. !

St. Valentine’s Day, a religious and commercial juggernaut brought to you by Geoffrey Chaucer and greeting card companies everywhere. These times, it’s a day to send notes and gifts to those you love and shame those who don’t have anyone. By the way, did you know that total expenditures for V-day in the US totaled $18.2 billion in 2017? Ah money love, isn’t it romantic? Nothing says it quite like being expected to buy something nice/make a grand romantic gesture/ tell the person or people (hey it’s 2019, right) how much you love and care about them. I mean, it’s not like you can do that just any ol’ time; what are we, horny teenagers?

Alas, we will try to send a Valentine to someone we love… here goes…

Urban Family, we love your beers. They lift our hearts high and make our stomachs sing. From the dankest haze bombs to the tartest sours, we are in amour with your electric elixirs. Won’t you spend the Loveliest Day of the Year™ with us, wondering us with your wares? What we really admire though? Well, it would be your Sour Heart… series of beers, those tangy tongue tantalizers that drive us wild. Since it is Seattle, a major progressive town, do you mind if we invite some friends? No? Perfect!

Join us on February 14^th for our Valentine’s Evening with Urban Family Brewing. We’ll have Briar Heart, Tropic Heart, and Winter Heart all available on draft. We might even have an IPA or two on just to round things out. The love-in will begin at 6 pm.

Here at Brouwer’s we are into training; training our staffon beer, training ourselves to handle the rigorous festival schedule we setforth, and training our palates to be the most knowledgeable we can be.

But what about our dear guests who find themselves needing to gear up for the events of February through May?! We haven’t left you out. You may ask, “Gee, how are you going to help us get ready for Hard Liver, your anniversary, and Seattle Beer Week?” Great question!

Come out on Thursday, February 7^th for the 5^th annual Hop Mob Triple IPA Roadshow. This year, we’ll be selecting 24 souped-up barley treats to get your livers ready for the rest of the year. With many of these IPAs knocking down your door at 10% and 100+ IBUs, your palate will have just enough time to recover for the next hoppy onslaught. What started out as a small collective of Washington brewers, eager to show that good IIIPAs exist outside of California, the Hop Mob has grown to over 50 breweries, all trying their hand at throwing as much malt and hops into a kettle that it can hold. Come celebrate all that is Washington born and brewed with the 5^th installment of this great even

BEERlesque – A special evening of world-class beer and the ladies of burlesque to show us how it’s done withn grace and style.

After the rousing success of last year, it was inevitable that we’d give it another go at hosting one of our favorite events of 2018. This year’s performers will be Boom Boom L’Roux, Ruby Mimosa, Lady Drew Blood, and Amara Strutt. Joining us once again to MC will be none other than Sailor St. Claire.

 Like last year, this will be a ticketed event and proceeds will go to charity. The charity this year will be the Old Dog Haven, a wonderful organization dedicated to taking care and finding forever homes for older pups. Tickets are $30 and include a beer from one of the partner breweries – Ayinger, Brasserie du Bocq,Dupont, Lindeman’s, and Weihenstephan.

There will be a change in protocol this year, however. Doors will open at 7 and the show will begin at 9. This will allow attendees to order and enjoy dinner beforehand. Dinner service will end when the show begins to limit interruptions.

Please go to www.brownpapertickets.com to secure your ticket to what we’re sure will be a sold out show.

For more information on the Old Dog Haven, please visit: www.olddoghaven.org

For more information on the performers, please visit:

http://www.sailorstclaire.com

www.AmaraStrutt.com

www.burlesqueboutique.com/ruby-mimosa/

www.facebook.com/LadyDrewBloodBurlesque/

www.boomboomlroux.com/about

U-G-L-Y your sweater ain’t got no alibi, it’s ugly. Well, at least you hope so. It’s the most magical time of year – where you dust off the vintage, grandma-knit hand-me-down or scour the internet for the perfect top that will make people shake their heads in disgust. It’s Ugly Sweater time! Now in its 8^th year!

As is tradition, the lovely people of Firestone Walker are helping us put on one of our favorite events of the year. We’ll have fun holiday games, some crafting, an “Ugliest Sweater” contest, and a whole bunch of goodies from the cellar on draft. There might even be a few presents to give out to the people donning their finest yule-time apparel. We’re usually one of the first ugly sweater events of the year, so you can come out and use the night to beta-test that new purchase while sipping on some not-so-ugly brews.

We’ll kick off the evening around 6 pm, with the sweater contest happening around 9 pm. Please join us once again for this really fun evening of ugly!