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 16th, 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!
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 10th 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 11th. 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.
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 27th. 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!
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 13th 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.
