3rd Annual PNA Summer Beer Taste
July 19, 2008 4:00-7:00 pm
Shakesbeer in the Parking Lot

Must be over 21 to attend.

Music by the Honky Tonk Revue "Dogs" by Barking Dog Alehouse

Thank you to the 3rd annual Summer Beer Taste sponsors: Barking Dog Alehouse, The Park Pub and Prost!

Click here to see what breweries are on tap in 2008.

For additional information, call (206) 783-2244 or email pna@phinneycenter.org.

Sounds like Russian River beers will finally start showing up next month...thanks for the news, Chris.

Pliny the Elder will be the first to arrive, which makes this beer drinker a happy man. More IPAs!

All of you east coasters (And beer geeks like me that like to trade for beer) should be well aware of Southern Tier and some of their fantastic beers.

From the most reliable of sources (this thread on Beeradvocate.com that I have absolutely no confirmation of), it sounds like Southern Tier will be available in WA over the next few months and Whole Foods may have exclusive rights to start.

While I have no idea what will be coming out to WA, here is a complete list of Southern Tier beers on Ratebeer.com. The Un*Earthly IPA and the Hoppe are both quality brews, while Choklat and Jah-va were both just too much for my liking.

Southern Tier will be another great addition to the WA brew scene.

According to Reuters and the AP, the two brewing giants came to an agreement this weekend.

The combined company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, said the source, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. Anheuser will get seats on the new company's board, the source said, but it was not immediately clear how many.

The deal brings an amicable resolution to a month-long saga that was becoming increasingly hostile as the two companies sued each other and InBev set the stage to try to replace Anheuser's board of directors.

A few of you may have tried this beer during the Brouwer's Belgian Sour Fest a few months ago. Sounds like they will finally be getting the full shipment this month (Possibly already have it?).

Here is some detailed info in a June 24th blog post from Tomme Arthur.

If you recall back in May, I mentioned in my first blog in months that we wouldn't be brewing any new beers for a bit. That was a half truth. Mostly it was a half truth as we had already brewed two new beers that resting in our brewery but wouldn't be released for a while. How did this happen? What does this mean for me your loyal Lost Abbey drinker?

Since I love a good back story, let's dive into another one here. Last October I went to Seattle to launch our line of beers with Click Wholesale. During my time in Seattle, I visited Brouwer's Cafe (home to Seattle's most amazing dracft and bottled beer list) and spent some time with Matt Bonney the owner. Matt drilled me on the subject of our limited releases. Brouwer's "had" to have them. I explained that our Non Denominational Ales and limited releases were produced in incredibly limited quantitities and as such, we just didn't have enough to go around at this time.

I mentioned this would not always be the case but presently, we demand far exceeds our production. I countered that we at The Lost Abbey would be more than willing to work on a very small scale to create a unique beer for Matt each year that would be sold only at Brouwer's Cafe (maybe Bottleworks?) Matt seemed to think this was an acceptable solution and he tasked us with creating a Saison styled beer for the Original Release of the Imagination Series.

Those of you who have met/shared a drink with me understand that I am a huge fan of Saison styled beers and will jump at any chance to work one into our production. It so happened that we were considering a new beer to mark the start of the Lenten Holiday in February. It was to be a very low alcohol beer made with some unmalted wheat, oats, Amarillo and Simcoe hops fermented with a Saison strain of yeast. We released this beer as Carnevale and partied the night away.

A portion of this beer was diverted at bottling time to our small grundy tank. It was spiked with Brettanomyces Anamolus and packaged for Matt and Brouwer's Cafe. Bo and I felt that the addition of the fruity Anamolus Brett working with the citric American Hops would be a slam dunk. It was! The beer dried out to a very nice level and the Brett is available in the nose but not so overwhelming. For all intense purposes, it is a smashingly drinkable summer beer. Which is good. Because, Brouwer's is about to receieve the shipment of this beer in early July.

One last note about this beer. It was sort of a stealth project. We really didn't talk much about the beer around here as we were always waiting for it. It was brewed in January. We then waited for the Brett to do its' job. Then we waited for the artist to create the label. AND most recently, we waited for the TTB to approve that label. Now that we have gone to print with it, we are waiting for the labels to arrive. It's nice to be done with it all.

However, the waiting has only served to heighten the awareness of this beer and increase the expectations. This past April, we entered the Brouwer's Imagination Saison in the 2008 World Beer Cup. It won a bronze medal in the 91st and final Category of the competition. This was the beer that literally delivered us to the podium for the Small Brewery of the Year Award. Without the Brouwer's Beer, we would not have earned enough points. So thanks Matt for giving us a little push. It doesn't take much to motivate us around here. We can only hope that you'll find yourself in Seattle soon enough AND that Matt has some left. There were only 43 Cases and six 1/2 bbls produced of this beer. Simply put, you will not find it on sale in San Marcos at the brewery. Sorry! There is a rumor on the street that this beer was an overwhelming success and as such the 2009 version of Carnevale may take on more of the attributes from this version…Stay tuned.

I haven't been by Brouwer's in a while, so no idea if this is there. It is not on their updated beer list on their website, but that is all I know.

So, how was it? Highlights? Lowlights? Thoughts? Favorite beers?

Since I missed the Seattle version, I contemplated going down to Portland for the PIB next weekend, but don't think I'll be making it. I'll have to wait until next year.

I couldn't find any reviews/comments on this years fest on the interweb...so let me know what you all thought.

I knew the Deschutes Black Butte XX would be coming out while I was overseas, and I wasn't sure how available it would be around town. Sounds like it was a bit hard to get? I headed into QFC on Broadway today, and they didn't have any sitting out. But, upon asking the beer/wine guy I found out they were keeping them in back; I picked up three bottles at $9.99/EA. Anyone else have info on availability?

The Deschutes 20th Anniversary Wit was also supposed to hit stores at the end of June, but I haven't seen anything about this and the guy at QFC didn't know anything about it.

I stopped into the Columbia City Alehouse this afternoon for a pint after buying some goods at the local farmers market, and I was welcomed by their chalkboard advertising the new beer in Baron Brewing's Grimm Brothers series of "Big Beers": the Rumpelstiltskin Rauch Doppelbock. They do sell for carryout, so I picked up a bottle for something like $7/22oz. I haven't popped it open yet (Still so tired I'm borderline delirious), but I'm excited for this one. I haven't had the chance to ask/look to see if this is available elsewhere yet.

I'm not sure if anyone had a chance to try the Hale's "25", a Belgian ale made to celebrate their 25th anniversary, but I'm hoping to see this one around somewhere. I'll keep my eyes out this weekend and maybe stop by Hale's.

The Bridgeport Stumptown Tart has been available in 22oz bottles for a while now, but I hadn't picked any up until today. This "Oregon Marion Berry infused Belgian Style Ale is lightly hopped and aged in French Oak Pinot Noir Barrels." Sounds interesting, but I'm skeptical.

Full Sail released the Prodigal Sun IPA not too long ago, and I finally picked one up. This one joins Sunspot and Son of Spot in the history of "sun related" IPA special releases from Full Sail.

I'm sure there is more, but that's all I can think of for now...

Sorry about the lack of posts, but Jeanne and I were in Italy for the past two weeks (Southern Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio and Rome) with her family. I'm now sitting on my porch having a beer in the sun before going back to reality (work) tomorrow.

While Italy has a burgeoning craft beer industry, beer was definitely an afterthought on this trip (The majority of brewpubs seem to be up north in Italy, far from us). We spent our days traveling through beautiful hill towns, eating amazing local food and drinking some outstanding local wines. Our first week was spent based out of a villa in the tiny village (<400 people) of Torre Alfina in northern Lazio, in between Umbria and Tuscany. We embarked on trips to towns stuck into and on top of hillsides, had daily doses of gelato and espresso, wore out our sandals exploring and just fell in love with the local cuisines, wines, people and way of life. Our last three days were in Rome, and that was pretty taxing after the relaxing atmosphere of the previous week. There was much to do and see, but if I ever go back to Rome it would not be in the summer (crowds and heat are overwhelming). We did get to experience a 24-hr transit strike, which European countries are famous for.

Of course, I couldn't go the entire trip without drinking some local beers. I didn't seek anything out, but stumbled upon these:

Brùton Stoner - I had this "dopio malt"(double malt) brew at the most extravagant restaurant of the trip, Il Poggio degli Olivi (Olive Tree something or rather). The restaurant is at a hotel/resort on top of a mountain by itself. Great food and amazing views of Assisi and the Umbria hillsides. The beer was the most impressive of the trip; hazy golden and bottle conditioned with tastes of peach, honey and yeast. Smooth and a fantastic pairing with the cheese plate we started with.

Menebrea Blonde - Had this at a wine bar called "By the Glass" in Rome on a 95 degree day. After walking a few miles in the sun/heat, I really enjoyed this light, golden beer and thought it was pretty solid. But, after I cooled and the beer warmed a little some off tastes really came through and I had to work to finish it...

Birra Amiata Aldobrandesca - I had this Belgian-style ale brewed with chestnuts and wheat at a restaurant in Orvieto. It was a perfumey mix of sour fruit and yeast with a bit of funk going on. Different and enjoyable. Amazingly, local brewer Justin Rizza, previously of Hale's, is a brewer at Amiata and I was hoping to have time to meet up with him while over there. That wasn't to be, though.

Peroni Gran Riserva - Most of you have heard of and tried the regular Peroni, but this is a double malt version. Stick with the drinkable original version; this was a pretty close to undrinkable and I ditched two of the three bottles I purchased when we left...the alcohol (6.6%) was the focus and there just wasn't anything to like about this one.

While I don't remember details on price, all of these beers were fairly expensive (even before the Euro/Dollar conversion). In the areas where we travelled, we were paying about 5 to 10 Euros for a good bottle of local wine. No contest on which beverage gave the better value, which is the exact opposite of what we have in the US, where good beer is typically a much better value than good wine.

There are many stories to be told, but that is for another day/place. The ending highlight of the trip was having Anthony Bourdain on our flight home from Rome. Jeanne and I are both huge fans, but we didn't bother him as he was with his daughter and wife. It didn't seem like many people recognized him, or at least they were like us and didn't bother him. He's definitely on my list of people I'd love to sit down and have dinner/drinks with.

Head on over to Hale's on Saturday, July 5, to celebrate 25 years of beer. Congrats to Mike Hale and the rest of the gang; here's to another 25 years.

They are releasing "25", a Belgian-style Dubbel Ale, to celebrate 25 years of making WA a better place to drink beer.

From 4pm to 10pm, they'll be celebrating with good beer, music and friends. I'd think a perfect day might start out at SIB around noon, and then head to Hale's around 4pm. Just get someone else to drive....

Don't forget to enjoy the lineup at SIB this weekend (Not like you could forget). From Friday, July 4 to Sunday, July 6, you'll have access to some great beers from all over the planet, as well as from the NW.

In addition to the beers I highlighted a while back, make sure to grab some 2007 Angel's Share from Port Brewing. This is a special treat indeed.

If I wasn't in Italy, I'd be there all weekend. I can't think of a better way to enjoy the 4th of July than heading down to a great beer festival and sticking around the area afterwards to watch fireworks.

I'd suggest trying to miss the crowds on Saturday late afternoon/evening though; last year was way too packed and just sucked. Enjoy yourself on Friday, early Saturday and Sunday.

By the way, Walt. Happy Birthday, you old man.