Special Treatment at Elliot Bay

One of the best days I had in Seattle was after the conference was over. Sure, winning two World Beer Cup medals is great, but hanging out with two Danes, and a Seattle brewer or two is pretty awesome too. Let me clarify. A week or so before we left for the Craft Brewer's Conference, Doug Hindman, the head brewer at Elliot Bay in West Seattle, was in the Chicago land area visiting some friends. He made the trek all the way down from Woodstock, Il, to downtown, to hop on the electric line (the way I get to work every day) just to see us. Needless to say anyone who comes all the way from Seattle, then comes down from far enough north to practically be Wisconsin, deserves some hospitality. We shared some beers and pulled a few special bottles out of the secret cellar and had a good time while Matt and I were cleaning up the brew from that day. Doug gave us his card and we gave him and his wife one for the train ride back.

Seattle came around and I promptly forgot about Doug's invitation, because frankly, I'm an ass.

At the awards dinner, Doug ended up sitting at the table across from us and he invited us out to West Seattle again. Matt was flying out early Saturday morning so he wasn't going to be able to go, but my girlfriend had just arrived that afternoon and we had no plans for the weekend. Doug let us know that two Danish guys, who are really into American Craft Beer were coming out too, so I was excited to BS with some foreign brewers.

Once we figured out the bus that took us out to West Seattle we were on our way. As I mentioned before this trip was my first time to Seattle, and as it turns out West Seattle is a very cool neighborhood.

Doug handed us beers and introduces us to Anders and Michael from Nørrebro Bryghus in Copenhagen. They were very cool guys and I was glad to have met them. Anders brewed at Carlsberg for years and left to open Copenhagen's best brewpub. The two of them convinced me that Denmark needs to be my next overseas destination.

Doug gave us a tour of the facilities and showed us their new brewhouse. We also got to check out his basement. He and his owner had some good stories to tell us. Then it was time for food!



Elliot Bay has some really really good appetizers. I ate nearly an entire plate of Brie and roasted garlic. While we were noshing, Wesley from Elysian showed up. He is another rad dude that I was glad to have met. Seattle seems to be full of awesome people.

All in all it was an incredible day and I thank Doug and his owner Tony for a day I won't soon forget.

Friday 4/28/06 *Barrel Aged Beers on Tap*

So, it sounds like there is something big going down at Three Floyds Brewing Co. this weekend(something about a Dark Lord yada yada). If you are in town for that, or in town for anything, drop on by. It just so happens that we check the progress on some of our barrel aged beers every last weekend of April. The best way to do it is to siphon some out, chill and carbonate. Wanna' share some? We'll have Ella's Reserve, a Belgian golden strong, aged in a Woodford Reserve barrel and Ol' Sheol (Wooden Hell), our Barleywine brewed last fall, also aged in a Woodford Reserve barrel.
We'll only have a 1/4 barrel of each, tapped friday, $5/snifter, poured 'til it's gone.
Cheers,
Matt

Places we went and Cool things we saw

After Matt checked into the hotel, we took off down the hill to check out the Market.



It's one of the most famous destinations in Seattle; it's where they throw the fish and have tons of seafood out for people to buy.



There was a really cool artisan cheese shop that we checked out. They were making curds when we walked by. After we found lunch we dropped in at The Pike Brewery, and found a number of fellow Illinois Brewers.




Pike's was a cool place, with an exposed brewhouse. If you are down at the market it is definitly worth checking out and drinking a few beers.

That evening was the welcoming reception for the Conference. It was held at Hale's Ales, one of the more famous Seattle brewing establishments.




They had lots of appetizers and tons of Northwest beer pouring.



Hale's has open fermenters, which scares the crap out of someone like me, but it clearly works well for them.



We saw Michael Jackson at the event, a.k.a the Beer Hunter, I asked him to take a self portrait and this is the picture he took.

The next day we checked out Elysian. A very cool place to knock a few back at.




We got to meet Dick Cantwell, their head brewer and share a few words with him.

That night we ended up at Brouwer's Cafe, an incredible Belgian beer bar. They have an alarming amount of Belgian taps and bottles, all served in their proper glassware. If this place was anywhere near my house I would be far poorer than I already am.





Seattle is a very cool place. I can't help but think Chicago would be better off if quality beer was as easy to get there as it is here.

Current Tap List 4/20/06 (420 dude!)

Imperial Dwarf IPA (7% abv)
Since you hop heads can't seem to get enough, we are trying our best to keep an IPA of one kind or another on year round. This is out newest incarnation. As mentioned before, Imperial Dwarf is made with 100% Summit dwarf hops, a new variety from Brewer Supply Group. It's citrusy like many high alpha hops, but Summit tends towards the orange and tangerine spectrum rather than grapefruit like Amarillo does. There are a lot of hops, but plenty of body to balance them out.

Zon Jager Wit Beer
It's spring time damnit! It's time to drink a beer that makes you think about warm weather. Zon Jager is a hazy Belgian-style Wit with a pale orange complextion. It's spiced with lemon and orange peel as well as coriander and secret spices. It finishes clean and refreshing with just a hint of bitterness and clocks in at 5% abv.

Brilliant! Dry Irish Stout
It's that time of year again. When the south siders parade about, when they dye the river green, and when your friends think it's cool to pretend they are Irish. To commerate we are offering Brilliant!, a opaque and creamy stout with a silky mouthfeel. It's served on nitrogen so watch for cascades, and erin go bleargh!

Aught Six Ale
English style ESB (Extra Special Bitter) 5.5% ABV
Traditional English ale brewed with floor malted English Malts, balanced against East Kent Golding and Fuggles hops.

sorry Black and Tan fans, this beer is gone. Look for the Biere De Garde Flanders Brown in a few weeks. The BdG will be on Juneish.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Chris German:

He specifically requested to come into your homes via our blog in this manner.







Chris is really a great guy, and has a new little one on the way, so if you see him, congratulate him.



Other posts that will come later in the week

• Cool Pubs in Seattle
• Special Treatment at Elliot Bay
• Things We Saw
  

My First World Beer Cup Award

I'm not really sure if it has sunk in yet?? Winning an international award is awesome! We had a great time in Seattle, really came away with a lot from the Craft Brewer's Conference, and brought back hardware from one of if not THE premiere beer competition in the world. Flattering-I think that is the best word. I'm always told by customers which beers are awesome, and that's flattering in itself. But to have a group of my peers, profesional judges, and beer aficianados judge my beers the best is just outstanding.

I'm very happy that we could keep the Pullman Brown's history alive. It is the most awarded beer in our lineup and with 5 GABF awards and 3 WBC awards, 2-3 Real ale awards and several local awards, Pullman could be giving any beer in the Chicagoland area a run for most decorated??

While the Pullman legacy lives on, I am floored by the success of our little "lambic that could." This beer began as a faux Flanders brown in the spring of 2004. Later it was laid down in an oak white wine barrel where, after 6 months or so, it took on a pleasant tartness. From their, we pumped it full of whole frozen raspberries, 5 lbs at a time until it tasted "right". That made a kinda sorta framboise, but it was missing something. After sitting through a wild yeast seminar at the 2005 CBC, I knew it was time to experiment into the land of wild yeasts-Brettanomyces.
well, we racked off two kegs worth and used the strain bruxellensis for one and made the other lambicus. They spent another 7-8 months "refermenting in the celar before blending and bottling. Jeff Sparrow of CBS was an invaluable resource in the blending. We choose a 60-40 blend of Lambicus-Brux.
It probably could use some more aging time, but we sent it anyway with our fingers crossed. I worried for the next two months. How could it compete with the likes of Cantillon and other classic Belgian beers. My beer wasn't sour enough. What if all the great American brewers entered their sour beers. we're dead, I thought. Two years of experimentation for naught!

Well, lo and behold I was wrong! we finished right behind Rodenbach( I LOVE Rodenbach) and right in front of Dogfishhead. Wow! That short Belgian brewer behind me backstage probably thought I was crazy as I gushed how much I enjoyed his beer. I had forgotten that they just voted me second best Belgian style sour beer in the world!

Yep-flattered is the right word.

HOLY #$!@%& We Did it!

2006 World Beer Cup Winners List
Category: 10 Specialty Beer - 17 Entries
Gold: Pullman Brown Ale, Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery, Flossmoor, IL
Silver: Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale, Rogue Ales, Newport, OR
Bronze: Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale, Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co., Kiln, MS

Category: 43 Belgian-Style Sour Ale - 22 Entries
Gold: Rodenbach Grand Cru, Palm Breweries Belgium Site Brewery Rodenbach, Roeselare, Belgium
Silver: De Wilde Zuidentrein, Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery, Flossmoor, IL
Bronze: Festina Lente, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE



This past week was an incredible trip, look for a number of posts about the whole experience throughout the week.

CBC & WBC

Matt and I are leaving tomorrow to attend the annual Craft Brewer's Conference held each year in a different city. This year it will be Seattle, WA, one of the beer meccas of the United States.



We will be attending different seminars, expos, and events all related to craft brewing the in U.S.

In conjunction with the CBC is the World Beer Cup,

an international competition open to any brewery in the world. In the past with Todd Ashman, Flossmoor has walked away with three World Beer Cup awards. So although we don't assume we will win, we are entering 6 beers and certainly hope to have an outside chance at glory. The awards are given out on Friday night at the Gala Awards Dinner which also marks the end of the Conference.

The World Beer Cup is held every two years and put on by the Brewer's Association. Here are some numbers from 2004.
• 1,566 beer entries from 393 breweries representing 40 countries (2002: 1,173 beer entries from 379 breweries representing 38 countries)
• 93 judges from 15 countries participated
• 81 beer style categories were evaluated
• Avg. number of beers entered in each category: 19.33
• Category 66: Hefeweizen had the highest number of entries

So we are looking forward to a fun week, and a break from the normal rigors of the daily grind. Wish us luck.

Current Beer List 4/6/06

Imperial Dwarf IPA (7% abv)
Since you hop heads can't seem to get enough, we are trying our best to keep an IPA of one kind or another on year round. This is out newest incarnation. As mentioned before, Imperial Dwarf is made with 100% Summit dwarf hops, a new variety from Brewer Supply Group. It's citrusy like many high alpha hops, but Summit tends towards the orange and tangerine spectrum rather than grapefruit like Amarillo does. There are a lot of hops, but plenty of body to balance them out.

Zon Jager Wit Beer
It's spring time damnit! It's time to drink a beer that makes you think about warm weather. Zon Jager is a hazy Belgian-style Wit with a pale orange complextion. It's spiced with lemon and orange peel as well as coriander and secret spices. It finishes clean and refreshing with just a hint of bitterness and clocks in at 5% abv.

Aught Six Ale *two kegs left*
English style ESB (Extra Special Bitter) 5.5% ABV
Traditional English ale brewed with floor malted English Malts, balanced against East Kent Golding and Fuggles hops.

Brilliant! Dry Irish Stout
It's that time of year again. When the south siders parade about, when they dye the river green, and when your friends think it's cool to pretend they are Irish. To commerate we are offering Brilliant!, a opaque and creamy stout with a silky mouthfeel. It's served on nitrogen so watch for cascades, and erin go bleargh!

What's coming up next?

Hey, who's this Brewer M guy? I thought Andrew did all the updates on this blog. Well, he does, but today's your lucky day. I carved out 6 minutes of free time!

Did you ever walk in to a pub, sit down to enjoy the two latest seasonal brews, just to ponder the ever-lingering question: "I wonder what is coming up next?" Yeah, me too. What ever happened to enjoying the current sweat from a brewer's brow-eww gross, is that what they put in it to make it so bitter?-No that's love pal. Enjoy it!
Anyway, if you've just got to know what we've got up our sleeve for July, put this blog in your favorites list and check it often. Andrew does an awsome job of keeping you all informed. If he's behind, I'll be sure to dock hs pay. and if you've got a sugestion for an upcoming beer, stop in and let me know. I may not listen, but I will be sure to nod my head willingly! :)
MVW

Current Beer List 4/4/06

Zon Jager Wit Beer
It's spring time damnit! It's time to drink a beer that makes you think about warm weather. Zon Jager is a hazy Belgian-style Wit with a pale orange complextion. It's spiced with lemon and orange peel as well as coriander and secret spices. It finishes clean and refreshing with just a hint of bitterness and clocks in at 5% abv.

Aught Six Ale *two kegs left*
English style ESB (Extra Special Bitter) 5.5% ABV
Traditional English ale brewed with floor malted English Malts, balanced against East Kent Golding and Fuggles hops.

Brilliant! Dry Irish Stout
It's that time of year again. When the south siders parade about, when they dye the river green, and when your friends think it's cool to pretend they are Irish. To commerate we are offering Brilliant!, a opaque and creamy stout with a silky mouthfeel. It's served on nitrogen so watch for cascades, and erin go bleargh!

X-IPA
Imperial India Pale Ale 7.5% ABV
This big, hoppy beast was brewed with 100% Amarillo hops, giving it a big citrusy aroma that follows you throughout the entire pint.

X-IPA is gone but Imperial Dwarf will be on for the 8th of April.