Tuesday, May 29, 2012 @ 9:00pm

A Nautical Life at Diamond Knot Brewery

Where I live and work in downtown Seattle there are so many excellent breweries, beer-centric bars and restaurants at my disposal that I tend to neglect what exists beyond city limits. With the start of a new Summer season, I resolved to branch out; to explore and experience the breweries which dot the landscape of this great state. Recently, a good friend of mine suggested we meet up in Mukilteo to have dinner at the Diamond Knot Brewery. Having visited the brewery on a handful of occasions in the past, I looked forward to indulging in a few brews while enjoying one of their signature entrees served on a hot stone.

Located just 30 minutes north of Seattle, the brewery is situated on Front Street between the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal and Lighthouse Park. It's not hard to see why Diamond Knot has such a devoted following. The brewpub's location allows one to enjoy any number of classic Pacific Northwest activities before heading into the brewery for a pint or two and a bit to eat. Spend the afternoon combing the rocky beach front of Lighthouse Park, watching the ferries come and go, marveling at the nearly century old Mukilteo Lighthouse, and if the weather is cooperating perhaps enjoying an ice cream cone from Ivars' walk-up stand.

When your done exploring the area and it's time to enter the brewpub to quench your thirst, you'll be greeted by a laid back atmosphere that is customary of our region and a distinctive nautical themed decor. Shells of their complimentary peanuts blanket the floor, while photos line the walls depicting historical events. Don't be alarmed if there is a bit of a wait, as I said before, Diamond Knot has quite a devoted following. Just put your name in with the server and grab a beer from the bartender to sip while you wait. I recommend the Industrial IPA, their most well known brew, or my personal favorite the Hefe-Weizen; a wonderful American interpretation of a German classic with distinct notes of banana and cloves.

Diamond Knot doesn't depend on their quality hand-crafted beers alone to attract patrons; they have serve an array of dishes on their menu including the unique dining experience of serving several signature dishes to dinners still in the cooking process on a hot stonegrill. I'll be the first to admit that I was a bit wary of ordering an item served raw, requiring me to finish cooking it, my first time visiting the brewery, but I quickly fell in love with the interactive process and now only order entrees served on the stonegrill. On this particular outing I enjoyed the Beerish Dip, which consists of thin sliced sirloin, plenty of swiss cheese and hearty Light House Ale Au Jus.

Whether you're looking to experience a new brewery, or planning on enjoying an afternoon at Mukilteo's Lighthouse Park, Diamond Knot's brewpub is well worth a visit as delicious beers and food awaits. If you happen to be simply passing through the area in route to Whidbey Island via the ferry don't forget to hop on in to fill a growler or pick up a 22oz bomber of your favorite ale. Whatever your reason for venturing into Diamond Knot's brewpub, you won't be disappointed.

Cheers!

(Post and photos by Jeff Soderquist)

Monday, May 21, 2012 @ 8:07pm

Seattle Beer Week in Review

Seattle Beer Week Kick Off pt 1, 5/10/2012

Friends and fellow beer geeks alike descended on Elysian's Capitol Hill Brewpub on May 10th to celebrate the official opening of Seattle Beer Week 2012.

With the SBW folks on hand and cheers from the crowd, Elysian kicked off the night by tapping a special cask version of Split Shot the official beer of Seattle Beer Week. Generously poured samples flowed through the crowd, as the aroma of espresso beans filled the air. Life By The Pint has already given Split Shot our stamp of approval in a previous review, but it's worth mentioning again just how good this beer is. While enjoying a couple pints of it with a few close friends, we simply could not get over how complex the beer is, bold espresso flavor and notes of chocolate, its robust and bitter character grows on you with each sip. I commend Elysian for deciding to brew a beer that might not be universally received by the hop-loving masses of the Emerald City. Don't get my wrong; I love a good IPA as much as the next guy. Currently the market is, dare I say, over saturated with them and it's refreshing to see something different take center stage.

Delicious beer aside, perhaps my favorite thing about Seattle Beer Week, is how excited and passionate people feel about it. Seemingly everyone had a smile on their face opening night, from the event organizers, Elysian wait staff, down to the devoted beer loving patrons. Seattle is blessed to have such a thriving beer-centric community, and Seattle Beer Week is meant to celebrate us all.

West of the Sound and East of the Mountains, 5/14/2012

I love a good brewers night. Mingling with brewers, sampling hard to find beers, and the thrill of winning (and losing) raffles. It's just good, clean fun, and no one does a brewers night like Naked City Brewery and Taphouse in Greenwood. Monday night, Naked City invited 18 of Washington's smaller breweries from beyond the I-5 corridor to participate in the West of the Sound, East of the Mountains Brewers night. In order to get the full experience, I had one pint from West of the Sound and one from East of the Mountains, as well as a couple of the best raw oyster shooters I have ever had.

My pint from West of the Sound was a beer from Sound Brewing called WWII that was aged in a Bainbridge Organic Distillers wheat whiskey barrel. WWII is smooth, boozy, woody all with the creamy soft mouth feel of a dunkelweizen.

Next, I ordered up a pint of Solar Winds Pale from Northern Lights Brewery in Spokane. For a pale, this beer is hoppy, which was a great complement to my oysters from Talyor Shell fish Farm. This hoppy, crisp pale ale has an aroma of earthy hops and biscuit grains.

As for the raffle, I won nothing. But a friend at our table won a t-shirt from Roslyn Brewing, so we did not walk away empty handed.

This was a great event and not solely due to the beer, raffles and oysters. What makes this event special is the brewers. I have found that small brewers, men and women who pour their life savings as well as their time, effort, and passion into brewing have a sense of urgency. They can't sit back an rely on bottle sales; they have to get out in the field and interact, pitch their beer, and make sure consumers know their name and recognize their brand. There are several larger breweries in Seattle that do not have to put in the face time with their customers, as they are established well enough that face time is not a priority to them. Something is lost with this attitude. Drinking local is just as much a social responsibility as it is an economic one. Getting to know and recognize brewers for their craft adds a whole new aspect of understanding to the wonderful brewing culture that stretches across the Evergreen State.

Sour Fest, 5/172012

Is there a style of beer that is more polarizing than sours? I don't think there is; you love them, or you don't. It seemed to me that everyone in the Seattle metro area who loves sours went out Thursday, 5/17 for one of the most popular events of Seattle Beer Week, Sour Fest at Brouwer's. I arrived around 5pm, and waited in line for 40 mins to get in the door, which was faster than I expected, actually. Once inside I wasted no time, diving into 12oz glasses of sour beers.

First up was Lompoc's Sour Willy, which I thought was a little weak, watery and not a lot of flavor. It wasn't all that sour, and I wanted something really puckery and strange. Who in Seattle do you go to for strange brews? That's right, up next was Bog from Epic Ales. Smokey, earthy and tart, it was a odd combination of flavors that really came together to make an interesting glass of beer. Then I moved on to the Tart Lychee from New Belgian, a favorite of mine, though I thought this years batch was a little less tart than that of previous years. My final sour was Horse Tongue Wheat from Anderson Valley, a fantastic sour beer. It contained all the best parts of a sour and a wheat, crystal clear, tart up front with a smooth back end.

I look forward to Sour Fest at Brouwer's all year, as it is a truly one of a kind event in Seattle. I am already looking forward to next year's event.

Seattle Beer Week 2012, I can say with confidence, was the greatest SBW yet. I had a great time chatting with fellow beer enthusiasts, sampling new beers and enjoying the fruits of the micro brew world. I hope you had a good SBW as well. Regardless if you made it to an event, I hope you tried something new or just savored an old favorite. After all it's beer, not rocket science, and beer is about enjoying life.

Cheers!

(Post and Photos by Dean Westling and Jeff Soderquist)

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 @ 5:37pm

NW Seattle Brewery Crawl Wrap Up

On Saturday, May 12th, thirty some adventurous beer lovers gathered at the NW Peaks Brewery Base Camp and prepared for a journey that would prove to be challenging, eye opening, and a damn good time. I am happy to announce that the Life by the Pint Brewery Crawl, NW Seattle Edition, was a outstanding success as the beer was cold, the sun was hot, and the companionship beyond measure.

The Brewery Crawl started at NW Peaks, the smallest operation on the Crawl, where Dr. Peaks, aka Kevin Klein, poured sampler after sampler and pint after pint for the growing number of participants relaxing in the warm sun. NW Peaks offers four beers on tap which change frequently and are all top notch brews. During the Crawl Dr. Peaks was pouring Magic Brown, Hannegan Red, Esmeralda and Redoubt Red. The reds were tasty, the brown was delicious, but the favorite of the four seemed to be the Esmeralda, a take on an English Pale, brewed with molasses, corn, Apollo and Goldings hops. Like all NW Peaks beers this is a different sort of beer. It is light on the hops and contains an unusual sweetness and smoothness, a result of the corn and molasses. And like the other three beers on tap at NW Peaks, it is a beautiful beer, an earthy yet crystal clear tan color.

After a round of samplers and pints, the Brewery Crawl Crew of pint pounding palate pleasers, waved good-bye to Dr. Peaks and his Base Camp, and moved around the corner to Hilliard's Beer for more delicious "cool ones". Arriving at Hilliard's we were blessed with a welcome break from the sun (spoken like a true Seattlite) as the cool concrete floor and slight breeze of the brewery brought everyone's temps down a couple degrees. Hilliard's is an inviting location which feels vast and intimate at the same time. Pils, saisons, ambers, ESBs (extra special Belgian), and malty blonds provide something for everyone at Hilliard's Beer. I had the saison which was delicious, but the Pils and the ESB seemed to be popular with the Brewery Crawl Crew. After a solid 45 minutes of laughs, stories and beer talk, the Crawl Crew was rallied and departed, sights set for Maritime Pacific.

It was this portion of the crawl that the crew was the largest at just over 30 people, enough to fill a half city block. It was a testament to the brewing culture of the great Emerald City that so many people were interested and enthusiastic about trying something new and relying on the local brewers to make the afternoon memorable.

Arriving at Maritime Pacific we settled in for some sliders and, you guessed it, pints of brew. Maritime has recently re-released their Seattle Beer Week beer from last year, Decompression Ale, an American strong, which I had to order. Tis the season right? A few pints, a few pitchers and were were on our way down the Burke-Gilman trail to Hale's Ales.

Arriving at Hale's Ales we were lucky to find that we had beat the Tour de Pints crew of 50+ people, which means the beer was poured quickly from the friendly staff of Hales and space was abundant. At Hale's I had the Supergoose Double IPA, as was delighted as always with its citrusy bitter, caramel sweet flavors. But the big hit at Hale's Ales was the Tres Fem a Belgian style golden ale with sour cherries. It was truly a delightfully drinkable sweet and sour ale with just the right amount of fruit flavor.

Departing Hale's Ales we began the longest trek of the Crawl, a 1.3 mile stroll down the Burke-Gilman trail and the banks of the ship canal. Saturday was a beautiful day and after 4 pints, this was a welcome bit of exercise. We even stopped to dip our feet in the water and take in the passing boats.

Then it was on to Fremont Brewing.

First off, I love Fremont Brewing. The atmosphere is low key, the beer is top notch and it always seems to have the right amount of people just hanging out.

In a 2011 Best of the Year post, Jeff and I both gave our Best Beer of the Year award to Fremont Brewing. Jeff's favorite was the Summer Solstice, mine was the Bourbon Abominable (AKA B-Bomb), which recently won a bronze medal at the World Beer Cup. I was delighted to find that both of these magnificent brews were on tap at Fremont Brewing. The B-Bomb is a rich and delicious beer with intense caramel, vanilla, chocolate, bourbon and oak flavors. The Summer Solstice is a perfectly hopped summer beer with notes of tangerine. Once again Fremont Brewing treated us right.



The Life by the Pint Brewery Crawl, NW Seattle Edition was a perfect way to celebrate one year of beer blogging. It has been exciting, exhausting, and a true learning experience, and it could not have been possible without the support of our friends, family and the Seattle microbrew culture. Here's to many years of beers to come!

Cheers!

(Post and Photos by Dean Westling, except "Maritime Cheers" and "Decompression Sip" which were taken by Jer Barnes. Check out his awesome hiking blog here: http://www.hikingwithmybrother.com/)

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 @ 9:34pm

Split Shot in the City of Coffee and Beer

Each year a brewery is selected to craft the official beer of Seattle Beer Week. The past breweries have included such Seattle staples as Hale's Ales and Maritime Pacific who brewed an IPA and an American strong ale respectively. This year the official beer is Split Shot from Elysian Brewing, and it just may be the finest of them all.

The Elysian Split Shot Espresso Milk Stout creates a fanfare for the senses as it blends bitter flavorfull espresso from Lighthouse Coffee with smooth chocolaty stout from the great Elysian Brewing. This is the first of the SBW beers that has not had an intense hop profile common on the West Coast, and yet, captures the essence of Seattle maybe more so than the extremely hopped beer of previous years.

My favorite aspect of Elysian's Split Shot is one that hits the senses first, the aroma. Much like sticking your nose into a bag of chocolate covered espresso beans, the deep earthy aroma of espresso and creamy chocolate invade the nose and begin a chain reaction of chemicals in the brain, resulting in a deep desire to consume the aromas source.

The color is a deep obsidian with a tawny, thick head of foam which stays present for a long minute or two.

The flavor of Split Shot is a fusion of decadent chocolate and bold espresso. The combination is so well blended that it is some what difficult to tell where one starts and the other begins. They seem to be one in the same; not split at all, but one unified shot of flavor. I was a little surprised at how relatively light this beer is. It is not over loaded in the sugar department as I assumed it would be. Instead, it is light and creamy with medium-low carbonation.

My second favorite aspect of Elysian's Split Shot is the after taste. It is robust and bitter, slightly chocolaty with a full espresso flavor. Several minutes after my final sip, I could taste the bold coffee flavor of the Lighthouse espresso, a plea sent lingering flavor that had me wishing for another 22oz.

After my wonderful introduction to Elysian's Split Shot, I have placed this beer on my "Must Drink" list. When I am at a bar, and give a look down the tap handles or menu, and I see a "Must Drink" beer, I order it. No need to continue looking, no need to read the rest of the menu. There are only a few beers on my "Must Drink" list, two from Sound Brewing, one from Double Mountain, for example, and I am always thrilled when I can add another to this elite group.

When you are out experiencing Seattle Beer Week, make sure you try Elysian's Official SBW Beer, Split Shot, or grab a bottle at your favorite bottle shop. And If you are available, check out the Kick Off pt. 1 at Elysian Capitol Hill, Thursday night at 6pm, where Split Shots will be flowing like milk and honey in the city of coffee and beer.

Cheers.

(Post and photo by Dean Westling)

Thursday, May 3, 2012 @ 7:02pm

Seattle Beer Week 2012 Baby!

We are approaching a glorious time in Seattle and not just because the sun has returned, the days are getting longer, and there is a super hero AND a super villain battling it out in the Emerald City. (Awesome, right?) The glorious time I am referring to is Seattle Beer Week, an entire week of micro brew fueled fun.

With well over a hundred events taking place all over Seattle, this week can be one of the most overwhelming weeks in the city. But it's a good overwhelming feeling, not like tax season, the holidays, or the moment you realize the Ms are not going to redeem themselves. More like the week leading up to vacation, when you have to get all your projects done at work so you can full on relax.

In order to help you make sense of Seattle Beer Week, we have hand selected (rather than machine selected) a few of the events that we are most excited for, many of which we will be at! (an * indicates we WILL be there, come hell or high alcohol)

*May 10th, 5:00pm SBW Kickoff Pt. 1, Elysian Capitol Hill Seattle Beer Week Kicks off with the tapping of the official 2012 SBW Beer Split Shot, an espresso milk stout brewed by Elysian Brewing Company. Come rub elbows with your fellow beer geeks, including the Life by the Pint crew and enjoy a pint or three. Seattle Beer Week organizers will be making a speech at 6pm to mark the beginning of a wonderful week of beer events across the city.

May 11th, All Day, Back in Black, Brouwer's Cafe Do you love stouts? Do you love hard to find beers? Then you must love hard to find stouts! Every year Back in Black Stout Fest at Brouwer's is one of SBW's most popular events. Come sample large batch, small batch, hard to find, crowd favorites, stout golden-boys (I'm looking at you Parabola) and everything in between. My favorite stout of 2011? Empire Strikes Black from Sierra Nevada. I had to try that one on principal. This year if they have a stout titled "Nectar of the Nights Watch", or "Toasty Targaryen" I might just buy the whole keg. On principal.(#nerdjoke)

*May 11th, 4:00pm, Terminal Gravity vs Double Mountain, Noble Fir Large events like Back in Black, are a big part of Seattle Beer Week, but for me an equally big part is enjoying the smaller events such as Terminal Gravity vs Double Mountain at the Noble Fir. Two wonderful Oregon breweries going head to head, hop to hop, and pint to pint at the Noble Fir in Ballard. If you have never been to the Noble Fir, you are missing out. An unpretentious, mellow, charming beer bar on Ballard Ave where you can sip hard to find beer, watch the Ms, and thumb through the best travel/adventure library I have ever seen outside of a bookstore or university.

*May 12th, 2:00pm, Life by the Pint Brewery Crawl, NW Seattle NW Peaks, Hilliard's, Maritime, Hale's, Fremont Brewing...and friends. You know you want to join! For more information, head here: Life by the Pint Brewery Crawl: NW Seattle Edition.

*May 14th, 6pm, West Sound and East of the Mountains Brewers Night, Naked City Taphouse As if I needed another reason to visit one of North Seattle's premiere beer spots, Naked City Taphouse went ahead and created one anyway. They will be pouring beer from 8 different breweries hailing from the less traveled regions of the state. With so much great beer being produced within Seattle city limits, it's easy to forget what else is out there. This event will remind you. I'm almost certain you'll be able to try at least one beer you've never had before, and may not see again in these parts for some time. I don't know about you, but I always get excited about the prospect of trying rare and hard to find beer. Brewers from several of the featured breweries are scheduled to be on hand.

*May 15th, 5:00pm, 4th Annual New Brewer's Night, Park Pub There are a lot of newer breweries on the scene who have been working their asses off to make a name for themselves. So show a little local support and go out and have a pint from youngsters NW Peaks, Hilliard's, Twelve Bars, and Church Key Can Company.

*May 16th, 7:00pm, SoDo Bros, Fiddler's Inn The boys from Schooner Exact, Two Beers, and Epic Ales will be pouring their South of Downtown beer in NE Sea-town. I will be there in hopes of getting another taste of the Oyster Stout from Epic Ales. It is one of those beers whose flavors are haunting. When I sampled it at Cask Fest, I was shocked at how much this beer effected me. Now I can't get it out of my head as its woody, sour, briny flavors haunt and titillate my dreams.

*May 17th, All Day, SOUR FEST, Brouwer's Cafe SOUR FEST! An event so pucker-tastic, so eye squintingly sour-ific it can't be explained. Well..sure it can. Tons of sour beers. More than you can try. If sour beers are your thing (as they are mine!), this is your event. Arrive early, as this event gets hoppin'. Pun not intended. Lupulin levels tend to be on the low side at Sour Fest. (#beernerdjoke)

May 18th, 8:00pm, Beer Cocktails, Liberty An exploration of beer and liquor. It sounds strange, I know, but beer cocktails are delicious when prepared correctly. This is the kind of beer event that you will only find during SBW. Check it out and get inspired.

So those are our recommendations for Seattle Beer Week. Be sure to check out the SBW website for more information on the events above and some of the more fancy happenings.

Remember when planning your own event calendar that this week is all about having fun and enjoying the wonderful micro culture here in the Emerald City. So try something new, enjoy an old favorite, expand your beer world, be safe and have a great time!

Cheers!

(Post and Photos by Dean Westling and Jeff Soderquist)

Related 2011 posts:

Seattle Beer Week Has Arrived, Prepare for Pints

The First Third, Seattle Beer Week Review

Tuesday, May 1, 2012 @ 5:17pm

The Life by the Pint Brewery Crawl: NW Seattle Edition

Over the last year, we have done a lot of writing about the various establishments in Northwest Seattle and the fantastic micro brew being produced there. The micro brew culture of NW Seattle is seeded with breweries and micro brew pubs all with in a causal stroll of each other. Recently the arrival of NW Peaks and Hilliard's Beer has solidified Northwest Seattle's hold as a Mecca for beer drinkers from around the city and beyond. In order to bring these fantastic breweries and their relative closeness to light, on Saturday, May 12 at 2:00pm we will be embarking on a 2.3 mile stroll from Ballard to Fremont, down the lovely Burke-Gilman trail, sampling some of the finest beer from the Pacific Northwest. And it just so happens that The Life by the Pint Brewery Crawl: NW Seattle Edition coincides with Life by the Pint's 1 year anniversary. More of a reason for delicious beers, right? Right.

We will be starting at NW Peaks Brewery, the smallest brewery on the crawl to sample some of Kevin Klein, aka Dr. Peaks' finest spring beers. We have talked up NW Peaks a lot here at Life by the Pint, and now it's time for you to see why. The beer is bold and flavorfull, the approach is unique and creative, and the vibe is low key and local. Just what the Dr. ordered. Dr. Peaks, that is.

After a pint or two and some laughs, we will be departing NW Peaks for a short hike around the block to another new comer on the Seattle micro scene, Hilliard's Beer. An impressive location and operation, Hilliard's Beer opened it's doors and fired up the canner in 2011 and since then has been a staple in the Seattle canned micro world. The ambers are hoppy, the blondes are malty and the stouts are dry. I hate to say that I still have not tried their saison, so you know what my first pint at Hilliard's Beer will be.

Up next is a staple of the NW Seattle beer world, Maritime Pacific Brewing Co. This family owned Ballard "hop"-spot opened in 1990 and since has built a loyal following with such wonderful beers as the Islander Pale, Old Seattle Lager and of course, possibly the most celebrated of all Seattle beers, Jolly Roger.

After a well crafted brew at Maritime Pacific, it's time to hit the Burke-Gilman trail, for a stroll to another well-known Seattle establishment, Hales Ales. For me, Hales is all about cream ales. I love their HSB or "Hales Special Bitter". This fantastically creamy special bitters is like an English silk scarf stuffed into a cool pint glass and blown over by the Queen herself. Mmm. I want one now. And their Supergoose IPA aint nothing to laugh at either.

By now, I am sure everyone will be feeling top-notch, which means it's time to hit the Burke-Gilman trail again, this time for a little longer of a stroll. Depending on the attitude (drunkenness..) and size of the group, half way down the Burke-Gilman trail lies Fremont Mischief Distillery, the only distillery in Fremont. Makers of fine whiskeys, gins and vodkas Mischief is, in my opinion, worthy of being added onto a brewery crawl. Just an option. A very mischievous option.

The final destination on the Life by the Pint Brewery Crawl: NW Seattle Edition is Fremont Brewing Company. Fairly new to the scene, when compaired to Maritime and Hale's, Fremont Brewing has made a huge name for themselves in making socially conscious beer with flavors that astound beer lovers. Their Urban Beer Garden serves eight beers including a weekly cask rotator which is always interesting. Right now, the cask rotator is the Interurban IPA with raspberries and chrysanthemum. Sounds like a springtime, hop filled dream.

Now for the nitty-gritty. How to sign up? There really is no "sign up", though if you are planning on joining, please head over to the LbtP Facebook page and let us know you will be attending. Most of these places can handle quite a few people, but if we are rolling with a huge crew, I'll need to give them a heads up. What to bring? Well, you are an adult (21+ please), so you know what to bring. This is a free event, and you are responsible for all your own drinks, food, and transportation. And in situations like this cash is king, and if it's raining, a quick bus ride might be in order. All stops? No need to come to all the stops if you are only interested in one or two. There is a general schedule below.

This is a very loose outing, with little structure, but you can expect fun people, good beer and a unique afternoon. So come on out and celebrate the vibrant and exciting brew culture of Northwest Seattle with Life by the Pint!

Cheers!

Start: May 12th

2:00pm NW Peaks Brewery, 4912 17th Ave NW Ste. B, Seattle, Wa, 98107

3:00pm Hilliard's Beer, 1550 NW 49th St. Seattle, Wa, 98107

3:45pm Maritime Pacific Brewing Co. 1111 NW Ballard Way Seattle, Wa 98107

4:45pm Hale's Ales, 4301 Leary Way NW, Seattle, Wa, 98107

5:45 Fremont Mischief Distillery 132 N Canal St. Seattle, Wa 98103

6:15 Fremont Brewing 3409 Woodland Park Ave N. Seattle, Wa, 98103

From Life by the Pint

Thursday, April 26, 2012 @ 8:02pm

Spring Beer Events!

It's beer season in Seattle everyone! We made it through the snow and rain of the nasty months, and have come out onto the plateau of spring and the delicious beer that awaits. Over the coarse of the next couple months there are enough events, releases and festivals to fill an imperial pint, making spring the most vibrant and exciting time of the year for micro brew in Seattle.

First up is Seattle Beer Week, ten days of beer based fun, starting on Thursday, May 10th and running through Sunday, May 20th. All over the city, beer bars will be hosting events ranging from brewers nights, to beer style festivals, to dinner/beer pairings. Seattle Beer Week offers beer enthusiasts a chance to try new brews, celebrate old brews and share experiences with like minded friends. There is an event for everyone during Seattle Beer Week, weather you are into IPA's, stouts, sours, ciders, old world styles or wildly experimental brews. Head over to The Seattle Beer Week website and start planning your SBW adventure! As the date gets closer, we will take a more in depth look at the events that make up Seattle Beer Week.

Up next is the Life by the Pint 1 year Anniversary Pub Crawl! Yes folks, Life by the Pint has turned 1 and it's time to celebrate. May 12th will be an afternoon of friends, fun and brews as we walk the Burke-Gilman Trail sampling some of the cities finest beers. Starting at NWPeaks Brewery in Ballard at 2:30pm, we will move to Hilliard's Beer, Maritime Pacific Brewery, Hales Ales and end in Fremont at Fremont Brewing (with a little Mischief on the way?). For more information, follow us on Facebook and Twitter @lifebythepint.

Last but not least of the events to add to your calendar is the Washington Brewers Festival, put on by the Washington Beer Commission and held at Marymoor Park. The largest of the Washington beer festivals, and my favorite, this gathering of brewers and beer lovers takes place fathers day weekend and showcases the exciting micro brew climate of Washington State. Sample top notch brews from such favorites as Black Raven, Boundary Bay, Foggy Noggin, Skookum and Iron Horse Brewery. If you go to one beer festival this year, let it be this one. Well organizing, well executed and well brewed, this beer event will prove a memorable Fathers day for any brew lovin' dad.

So, that's what's on the frothy, frosty horizon of the Seattle beer scene this spring. All three of the events covered above will be dissected further by Life by the Pint in future posts, so be sure to check back on receive more info, and don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter @lifebythepint. .

Keep the pints cold and the ale fresh!

Cheers!

(post and photos by Dean Westling)

Monday, April 23, 2012 @ 4:03pm

The Sunday Fill: Das BOOT!

Welcome back to The Sunday Fill! I have had several growler free Sundays, and let me tell you, that is not the way to spend your Sunday. Knowing that there is an ice cold growler of beer in the fridge, fresh from the tap, is the only way to ease yourself back into the work week.

This weeks Sunday Fill comes from Double Mountain Brewery located in Hood River, Oregon. Makers of such fine beers as The Vaporizer and Hop Lava, this Oregon brewery has been cranking out fantastic beers since 2007. My fill this Sunday is Das Boot, an altbier hopped like a Pac Northwest pale. The color is an earthy brown with a fluffy white head of foam. The aroma is of spicy, citrus hops and warm malt notes. The flavor is nutty and toasty with a nice hit of carameled bread, and deliciously hoppy. The malts are German indeed, and the cold fermentation gives it a rounded mouth feel. The hop profile is a well balanced mixture of German hop spice, and citrus, floral West Coast bitterness.

Das Boot from Double Mountain is an interesting beer and I was thrilled to find it on tap at Old Town Alehouse during their half price growler fill Sunday. This is a beer my wife and I both can get behind 100%. She loves the old world malt flavors, and I am a child of the West Coast hop world. Das Boot holds the best of both styles within it's earthy body and beneath it's ivory white head of foam. Delicious.

Cheers!

(Post and Photos by Dean Westling)