Weekend Events for the Basketball-Averse

Happy Hump Day!  We’re halfway through the week and just days away from the weekend!

It’s gearing up to be a big weekend here in the Lilac City, due, in no small part, to Hoopfest.  Are you playing this year?  If so, for fun or to win (or both)?  Either way, good luck!  If you’re not planning on joining the masses downtown, fear not, for there are so many other great events going on this weekend!  The forecast calls for beautiful weather, so this should be an excellent weekend to get out and see the sights!  Check out just a few events that are going on around the area this weekend:

• Selkirk Abbey Brewing Company’s First Anniversary Party– Go wish a happy birthday to Post Falls’ Belgian-themed gem!  Selkirk Abbey specializes in Belgian-style ales, ranging from saisons to quads to IPAs and beyond.  The party takes place at the brewery (6180 E Seltice Way, Post Falls, ID) and will feature music, food, and two special release beers.  I had the pleasure of sampling one of these beers, St. Joseph, during my last visit to the brewery (read about it here), and, let me tell you, it’s amazing and will probably make all of your dreams come true.  Truly, it’s magical.  Bonus: St. Joseph in bottles is currently available for pre-sale and will also be available for sale at the party.  I cannot emphasize enough how strongly I encourage you to try it.
• Bikes, Brews & BBQs– The Kootenai County Fairgrounds in Coeur d’Alene, ID will be taken over by Bikes, Brews & BBQs this Saturday.  The event is exactly what it the name implies: there will be motocross and BMX races, a beer garden featuring a number of local and regional breweries (they’ll have wine available, too), and a barbecue competition open to both professional and amateur grill-masters.  Entrance to the festival itself is free, tickets for the brewfest are $8, and there’s a brewfest/motocross combo ticket available for $18.  A full day of fun and entertainment await you just over the state line!
• Spokane on the Rocks– Got an hour or two to kill between games at Hoopfest?  From 10am-8pm on Saturday, the Spokane Convention Center will be hosting Spokane on the Rocks, a festival featuring over 20 Northwest distilleries and breweries and their best products.  The event will also feature live music and air conditioning.  Tickets are $10 (available at the door and online) and include three samples of beer or spirits (or two non-alcoholic beverages).  Happy day drinking!
• Strawberry Celebration– As indicated by the offerings at the farmers markets, fresh fruit season is upon us.  Might I add, it couldn’t come soon enough!  Both this weekend (June 29-30) and next weekend (July 6-7), Green Bluff is throwing its annual Strawberry Celebration, where citizens from across the land are invited to head up north and pick to their hearts’ content.  Before you head up there, be sure to check Green Bluff’s website to determine which farms you want to visit, and don’t forget to stop at the Harvest House on your way out for an ice cream cone!
• Drift & Drags– Do you wanna go fast?  Would you settle for watching others go fast?  On Friday and Saturday (June 28-29), head on out to the Spokane County Raceway to watch some real-life Fast and Furious action and watch drivers test their skills on the drift course or test their speed on the drag strip.  The gates open at 6pm on Friday and at 2pm on Satuday, and spectator tickets are $12.
• Old Time Farm Days– Did you know that Spokane has a farm museum?  Yeah, it’s totally a thing!  From 9am-3pm on Saturday, June 29, the North Spokane Farm Museum (6223 W. Ridgeway Rd., Deer Park, WA) will feature events such as tractor pulls, barrel races, and live demonstrations at the annual Old Time Farm Days celebration.  Bust out your overalls, and get ready to get your farm on!

So many great events to choose from, and only a few days in which to prepare for them!  Enjoy the rest of your week, and have a great weekend!

Day Out: Schooner Exact Brewing Company

Image from Schooner Exact

When I was a kid, my family took a lot of road trips in our RV.  My dad worked in the construction industry, and many of his projects involved working on dams, so many of our trips involved driving along various rivers across the state.  More often than not, we’d pass by one of many signs featuring the silhouettes of Lewis and Clark pointing to God only knew what (Sasquatch?), indicating that a historical site could be found ahead.  My mom liked stopping at these sites.  I did not.  Being subjected to involuntary education during my precious summer months was not my idea of fun.  I remained vehemently opposed to history lessons for years to come.  Not until high school, when, on a whim, I signed up for AP US History, did I begin to take an interest in the happenings of the past.  To my genuine surprise, I loved that history class, and now, I’ll even go out of my way to learn about the places I am and their historical significance (thank you, Mr. Schneider!).  My 7 year-old self would be appalled.

Schooner Exact Brewing Company gives its patrons a hefty dose of Seattle history with every pint.  Founded by former teachers Matt and Heather McClung in 2007, the brewery’s name itself is an homage to the city’s founding: on November 13, 1851, the twenty-two passengers, all members of Seattle’s “five founding families”, aboard the schooner Exact made landfall in what is now West Seattle (read more about the landing here).  One of Seattle’s fastest growing breweries, Schooner Exact is currently located in Seattle’s SoDo district, and, within the past year, opened a restaurant in addition to the taproom.  During last week’s Seattle Beer Week, I stopped by for a bite, a pint, and some brief shelter from the rain.

Image from Schooner Exact

When I pulled up on a cloudy afternoon, the brewery’s daily operations were already well underway with brewers scurrying about and a truck out front full of Jack Daniel’s barrels waiting to be unloaded.  Taking a seat, I was pleasantly surprised to find that rather than having the restaurant area finitely separated from the brewhouse, the space was completely open: one could feasibly order a pint at the bar, then take a few steps back and be leaning up against one of numerous fermenters.  To the left of the bar stood a slightly different scene: rather than an endless hall of metallic cylinders, the wall was lined with barrels upon barrels of aging beers.  As far as immersing visitors in a full-on beer experience, Schooner Exact takes the cake.

I took a seat near the bar, affording myself an unimpeded view of the brewhouse, the listings behind the bar, and that most intriguing stock of barrels aligning the wall opposite.  Not wanting to miss out on one of Schooner Exact’s more unique offerings, I ordered up a pint of the day’s on-tap seasonal, a double IPA by the name of Evergreen.  Deep golden with a frothy white head, Evergreen greeted me with a comforting aroma of citrus with a bit of pine, the beautiful result of dry-hopping with Simcoe hops.  Along with my trusty pint of IPA, I enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich which left me wondering why I’ve never endeavored to be a more adept grill master.  The sandwich was to die for.  The pulled pork was seasoned with cumin and chili, then given a refreshing contrast by way of cilantro-cabbage coleslaw and a hit of lime aioli.  Though I’d had no doubts about it before, my lunch of one heck of a mouth-watering sandwich and a crisp and slaking IPA reassured me that my drive across the state had been well worth it.

Back to those promising and thought-provoking barrels, it turns out that barrel-aged brews is somewhat of a specialty of Schooner Exacts.  With the exception of their Barrel-Aged Imperial Porter (yes, I left with a bottle of it), all of the brewery’s barrel-aged beers are currently available only on tap.  I’ll be the first to declare that I think bourbon barrel-aged beers are the bomb(.com), but I’m more than a little curious to someday try some of Schooner Exact’s more adventurous barreled creations, such as their Kriek, aged for “over a year in [Washington] red wine barrels using a golden wheat base with Montmorency sour cherries”.  Wine and beer combinations could very well be the next big thing in brewing (check out Dogfish Head’s Noble Rot or Sixty-One if you’re curious), and I think that Schooner Exact is right on with their craftsmanship of what is sure to be a beer jam-packed with flavor and with a great story to tell.

Speaking of stories, Schooner Exact is chocked full of ’em, from the barrels it uses for aging to the names of its beers to the owners themselves.  As I mentioned, both Heather and Matt McClung are both former teachers.  A few years ago, they both gave up teaching to devote their full attentions to their brewery: Matt is the head brewer, and Heather keeps track of the books (and serves as president of the Washington Brewers Guild).  Schooner Exact began as a nano-brewery (defined as having a capacity of “three barrels or less” by Jeff Alworth at Beervana, though the Brewers Association doesn’t presently have an official definition) just over six years ago, but they now have six 30-barrel fermenters residing in their brewhouse and a capacity of over 3,000 barrels per year.  Of those beers, their flagship brew is 3-Grid IPA, named in reference to the bizarre and befuddling layout of downtown Seattle’s street system.  For those who prefer something a bit less hoppy, there’s King Street Brown, named, I can only assume, for King Street Station in Pioneer Square.  Paying homage to Seattle’s promiscuous past, there’s Seamstress Union Raspberry Wheat Ale, which I was fortunate enough to try filtered with fresh raspberries, rhubarb, and Hallertau hops at the Pine Box’s Randall event later that afternoon.  If you’re unfamiliar with the link between promiscuity and sewing, please, allow me to fill you in: in Seattle’s earlier years, it was somewhat expected that one may run into a lady of the evening here or there.  While prostitution was all well and good as a way to make a living, loitering about downtown by one’s lonesome was rather frowned upon.  The city of Seattle mandated that everyone carry proof of employment or union affiliation on his or her person, so the working girls of the Emerald City formed the Seamstress Union and took care of the area men’s tailoring and, uh hmm, other things that they may have needed taken care of….  Additionally, if you happen to be into the notion of promiscuously-inclined brews, I also recommend Pike Brewing Company’s Naughty Nellie, “named for Nellie Curtis, madam of the LaSalle Hotel (read: brothel), where the Pike was founded.”  Who knew that Seattle had such a colorful past?

I never thought I’d be all that interested in history.  Then again, I never thought I’d be a beer drinker, much less an all-out beer geek.  It’s fascinating to see who we grow up to be, find out what we end up doing, and discover what our passions may be.  I think it’s amazing that the McClungs both up and left the safety of their day jobs to pursue their mutual love of great beer and fantastic that they’ve experienced such tremendous success with their company.  I had a great time visiting Schooner Exact’s brewery and am a huge fan of both their beers and their clever infusions of Seattle history into their products.  I haven’t the foggiest idea where I’ll find myself in the years to come or what I’ll end up doing, and I have to think that, based on previous experience, it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to guess with any accuracy where or what that may be.  Nonetheless, I’m eager to find out.  Perhaps I’ll speculate it over a pint.

Night Out: Women in Brewing at The Pike Brewery

Image from Seattle Beer Week

Oh, man, is it Tuesday already?  Back to work and weeknights after two days of fun and frivolity (and Monday)?  Yes, indeed.  I can’t believe that just over one week ago, at this time, I was on the other side of the state and on my way to what would be a fantastic evening celebrating not only terrific Washington beers, but the wonderful women who worked so hard to brew them.

Last Monday, I attended the 2nd Annual Women In Brewing event as part of Seattle Beer Week, an event presented by the Pike Brewing Company and Thirsty Sisters to benefit the Planned Parenthood and the Pink Boots Society, an organization comprised solely of women working in the brewing industry..  The event featured numerous beers brewed by women brewers across the state, as well as a variety of snacks from local vendors.  The venue, the Pike Brewery’s Museum Room located in the aft of the restaurant area, provided an outstanding milieu for the night’s festivities, as well as an ever-present reminder why we were all there: because we loved great beer!

As I entered the event, I was delightedly overwhelmed at just how many people were there: tons of breweries from around the state, a slew of vendors from the area serving everything from cupcakes to oysters to pulled pork sliders, and, of course, a bustling crowd of dedicated beer lovers.  There was so much to see and to try; where was a girl to begin?

Upon entering, one of the first breweries I came across was Island Hoppin’ Brewery based on Orcas Island.  I have visited the San Juan Islands numerous times with my family over the years (Thanksgiving on the islands was a family tradition for years), and the islands’ three resident killer whale pods (J, K, and L pods) are my absolute favorite aspect of the area.  That said, nostalgia got the better of me, and I couldn’t refuse a sample of the brewery’s K-Pod Kolsch.  Light, golden, and slightly sweet, the light ale was an excellent introduction to the evening’s brews.

Making the rounds through the packed Museum Room, I got a peek at some of the vendors offering snacks at the event: Taylor Shellfish had two varieties of oysters available for everyone’s oyster-shooting pleasures, cleverly named d:floured had a couple of gluten-free treats out for sampling, and Seattle’s own Brave Horse Tavern had miniature breakfast sandwiches out for the masses’ enjoyment.  As if beer weren’t enough, there were also liquor samples available for sampling: BroVo Spirits featured a few of their herbally-inclined liqueurs including lavender, Douglas fir, and ginger.  In all, it was a feast for the eyes and the palate.

After a swift tour through the entirety of the event, I got back to beers.  As one would hope, some of Seattle’s more well-known breweries were in attendance.  A city staple, Fremont Brewing Company brought a couple of their own brews, including a bright summer ale with basil and grapefruit.  Keeping with the theme of fruit-accented beers, Naked City Brewery brought two versions of the Belles of St. Clements, actually, three versions, if you count their impeccably dressed representatives manning the taps (see photo at top of post).  The standard St. Clements is a summer saison, easy-drinking and perfect for hot summer days.  The exclusive version featured at this event was brewed with apricots, lending the brew an extra dose of very slightly earthy sweetness that left me looking forward to warmer days.  Not to be left out of the fun, Elysian was there, too, serving up both regular and Randall-ized versions of the newest release in the trip series, its collaboration with New Belgium.  The buckwheat ale alone sounded enticing, but as I’d first been introduced to Randalls earlier that day, I was eager to try the infused version of the beer.  The Randall-ized version of the buckwheat ale featured whole hops and roasted peanuts.  The medium-brown ale gained an addition of unusual roastiness from the peanuts, as well as a bit of extra bite from the hops.  The combination of flavors was deliberately intriguing and left me with inspiration for my next homebrewing endeavor.

What would a “Women in Beer” even party be without a few female brewery owners?  Fortunately, there was no shortage that evening.  Pike Brewery co-owner Rose Ann Finkel made the rounds throughout the evening, chatting with vendors and visitors, while her husband and fellow Pike co-owner, Charlie Finkel, did the same.  Haley Woods, owner of one of Seattle’s newest breweries, Peddler Brewing Company, was on-hand serving up a couple of Peddler’s brews.  Opened only two months ago, Spinnaker Bay Brewing Company, owned by Elissa Pryor and proudly holding the title of Washington’s only woman owned and operated brewery, was also present and serving up their porter.

It was truly inspiring to see so many women not only doing what they loved, but making beers that other people (many of whom were also women) loved.  I think that it is amazing that so many women, not only in Washington, but around the US and abroad, are making such waves in the modern craft brewing industry.  Looking a ways back at history, brewing used to be a task designated to women.  However, with the rise of industrial brewing, women’s roles largely fell by the wayside.  Today, brewing is, once again, becoming an arena in which women are highly active participants and are proving themselves to be undoubtedly every bit as skilled as their male counterparts.  Whether brewed by women or men, I look forward to continuing to enjoy the ever-creative and constantly growing onslaught of great beers from my home state of Washington, as well as everywhere else I may travel or find myself.  Yep, I’ll drink to that.

Additional Women in Beer Links:

3 Female Craft Brewers to Watch

Meg Gill’s Heady Run at Golden Road Brewing– Meg Gill is the owner of Golden Road Brewing Company and the world’s youngest female brewery owner

The Naked Pint and The Naked Brewer by Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune

Women of Craft Beer: A Quick List

Pink Boots Society

Night Out: Can You Handle My Randall? at The Pine Box

Image from Sound Brewery

Happy American Craft Beer Week!  I hope you’ve been having a grand time celebrating with your favorite brews and terrific company!  Coincidentally, this week is also Seattle Beer Week, and there are plenty of celebrations to be found across the city.  I attended one such event the other night at The Pine Box on Capitol Hill, where one question was asked of patrons: can you handle my Randall?

Dogfish Head’s Randall 3.0

If you are perplexed as to what this question is really asking, you’re not the only one.  Whose Randall?  Who’s Randall?  “Randall” is short for “Randall the Enamel Animal,” a filter developed by Dogfish Head which “you connect to a tap of your favorite beer and fill with flavor-enhancing ingredients.”  Wild, right?  The term “flavor-enhancing ingredients” is intentionally vague: these ingredients may include, but not be limited to, whole hops, fruit, whole spices, etc.  Paired with an outstanding beer, the flavor-pairing possibilities are endless.

On a beautiful and meteorologically fickle (it was simultaneously sunny and rainy for much of the day) afternoon in the Emerald City, The Pine Box has a dozen Randalls set up on their covered patio, each featuring a Washington beer and a fascinating addition of flavors.  Elysian Superfuzz with pineapple; Maritime Lager with lemon and lime; Sound Brewery Monk’s Indiscretion with lemons, limes, ginger, mint leaves, peppercorns, mango, and green tea; and Silver City Full Fat with maple bacon (seriously, bacon!) and peanut butter chips were just a few of the combinations available.  Where to begin?!

After a moment of consideration, I made my first pick: Iron Horse Double Rainbow with Simcoe hops, Cascade hops, and… Skittles.  Yes, Skittles!  The fruity little candies had been added, along with whole hops, to the Randall along with the beer.  It was most literal instance of “tasting the rainbow” that I could have imagined.  With the first smell, I was laughing.  It smelled like Trix cereal!  The fruity Skittles combined with the citrus and grapefruit aromas of the hops create a supremely sweet-smelling creation.  Double Rainbow is usually a fairly bitter and slightly bready beer, so I found the addition of such substantial fruitiness to be both terrifically crafty and supremely enjoyable.

As I stood giggling about my Skittle-laced beer, a few fellow beer enthusiasts were kind enough to invite me to join their table.  I was happy to accept their invitation to have a seat and happier still to enjoy some pleasant conversation over a beer on such a lovely afternoon.  It turned out that, between the four of us, we’d sampled the majority of that day’s Randall offerings and had ample opinions on each.  The bacon beer, as curiosity-piquing as it was, was not altogether well-received, though the Skagit Pilsner with cilantro and lime was a big hit.  Fremont Universale Pale Ale with mango brought forth memories of summers past, and Machine House “U-Name-It” ESB with cardamom was spiced and biting.  Having visited the brewery earlier that day, I next elected for a sample of Schooner EXACT Seamstress Union Raspberry Wheat filtered with raspberries, rhubarb, and Hallertau hops.  The raspberries lent a dainty pink tint to the ordinarily pale golden ale.  The fresh rhubarb contributed a delightful tartness that complemented the sweetness of the berries.  Hallertau hops added an extra dose of bitterness and bit of spice that balanced out the fruits’ flavors.  It was the epitome of a springy, garden-inspired brew, and I absolutely adored it.

I savored every tart sip of the delicate pink brew and every second of the company of my new acquaintances.  By this time, the weather had calmed down and settled on the sunny side.  Seattle Beer Week was in full swing, and I had another event to head to that evening.  Saddened that we had to part ways so soon, I bid a good evening to my new pals with the hopes that we may run into each other later.  In total, I left The Pine Box with more than I had bargained for: I finally got to experience the magic of the Randall filter firsthand, I gained some new flavor pairing inspiration, and I was fortunate enough to meet a new group of magnificent individuals.  In all, a great deal for $4!

Seattle Beer Week continues through Sunday, May 19th.  Check out the Seattle Beer Week website for details on additional events and news.

Night Out: Iron Goat Brewing Company

My friends always assume that I’ll be a whiz at trivia nights.  While I appreciate the votes of confidence, I worry that my trivial acumen will not meet their expectations.  Sadly, my worry became a reality the other night at Iron Goat Brewing Company‘s trivia night when I proved to be knowledgeable about Monty Python character names.  The expectation regarding my value as a trivia team member was not met.  However, our expectations regarding the quality of Iron Goat’s brews were wonderfully exceeded.

Opening nearly a year ago, Iron Goat is one of Spokane’s newer breweries, but it already has a sizable and loyal following.  Iron Goat’s name is a tribute to the iconic garbage-eating iron goat located in Riverfront Park, and the goat’s image is found on the brewery’s logo.  Along with the logo, the names of the brews also have a distinctly goat-y theme: Head Butt IPA, Bleating Red Ale, Goatmeal Stout, Garbage Pale Ale, etc.  This clever play on words and salute to a beloved Spokane landmark, not to mention the outstanding beers they produce, serve to make Iron Goat a staple of the city’s brewing culture and must-see stop on every beer geek’s Spokane beer map.

Like a few other area brewing companies (12 String, Biplane, and Selkirk Abbey, for examle), Iron Goat’s tasting room and brewhouse aren’t located where one would expect to find such establishments.  In fact, Iron Goat’s location is, quite literally, a local watering hole: it’s located in the midst of a neighborhood, and one of the closest establishments is SpokAnimal, a local humane society.  The building itself is about 100 years old and has served numerous purposes over the years, more recently as painter and co-owner Sheila Evans’ studio.  The main room of the building is now painted an altogether appropriate warm rust color and its walls are decorated with numerous goat-centric art pieces.  This room, a series of eight iron goat-topped taps at the bar, and a crowd of beer-loving trivia-goers set the scene for my most recent brew-venture.

This trip was not my first to the brewery, but it was my first time attending trivia night.  My friends and I were attracted to this evening’s contest, in particular, due to the title of one of the advertised categories: (Iron Man) Three’s Company.  Potential Iron Man questions?  We were there.  Even before the festivities began, the place was already packed with beer-toting patrons chatting away before the competition began.  The taproom itself does not offer food, but the growing popularity of food trucks meant that sustenance was not far off: Shameless Sausages was set up right outside.  What could be better than a gourmet hot dog with your favorite craft beer on a beautiful northwest evening?

Not wanting to miss out on any of the brewery’s offerings, I went ahead and ordered the sampler. This evening, Iron Goat had eight offerings on tap, five regular brews (Head Butt IPA, the Impaler, Bleating Red Ale, Goatmeal Stout, and Garbage Pale Ale) and three seasonal offerings (the Lawnmower, Cap’n Kidd Scotch Ale, and the experimental Blonde #44).  What with the warm weather and all, I couldn’t resist starting out with a crisp and rejuvenating imperial IPA, Iron Goat’s flagship beer named the Impaler.  At 8.5% ABV and 72 IBUs, the Impaler is a force to be reckoned with.  Brewed with a “fist full of Galaxy hops,” this deep golden brew gives off an aroma that is fruity and tropical, a surprise to the senses when one expects the grapefruit aroma indicative of so many American IPAs.  For all its strength and bitterness, the Impaler is surprisingly relaxing: the bold tropical fruit notes reminded me of sweet green tea, and it was all too easy to envision myself sipping away on a pint while lounging on a beach somewhere.

A bit tamer was the Lawnmower, one of Iron Goat’s spring seasonals and a pleasantly mellow ISA.  The Lawnmower doesn’t scream spring so much as it politely informs you that the season has arrived and suggests you host a barbecue so that it can attend.  The white head gives off a fruity, slightly spicy aroma.  The golden ale is a slaking combination of honey and toasty malt flavors and hints of lemon from the hops.  Its bitterness is more tepid than that of an IPA and lends itself to being a lovely spring session beer.

As the sun began to set and scene outside the windows grew darker, so, too, did the beers.  A standout standout amongst the year-round line-up, Goatmeal Stout was a fine finale to an exceptional evening of beer sampling and a comforting consolation to me upon realizing that film threequel trivia was not my forte (sadly, the aforementioned category was not confined to Iron Man questions).  This stout was the darkest of browns in color with a head the color of frothy espresso.  Unlike its brethren brews, hop aroma was not a defining characteristic of this beer; rather, a hint of chocolate was the only olfactory indication of the flavor that was to come.  With the first sip, I was thrilled to find that the texture was luxuriously creamy and provided nice, easy drinking.  As the aroma suggested, chocolate was the most prevalent flavor in this brew, though notes of coffee were also apparent.  Ending with a delicate roastiness and smooth as can be, Goatmeal Stout was a beer I could imagine becoming my go-to local stout.

With the impending summer season, Iron Goat’s already bustling taproom is sure to be even busier as patrons overflow out of the taproom and onto the patio.  On June 1, Iron Goat will celebrate its first anniversary with a party complete with food, music, and brand-new barrel-aged beers.  Eat, drink, and be merry, indeed!  At present, Iron Goat’s beers can be found on tap throughout Spokane and at beer festivals throughout the state.  I don’t doubt that Iron Goat’s faithful flock will continue to grown, and, in doing so, spread the word about Spokane’s brewing character and creations.

Thank you to Amy at Amy’s Nutritarian Kitchen for providing photographs for this post when I foolishly brought my camera but not its memory card.