Peaks & Pints barkeeps Bilbo Brandon and Mathrandir recap yesterday’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers Second Round. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers April 18 BILBO BRANDON: Beginning April 23, we’ll have cut the field of 64 Middle-Northwest ambers and reds to the Saccharification 16. April 25, it’ll drop to the Ethanol 8. April 27, we’ll announce the winner of the Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers — picked by you, of course — at our little lodge in Tacoma’s Proctor District. On that Saturday, we’ll cut the online voting at 5
Peaks & Pints co-owner Pappi the Grey is thrilled the Second Round has arrive. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers April 17 PAPPI THE GREY: Now it’s getting exciting. The grain bags are really starting to fly, and the mouthfeels are getting so thick you could cut them with a knife. OK, so that’s a horrible analogy. Point is: This is serious. Hello, everyone! I’m Pappi the Grey flying solo in the broadcast booth. Today, the Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers officially kicks off its Second Round, meaning 32 Oregon and Washington brewed amber
Today’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers is being called by Peaks & Pints barkeeps Mathrandir and Phaedra of Rohan (she can’t watch the Backwoods versus Grains of Wrath game because it’s so close). Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers April 16 MATHRANDIR: Low and behold, today marks the closing of the Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers First Round. After today’s battles the bracket will officially be down to 32 Oregon and Washington brewed amber and red ales, and breweries start hiring cheerleaders. Honestly, if it gets any more exciting, we’ll start to understand why
Peaks & Pints barkeep Lovettorenan and Monicadriel call Day 7 of the Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers April 15 MONICADRIEL: More than a week ago we pitted 64 of the Northwest’s best — voted in by the public — in a head-to-head battle of amber and red ales. Today marks the second to last day of First Round action. Tuesday, the last eight Washington and Oregon brewed ambers and red ales will enter the arena bright eyed and fresh. At the end of that day, four ambers and
In 2009, Neil Fisher began home brewing with friends in his garage. Fisher’s driveway held a lot of friends’ cars during those homebrewing days, and they all drank a lot of those homebrewed beers. Then Fisher threw down the gauntlet. He announced to his buds that if he medaled at the homebrew competition attached to the 2014 Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines festival, which was held at the time in Vail, Colorado, then he would consider opening a brewery. He won two medals. Eleven months later he poured his first beer at his WeldWerks Brewing in Greeley, Colorado. His hefeweizen
Peaks & Pints barkeep Mathrandir recaps yesterday’s action, which included a couple upsets. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers April 13 MATHRANDIR: Well, by the beard of Gimli! It’s mid-April, and confusticate if all that “madness” isn’t still in the air! What’s one to do with all that pent up “madness?” It can make for quite a dilemma. … Unless, of course, you’ve found something like Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers to help get you through. Hello Middle-Northwest! I’m Peaks barkeep Mathrandir and beer enthusiasts are voting on the best amber
You respected him when he brewed at Full Sail Brewing. You worshipped him when he was head brewer at pFriem Family Brewers. You cheered him when he help build Living Haus Beer Co. And now you applaud him at one-half of his dream brewery, Hetty Alice Beers. Gavin Lord is respected and beloved in the Oregon beer community. His latest venture, Hetty Alice with marketing manager, communications expert, gastronomy graduate, and wife, Giselle Kennedy Lord, and named after his maternal grandmother, Hetty Alice, showcases his love and passion for beer. He’s brewing inside Living Haus, which was agreed upon by
Peaks & Pints barkeeps Phaedra of Rohan and Bilbo Brandon run down today’s amber and red ales match-ups. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers April 12 BILBO BRANDON: The subject of malty ambers and red ales is, like the subject of barbecue, vexed and fraught with controversy. What constitutes a great amber or red? Who makes the best in the Middle-Northwest? Everyone seems to have his or her own favorite, and everyone’s an expert. Hello, folks, I’m Peaks & Pints barkeep Bilbo Brandon, and in late February and early March we polled the public
Peaks & Pints barkeeps Bilbo Brandon, left, and Mathrandir break down today’s Tournament of Amber games. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers April 11 MATHRANDIR: Over a three-week period, Peaks & Pints pits 64 of Middle-Northwest’s best in a malt-to-malt battle of amber and red ales. This is a tournament, folks, not a playoff. Each match is do or die — one misstep and they’re out of the dance. Not willing to put in the time, effort, and money to pull a water report and consult the available resources on brewing water chemistry, and
Peaks & Pints barkeeps Phaedra of Rohan and Bilbo Brandon call the Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers Day 4 action. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers April 10 BILBO BRANDON: Amber brewing isn’t rocket science. Take some malt, add hot water, drain water, bring it to boil, add hops, cool it, add yeast, wait, serve, and enjoy. But hidden within those folds is a complexity that defines the short steps list. Brewing an amber is easy; making a great amber is another thing entirely. Opening a discussion on which Middle-Northwest breweries brew the best
Consider the lager. Lagers are typically brewed at a low temperature to allow the yeast to reach its maximum flavor potential. The lower temperatures cause the lager to ferment at a much slower rate than ales. However, the results are a brew that is clearer than ales, which are brewed at higher temperatures. Lagers are brewed using the yeast called Saccharomyces uvarum. It does not rise to the top like the yeast used in ale but does end up at the bottom once fermentation is reached. This particular yeast does not sporulate as a result of being a more fragile yeast.
Peaks & Pints Chef Aarongorn and barmaid Rish Tolkien are calling today’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers action. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers April 9 AARONGORN: Favorites or underdogs, American or Irish, amber or red ale — it’s all the same in the Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers. In the end, brewers from Washington and Oregon states in Middle-Northwest have one chance to soak malted barley in hot water to release the malt sugars, then boil the malt sugar solution with hops for seasoning, cool the solution, add yeast to begin fermentation to
Peaks & Pints barkeeps Monicadriel and Bilbo Brandon call today’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers action. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers April 8 BILBO BRANDON: Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, Wizards, Elves, and Dwarves, to the 2024 Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers from the historic Proctor District in beautiful Tacoma, Washington. I’m Peaks & Pints barkeep Bilbo Brandon and seven years ago we challenged the public to vote for their favorite Washington brewed IPAs. We tallied the nominations and seeded 64 top vote getters in a tournament-style beer combat, IBUs
National Beer Day is today, April 7. The day is historically relevant because it commemorates the date in 1933, when the Cullen-Harrison Act, signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt, went into effect. That allowed beer to once again be legally manufactured and sold in this country. The law allowed for the legal sale of low-alcohol beer in the United States, several months before Prohibition was completely repealed. Enough states then approved the 21st Amendment later that year to formally bring an end to Prohibition, which started in 1919. So, while National Beer Day isn’t a national holiday, it doesn’t mean
Today, April 6, is the day we all celebrate New Beers Eve. This is a real thing. New Beer’s Eve was the night before the first alcoholic beer became legally available after 13 years of Prohibition. From 1920 to 1933, no alcoholic beverages were legal in the United States. Franklin Delano Roosevelt had barely been president for a month when he and a new anti-prohibition majority in Congress known as “The Wets” brought back beer. The Cullen-Harrison Act increased allowable alcohol in beer from 0.5% to 3.2%. Prohibition would be completely reversed later that year with ratification of the 21st
Peaks & Pints bartender Mathrandir announces the winners of day one of the Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers Day Two MATHRANDIR: Welcome to Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers Day Two from the historic Proctor District in beautiful Tacoma, Washington. I’m Peaks & Pints bartender Mathrandir. You might recognize me donning this year’s Tournament of Beer brackets and posters, or as a grey wanderer in the hinter lands of Eriador. I have the sole honor or announcing yesterday’s Tournament of Beer action. To recap yesterday’s J.R.R.
California is the birthplace of the American craft brewing movement. In 1965, recent Stanford graduate Fritz Maytag bought a controlling interest in the ailing Anchor Brewery and soon was brewing authentic, artful beers and reintroducing lost styles. He proved that Americans were ready for a different kind of beer, beer with flavor, diversity, and history. Anchor Brewery became the first “craft” brewery since prohibition and was the inspiration that sparked a revolution in brewing. As of January 2023, more than 1,100 craft breweries are in operation across the state, more than any other state in the nation. Peaks and Pints
Peaks & Pints bartenders Bilbo Brandon and Phaedra of Rohan launch the Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers! Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers begins There are many paths on the journey to amber and red ale greatness, but they all start with the Prancing Pony in the town of Bree in Middle-Northwest. Master Brewer Barliman Butterbur, proprietor of the Prancing Pony, poured his hallowed ambers and red ales enticing Hobbits to travel the 120 miles between the Shire and Bree to sip on the malty and caramel driven deliciousness. Wizard Gandalf the Grey even
In September 2014, after seven years of homebrewing, writing business plans, watching Viking movies, and dialing in their branding, scientist Mark Bjornstad, builder Darin Montplaisir, businessperson Jesse Feigum, and engineer Mason Montplaisir opened Drekker Brewing in downtown Fargo, North Dakota. The brewery name is a nod to the region’s Nordic heritage comprised of the words “drekka,” which means “to drink,” and “drykkr” which means “draft drink,” and “drakkar,” the name for the feared dragon-headed longships that ruled the rivers and seas of Europe during the Viking Age. Their epic adventure began with a 10-barrel system in a 5,200 sq. ft.
In 2015, Doctor of Physical Therapy Sean Buchan, microbiologist Chris Washenberger and financier Dan McGuire — all homebrewers — opened Cerebral Brewing in Denver’s Congress Park neighborhood along the city’s famed Colfax Avenue. The three met at Washenberger’s Denver homebrew club where the idea “to combine scientific methodology with an artistic viewpoint to create extremely drinkable beers spanning a broad spectrum of styles” became a reality. With their scientific background, Buchan and Washenberger want to make quality one of their hallmarks — and idea that carries through in their name. From its hop-bombs to its luscious stouts and sophisticated saisons,
Drawing inspiration from some of the best and most memorable movies and film characters in history, movie-themed beers exist to quench your thirst and complement your screen time. Movie-themed beers can make enjoying your favorite flicks just a tad more fun. Manny Chao and Roger Bialous, co-owners of Georgetown Brewing, are big movie fans and have named several beers after Patrick Swayze movies — specifically Point Break and Road House. The classic 1991 action film by Kathryn Bigelow, Point Break, stars Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah, a new FBI agent on his first assignment going up against a gang of
6-Pack of Things To Do: March 22-24 2024 The weather may be gray as we head into this first weekend of spring, but the entertainment calendar is definitely heating up. You can chill out at Melissa Etheridge at the Pantages Theater, Tartan Ball at Washington State Fairgrounds, VIVID Gala at Foss Waterway Seaport Museum, and more. GRIT & GRAIN PODCAST — FRIDAY, MARCH 22: The Grit & Grain Podcast does its best to be window into the beer world keeping an ear to the ground on local and national happenings … turns out Phantasm powder isn’t the only thing bringing
Today is National Bock Day. In celebration, Peaks & Pints offers an in-house, bock-style, flight of five beers that’s we’re calling Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: National Bock Day. Bock beer is a strong beer style generally 6.3 percent alcohol by volume and higher. It is believed to have originated in Einbeck — a town famous for brewing in the Middle Ages. Einbeck was one of the first cities to ban the use of gruit in beer in favor of hops to circumvent the Catholic Church’s high prices on gruit. The oldest written record of beer from Einbeck is from
Named for the dragon that guards the apples of immortality in the Garden of Hesperides, Dragon’s Head Cider was founded in 2010 on Vashon Island. Ignoring their last name, owners Laura and Wes Cherry planted a beautiful orchard of apples and pears with production held on site. The Cherry’s don’t believe in cold storing their apples; they press during harvest season at its peak ripeness. Once pressed, the fruit ferments in winter, is blended in spring, and ready to be bottled by early summer. Today, Peaks and Pints presents a to-go flight of Dragon’s Head Cider that we call Peaks
Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers bracket released Peaks and Pints has unveiled the official bracket for its Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers, a voter-based public tournament seeking to crown the best amber and red ales brewed in the Pacific Northwest. Patterned after the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Tournament of Beer features 64 ambers and reds brewed in Oregon and Washington, all seeded by public vote, and separated into four geographical regions: Northern Washington, Southern Washington, Northern Oregon, and Southern Oregon with only one amber or red per brewery. The Tournament of Beer: Northwest Ambers
Mosaic first entered the hop market in 2012, thanks to Jason Perrault, a fourth generation hop farmer — and hop breeder — in the Yakima Valley, where his family owns nearly 1,500 acres of hopyards. Perrault’s breeding company, Yakima Chiefs Ranches, is responsible for creating some of the more popular hops in the States, including Simcoe and Citra. The Mosaic breeding program started in 2001, when they crossed a female Simcoe (YCR 14) and a Nugget derived male, which had a linage including Tomahawk, Brewers Gold, Early Green, and an unknown variety. The test plant was called HBC 369. For
Jack Harris loves stouts. He was brewing, drinking, and celebrating stouts before he co-founded Fort George Brewery with Chris Nemlowill in Astoria, Oregon. He had celebrated the first Stout Month in the 1990s while working at McMenamins, and everywhere he moved and everywhere he brewed, he took the stouts with him, including as head brewer at Bill’s Tavern in Cannon Beach. In February 2002, Harris launched the first Festival of Dark Arts in downtown Astoria with artist and master gardener (who oversees the Fort George campus) Jessica Schleif ss a fundraiser for the Astoria Visual Arts organization. They asked the
Vivid can be defined as something that is clear, intense, and highly detailed, giving a strong impression or image in one’s mind. It often refers to a strong and vibrant experience, memory, or depiction that appears lively, realistic, or remarkably bright. Tacoma Arts Live’s 2024 fundraising gala, VIVID, is dedicated to bringing light, perspective, and joy as they move collectively toward a vibrant future for the arts. Saturday, March 23, arts enthusiasts will gather at the Foss Waterway Seaport Museum to raise critical funds for Tacoma Arts Live’s service as a vibrant hub for arts and culture. All contributions will
Outer Range Brewing founders Lee and Emily Cleghorn opened the brewery in late December of 2016, but it wasn’t their first rodeo — the two met at a home brewing party in Colorado Springs where they were both serving in the Army; Lee was a 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Detachment commander. Lee had spent his youth in the beer mecca of Brussels, where he developed a palate refined beyond his years. After moving to the US to attend college, he quickly learned he’d need to brew his own beer if he wanted to enjoy those styles again. Fast forward
New beer arrivals to the Peaks & Pints cooler Friday, March 8, 2024. Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 3.8.24 You might not think you’re in Washington state reading the Peaks & Pints new cooler arrivals list today. Our Mutual Friend? Casa Agria? More Cellarmaker? Cheers! BIERE OVALE: Our Mutual Friend Brewing: Mixed-culture, foeder-aged saison with oaky, delicate, and tart notes, plus two GABF silver medals, 4.7%, 500ml BIRDING, Fast Fashion Brewing: Collaboration with Human Robot Beer in Philadelphia, this German-style pilsner is brewed with Pilsner malt, German Lager yeast, and Saaz, Spalter Select, and
During this year’s Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado, Peaks & Pints visited Our Mutual Friend Brewing, or OMF, in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood on Larimer Street. Founded in 2012, which makes it one of the oldest breweries in River North Art District, or RiNo, and while our first impression of the taproom was a carefully curated combination of hipster cool, industrial chic, and your British uncle’s library and faux nonchalance, it would be a mistake to call OMF just another neo-beatnik hangout. The award-winning outfit — eight GABF medals, including a gold medal for Saison Trystero and silver
In the rolling farmland of Chimacum Valley along a salmon stream just south of Port Townsend, the Finnriver orchards stretch across 80 acres using more than 20 different varieties of apple tree. Their mission is to reconnect people to the land that sustains us and to grow community. They seek to create deep-rooted and fruitful connections at their farm-based taproom and rural gathering space. Finnriver’s farm and orchard is Certified Organic and Salmon Safe, and the company is a Certified B Corporation, seeking to make business a force for good. Finnriver also makes exceptional cider, thanks to head cidermaker Andrew
Peaks & Pints welcomes 7 Seas Brewing’s new 7 C’s IPA to our cooler. Congrats! It’s a Beer: 7 Seas 7 C’s IPA 7 Seas Brewing released its first of several scheduled Bridge Series craft beers for 2024 — a West Coast IPA brimming with seven different classic American IPA hops — all starting with the letter “C”. Hopped with Columbus, Centennial, Cascade, Citra, Cryo Chinook, Comet, and Crystal, 7 C’s 6-percent, bright IPA sports a pale golden hue with a citrus peel aroma that leads to a moderately bitter, dry finish. You can’t talk South
Remember when you were perched at the top of Trappers Peak, feeling exhausted but accomplished as you survey the peaks and valleys of the landscape? Remember when you felt the tug of a catch while you’re standing knee-deep in a flowing Sol Duc River? Remember when paddled through whitewater rapids of South Fork Snoqualmie River? Remember when we use to ski every Thanksgiving instead of waiting for February for decent snow? Finding your bliss in the outdoors can mean something different to everyone. But whatever it means to you, you probably can find it in the Northwest, and you can
It began in the 1700s when English brewers were favored by the Russian court. Catherine the Great wanted English beers and so the English brewed beers for her court, which at that time was in St. Petersburg. The beers had to survive the long shipping up through the North Sea, through the Baltic, up to St. Petersburg, so the English would make big, highly alcoholic versions of their beers. They called them imperial, particularly imperial stout, because they were meant for the Empress of Russia. Following the earlier trend, the Russian imperial stout style was inspired by British brewers in
In 2008, Craig Campbell and his wife, Sharon, began experimenting with making cider from dessert apples grown in their 400-acre commercial fruit orchards in Yakima, Washington. Despite naysayers who warned that cider apples required a maritime climate, Craig also planted a two-acre test orchard with 25 varieties of cider apples. Today, their two-acre experiment expanded into Cider View, a 30-acre “high-density” cider orchard. In their commercial cidery, Tieton Cider Works, their head cidermaker/operations manager of nearly 15 years Marcus Robert blends American heritage, English and French cider varietals with dessert apples to capture the best of what each variety brings
Let’s get right to the juicy stuff: New England-style, or hazy, India pale ales. They keep coming and coming with no sign of slowing down. It’s predominately what people ask for when they approach our Western red cedar tap log. New England Style IPAs are brewed to be juicy and fruit forward, even when there’s no fruit in the brewing process. You’re receiving the aroma and experience of different types of hops as well as the pure magic of brewing beer. The good news — thanks to hazy and juicy there are more IPA drinkers. Today, Peaks & Pints looks
Peaks & Pints taps Finnriver Farm & Cidery Head Cidermaker Andrew Byers’ delicious ciders Thursday, March 7 beginning at 5 p.m. NW Beverages hugs Finnriver at Peaks & Pints The last time NW Beverages distribution company reached excitement levels this high was when their sales executive Mike “Taco Boz” Bosold make homemade ice cream for the team. The Western Washington distributor just added Finnriver Farm & Cidery to their portfolio — and they’re celebrating with a Finnriver tap takeover at Peaks & Pints Thursday, March 7. On the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula is an
The five Shapira brothers didn’t know anything about bourbon whiskey, and certainly didn’t have any, when they founded Heaven Hill in 1934. Through a leap of faith, they wrote a check as a war was looming and opened shortly after Prohibition ended in Bardstown, Kentucky. Nevertheless, Heaven Hill made it through trying times and has remained in the hands of the family that started it since. Today, it’s America’s largest family-owned and operated distilled spirits producer and marketer. Their brands, including Elijah Craig, have grown beyond the company’s traditional roots as a bourbon distiller to become the country’s sixth largest
Thiols are a family of sulfur-containing aroma compounds naturally found in hops, either as free aroma-active volatiles or as non-aroma-active precursors. They produce unique and potent characteristics of exotic tropical fruit. Several of the most popular varietals of the last decade, Cascade, Citra, Simcoe, Nelson, and Mosaic, include thiol precursors, compounds that can be transformed into thiols via biotransformation during fermentation, as well as free thiols, aroma active compounds that are soluble in beer. Phantasm is a powder derived from New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc grapes, which are rich in thiol precursors that are known for creating aromas of citrus,
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 2.21.24 Five beers from 12 Percent Beer Project in North Haven, Connecticut, arrived at Peaks & Pints today. In October 2008, Brian Ewing launched Twelve Percent Imports selling imported beer to New York out of his Toyota Prius. The first beer he imported was Gaverhopke Extra, a 12 percent Belgian ale, thus the name of his distributing company. Ewing began distributing an unusually heavy roster of gypsy brewers and contract brewed beer such as American Solera from Tulsa and Fat Orange Cat Brew Co. from East Hampton, Connecticut. He eventually partnered with Alex
Beer gurus Matt McLaren (Orcas Distributing), and Ron Swarner (Peaks & Pints), and Bethany Carlsen (The Funk Busters) explore and celebrate the craft beer industry, community, and history in Tacoma, Washington, and surrounding Pacific Northwest region, with assistance from opinionated beer industry insiders, on the Grit & Grain Podcast every Friday on Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and iHeartRadio, and Channel 253. The Grit & Grain records episodes at 4:30 p.m. every Wednesday at Peaks & Pints craft beer bar, bottle shop and restaurant in Tacoma’s Proctor District. All are welcome to hang, zdrink along with them, and meet
In 1890, Peter Halajian left Armenia for Connecticut with big dreams of owning his own business. While working in a rubber factory in Naugatuck, he would side hustle homemade sweets. Five years later, Halajian opened a candy shop, then another one 25 north in Torrington, then another one in Naugatuck. He advertised with clever slogans.m Customers couldn’t pronouncing his last name, so he changed it to Paul. During World War I, the U.S. Army asked Peter Paul to make chocolate bars for soldiers. In 1919, Paul convinced his Armenian immigrant friends and family members to invest in his company, Peter
Apples were among some of the first crops grown in colonial America. Potted seedlings and bags of apple seeds were brought over on the Mayflower. The Bible-thumping Puritans were not teetotalers. Apple orchards in colonial America usually meant one thing: hard cider. Apples flourished in the fertile soil and friendly climate, and soon apples were a key part of most colonial farms and menus. When a young George Washington ran for Virginia’s House of Burgesses in 1755, he didn’t shell out for drinks — and lost the election in a 271-to-40 landslide. Undeterred, Washington ran again in 1758. And this
