Mashing-In News: Seattle Fresh Hop Fest, Vice Beer 3.0
GOOD MORNING, SOUTH PUGET SOUND!
Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025 — Beyonce Knowles turns 43 today!
Today’s craft beer news flows from Seattle fresh hop festivals and Oktoberfest guides to Vancouver brewery expansions, talent pipelines, sustainability pushes, and even the controversial rise of “beer on the rocks.”
Beveridge Place Pub and WA Beer Blog Tap 40 Freshies for Fresh Hop Fest, Oct. 9–11
The Beveridge Place Pub and Washington Beer Blog are teaming up October 9–11 for a three-day Fresh Hop Beer Festival in Seattle, featuring 24 fresh hop beers on tap Thursday and Friday and culminating Saturday with a full festival pouring 40 fresh hop beers, DJ ABV, and commemorative tasting glasses. (Washington Beer Blog)
Fresh Hop Season Meets Oktoberfest in New 2025 Beer Guide
The 2025 Guide to Oktoberfest and Fresh Hop Beers highlights new seasonal releases across Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, showcasing both Bavaria-inspired lagers and hop harvest ales timed to when farmers and brewers deem the hops ready. (Northwest Beer Guide)
Vice Beer Doubles Brewing, Expands Patio, and Celebrates 3rd Anniversary
Vice Beer in Vancouver, WA is undergoing a major expansion—doubling its brewing capacity, adding a year-round patio, upgrading its food program with a bigger El Viejon kitchen, and exploring retro-gaming collaborations with new investors, all while preparing for a 3rd anniversary party Sept. 26–28 with collabs from Cloudburst, Ism, and Fort George. (The New School)
Columbia Distributing Builds Beer Industry Talent Pipeline with Internship Program
Columbia Distributing’s Beer Careers Program is grooming the next generation of beer industry leaders, offering a 10-week paid internship that exposes students to all aspects of distribution operations, with alumni like VP Chris Watzig and 2025 graduate Rebecca Logan showing how it opens doors for both long-term careers and fresh Gen Z perspectives. (Brewbound Podcast)
Full-Tuition Brewing Scholarship Opens for Pacific Northwest Brewers
The Glen Hay Falconer Foundation is offering a full-tuition scholarship (plus a $1,000 travel stipend) for Pacific Northwest and Northern California brewers to attend the American Brewers Guild’s 22-week Intensive Brewing Science & Engineering program running January–June 2026, with applications due by November 7, 2025. (ProBrewer)
Budvar Brewmaster Talks Tradition and Innovation on All About Beer
Budvar, known as Czechvar in the U.S., is featured on the All About Beer podcast, where Deputy Brewmaster Petr Kosin explains how the brewery blends Czech ingredients, tradition, and innovation to craft its iconic pale lager—and answers the hot question of whether diacetyl belongs in a true Czech lager. (All About Beer Podcast)
Walking Away Without Regret: Derek Gallanosa on Brewing, Evolution, and Change
American brewing is at a crossroads. Some of its most talented and creative figures are choosing to step away from the brewhouse—not in defeat, but as part of a natural evolution in their lives and careers. This week’s Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast captures one such story: Derek Gallanosa’s. (All About Beer)
Boddingtons Cask Bitter Returns After 14 Years
JW Lees has revived Boddingtons Cask Bitter after a 14-year absence, reintroducing the iconic “Cream of Manchester” at 4% ABV with a new recipe using Goldings and Jester hops, praised by CAMRA veterans as a faithful recreation, and set for limited release across North West pubs and select national distributors. (Tandleman’s Beer Blog)
Fermentation Mastery: How Breweries Turn Good Beer Into Great Beer
Fermentation is where wort becomes beer, and Brewer Magazine highlights how breweries are refining that transformation: from yeast selection to reuse discipline, daily monitoring, and sensory checks, brewers are finding that smarter fermentation management boosts consistency, efficiency, and flavor while reducing risk and waste. (Brewer Magazine)
Breweries Turn to Renewables to Cut Costs and Carbon
Breweries of all sizes are turning to renewable energy like solar and wind to cut carbon emissions, stabilize costs, and build stronger connections with eco-conscious consumers, with Good Energy showing how genuine green power can future-proof brewing while avoiding greenwashing. (Brewers Journal)
Beer on the Rocks: Is Diluted Drinking the Next Generational Shift?
A new survey commissioned by LG found that more than a quarter of adults under 35 admit to putting ice cubes in their beer—often on hot days—despite the dilution backlash, suggesting the once-niche “icy beer” trend may be going mainstream. (The Guardian)
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
