beernesday

at last night’s beernesday the number of beers i needed to try was overwhelming
that is why i thank dog every day that the taster paddle was invented!

the star of the night for me was the two beers brewing evolutionary ipa

elysian brewing rapture heather ale – 7.6%  a pound per barrel of high country heather tips in both the mash and toward the end of the boil give rapture floral and piney notes
very floral, but oh so drinkable, definitely get some before its gone!

elysian brewing idiot sauvin ipa – 6.3%  an ipa both fiercely fruity and floral, made with new zealand nelson sauvin hops. strong citrus and passion fruit aroma and flavor
it is very floral, and bitter, and i’m just not sure how i feel about it.  possibly love, possibly indifference.  i look forward to trying a whole bottle of this brew to decide!

two beers brewing evolutionary ipa – 6.2%  a dry hopped, deep copper coloured ipa brewed with yakima valley simcoe, amarillo and centennial hops, then aggressively dry hopped with simcoe and columbus
yes, yes, yes! its a hop bomb of the most delicious variety.  i am a fan.  nay, a devoté

mill street tankhouse ale – 5.2%  five different malts are used to produce a complex malty texture.  cascades give an assertive hop flavour, aroma and bitterness.  a satisfying and complex-tasting beer
wow – easterners making a hoppy ale?  yay!  its a damned nice brew.

two beers brewing heart of darkness cascadian dark ale – 8.4%  this hoppy yet smooth ale is an adventure all its own
it sure is!  dark, delicious and packs quite a punch

granville island imperial ipa – 8.2%  hopped-up version of beers made famous during the british raj over a century ago.  big malt, bold hops and a higher-alcohol content
i want to apologize every time i order it, but damn, vern sure makes a tasty beer and i can’t help but order it when its available

skagit river sculler’s ipa – 6.8%  full of northwest hops and a rich and fruity malt back bone
i want to like this beer, i keep trying it hoping that maybe i just had an old bottle or something
but no, i just don’t love it

hopworks survival organic 7-grain stout – 5.3%  certified organic.  brewed with 7 ancient grains: barley, wheat, oats, amaranth, quinoa, spelt and kamut.  finished with 15 pounds of cold-pressed stumptown holler mountain coffee
if you need a coffee after its too late for caffeine, this is your salvation!  such coffee goodness

happy new year…

or happy apocalypse?!

elysian brings us the 12 beers of the apocalypse
beginning with these two brews:

In a year-long run-up to the end of all time (according to the Mayan calendar), Elysian Brewing Company and Fantagraphics Books, both of Seattle, are planning a series of twelve beers, issued on the 21st of each month in 2012 and featuring the label artwork of Charles Burns. Taken from Burns’s weirdly apocalyptic work “Black Hole,” the labels will adorn Elysian’s “Twelve Beers of the Apocalypse,” featuring the creativity and unusual ingredients for which its brewing team is known. What twelve beers would you brew (and drink) if you knew they would be your last?

First up in January is NIBIRU, named for the mysterious planet X supposedly on a collision course toward Earth. The Elysian / Fantagraphics Nibiru will be a Belgian-style Tripel flavored with an infusion of yerba maté. Combining the tasty esters of Belgian yeast and the compelling tea-like flavors of the South American herb mixture, the beer will weigh in at around 7.6% alcohol by volume. A mixture of German Northern Brewer, Czech Saaz and American Amarillo hops round out the uniqueness of this first beer of the Apocalypse. Oddly enough there’s another apocalyptic-themed Nibiru out there: a super volcano currently burbling most dangerously beneath Yellowstone National Park. It too is scheduled to end life as we know it very very soon.

February 21 will usher in RAPTURE, an ale of opulent proportions flavored with heather tips. Unlike the various Rapture events predicted by pseudoscientists and alarmist evangelicals, the beer will be very real and frankly delicious, combining the floral fragrance and slight bite of high country heather with Northwest Glacier hops in another 7% abv beer. FALLOUT follows in March, right around the time of the vernal equinox. Fallout will be a pale ale made with green cardamom.

As Earth’s last year unfolds, other beers will appear as if by dangerous magic. Persimmons, chilies, raisins, blood oranges, rosemary and other herbs will be integrated into ales, lagers and Belgian styles using the finest local and imported ingredients. These limited brews will be available in bottles and draft and at select bars and bottle shops.

We will celebrate as they are released – on the 21st of every month in 2012 – with events at one or the other of Elysian’s three Seattle pubs and at Fantagraphics headquarters in the Georgetown neighborhood. Once they’re gone, these beers will never be brewed again. Then again, come December 21, that will be the least of our worries.

REMEMBER: THE END IS BEER.