Each year, Wallingford’s beer mecca, Bottleworks, celebrates its anniversary by bringing out a limited edition beer brewed by a local/regional craft brewer. To mark the bottle shop’s ninth anniversary this year, they ventured down to Northern California for the services of Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing. For those who have had the opportunity to drink some of Vinnie’s creations, this is exciting news. Not only does the man make some of the best IPAs around (Blind Pig, Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger), he’s also a master with barrel-aged Belgian-style sour beers. His …-ation line of beers (Damnation, Supplication, Sanctification, etc) rightfully have beer geeks shitting their pants in anticipation. Now we in Seattle get to thumb our noses at Northern California beer enthusiasts because Bottleworks IX is just for us. The beer is called Deviation and it’s a blend of three Russian River batches: PH1, Sonambic and Orphan Ale. It’s also bottle-conditioned with Brettanomyces, a type of yeast that gives the sour beers their distinctive qualities, described on the Russian River website as “rich aromas and flavors of earthiness, leather, smoke, barnyard, & our favorite descriptor–wet dog in a phone booth.”

All this talk of barrel-aging, weird yeasts and beer blending may sound like pretentious beer snob stuff. But trust me, if you have even a remote interest in sour beers, this is something you’ll have to try. 750 ml. bottles will be available at Bottleworks on Tuesday. I believe they’re going to cost $20 and there will be some kind of limit on how many you can buy (for me, $20 creates its own limit of just one). I’ve also heard whispers that a keg of Deviation will be on at Brouwer’s sometime this week. Not sure when, but keep that in mind. I’ve also heard a rumor that the beer for Bottleworks X in 2009 is coming into focus. Something to do with cherries and a brewery from Colorado. See you in line at Bottleworks on Tuesday.

Alaskan Big Nugget ’05, ’06, ’07
Anacortes Old Sebastes ’06, ’07
Anchor Old Foghorn ’06, ’07, ’08
Anderson Valley Horn of the Beer
Boulder Killer Penguin
Boundary Bay Old Bounder
Bridgeport Old Knucklehead
Diamond Knot ’06
Dick’s Barleywine ’05
Elysian Cyclops
Fish Leviathan ’06, ’07
Full Sail Old Boardhead ’06
Great Divide Old Ruffian
Hales Rudyard’s Rare ’05, ’06
Heads Up 9 Millimeter FIRKIN!
Hood Canal Briedablik ’05, ’06, ’07
John Barleycorn
JW Lees Harvest Ale ’05
Lagunitas Old Gnarleywine ’04, ’06, ’07
Leavenworth Old Grumpy
North Coast Old Stock
Pacific Rim Castaway ’06
Pike Old Bawdy ’07, ’08
Pt Townsend
Rogue Old Crustacean
Scuttlebutt Old No. 1 ’06
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot ’06
Skagit River Two Penny ’06
Stone Old Guardian
Walking Man Old Stumblefoot ’06, ’07
Water Street Old Wookie

Looks to be a pretty thorough pick of all the Pacific Northwest examples of the style with a few from California and Colorado thrown in for good measure. There’s a bit of overlap with Brouwer’s Hard Liver festival later in the month, but there are still a good number of selections particular to this festival. Barleywine fans should be excited.

In addition to Studach relating stories about Maier and the early days at Rogue, there will be a few special Rogue beers on tap (other than the Hazelnut Brown) and prizes will be given away. The festivities get under way at 8 pm. Yes, it’s a Monday night, but this might be worth making the trip out to the corner of Latona and 65th. You can always call in sick on Tuesday.

1 token = schooner of domestic craft beer
2 tokens = schooner of Belgian beer OR sampler of all six domestics
4 tokens = sampler of all six Belgians

Here’s a list of the beers offered:

Sampler 1
Elysian – Bifrost
Elysian – Jackfrost (JD barrel aged)
Great Divide – Hibernation
Deschutes – The Abyss
Sierra Nevada – Celebration
Full Sail – Wreck the Halls

Sampler 2
Elysian – Bête Noel
Brasserie d’Achouffe – N’ice Chouffe
Brouwerij Het Anker -­ Gouden Carolus Noel
Brouwerij Huyghe -­ Delirium Noel
Brasserie St. Feuillien -­ Cuvee de Noel
Brasserie Dupont ­- Avec les Bons Voeux

This is a solid lineup and the sampler format is a great opportunity to taste several very good Belgian beers in one sitting without paying $8-10 a glass. The festival gets under way at Elysian’s Capitol Hill location (1221 E Pike St.) at noon on Saturday 2/23 and runs until 10pm.

Collins owner Seth Howard was kind enough to take a few minutes to write out the list of beers for me. One that really caught my eye was the Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout, a beer from Colorado that people have been raving about lately. This is the first time I’ve seen it in Seattle. Other highlights include the Deschutes The Abyss (also an imperial stout) and various vintages of barleywines dating back to 2004 from breweries like Anchor, Moylans, Full Sail, Rogue and Hale’s. Here’s the entire list:

Anchor Old Foghorn ’06 & ’07 (barleywine)
Avery Hog Heaven (barleywine)
Avery The Reverend (Belgian-style quadrupel)
Boundary Bay Old Bounder (barleywine)
Deschutes The Abyss (imperial stout)
Full Sail Old Boardhead ’05 (barleywine)
Great Divide Old Ruffian (barleywine)
Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (barleywine)
Hair of the Dog Fred (strong ale)
Hale’s Rudyards Rare ’05 (barleywine)
Heads Up Brewing 9MM IPA (cask-conditioned in a firkin)
Left Hand Widdershins (oak-aged barleywine)
Moylans Old Blarney ’06 (barleywine)
North Coast Old Stock (barleywine)
Oskar Blues Ten Fidy (imperial stout)
Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner
Rogue Old Crustacean ’04 (barleywine)
Speakeasy Double Daddy IPA
Stone Double Bastard (strong ale)
Stone Old Guardian (barleywine)
Winthrop Barleywine ’04

The festival starts this Friday, February 22nd and will run until the beers are gone, which should be about a week or so. I plan on being there early and as often as my liver function will allow. Yes, these are big beers with a lot of alcohol–even one or two can put a serious dent in your sobriety level. So take a bus or bring a designated driver whom you can tempt and taunt mercilessly as you sample these delicious beers.

At the Pike, $65 per person (before tax and tip) gets you three courses: choice of soup or salad, meat, seafood or vegetarian entree and one of two desserts. Each course is paired with a beer, a couple of which are special cask versions made specifically for the dinner. The beers offered include the Kilt Lifter, Naughty Nellie, Pike Pale Ale, XXXXX Stout and Old Bawdy Barleywine. You also get an amuse and an apres to begin and end the meal. The amuse of organic radishes is served with a taste of the unfermented wort used to make the Kilt Lifter earlier that day. That should be interesting. And, if you’re not into beer, Pike is also offering the same menu with wine pairings for $75.

At Hale’s, $48 per person or $85 for two (before tax and tip) gets you four courses: an appetizer and soup, the choice of meat or fish entree and a dessert. Each course is paired with a beer. The beers include the American Pale Ale, Irish Nut Brown, Belgian Dubbel, German Kölsch and Wee Heavy Winter Ale. I believe the Belgian Dubbel is something they don’t normally brew, while the others are part of their regular seasonal lineup.

It’s a good idea to call ahead if you’re interested. Both breweries are accepting reservations now.

I got over to Collins a few hours before the Super Bowl yesterday. It was a great time to go. Only a handful of people were there and everything they tapped on Friday was still available. It was tempting to stay all day and try all 15, but I exercised moderation and avoided alcohol poisoning. Collins is offering each beer for $4 a glass (a generous 10-12 ounce goblet) or 3 for $10, so my lady friend and I ordered one set of 3 plus an extra. The highlight of the four beers we tried was the North Coast La Merle, a saison whose tasty balance of peppery spice and bready yeast made it one of the better American attempts at a saison. We also tried the Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence (a bit too bitter and funky until it warms up and the chocolate emerges), the Water Street Big Phat Morning Wood (wood-aged sour beer that was interesting but didn’t have the puckering power that I like in my sour beers) and Avery’s the Reverend (a rich, strong and complex quadrupel that’s nice to share but is a bit much for a full glass).

Here’s a list of all the draft beers available:

Allagash Wit
Allagash Curieux
Avery the Reverend
Great Divide Hades
Lazy Boy Belgian Strong Ale
New Belgium Eric’s Ale
North Coast La Merle
North Coast Brother Thelonious
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence
Ommegang Wit
Rogue (Issaquah) Menage à Frog Tripel
Russian River/Avery Collaboration Not Litigation
Stix de Santis Strong Ale
Unibroue Trois Pistoles
Water Street Big Phat Morning Wood

In addition to the draft selections, there are a few other options available in bottles. Also, the food menu has taken on some Belgian additions including a variety of dishes with mussels and a chicken and lobster waterzooi. (Waterzooi is a kind of Belgian stew. I hear the word actually translates to “watery mess,” but I’m thinking it tastes better than that.)

The beer definitely tasted good. If you have any interest, I’d recommend getting over to Collins soon. I’m going back for happy hour tonight to take advantage of that 3-for-10 deal before these beers are gone.

If you haven’t checked out Saké Nomi yet, now’s a great time. Here are some things they have coming up:

• New Saké Unveiling – on Saturday, February 2nd, from 12-8pm, 10 imported saké new to Washington will be available by the glass. Several of these are from some of Japan’s oldest and most prestigious breweries. It’s a good opportunity to try some new stuff before shelling out for an entire bottle.
• Sushi Suiyobi (aka Sushi Wednesday) – due to customer demand for sushi, Johnnie and Taiko have partnered with J Sushi in the ID to try out a Wednesday sushi night on a trial basis. The deal is you order one of three sushi sets (two have different varieties of fish and one is vegetarian) by calling Nomi no later than noon on Wednesday. The sushi is delivered by 6-6:30 that night and then you chow down and pair some saké with your meal. The sushi sets run from $20 for the veggie to $25-30 for the fish. The first go round on this will be tomorrow, January 30th.

During 2007, Matt and Heather McClung and Marcus Connery worked hard to craft quality beer and make it available throughout Seattle. Back then I had to trek all the way from Capitol Hill to West Seattle to find their beers, but now you can find the occasional kegs of their excellent flagship beer, the 3-Grid IPA, at places like Brouwer’s and Über Tavern. Locals are liking their stuff, as shown by a third place for their Hoppy Holidays Winter Ale at the Winter Beer Festival and a top-three finish in the yearly IPA house tap vote at Beveridge Place.

On Saturday night, I bused it over to the anniversary party at Beveridge Place. It was a great time. Regrade Pale Ale, 3-Grid IPA and Hoppy Holidays Winter Ale were available on draft. They also tapped special cask versions of the 3-Grid and Hoppy Holidays. A lot of us agreed that the dry-hopped cask version of the IPA was the beer of the night. It took an already excellent beer to another level and was dangerously difficult to stop drinking. In addition to all the tasty beer, the Schooner crew raffled off schwag like t-shirts, pint glasses and stickers. If you didn’t go home with something, you didn’t drink enough.

You can always find kegs of Schooner’s beers at Beveridge Place Pub and the West 5. If you can’t make it out to West Seattle, keep an eye out at Brouwer’s, Über Tavern and, hopefully, many more spots in 2008.