Nah, You're Alright

Woof. Got to a point where I had decided I hated writing. So put a pout on and stopped blogging for awhile. Yeah, I know, big loss. Anyway, 'tween then and now...

Hard Liver '08 was great. Judged again this year. Good crowd. Great venue. Excellent beers. EXCEPT! There were a couple spoiled beers in the mix. Not so excellent. And a very first in my experience; I spit a beer out. Very first time in all my days as an uppity beer judge and self-styled con-a-sewer. I could not finish the taste I had taken. I love sour beers. I can handle the foulest shite beer put before me in a judging situation. But this beer (Pacific Rim Barley Wine) was supremely disgusting.

North Seattle Homebrew Drinkers entry tasting was great. Hosted here at the house. Had a good turn out. Beers we sent forward were a Dunkel Wit; nice brown/amber Grand Cru-ish beer with juicy plummy malt flavors and good Belgian-style spicy character, a Weizenbock; excellent balance of rich malt complexity and German-style wheat beer character, and a Saffron Wheat; based on SG's version in "Extreme Brewing", medium strength Belgian-syle Blonde seasoned with saffron. A richly flavored beer with warm, earthy notes from the saffron. My Smoked German-style wheat beer was going to go as the third pick. I fouled the bed thinking we could send four forward, so I kept my entry back as penance for the tension.

Cask Fest '08 was great too. Tons of great beer on hand, standouts were; Maritime Pacific's Bootlegger Bosun's Porter; my favorite local Porter with bourbon infused oak and dryhops, Pike IPA, and the wood aged Ram Strong Ale "Sleigher" with Brettanomyces. Vanilla/maple malt, firm bitterness and tropical fruit salad funk. Nummy!