It was a icy cold day up in North Seattle Saturday morning, clouds threatening rain. But we didn't care; we were off to warm up with hearty beers and enjoy three phenomenal tours of some of Seattle's oldest and newest breweries up in the Fremont/Ballard neighborhoods. Each location brought new and interesting insights into the local brewing community. Dikla Tuchman explains... more ›

Admit it: you're a regular at the lanes, but mostly because you like to wear the snazzy shoes. Or maybe you're the ringer on your league team, and have the uncanny ability to demolish even the most lethal 7/10 split. more ›

There are some seasonal beers that I enjoy so much that I am waiting with bated breath for their arrival each year. Celebration from Sierra Nevada would be one of those beers. This fresh hop IPA is a welcome harbinger of the holidays that is sure to put a smile on many a beer geek’s face this season. more ›

This week I am checking out the latest release from Dogfish Head called Faithfull Ale. This is part of their line of beers which honor musical artists, including Bitches Brew, and Hellhound on my Ale. Faithfull celebrates the twentieth anniversary of Pearl Jam. The story goes that Dogfish asked the guys in Pearl Jam about what their on-stage beverage of choice is, and they replied that they drink lots of fruity pinot noir and Mexican lager. Taking those guidelines under advisement, Dogfish went for an ale that used black currants for a fruity note, and infused them into a Belgian style golden ale. The result is a beer that is light and quaffable, with some fruit character. more ›

I am sure that most of you, if you’re like me, have been getting your fill of seasonal pumpkin and winter beers over the last few weeks. But lest we forget, there are some fine fresh hop ales still lingering around. One of the better ones I have come across is the Cowiche Canyon Organic Fresh Hop Ale from Fremont Brewing. more ›

Enjoy a little informal science with your beer this evening. Stop by the Queen Anne Science Cafe. more ›

It’s that time of year again when winter warmer beers begin to hit the market, and serve to brace us all to bravely face the elements. Pyramid has its own offering called Snow Cap, which celebrates its twenty fifth year this season. It’s one of my favorites in the Pyramid catalog, and so I am happy to taste it again. more ›

It’s a familiar conversation that I have had with a number of people. They say, “I tried cooking with beer once but it just came out…meh.” The overall sentiment is always one of enthusiasm, which gives way to disappointment in the final product. In cooking with beer, I find one simple tip will go a long way towards helping you be successful. more ›

It’s hard to find another beer producer that says “Seattle” more than Pike Brewing. (Rainier being the only other possible contender.) Owners Charles and Rose Ann Finkel have been in the biz for a long time, making some of today’s upstart brewers look like young whippersnappers by comparison. To write up their history would be an article unto itself, but suffice it to say the company they founded in 1989 is built on a solid foundation of great food, wine, and of course, beer. more ›

If you think the Pike Place Market gets packed when the tourist season is at it's height, you aint seen nothin' yet! Last night, the Arcade Lights, an event put on by the Pike Place Market to raise money for The Market Foundation, had a showing of 70 local wineries, breweries, restaurants and confectioneries along with hundreds of locals eating, drinking and making merry. more ›

It’s that time of year again; time for pumpkin beers. This is a historic method of making beer that goes back to the early days of brewing in colonial America. There was not much available in terms of malted barley or hops, but pumpkin was abundant and therefore utilized enthusiastically as a readily available form of fermentable sugars. For modern brewers, the use of pumpkin is more about celebrating the fall season and creating unique flavors in the brew. One of the more renowned local pumpkin brews is Night Owl Pumpkin Ale from Elysian Brewing. more ›

A few Seattlest writers decided to head out to SoDo on the mission of tasting new and interesting microbrews from some of our best unknown local breweries. We had an incredible time meeting the brewers, hearing their stories and most importantly tasting their delightful brews. more ›

What did our Flickr friends find this week? Look through their photos to see the week that was. more ›

The Oktoberfest season is upon us, and this week I would like to talk about some of my favorite beers to celebrate with. more ›

What inspires drinking more than spending all day looking at the baboon exhibit with 10 screaming children at Woodland Park Zoo? Nothing. That's why the newly launching "Brew at the Zoo" after hours event is perfect for any parent or Seattle animal lover! more ›

Love it or hate it, for a lot of Seattleites, the Fremont Oktoberfest is the first official marker of autumn. And because the weather has been so unseasonable (until today), plenty of patrons of the festival needed the reminder. more ›

Fremont’s annual Oktoberfest extravaganza takes place this equinox weekend; featuring three days of beer, pumpkin carving, live music, and drunken people dressed in lederhosen. more ›

I have to admit, that there are a great many breweries in this state that I have yet to visit. With my schedule as a chef, it sometimes makes outings a bit challenging to say the least. That is at least until recently, when the restaurant I was working for sold to new a new owner, leaving me a free agent, and more importantly, with free time to go to some of these places I have woefully been neglecting. more ›

Think back, won't you? Back to a time of innocence. A time before everyone and their mom went to Zombie Walks. A time when the most annoying group of people weren't covered in blood--they were covered in Seinfield-esque puffy shirts. Oh, the days when pirates re-roamed the Earth. Those were dark days, and for one day each year, they return, like non-undead douches from beyond the grave. Today is that day. more ›

This is a special time of year for beer lovers. Octoberfest is approaching, bringing a bevy of great beer releases with it. But before Octoberfest, there is a celebration of a different sort for hops lovers, as the hops harvest rolls in and fresh hop ales are offered by brewers which take advantage of the bounty. more ›

Ask any veteran taster, be it in beer or wine, and they will tell you to never let your evaluation be colored by a preexisting notion of a particular archetype of a style. You should judge each beverage on its own merits without holding it up to a specific model. However, I will admit that I find this very hard to do in reality. Just as I tend to evaluate a Saison with Saison Dupont in the back of my head, I have a notion that Hop in the Dark is everything I am looking for in a Cascadian Dark Ale, and it is one that I tend to measure others against. more ›

Our neighbors to the South held their 3rd Annual Tacoma Craft Beer Fest yesterday, our own Dikla attended and reports back on an afternoon of beer tasting out in the sun. more ›

For those of you whom are familiar with Finn MacCool’s on the Ave or McGilvra’s in Madison Park, the Chieftain is the newest addition to Capitol Hill’s bar scene, directly across the street from the Seattle U campus. more ›

Tacoma readers, we know you're out there, and we know you're thirsty. This one's for you. more ›

An old Rainier slogan held, "There's new vigor and strength in every drop." The Swap drivers and passengers will need every bit of this strength to get to Texas and back in 8 days. Even as we wish them the best of luck, we also want them to hurry back—we need a little more Lone Star in our lives. more ›

When you think about beer from Japan, most people will have a knee jerk response of either Asahi or Sapporo. While these are nice enough beers, there is another side to Japanese beers that I feel bears exploration. more ›

Just imagine, if you will, being the 1800’s version of a beer geek. You stroll over to your local brewery and get a galvanized pail full of locally brewed beer. The inside of the pail is coated with a layer of lard to insulate the pail and allow for a slightly higher fill. And as you make your way home, pail swinging, the carbon dioxide bubbles released by the beer make a gentle gurgling sound as you walk. Almost like growling… more ›

Pulling in to Santa Rosa, I was a bit taken aback by the main drag through town being closed for a “Cattle Drive” which involves a head of cattle being driven through town. As cow pies were being hosed off the streets and the dust cleared, I finally made my way into Russian River. I just had to do the tasting flight, which consists of a dozen beers. It was pretty fun to try a bit of all the beers on the menu, and it gave me a good idea of ones I wanted to try a full pint of later on. Three different IPA’s were being served: Russian River IPA, Pliny the Elder, and Blind Pig IPA. Also being served were a white beer, a stout, a blonde, and three different barrel aged sour ales. more ›

Are you in that 5% of the population that has Celiac disease, or one of the 1 in 7 with a gluten intolerance? The Seattle Mariners have you and your health concerns covered. more ›

Ever wonder what beer was like in the good old days? Those days before Prohibition reared its ugly head? Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company answers the question with their Pre-Prohibition Pilsner that is simply called “Summer Beer”. In those days, the pilsner style beers were darker and maltier than their modern counterparts. They were hoppier, with more of a dry finish. Refrigeration was a challenge back then too, so sometimes the lager yeast was replaced by ale yeast, to allow for a higher fermentation temperature. more ›