Hearth Fire, Bellingham

They had a few beers on tap here so I made an event out of it. Left to Right:

Levenworth - Whistling Pig Hef
It's a hef.

Boundary Bay - Dry hopped Amber
Actually pretty good! It had a mellower sweet/peaty body that I thought was prominent with their regular amber. The dry hoppiness wasn't supper appearant but just enough that an informed beer drinker would be taken aback with a, "whats this???" Recommended if you get a chance, is Boundary making improvements?

Scuttlebutt - Pale Ale
Been a while since I've seen a scuttlebutt beverage on tap so I grabbed this one up. It had an off white thickish head that was on par with a pale or ipa. The body is light to light brown color. Very clear with a very slight haze. The hops were a smidge spicy cleary not overdone. I wouldn't say this is an outstanding pale but it's good enough to drink more than a few of and not get tired of. It had a great finish that clung just enough that you could enjoy it even after you set it down. Very good and I'll get it again for sure.

Scuttlebutt - Homeport Blonde

Scuttlebutt - Homeport Blonde

Anthony's restaurant is the only place I know to get this brew in Bellingham. Supposedly it's only brewed for Anthony's, the the internet tells me otherwise... Pretty tasty, went really well with fried oysters. Nothing too fancy, very clean tasting but not in a lager type way. Some hops, some malt, good almost citrsy smell. We'll call it a versitle drinkable beer. I'll probably get it again sometime.

Scuttlebutt - Tripel

Scuttlebutt - Tripel

This was (for me) the perfect mix of a belgian beer's sweetness with an american beer's malty/hoppiness. Great balance, it starts off with a belgian like sweetness, almost tasted like a sugarcane, and that get's balanced by a light hop taste, kind of like how bacon compliments pancakes and maple syrup, and finishes with a smooth roasty maltiness.

Start to finish, I really enjoyed this beer - I'd call it an American Trappist Style.

ScuttleButt: Homeport Blonde

For a blonde, this was sweet, not much flavor. Maybe it was due to what precluded it. This bottle was VERY carbonated. I ended up shaking it to calm it down. Overall not my favorite.

April Brews Day 2008

April Brews Day was alive as ever this year. The awesome appearance of the sun earlier that day certaintly made a beer festival very enticing. They had sold out of tickets by at least 8pm, but my memory of the event was slightly fogged. Hooray beer!

This was their second event at this site and the first with an expanded layout. The crowd was great, beer was poured, and the drink tickets were bountiful. My only complaint about the event in whole was trying to figure out if people were in line or just chatting, which was a minor detail. They had covered area's in the middle incase of rain and the main covered site was reserved for info, tshirts, tickets, and such.

Beers that stood out that day were Georgetown Brewery 9lb Porter and Flyers Pacemaker Porter. I do appreciate a good porter! Of the closest breweries to attend (Boundary Bay, North Fork, and Whatcom Brewery), Boundary Bay certaintly took the cake with most consistant and drank (being the beer is most in demand). I didn't bother to try the Whatcom Brewery and North Forks typical highlight beer Son of Frog was served a little too warm and flat due to a jockey box problem. It is generally a good beer so try it on tap at their establishment off highway 9.
-Oskar Blues Brewing was present as well all the way from Colorado! Since loosing ties with Dickerson Distributing their beer has been hard to find here in local grociery stores. "Best beer in a can" certaintly goes to them, though it would have been nice to be served from tap.
-Scuttlebutt is another favorite of mine. Hailing from Everette, this brewery does several beers worth mentioning. Their Amber, IPA, and Porter are worth trying. Since I was familiar with them I tried the Mai Bock. It was definetely a bock though it wasn't to impressed overall.
-Georgetown Brewery brought both their Manny's Pale Ale and the 9lb Porter. Both were good choices. Kudo's to their brewers for producing a full flavored beer. They will definetly be on my to do list when I make it down to seattle.

But like many things, I lacked sufficient time to make complete rounds to every tap and brewery. So to the Max Higbee Center, thank you again for coordinating such a great event!

And for the ugly, there was a theft the day prior to the event that deprived us of some quality brew from both Lazy Boy Brewing and Skagit River Brewery. More details here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/393565.html

Scuttlebutt Porter

http://www.scuttlebuttbrewing.com/beer.htm

My first sip led me to believe that there was something to be had here. Its not chalky, nor is it a bland porter. It has some really good light hop flavor. At the end of my second glass I started to get that chalky feeling in the back of my throat. Its not heavy in chocolate flavors but they are there. I wouldn't say its a "creamy", but it certaintly does go down smooth. I definetly would buy this again.