TACOMA CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL

A friend (M.), who happens to be a beer and wine distributor in the "real world," had an extra pair of tickets to the second annual Tacoma Craft Beer Festival. He dropped them by and TWT headed out with one of his pastors as his beer buddy for the night. (Hey, we're Lutheran, so it's all good.)

TASTING NOTES

All pours were five ounces into the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival souvenir tasting glass (pictured above).

Beer name.
Style.
Brewery.

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Firkin British Pale Ale.
Cask-conditioned Pale Ale.
7 Seas Brewing of Gig Harbor, Washington.

This is a great pale ale that is canned locally. This firkin version was different, yet wonderfully so. Orange peel and cloves lead the way. This feels much heavier on the tongue than it should. It feels unfinished, slightly flat, and on the verge of cloying, yet I keep sipping it. What nectar of the gods is this?

It appears a good omen for the rest of the night.

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Firkin Fresh-Hopped Imperial Red.
Cask-conditioned Imperial Red Ale.
Iron Horse Brewery of Ellensburg, Washington.

Another tapped firkin, another great ale. I asked the server if this was a firkin version of Iron Horse's Loco Imperial Red. He assured me that "all resemblances to persons living or dead is coincidental." Okay, he didn't, but it makes for a good story. He actually told me no.

However, this really was a super-crazy, hopped-up version of Loco Imperial Red. This ale was hops fireworks exploding in glorious bines, cones, and flowers. It was leafy. It was brown sugar. It was more finished than the firkin offering of 7 Seas, which in this case worked well. (Not that they could really be compared, but my mind was trying to grab for whatever familiar landmarks and landscapes it recall. These firkin ales were great and novel and, now, haunting.)

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Old Ruffian Barley Wine.
Barleywine.
Great Divide Brewing of Denver, Colorado.

I love barleywines. I love the offerings of Great Divide. I love Old Ruffian.

Intense. Alcohol bite. Brown sugar. (More) hops (than I ever remember in any other barleywine I've ever had). Figs. Over-the-top slap in the face.

This was a little too intense. I imagine this smoothing out after a couple of years in the old beer cellar. I imagine it being stellar. I imagine it served with pot roast and potatoes and carrots.

This was the first barleywine for the pastor. He seemed to enjoy it, which holds out promise for him. (He said he liked flavorful beers. He got some tonight.)

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Dark O' The Moon Pumpkin Stout.
Pumpkin Stout.
Elysian Brewing Company of Seattle, Washington.

Bitter dark chocolate. Whipped cream. Cinnamon and nutmeg. Pumpkin. Heaven.

Imagine a pumpkin pie with a thin layer of dark chocolate lying upon the body of the pie. Now imagine eating it. Now imagine drinking it. Bingo!

Or, better yet, imagine drinking bottled dark chocolate pumpkin cheesecake...

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Firkin Walking Man Homo Erectus Imperial IPA.
Cask-conditioned, dry-hopped Imperial IPA.
Walking Man Brewing of Stevenson, Washington.

This is crazy. Hops galore. IBU (international bitterness units) of 100+ which is more than evident. The pine resin flavor is almost too much. It is tempered with buttery apple and caramel squares. It is a punch in the face that approaches Pliny the Elder in complexity and as Platonic ideal of an Imperial IPA. It was good we had this later in the evening or I may have gotten "stuck" at this tap.

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Black Cherry Stout.
Stout.
Walking Man Brewing of Stevenson, Washington.

This was my final beer for the evening and my least favorite. That is somewhat unfair because it followed some spectacular beers. If I had it at the beginning, I would have liked it much better.

First, the cherry aroma is off the charts. Second, the palate is a wee bit thin, watery.

The flavor isn't as bold and confident as the aroma, but it still delivers. Hints of campfire and wood bark are noticeable amongst the primary notes of chocolate and dark cherries.

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Credit for finding many of the above gems goes to M., who directed us to some of the "must have" beers for the evening. Thank you for the tickets, M. Thank you for the great beers, brewing gods.

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P.S. If you ever have the opportunity to attend Firkin Friday at TCBF in the future, then do so. Do not hesitate. (The same holds true for a cask festival.)