The Beer Retard

Hard to believe Seattle Beer Week is only seven days away. There’s a definite excitement building in the Seattle beer community, from beer drinkers to brewers. I’m still in awe of how many events the Seattle Beer Collective has scheduled in just four months. These guys must be exhausted. At 5 pm next Thursday, all the hard work pays off when Pike’s Double IPA is tapped and 11 days of celebration begin.

If you can’t wait a week to try it, the Double IPA is already available in 22-ounce bombers at the Pike Pub and Bottleworks. I had a bomber last weekend and the beer tastes great. It’s hoppy as hell but not harshly bitter and drinks much more easily than you’d expect from such a big beer. According to Pike Head Brewer Drew Cluley and Assistant Head Brewer Dean Mochizuki, the second run of bottles tastes even better. It’s gone through another round of dry hopping, which has given the beer a more aromatic hop character. Also, the alcohol level has come down a bit, which means it’s probably even more drinkable. The draft version at the Opening Night Party at Pike on May 7th will be this newer batch.

Once festivities begin, I plan on documenting all the decadence and debauchery. I’d originally thought that only lack of sleep and/or liver damage would limit my attack, but now I have something else that could get in the way–I’ll be working at Bottleworks. It’s only part time, but I’m excited. I’ve been working on the Bottleworks blog and now I get to play a more active role. Should be a great experience.

This entry was posted on April 30, 2009 at 8:54 pm and is filed under Uncategorized . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.