Sunday May 26th, 2013

April

April 10, 2011 : By Cody Morris

It’s been a cool damp start to spring. But the days are getting longer and baseball season has kicked into full gear, whether or not the Mariners are ready. There are some pretty big changes happening to the brewery. Starting this Saturday (4/16), the brewery will be open from 12-4. This will be all Saturdays for the summer. There maybe some down the road in which I’ll be open later.

As always there are some new beers coming out soon. The Big Lyli will be out in early May, it is a hoppy Belgian golden with green tea and Simple Ale 2.0 comes out. It is a super hoppy session ale my with Washington grown malt, weighing in at 3.5 abv. Should be great for this later spring, early summer. Cinco Plantas will be brewed soon as well. It is the three grain saison brewed with Epazote and STA will be back for the summer.

Seattle Beer Week is coming up. I have been working on getting a few events lined up. I will post as those happen.

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March News

March 14, 2011 : By Cody Morris

It was a quite a busy February. Three very fun events, two brand new beers released. March looks to be a bit slower, however at least two (slim chance of 3) beers will be released. The first two I’ll detail now, while the 3rd will have its own post.

The first is The Big Fuj, the second of the imperial ‘kids’ series. It’s made with rye, peat smoked malt, brown sugar, black and white peppercorns. It weighs in at 9.2 abv and its sour! I doubt there are many beers this wild and bold in flavor.

The second is La Mesa Negra. It’s a corn-based black sour. I am releasing them mush younger than most sours on the market. I wanted to provide an inexpensive local sour to the Puget Sound. I also like the idea of people exploring their beer by being able to buy a couple bottles, try it now and try it again in 6 months.

There will be some huge changes happening to the brewery this summer. I am hoping to be finally open on Saturdays and Fridays starting mid-April. During the spring, the new 3.5 barrel brew house will be installed in the backside of the building. Once that is done, you’ll start to draft beer popping up at your local beer spots.

During the summer the front will be remodeled. I am teaming with Chef Travis Kukull to open Gastropod. A small kitchen in a small space specializing in small plates and small batch brews.

No events planned this month. But hopefully something will come to life. Otherwise, MLS starts tomorrow. MLB in early April.

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February!

February 1, 2011 : By Cody Morris

It’s the first day of February and the sun is shining, it feels like spring is just around the corner.

Some sad news. After doing my taxes and looking at the numbers, I have to raise the price of schooners from a buck to a buck fifty. I will also start offering larger pours at three bucks.

So here’s what’s happening for February.

2/4 Typical tasting room. This’ll probably be your last chance to try the zero minute IPA.
2/11 Tasting room will be CLOSED. I will be in Puerto Rico enjoying the feel of sandals on my feet.
2/17 Built Burger dinner. It’s already SOLDOUT. But if you have tickets I’ll see you there.
2/18 Tasting room will be OPEN. Not sure what’ll be on tap.
2/20 Full Throttle Bottles 3rd Anniversary Party! It’s gonna be a blast. I made a special beer for it, Erika, a lovely dark beer brewed to pair with chocolate!
2/25 Queen Bea release party. Remember Beatrice from the summer? She’s back but now grown-up. Queen Bea is a huge 8.2 abv amber made with rye, Szechuan peppercorns and cinnamon.
2/26 Washington Beer Open House. This is the first time we’ve done this. We’re trying to get all the brewers in Washington State to open their doors to the public and showcase what they’ve got.

I plan on doing beer braised in Scarlhet to share with guests along with going back to the good old days of buck beers for the afternoon. From noon to 4:30.

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Last Wednesday of 2010

December 31, 2010 : By Cody Morris

The year is almost over. 2o1o 2010 will remembered as a year of giant steps for the brewery. Starting in 2010 the brewery:

Finally received its first label approval from the TTB, labels move smoothly. A deeper understanding of the TTB folks realized, sympathy? Labels and formulas are always forming.

Ran a tasting room almost every Friday, 48 of them in total. Which could easily be the smallest tasting room in Seattle, perhaps Western Washington?

Had 12 different beers released in a packaged format. 14, if you add the 12 ounce bottles… But for unique recipes in the commercial world, 15. Here they are: Trigger Building Brown, Otto-Optimizer, Terra-Saurus, Solar Trans-Amplifier, SImple Ale, Solo (Bulgarian Gypsy), Beatrice, Lyli, The Fuj, Simply Summer, Mathilda, Scarlhet, Bier de Gourde, Project One and Simply Winter.

The bottles graced the shelves of ten different retailers: Full Throttle Bottles, Bottleworks, Malt and Vine, 99 Bottles, Beer Junction, Gravity, Chuck’s 85th, BOTTLEZUP!, Vashon Island Thriftway and Beer Authority.

Was served at 5ish places around town: Caprice Kitchen, Zeitgeist , Solo, Ray’s and enjoyed a pleasant meal in the upstairs with Travis.

Sent beer to Canada. International.

Pretty neat.

To celebrate a year of doing this, I’ll be hanging out upstairs Friday the 14 of January. I’m making a giant batch of salsa and the zero minute IPA will be on tap for its first time. Hope to see you there.

Happy new year!

PS I’m oprn 330-8 this Friday (12/31). Quite sharply at 8. I have a new years to get to.

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Tasting room hours for 2010

November 26, 2010 : By Cody Morris

So 2010 is almost over and of course we’re at the craziness that is the holiday season. I know people are wondering when will the tasting room be open, so here goes:

All fridays expect 12/24 will be OPEN. Normal hours 330-8.

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Beer and Cheese

October 30, 2010 : By Cody Morris

It’s almost the end of October here. I have now done 2 beer and cheese pairing events, the 3rd will be on 11/5 at Malt and Vine. I have been asked to put up a post about the current beers and good matches for them. At some point I will write a nice detailed post about my personal thoughts on cheese and beer. But anyhow…

Simply Summer – I love this beer with pretty much all cheeses and in all honesty I think it’s probably one of the most dessert friendly beers I’ve made. In fact it will be released next year under a different name with some slight changes. But basically any goat cheese will be a nice pair, I’ve also been very pleased with triple-cream bries as well. At the tasting it’s been Cana de Cabra and Bucheron.

Lyli – Those slightly oily swiss cheeses work awesome with this one. I have really enjoyed using Appenzeller and Gruyere. A really complex mac n’ cheese would probably be rad. My brother and I one time did a smoked mac n’ cheese, I bet that’s be a fun one. I also love this with Unagi.

Mathilda – This one is kind of an odd ball. The mint is quite strong. But I have found Blue cheeses, particularly creamy ones, like D’ambert or a Gorgonzola Dolce, just shines with it. I’d love to try a cuban sandwich with it at some time. Or a blue cheese big giant salad.

Beatrice – I personally prefer Asian food with this one, and cheese seems so European to me. But I have enjoyed employing spiced cheeses with this one, frankly those cheeses are the hardest to pair with. Often times the spice is too strong, luckily in this case Beatrice fights right back. I loved it with Beecher’s No Woman and a red pepper flake young pecorino. I once did creme fraische (sp?) mixed with Japanese 7 spice spread on pear. Pretty dope.

The Fuj – This one is pretty big, so the young cheeses better go home. I love this with a Telagio, morbier or those Chimay cheeses. They’re all washed rinds with a good level of fat and funk. But at the tastings I’ve been using an 18-month Gouda.

Project One – To match the big carmel flavors, I used that 18-month Gouda again. Mostly because it has that carmel flavor but also it hasn’t aged past the point of being creamy and/or buttery. I think it’s important to remember that the hops (not crazy DIPA levels) can really help pull out that yummy cream flavor.

Anyhow, I hope this is/was somewhat helpful. As I said I hope to write a more detailed treatise on cheese and beer.

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Beer Tasting at Full Throttle Bottles!

October 9, 2010 : By Cody Morris

So this Wednesday, 10/13, I’ll be pouring beers at Full Throttle Bottles. I’m really excited because this time, I’ll be doing cheese pairings along with the beers. Anyhow, it goes from 3 to 5 and in classic FTB style, 3 bucks or 2 with your own glass!

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September

September 2, 2010 : By Cody Morris

Ahh… It’s the second day of September. Bills are paid. The weather is nice. I know some fear summer is over. It’s always nice in September. Might even have a weekend in the 80s. I hope, there is a lot of Simply Summer left. I will be releasing two new beers this month. The first is Mathilda. A tart, rustic rye beer brewed with mint. I think it’ll go great with all those late summer harvest foods. The next will be Scarlhet, a roasted rye with cumin and caraway. At the end of the month I’ll begin brewing the Biere de Gourd. It’ll be a single batch intense pumpkin ale. I plan to document the whole process and hope to release it before halloween.

I am getting married 10/2/10 so the tasting room will be closed a few fridays. Here they are: 9/24 and 10/1. I will have a bunch of family in town and really don’t have time to run the tasting room. My apologies and I thank you for your understanding.

I will start being open different days sometime this month. I will keep doing the Friday, but pay attention to Twitter or Facebook because I will be open on a few other days and those will be the best ways to find out when.

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Awesome food event!

August 15, 2010 : By Cody Morris

This is short notice and for that I apologize. But I am really really excited about this. I will be at A Caprice Kitchen for a wonderful evening of food and beer. Big Al’s Brewing will also be there, which I am really excited to meet.
Anyhow here is the info:
Caprice Kitchen is Pleased to Announce Our
Five Course Beer Pairing Dinner
featuring
Five Unique Beers from Big Al’s Brewing and Epic Ales

Sunday, August 22nd, 6:30pm

Diane Carney from Township 18 Farm and Learning Center will guide guests through each course and share her knowledge of these locally-made brews chosen specifically to compliment the five-course meal.

$60/person
(Gratuity and Tax Not Included)
Open to 20 Guests by Reservation Only

Make your reservation online or call 206-371-2886

And of course the menu

Five Course Beer Pairing Dinner Menu

Smoked-Salt Cured Salmon w/Dill-Chevre Cheese on Crostinis
Light, Crisp Wit

Butter Lettuce Salad with Ballard Bartlett Pears, Fennel Viniagrette and Seastack Cheese
Epic Ales’ Lyli, a Crisp Wheat Beer

Duck Confit with Bacon Sauteed White Beans, Nash’s Carrots, Walla Walla Onions and Spinach
Big Al’s Brougham Bitter, English-Style Pale Ale

Pork Shoulder Braised in an Aromatic Stock of Beer, Fennel Bulb, Mixed Peppers and Tomatoes from Billy’s Organic Farm
Epic Ales’ Beatrice, Spicy and Earthy Rye Beer

Triple Chocolate Brownie with Cherry-Honey Compote
Big Al’s Smoked Porter, An Award Winning Porter

One thing I am absolutely amped about the Township 18. It’s a tiny farm down in Olympia, where a small piece of my heart remains, soggy. This is gonna to be a terrior infested learning experience along with a tasty tasty meal.

Hope to see you there!!

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Some thoughts on the three new beers

August 3, 2010 : By Cody Morris

As you might be aware. I have managed to release three new brews in three weeks. Pretty ambitious, but it’s been fun. Three more from this series will be released in September. For now enjoy these…

Lyli is a wheat and green tea. It’s really light and delicate. I recommend food that matches. I ideally would do shrimp, white fish or a mildly seasoned chicken. I also think a cucumber salad, or caprese salad would be pretty great. Sushi is an easy match as well.

The Fuj is peatsmoked malt, rye, black and white peppercorns. I think it’s either begging for a smoked brisket or kebabed veggies which the beer would act like your ‘meat’. If any vegans or vegetarians miss peppered roast beef or pastrami, you should try this one. I also think a french dip sandwich would completely rock with this beer.

Beatrice is rye, Szechuan peppercorns and cinnamon. I meant to go with spicy grilled foods. But I think it’d do quite nicely curries and moles. I’d love to cook some prawns in it. I also want to make a BBQ sauce with it.

All of these beers are pretty low in hops, meaning they are wonderful for marinades, also for an amazing reduction or to deglaze a pan. They’re fun to cook with and drink. Think of it as a sip for me, a splash for the dish.

I hope this post can become interactive. Please add any suggestions, discoveries or recipes.

Thanks! Don’t let this vaguely summer weather deter you from grilling outside, it’s still not raining and remember grilling reduces dishes by at least 30 percent!

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