Brewery Visits Archives - Page 16 of 19

OCTOBER BEERCATION – ASHEVILLE – CELLAREST BEER PROJECT

The second stop on the beercation was in Asheville, NC at Cellarest Beer Project, where I had the pleasure to attend their first annual Cellarfest. I drank three tasty beers, of which my favorite was the Hellion. The description of each are as follows:

Xanadu Oak Aged Festbier – Brewed with Zillicoah Beer Company, this fest style lager was made with German grown but NC malted Ursprung Grain and Crystal Malt from Epiphany malt house. Hopped with Northern Brewer hops and fermented in stainless steel before being lagered in our American oak puncheons with French oak heads for 16 weeks. Notes of baked rye bread, honey and woody spice. 6.5% ABV.

Etiolation IPA – Fermented in cherry wood with our house wild yeast caught on Haywood Road. Made using our custom single source NC malt and Streaker Oats from Riverbend Malt House and Idaho 7 and El Dorado hops. Notes of pineapple, grapefruit and papaya. 7% ABV.

Hellion Oak Aged Helles Lager – Brewed using Riverbend Southern Select and Mt. Hood hops and fermented with our choice lager yeast. It was then lagered in our M+ American oak puncheons with French oak heads for 19 weeks. Notes of wood vanillin and spice, soft dough with a noticeable tannin structure. 5.5% ABV.

Other trips to Asheville have included visits to these breweries: Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Burial, Greenman and Wicked Weed.

The following are pictures from the 1st Annual Cellarfest:

Outdoor Seating

OCTOBER BEERCATION – KNOXVILLE – BALTER BEERWORKS

The first stop on the October Beercation was in Knoxville, where Hoppy visited Balter Beerworks. Here he imbibed a Falconer’s IPA hopped with Falconer’s Flight and Simcoe hops at 6.8% ABV and 50 IBU. For those of you that may not know, Falconer’s Flight hops were developed by Hopunion LLC in 2010, and are an exclusive proprietary hop blend created to honor and support the legacy of Northwest brewing legend, Glen Hay Falconer. There is also a Glen Hay Falconer Foundation which was created to celebrate his life, and which provides three scholarships annually. In 2021, the Foundation provided two educational scholarships to the World Academy of Brewing at the Siebel Institute and one to the American Brewer’s Guild. More information can be obtained here.

Hoppy also enjoyed a pint of the Bear Blend which is a coffee oatmeal porter brewed with local Three Bear’s Coffee. It clocks in at 5.6% ABV and 20 IBU.

Below are photos of the brewery and pub:

BAD DAD BREWERY – FAIRMOUNT

Hoppy recently visited Bad Dad Brewery in Fairmount where he not only enjoyed their beers, but their names, as well. He tasted three IPAs that included Tapestry of Obscenity at 6.6%, Pull My Finger at 7.1% and an Imperial IPA, Kiss The Cook, at 8.8%. He settled on a pint of the Tapestry of Obscenity. Other clever named beers included Because I Said So (Weizenbock), You’re Grounded, Mister (Coffee Stout), and Schitzengiggels (Festbier).

**Cooler Sticker Wall . Do You See Hoppy?**

BEERCATION – TACOMA – E9 BREWING

Hoppy’s 2nd and last visit in Tacoma was at E9 Brewing. This new brewery and tap room opened in 2019 in the city’s Historic Brewing District. E9 was the first brewery in Tacoma, opening in 1995 They still operate this location as a restaurant and taproom. It was the last operating horse drawn firehouse in Tacoma and is now listed on the National Historic Registry. (E9 Brewing was originally known as Engine House No. 9 Brewery.) They are currently best known for their sours, hence their slogan, “Keep Tacoma Sour.” Hoppy enjoyed a Farmhouse Deux, a barrel aged farmhouse ale at 6.2% ABV, while here.

**Glass of Farmhouse Deux in Seating Area**

BEERCATION – TACOMA – 7 SEAS BREWING

Hoppy next had a short stop in Tacoma, Washington where he visited two breweries. The first of these was 7 Sea Brewing which opened in Tacoma in 2016. (Their original facility was in Gig Harbor, Washington, where they still have a location.) The Tacoma brewery and tap room is located in Tacoma’s historic brewery district in the former home of Heidelberg Brewery. They have food partners in the tap room which are 3uilt Tacoma and 3uilt Grind Espresso. 7 Seas is known for being the first brewery in Washington State to can their beers, beginning in 2009. While there, Hoppy enjoyed sampling some brews and quaffed a pint of their IPA, formerly known as Rude Parrot. It clocked in at 5.9% ABV and 75 IBU.

**Historical Memorabilia from Pacific Northwest**

**Heidelberg Brewery Historical Memorabilia**

BEERCATION- ANCHORAGE – 49TH STATE BREWING

Hoppy’s last brewery visit in Anchorage was at 49th State Brewing. This location opened in 2016, although their original location opened in Healy, Alaska (Denali National Park location) in 2010. Their menu is filled with locally and sustainably sourced Alaskan ingredients.

Hoppy enjoyed quaffing a Solstice IPA at 7% ABV; 72 IBU.