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Bellingham Beer and Too Many Choices
If I'm being honest, I just can't drink beer like I used to. I'm afraid Father Time is catching up to me, and he seems to be somewhat pissed that I have been misusing my body for so long. This results in the sad situation in which I now find myself; sleep deprived and often cranky come the dawn.
There are way too many good breweries in Bellingham for me to make this an easy transition. At the beginning of every week, I decide I'm only going to have a couple of beers, but I end up having a couple of beers every night of the week. Unfortunately this results in a lot of behaviors I would rather not admit to, much less describe in a light-hearted beer blog. Suffice it to say, something might have to give, and I'm afraid it just might be my liver. At least my funeral will be fun. I have outlined quite specifically what Bellingham beers I want served at the celebration, at least two from every Bellingham Brewery, along with several Midwest and California beers to round out the selection.
Anyway, the task at hand- I drank a great collab this week. Nightmare Cyclist by Wander Brewery and Solemn Oath Brewery. This beer is quite good, and as with many great beers, this one opens up as it warms, and really takes on a nice smokiness I truly appreciated. I chose it because Solemn Oath happens to be an Illinois state brewery close to the village where I grew up, and, the art on the can is pretty great. Either way, this beer is worth finding, buying, and drinking down. Even if it does contribute to many bathroom visits throughout the night and a crazy headache the next morning.
Truly.
Regional Beer News
Firestone Walker has once again released their Cinnamon Dolce Nitro Stout. Even though they donate to Republicans, I still drink their beer. Can't we all just get along? So I can drink your delicious beers?
Single Hill Brewing has chosen River Barrel Distributing in order to further distribute into Western Washington. King, Pierce, Thurston, Lewis, Snohomish, Kitsap, and Chelan Counties will benefit from this. As of this writing and as far as I know, Whatcom and Skagit will not.
Many Bellingham Beers won awards at the Washington Beer Awards. No surprise to me. They are the best, after all.
At the Great American Beer Festival Awards, two PNW beers medaled. Uprise out of Spokane got a bronze in West Coast Style IPA, and Breakside took a Silver in American Style India Pale Ale.
National Beer News
This is not so much news as it is a hashtag lifegoal situation. There seems to be, against all reason and logic, a beer spa in Denver, Co. It's called Oakwell, and from the looks of it, it is attempting to mimic some of the beer spas around the globe. There is also a beer spa in Chicago called Piva, but for some reason it seems like a less ridiculous place to have a beer spa. Anyway, yeah, the next vacation I plan will definitely include a day in a beer spa, where I can relax in a big vat of bubbling beer as the hops, barley, and brewers yeast exfoliate, brighten and tighten my aging skin. CHEERS!
Looks like Ecliptic Brewing has been acquired by Great Frontier Holdings. Not quite Unilever or Johnson and Johnson, but in my opinion, any time a beer is absorbed into a conglomerate, it usually means the beer quality suffers. It might be different with Great Frontier as it is a conglomerate of (mostly) other breweries, but time will tell.
The Brewers Association published its first salary and benefits report since 2020, in case you're interested.
Brewbound Live is happening in Marina Del Rey December 6 & 7. If you're interested, check it out here.
International Beer News
Drinkers for Ukraine is a thing. SOLIDARITY!
This brewery uses algae to make blue beer.
The oldest brewery ever known to exist is in Egypt. It dates back to 3000 BCE (around the same time the first pharaoh ruled over Egypt), the facility was able to brew over 5,800 gallons of beer per batch—a size similar to what you might find at some of America's largest craft breweries. This means this brewery could brew over 60,000 12-ounce beers at a time. Not exactly what I would call "news", I mean it happened thousands of years ago, but it's interesting nonetheless.
Want to do good this holiday season? Here are some beer-bound charities you might consider: