Latona Pub – busy April & a tribute to a local brewing legend

As we prepare to charge into April, Latona Pub has a full docket of beer events planned. Details about all of the month’s events are below. Of course the annual Earth Week celebration, with multiple events planned, is on the calendar again this year, as is the annual IPA Final Four tap off. But that’s not all.

In addition to those yearly events, Latona Pub plans to show its appreciation of one of the legends of the local and national craft beer scene: Dick Cantwell, head brewer and co-founder of Elysian Brewing (pictured at right, playing Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots at the Latona Pub).

I know that some people choose to be misinformed, bitter and angry, but nothing that’s happened in the past few months changes the indisputable fact that Dick Cantwell and his brewery have gifted the world with literally hundreds of amazing beers. And when I say literally, I actually do mean literally. Since its inception in 1996, Elysian has brewed something like 400 different beers. 400!

Dick has also served as President of the Washington Brewers Guild and has sat on the board of directors for the Brewers Association, working as an advocate for the craft beer industry. He literally wrote the book on Starting Your Own Brewery. Again, I mean that literally: he actually did write that book. Perhaps his crowning achievement, Dick is the mastermind behind the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival, which has risen from the pumpkin patch to become the largest gourde-themed beer festival in the world. Those are just a few of the reasons Dick deserves to have his name carved in stone on the Craft Beer Pantheon, so the least Latona Pub (and we) can do is have an Appreciation Night.


sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

Straight from Latona Pub, here is the information about all of April’s events:

It’s April in the Pacific Northwest which means the weather’s changing every 10 minutes, the flowers are starting to bloom, and the Latona Pub has an onslaught of fun events for your entertainment.

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

sponsor

Final Four IPAs

We kick of the month with a Bang!  The Final Four of our IPA tournament will “tap-off”  on Thursday, 4/2.  Stoup, Bale Breaker, Breakside, and Greenflash will vie for our tournament champion.  None of our 4 previous champs are in it, making it a new champion for the 5th straight year.  Come taste the IPA Final Four and then catch some NCAA Final Four on the tube.  Brackets will be graded and a winner will be declared shortly after the tournament comes to a close.

Earth Week

April also holds the annual Latona Pub Earth Week celebration.  This is where we collect kegs from our Washington breweries and bring them to the Latona using only alternative/non-motorized transportation.  We do this to celebrate alternative transportation, people power, Mother Earth, spring, and the proximity of so many great Washington craft breweries to the Latona Pub.  This is the 5th anniversary for our Earth Week celebration, and that means we will be going above and beyond our average “walk, sail, and bike 20 plus kegs from as far south as Gig Harbor and as far north as Anacortes”.  This year we are brewing a special batch of beer and walking the whole batch to the Latona.  The beer is a hybrid project that ties our two big April events together: Celebrating Earth Week and giving thanks and a cheers to one of our favorite brewers: Dick Cantwell.

sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor

Dick Cantwell Appreciation Night

It’s been an eventful year for the creative force behind Elysian’s beer and amidst the maelstrom the Latona wants to say “thanks”.  So, on Monday, 4/13 we will be hosting a “Dick Cantwell Appreciation Night”.  We will be releasing his final Tangletown Brew, a Gooseberry IPA with Skagit Valley malt and gooseberries, and New Zealand Hops.  We will also be filming scenes for a movie that our own Matt Byrne is making to show the heart and soul of what started craft beer: creative people working their tails off to bring the world more thoughtful, higher quality, and more diverse beer.  This is going to be a special night and the beer will be limited, available only at Latona, and delicious. Come say “Thanks” and spend an evening with a legend.  The 13th will also mark our first official Handtruckin’ Keg Walk.  We will start at Elysian on Capitol Hill (grabbing a keg of Raconteur, a black lager with its own special story), then move to the Big Time Brewery on The Ave, then to Tangletown, and finally finish at the Latona.  Keg walks will be happening frequently, with a south Seattle, a north Seattle, a Ballard, and who knows what other walks planned.   Keep your eyes open around the Latona for posters with exact dates, times, and places for the walks.  Feel free to join in or meet us for a beer (there are a few stops).

Beer and Bikes

On Monday, 4/20 we team up the Hale’s Ales for a bicycle-oriented charity event.  All kegs for the event will have been walked that day, and some proceeds will be benefiting Washington Bikes: the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, a non-profit organization educating the public and lobbying the legislature concerning bike issues.

Earth Day with Brewshed

The folks at Brewshed Alliance will be here on Earth Day Wednesday, 4/22 to talk about the future of water quality and how it affects our environment, our lives, and of course our beer. We will be donating proceeds of our earth week beer to them, so make sure and stop by to have a pint and learn how you can support this organization that works to preserve our most precious resource.

Earth Week Wrap-Up

Our Earth Week celebration wraps up on Saturday, 4/25 with our annual visit from the folks at Feet First, an organization dedicated to making cities more walkable through maps, legislation, and fun events…such as hand truckin’ a keg from Two Beers Brewing in south Seattle. They will arrive around 2pm and there will be a small but fruitful auction to raise money for them. Come support these hearty folks and celebrate your walkable city.

As previously mentioned this is the 5th year of our Earth Week Celebration. It’s a fun time, but we do it to bring our relationship with the things and people we love — with the planet that supports us — into focus. We live in an amazing world but it will take a great effort from all of us to preserve our way of life. So even if you don’t celebrate with us, take a moment to reflect on what each of us can do to preserve our beautiful Mother Earth.

sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
@washingtonbeerblog
@beerblog