UPDATE: Contest is now closed. We selected a winner at random.
We are giving away a pair of tickets to the Washington Cask Beer Festival. (Good for either session.) All you need to do is check out the list of breweries and beers below and leave a comment telling us which one (brewery or beer) you’re most excited to drink. Leave a comment. On Wednesday, March 11th we will pick a winner at random from all entrants.
2015 WASHINGTON CASK BEER FESTIVAL
Saturday March 28, 2015 – 12-4pm & 6-10pm – Seattle Center Exhibition Hall
(Seattle, WA) March 6, 2015- Washington Brewers Guild will present its annual Washington Cask Beer Festival at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall on Saturday, March 28. The event is known for its extensive beer lineup that focuses exclusively on cask-conditioned beer and this year is no exception.
While cask-conditioned beer is becoming more popular and available in recent years it is still quite a rare occasion to be able to sample more than 100 cask-conditioned beers in one place. From classic styles for purists that let the unadulterated flavors shine to more experimental beers that showcase unique ingredients and different conditioning techniques, all featured beers are unfiltered, unpasteurized, and expertly crafted by Washington Brewers Guild member breweries.
Here are some of the beers that will be pouring at this year’s Cask Festival. See the full beer list at www.washingtonbrewersguild. org/Events.html.
Favorite IPA’s – As always there is no shortage of IPA’s at the Cask Festival, including dry-hopped IPA’s (Rainy Daze Back Seat Driver IPA and Fish Double Dry-hopped IPA), Imperial IPA’s (Port Townsend Beast Mode Imperial IPA and Fremont Spring Imperial IPA) and an IPA with orange blossoms (Naked City Orange Blossom Special IPA) and a randallized lager version (Issaquah Brewhouse Contraband IPL #38).
Oatmeal Stout – Stout may be the second popular style at the Cask Festival and there will be quite many versions of Oatmeal Stout in particular this year, including Machine House Bourbon Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout, Elliott Bay Vietnamese Coffee Stout, Elysian Dragonstooth and Boundary Bay’s classic Imperial Oatmeal Stout.
Barrel Aging – Thanks to the growing number of distilleries in the area there are a wide variety of barrels available for aging beer these days. Try Schooner Exact Imperial Porter and Georgetown Tombourbon in bourbon barrels, Bainbridge Island Five-Masted Baltic Porter aged in a rum barrel, and McMenamin’s Paeter’s Porter and Bellevue Scotch Ale aged in whiskey barrels.
Brett Effect – Brettanomyces or Brett, is a type of “wild” yeast that imparts complex flavors, tartness and funkiness to beer and often used in making Belgian style beers. This year a few breweries incorporated in their cask creations including Black Raven’s Trickster Gone Wild, Big Al Time Capsule July ’14 Mango Wild Ale and 7 Seas Rainbow in the Dark.
Collaboration Beers – Washington brewers are known to embrace opportunities to collaborate with one another to share inspirations, techniques and good times. Brewers from Anacortes Brewery, Big Time Brewery and Diamond Knot Brewing got together to brew a collaboration beer, Broken Mirror, an Imperial Milk Stout with lactose and cocoa nibs. Each brewery will bring a different version to the Cask Festival; Anacortes version with peppers, Big Time with coffee and vanilla, and Diamond Knot with dried cherries macerated in Jamaican rum. Another collaboration beer not to be missed is United Red Ale Women’s Collaborative Brew by Hale’s Ales Brewery organized by the Pink Boot Society celebrating women in the beer industry.
This year’s Herbert’s Legendary Cask Festival Ale, a Cask Festival favorite and an ultimate collaboration beer was brewed at Postdoc Brewing, one of the newest members of the Washington beer industry. Herbert’s is a collaborative beer that’s brewed at a different host brewery each year in honor of a Northwest beer icon, Bert Grant. More than 20 Guild member brewers participated in the brewing session at Postdoc on February 24 to honor this long-running Cask Festival tradition. The beer will make its debut prior to the Cask Festival at the release party hosted by The Latona Pub (6423 Latona Ave NE, Seattle, www.3pubs.com) on Monday, March 23.
The Cask Festival will host two sessions; from noon to 4pm and 6pm to 10pm on Saturday, March 28 at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Admission is $40 in advance or $45 at the door, if tickets are still available. This event may sell out so advance purchase is recommended. Separate tickets are required for each session. Admission includes a commemorative tasting glass and up to 25 sample tastes. Tickets are available online at www.washingtonbrewersguild.org and at select ticket outlets. This is a 21-and-over-only event.
Participating Breweries and Beers
7 Seas Brewing- Gig Harbor
Life Jacket Session IPA (IPA)
Rainbow in the Dark (Imperial Stout)
American Brewing- Edmonds
Imperial IPA (Imperial IPA)
Cabernet Stout (Stout)
Anacortes Brewery- Anacortes
Anacortes IPA (IPA)
Pale Ale (Pale Ale)
Broken Mirror (Imperial Milk Stout)
Bainbridge Island Brewing- Bainbridge Island
Grapefruit Kolsch (Kolsch)
Bainbridge Pale Ale Single Hop Series – ADHA 529 (Pale Ale)
Rum Barrel Five-Masted Baltic Porter (Porter)
Beardslee Public House- Bothell
Beardslee IPA (IPA)
Belluvue Brewing- Bellevue
Cask Conditioned Classic Scotch (Scotch Ale)
ESB (ESB)
Big Al Brewing- Seattle
Time Capsule July ’14 Mango Wild Ale (American Wild Ale)
Hop Villain Whiskey CDA (CDA)
Big Time Brewery- Seattle
Whiny the Complainer (Imperial IPA)
Breakfast Cereal Killer (Imperial Stout)
Broken Mirror (Imperial Milk Stout)
Black Raven Brewing- Redmond
Trickster’s Gone Wild (100% Brett IPA)
Coco Jones (Porter)
“Alaskan Session” IPA (A blend of 2011 Barley wine and Wisdom Seeker)
Boundary Bay Brewery- Bellingham
Old Bounder (Barleywine)
Cedar Dust IPA (IPA)
Imperial Oatmeal Stout (Oatmeal Stout)
Der Blokken Brewery- Bremerton
Smoked Chocolate Rye (Rye)
TBD (Belgian Strong Ale)
Diamond Knot Brewing- Mukilteo
Apple Cinnamon ESB (ESB)
Slane’s Irish Red (Red Ale)
Broken Mirror (Imperial Milk Stout)\
Elliott Bay Brewing- Seattle & Burien
Vitamin Belma (Pale Ale)
Caber Tosser (Scotch Ale)
Vietnamese Coffee Stout (Oatmeal Stout)
Elysian Brewing- Seattle
Space Dust (IPA)
Dragonstooth (Imperial Oatmeal Stout)
Little Bitty Pretty One (Pale Ale)
Fish Brewing- Olympia
Sichuan Porter (Porter)
Vanilla Bean Imperial Stout (Imperial Stout)
Double Dry-hoppe Classic IPA (IPA)
Fremont Brewing- Seattle
First Nail w/ Maraschino Cherries (Imperial Oatmeal Stout)
Thin Mint Stout (Stout)
Spring Imperial IPA (Imperial IPA)
Georgetown Brewing- Seattle
5 Point 5 (IPA)
Lisa’s Chocolate Stout (Stout)
Tombourbon (Belgian Brown Ale)
Hale’s Ales Brewery- Seattle
United Red Ale Women’s Collaborative Brew (Red Ale)
Theo Cocoa Nibs Nut Brown (Irish Style Nut Brown)
Supergoose IPA (IPA)
Harmon Brewing- Tacoma
EmotionALE Dark Ale (Dark Ale)
Dry Hopped Pt. Defiance IPA (IPA)
Berry Vanilla Cocoa Stryker Stout (Stout)
Hi-Fi Brewing- Redmond
Sitar (IPA)
Peanut Butter Wolf (Porter)
Issaquah Brewhouse- Issaquah
Contraband IPL #38 (IPL)
Sour Frog
Mac & Jack’s Brewing- Redmond
Mole Brown Recluse (Brown)
Ibis IPA (IPA)
Blackcat (Porter)
Machine House Brewery- Seattle
Stinging Nettle (Herbal English Ale)
Dark Mild (English Mild)
Bourbon Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout (Oatmeal Stout)
Maritime Pacific Brewing- Seattle
Bosun’s Black (Porter)
Hop Surge Triple (IPA)
McMenamin’s Breweries- Seattle
Cairngorm’s Courage (Scotch Ale)
Whiskey Barrel Aged Paeter’s Porter (Porter)
Naked City Brewery- Seattle
Orange Blossom Special IPA (IPA)
Old No. 48 Imperial Stout (Imperial Stout)
New Belgium Brewing- Seattle
TBD
TBD
North Sound Brewing- Mt. Vernon
Cheeky Monkey Vanilla Imperial Brown (Imperial Brown)
Hopsolute Mango (IPA)
Odin Brewing- Tukwila
Northern Darkness (Vanilla Baltic Porter)
Idun’s Garden (Raspberry Saison)
Midgard Serpent (IIPA)
Pike Brewing- Seattle
Pike Space Needle (IPA)
Pike IPA (IPA)
Port Townsend Brewing- Port Townsend
Beast Mode Imperial IPA (Imperial IPA)
Bourbon Oaked Strait Stout (Stout)
Postdoc Brewing- Redmond
Herbert’s Legendary Cask Festival Ale (Herbert’s)
Prereq Pale (Pale Ale)
Rainy Daze Brewing- Silverdale
Back Seat Driver IPA (IPA)
Barrel Aged Stu’s Stout on Cherries (Stout)
Sunrise Coffee Porter (Porter)
Ram Restaurant & Brewery- Seattle
Grapefruit IPA (IPA)
Palm Coconut Porter (Porter)
Azacca IPA (IPA)
Schooner Exact Brewing- Seattle
Hopvine (IPA)
3 Grid (IPA)
Barrel Aged Imperial Porter (Imperial Porter)
Scuttlebutt Brewing- Everett
Ming The Merciless (Imperial IPA)
Jarret’s Folly (Barrel Aged CDA)
Silver City Brewery- Silverdale & Bremerton
Fat Woody (Oaked Sctoch Ale)
Whoop Pass (Double IPA)
Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (Imperial Stout)
Triplehorn Brewing- Woodinville
Chocolate Thunder (Imperial Milk Stout)
Lapow (IPA)
Hoppy Town (IPA)
Two Beers Brewing- Seattle
Forester (Double IPA)
Basil Mint (Hard Cider)
West Seattle Brewing- Seattle
Beast Mode Dark Ale (Cascadian Dark Ale)
Road Rage Imperial Red (Red/IPA)
Triangle Tripel (Belgian Tripel)
WABL Beer* by Diamond Knot Brewing
Industrial Red dry-hopped w/ Chinook
*Available to WABL members only
Machine house I like all of the beers they brew.
West seattle Brewing Beast Mode Dark Ale. The beast just resigned so it’s an obvious choice!
Ram Brewery Grapefruit IPA
I can’t get enough of the grapefruit sculpin so I’m excited to try the Ram’s take!
I love Anacortes Brewery so I’m totally stoked to see them bring the Imperial Milk Stout cask down. I’m also curious to see what Fremont Brewing’s Thin Mint Stout is like.
Triplehorn Chocolate Thunder
Georgetown 5 point 5
All of the Machine House beers, but especially the stinging nettle!
Cask Conditioned Classic Scotch – Bellevue Brewing. I love Scotch Ales, and haven’t tried any of their brews yet! Seems like a perfect idea 🙂
The Hales Theo Cocoa Nibs Nut Brown sounds delicious
The rams azacca IPA been thinking about ordering some azacca hops.
Ooh how to decide. Hmm. So here’s my top three Well Georgetown is one of my favorite breweries so I’ll go with their tomourbon. Machine house cause his beers are awesome and what an accent. I’ll go with his stinging nettle and third…bainbridge grapefruit kolsch!
Can’t wait!!
Fremont Thin Mint Stout. ’tis the season!
Elliot Bay Brewing for the Vietnamese Coffee Stout, and because they are part of Washington Brewshed Alliance.
Black Raven’s Trickster Gone Wild.
Gotta go with Schooner EXACT’s BA Imperial Porter, always a favorite.
Bainbridge Pale Ale Single Hop Series—ADHA 529 (Pale Ale) …looks like another interesting new experimental hop!
Postdoc Brewing Herbert’s Legendary Cask Festival Ale.
Tricksters gone wild by Black Raven Brewery.
Wow, lots of great breweries and beers. I am most interested in Black Ravens Tricksters Gone Wild Brett.
Thanks!
I love beer
They all sound great, but the First Nail w/ Maraschino Cherries (Imperial Oatmeal Stout) sounds yummy!
The Machine House Stinging Nettle, and the Silver City Whoop. Of course, Herbert is not so much an excitement level as a deep sigh of rememberance. Yes, I am that old.
Ram Brewing and Black Raven, but there appears to be quite a lot of great stuff to choose from!
All the Black Raven beers.
I’m excited for almost all of these! But I have to top the list with black raven, they’ve never let me down.
North Sound’s Hopsolute Mango!
Mole brown recluse because i love mole, i love browns, and i am a recluse!
Rainy Daze. Haven’t had a chance to try them yet.
Freemont brewery is looking good to me
Congrats Ari! You won the tickets. Picked at random from all people who left comments. We will be in touch soon.
Tombouborn but the Sour Frog beckons too!
Der blokken smoked chocolate rye.
Machine House for the win!
Naked City Orange Blossom Special IPA
Fremont’s Thin Mint Stout! And Silver City’s Barrel Aged Imperial Stout as a close second.
Triplehorn Chocolate Thunder
Bainbridge Island Brewing & Herbert’s…
Machine House – love all their beers, love that they are one of the rare places putting out cask beers as a normal thing anyway.
I had some of the Naked City Orange Blossom Special IPA (or something similar) on cask at the open house day and i loved it! I can’t wait to try naked city’s other cask offering: Old No. 48 Imperial Stout.
Time Capsule July ’14 Mango Wild Ale (American Wild Ale).
Thin mint stout by Fremont and vietnemese coffee by Elliott bay.also that mashup by black raven sounds interesting
Looking forward to American Brewing Cab Stout, Naked City Orange Blossom Special, and Fremont’s First Nail Imp Stout w/cherries! Yeeeuh, cask beer rules!
How am I supposed to choose just one??
Big Al’s Whiskey CDA sounds pretty amazing, though!
Bainbridge’s Grapefruit Kolsch.
My dad loves the style and always talks about our wonderful visit to the brewery.
I’m looking forward to the Machine House beers and the Black Raven Alaskan Session IPA. What’s a blend of old barley wine and Wisdom Seeker going to taste like?