Today is the 38th birthday of Matt Bonney, co-owner of Brouwer’s and Bottleworks, both in Seattle, Washington. Bonney’s one of my favorite people in the industry. You’d be hard-pressed to find a person more passionate about good beer. He also knows how to throw a party and is always a gracious host. He does need some work on his Washoe playing, but I’ll let that slide. Join me in wishing Bonney a very happy birthday.
Matt with Chris Black, from Falling Rock Taphouse in Denver, pouring hops to create Publication at Russian River Brewing in May of 2008.
Matt (3rd from left) with the final judges at the 2009 Hard Liver Barleywine Festival at Brouwer’s.
Matt with Dave Keene, from the Toronado, at the A Night of Ales beer dinner during SF Beer Week.
Today is the 68th birthday of Charles Finkel, one of the pioneers of the better beer movement. He founded Merchant du Vin in 1978, the company responsible for importing a number of word-class beers to the U.S., including a a few favorites of mind: Traquair, Ayinger, Westmalle, Rochefort and Orval. He also started the Seattle brewpub, Pike Brewing , in 1989, where Fal Allen was head brewer there from 1990-96. I first met Charlie around 1996 during a visit to Seattle. The following year, the Finkels sold both Pike Brewing and Merchant du Vin. In 2006, they bought back Pike Brewing. In Chicago for CBC last year, I was fortunate enough to spend an evening out and about town with the Finkels. Charlie and his wife Rose Ann are some of my favorite people in the industry. Join me in wishing Charlie a very happy birthday.
Charlie at CBC in Chicago last year, with Mark Blasingame, owner of the Map Room.
Charlie at last year’s Rare Beer Tasting at Wynkoop during GABF.
Charlie and Rose Ann Finkel behind their Pike Brewing booth at last year’s GABF.
Today is Dick Cantwell’s 54th birthday. He’s the head brewer and co-owner of Elysian Brewing in Seattle, Washington, and the co-author of Barley Wine. In addition to brewing, Dick’s a great writer, too, and his work frequently appears in numerous beer magazines. He’s also on the BA’s board of directors and heads both the Communications and Pipeline committees. Join me in wishing Dick a very happy birthday.
Award-winning Portland beer writer Lisa Morrison and Dick at an Elysian event during OBF.
Showing the proper way a hipster dons his chapeau.
An alert reader just forwarded me this (thanks Shaun). Today, a Starbucks coffee shop in Seattle, Washington, is test-marketing a new menu item: beer. According to an AP story the Starbucks on East Olive Way “reopened Monday [and] is the first under the Starbucks brand to offer alcohol.” The AP story continues with the following. “Craft beer and local wines go on sale after 4 p.m. The idea is to offer drinks and a wider variety of savory food that will attract customers after the morning espresso rush.”
USA Today has a fuller story about how and why the chain is testing beer, wine, cheese and other foods. Their pronouncement is that the “Starbucks of the future arrived today.” They speculate that if successful, this new model could become “the prototype for the next generation of stores for one of the world’s most influential brands.” Here’s how they describe the new look of the renovated Starbucks.
A very different kind of Starbucks is on tap. It will serve regional wine and beer. It offers an expansive plate of locally made cheeses — served on china. The barista bar is rebuilt to seat customers up close to the coffee.
Most conspicuously, the place looks less like a Starbucks and more like a cafe that’s been part of the neighborhood for years — yet that’s “green” in design and decor. This is the calling card of independent java joints that have been eating and sipping away at Starbucks’ evening business for decades. U.S. Starbucks stores get 70% of business before 2 p.m.
The corporate eyes of Starbucks — and the nation’s ultracompetitive, $15 billion chain coffee business — are laser-focused on this Starbucks store on Olive Way in Seattle’s bustling Capitol Hill area. The 10-year-old location was closed for three months to be revamped into a Starbucks that may not look or sound like any Starbucks you know. But if this location is a hit, some version of it may eventually come to a Starbucks near you.
….
Inside, the floor is stripped to highly polished concrete. Some of the chairs were salvaged from the University of Washington campus. Empty burlap sacks — once used to transport Starbucks coffee beans — hang from the walls. And an oversized table — designed for customers to share — is made from flooring salvaged from a local high school.
There’s also a video of the new Starbucks’ project to sell both beer and wine.
Today is Dave Buhler’s 51st birthday. Ironically, like Dick Cantwell, whose birthday was yesterday, Dave is also a co-owner of Elysian Brewing in Seattle, Washington. Join me in wishing Dave a very happy birthday.
Dave and Celebrator publisher Tom Dalldorf (at right). Neither Tom or I could identify the fellow in the middle, sorry about that. Can anybody help me out and tell me who that is?
At the Celebrator’s best of the West Beer Festival in 2009.
Dave with his business partner and Elyisian co-founder Dick Cantwell at GABF in 2006.
On Saturday, the 8th annual Hard Liver Barleywine Fest began at Brouwer’s Cafe in Seattle, Washington. People started queuing in line at 9:00 a.m. for the eleven o’clock opening and the line ran up Phinney almost to 36th Street. There were 50 different barley wines and 12 more different vintages for a total of 62 [...]
I woke up again in Seattle, my second day here. Yesterday I helped to choose the winners of the Hard Liver Barleywine Fest at Brouwer’s Cafe. It’s the eighth year of the festival and it’s really grown into an impressive event in the several years I’ve been coming up for it. But the weekend has [...]
Here are the results from the 2010 Hard Liver Barleywine Fest in held at Brouwer’s Cafe in Seattle, Washington: 1st Place: Old Woody ’09; Glacier Brewhouse 2nd Place: Old Blue Hair ’08; Big Sky Brewing 3rd Place: Old Sebastes ’09; Anacortes Brewery Honorable Mention: Abacus; Firestone Walker Brewing Congratulations to all the winners.
While the good news is the building may be able to be saved, the bad news is that the iconic Rainier Brewery building in Seattle, Washington is teeming with toxic PCBs from the paint. Here’s the story below, from KING 5 television.
I don’t know how I missed this, but Sweet Anthem, a Washington perfume company, and the Seattle-based recycling company, Blue Marble Energy — whose business model is to”utilize hybridized bacteria to generate biochemical and bioenergy products” — recently announced a perfume made partially with a by-product of brewing. One of the many ingredients in the [...]
Here are the results from the 2009 Hard Liver Barleywine Fest in held at Brouwer’s Cafe in Seattle, Washington: 1st Place: Big Nugget ’07; Alaskan Brewing 2nd Place: Old Godfather ’06; Speakeasy Brewing 3rd Place: Cyclops ’06; Elysian Brewing Congratulations to all the winners.
The full quote from Proverbs 16:18, at least in the King James’ version, is “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” but the more common shortened version says it all. Essentially, the modern meaning of this proverb is not to be overly confident, especially in yourself, or you’re likely to have [...]
I was one of 42 beer writers who contributed to this big 960-page book telling the stories of 1,001 world-famous beers. The book is now available at Amazon.com and other fine booksellers.
