Dogtoberfest 2012, Lucky Lab Brew Pub

Yesterday our labs, Riley and Tater Tot enjoyed a fun filled day at Dogtoberfest. Dogtoberfest is an annual dog wash fundraiser put on by DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital that takes place appropriately at the Lucky Lab Brew Pub on SE Hawthorne. The day turned out to be perfect; great weather, lots of happy dogs, live music, good food and tasty suds. Our stinky dogs received a thorough bath and a multi-towel dry from volunteers for only $10 each. Riley and Tater Tot felt good knowing that all of the proceeds from the wash went back to the DoveLewis Blood Bank. They also felt much more confident around the ladies knowing that they had fresh smelling fur coats. Our dogs would like to bark out a big thank you to all of the volunteers, sponsors and vendors that helped make Dogtoberfest so enjoyable. Here are a few pictures from the ruff-tastic day:

Friday Fun: Are You a Beer Snob?

My friend Art posted the below image to my Facebook page.  I thought it was pretty entertaining.  I hope you find it amusing as well.  So, are you or aren't you a Beer Snob?

Click Image to Enlarge

The 4th Annual Tacoma Craft Beer Festival, September 1st, 2012

If you have all your papers in order and are ready to get out of town this Labor Day weekend I have one recommendation for you, The 4th Annual Tacoma Craft Beer Festival. Yes, I said Tacoma. It’s right up the road and it's an awesome city. Fortunately, for this weekend only, Washington is allowing Oregonians to travel over the border without any restrictions. We’d be headed up yonder this year, but my ass is getting married in two weeks and we have lots-o-sh*t to do. Seriously though, we’ve traveled up to Tacoma the past two years for the festival and it gets better every time. It started off indoors, which wasn’t bad, but last year they moved it outdoors to 21^st Street Park on the Foss Waterway which proved a much better space. The Tacoma Craft Beer Festival and The City of Tacoma have so much to offer. Do yourself some good and get up there this weekend to support our friendly neighbors to the north. If you run into The Pissed LiBEERrian or Brew Dad give ‘em some love for us.

Here’s our re-cap from 2011 to entice you:
http://eyeluvbeer.blogspot.com/2011/09/tacoma-craft-beer-festival.html


The nitty gritty from TCBF's official website:

Saturday September 1st, 11AM to 8PM
OVER 50 Craft Breweries
At the 21^st Street Park on the Foss Waterway
2101 Dock Street, Tacoma WA 98402
21+ only
www.tacomacraftbeerfest.com
Tickets $25 pre-sale online July 15^th, 2012
$30 at the door
$10 Military discount off the Pre-sale ticket price (Active, Retired, Veteran, Reserves) at the door only with military ID
5.5 oz commemorative taster glass + 10 tasting tokens
Additional 5.5 oz pours: $1.50
Games
Great Food
Live Entertainment
All profits benefit The Tacoma Historical Society

Friday!

I hate this song, but it continues to haunt my head since its release in 2011. Enjoy!

 

Pat's Backcountry Beer Concentrate

I ran across an article a few days ago on a liquid beer concentrate that’s geared towards the outdoor enthusiast. It’s produced by Pat’s Backcountry Beverages. Being a trail trekker myself I was intrigued by the idea. I was hoping to order a sample today for a taste, but it’s not slated to be on the market until January 2013. From reviewing Pat’s website, it appears you need something to carbonate the beer concentrate, so Pat has designed an activating agent and the elegant, water bottle inspired Portable Carbonator.

Here’s what Pat has to say on his website:
(Also, please view the highly entertaining video on the Portable Carbonator at the end of this post)

Breakside Brewery's Woodlawn IPA

Bono from U2 still may not have found what he’s looking for, but I think I did. I stopped by Breakside Brewery on Sunday for a pint; a place I don't frequent often just because it's a little off the radar from the small radius I’ve defined around my house. At Breakside, I ordered one of their fairly new additions, an IPA appropriately named ‘Woodlawn’ for the neighborhood the brewery resides in. My first sip had me. This was the summer session-like IPA that I‘ve been after. It had the perfect balance of hops and a crispness to it that assisted in quenching my thirst on the warm day I was there. I’m no expert at describing beer, so here’s an excerpt I snagged from Breakside’s website:

Woodlawn IPA
A new addition to our full-time lineup, this second IPA showcases four pungent American hops that we don’t use in our regular IPA: Newport, Amarillo, Cascade, and Chinook. It is slightly darker, more full bodied and less bitter than our flagship beer, and at under 6% ABV, it’s a hoppy beer that you can drink all day long.

5.4% ABV
49 IBU

Until we meet again my new, dearest friend, Mr.Woodlawn.

Beer, The Food Scrap Compost Bin and Fruit Flies

Ever since we started using the food scraps compost bin provided by the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (www.portlandcomposts.com) I have noticed an ever increasing presence of fruit flies in our house. Prior, we had hardy an issue. Yes, occasionally one or two of these small, winged flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, would come out of the wood work and make an appearance when a bottle of wine was uncorked. Today, they're now permanent members of our household. I blame the food scrap bin for these additional free loading “fifteen hundred bass drum-lugging bug-eyed monkeys”*. We empty the bin into our green roll cart on a daily basis and wash it frequently, but that hasn’t made a dent. We now have official occupiers living in our house. They enjoy sipping on my beer too and that’s where I draw the line. Let the battle commence. Mayor Sam Adams, what would you do?

Our new, free loading tenants.
(Image: Wikipedia)

*PUSA - Back Porch