Thursday, March 10, 2016

Redhook Brewery Releasing Extra Special Lager A Washington state exclusive.

Courtesy of Redhook Brewery

Kicks off KEXP radio station partnership with Pickwick and The Grizzled Mighty concert on March 22

SEATTLE, WASH. – MARCH 9, 2016 – Redhook Brewery, a Seattle original since 1981, launches Extra Special Lager (ESL), a Washington state exclusive, Dortmund-style lager brewed with Washington hops.

To celebrate the release of ESL, Redhook is teaming up with Seattle radio station KEXP to bring music — and beer — to the people. To kick off the partnership, Redhook will host a private concert at The Crocodile on Tuesday, March 22, with Pickwick and The Grizzled Mighty, two celebrated local bands that will rock out with big hits like “Hacienda Motel” and “Luna Nova.”

“We’re dedicating Extra Special Lager to Washington beer drinkers, because they’ve supported Redhook since day one,said Nick Crandall, lead innovation brewer for Redhook Brewery. “We’re excited to add a lager to the Redhook lineup. ESL is refreshing — it’s got lots of flavor, perfect for a barbeque with friends or those summer concerts that we love so much here in the Northwest.”

Fans can enter for a chance to win tickets to our private ESL Launch Party at The Crocodile on Instagram by following @redhook and using #RedhookedUp for a chance to win. To learn more about this giveaway, visit www.instagram.com/redhook. Winners will be selected on March 18.
Redhook fans can find Extra Special Lager throughout Seattle come Spring and Summer, and at several KEXP events throughout the year, including the studio grand opening at Seattle Center and the Concerts at the Mural series.

Extra Special Lager is available exclusively in Washington state beginning March 7 and will be sold in package and on draft. Redhook fans can find Extra Special Lager and other Redhook favorites on tap at their new Seattle brewpub location in Capitol Hill, scheduled to open in fall 2016.

Check out the Redhook beer finder to locate some ESL near you (5% ABV, 30 IBU): Redhook.com/find-beer
 
Courtesy of Redhook Brewery
About Redhook
Redhook was born out of the energy and spirit of the early 1980s in the heart of Seattle. While the term didn’t exist at the time, Redhook became one of America’s first “craft” breweries with its focus on creating “better beers.” From a modest start in a former transmission shop in the Seattle neighborhood of Ballard to a Fremont trolley barn that housed The Trolleyman brewpub, to its current breweries in Woodinville, Wash., and Portsmouth, N.H., Redhook has become one of America’s most recognized craft breweries. Redhook will open a 10-barrel brewpub in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle in the fall of 2016.

While Redhook has “grown up” over the past 30 years, one thing has never changed — Redhook is still brewing great beers like ESB, Long Hammer IPA, American Pale Ale and a variety of seasonal beers, including Blackhook. Most importantly, Redhook has fun doing it. Redhook beers are available on draught and in bottles and cans around the country. For more information, visit www.redhook.com.

Twitter and Instagram: @Redhook_Brewery
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RedhookAleBrewery

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Oregon Brewers Festival toasts 29th year with 88 U.S. craft beers, plus craft beers from Japan, Germany and The Netherlands

Courtesy of the Oregon Brewers Festival
PORTLAND, Ore. — One of the nation's longest-running and best-loved craft beer festivals, the Oregon Brewers Festival is a craft beer destination, and 80,000 annually make the pilgrimage to Beervana to drink up what the festival has to offer. The 29th annual event will take place July 27 through July 31 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland. Gates open at 11:30am daily, and taps are open from Noon to 9pm Wed. through Sat., and Noon to 7pm Sunday.

The main festival will serve 88 beers from craft breweries across the nation, including two gluten-free products. The International Beer Garden will feature six breweries from Japan – Baird, North Island, Shiga Kogen, Shonan, Y Market and the winner of a national beer competition in Japan hosted by the Japan Beer Journalists Association; seven breweries from The Netherlands – De Molen, Frontaal, Maximus, Oedipus, Oersoep, Oproer and Van Moll; plus two breweries from Germany – Brauerei Nothhaft and Lang Bräu. The International Beer Garden was incorporated three years ago as part of a cultural exchange of ideas, knowledge and the worldwide celebration of craft beer.

The Oregon Brewers Festival offers a wide variety of beer styles ranging from Belgians to braggots, cream to coffee ales, goses to gluten free, pales to Pilsners and saisons to stouts. The event also features five days of live music, food booths, craft vendors and homebrew demonstrations.
 
The Oregon Brewers Festival is not a ticketed event, and there is no admission charge to enter the festival grounds. In order to consume beer, the purchase of a 2016 souvenir tasting mug is required and costs $7. Beer is purchased with wooden tokens, which cost $1 apiece. Patrons pay four tokens for a full mug of beer, or one token for a taste. The purchase of mugs and tokens is made on-site. The event is cash-only; there are eight ATMs on-premise.
 
  Courtesy-HMS Photographic
The Oregon Brewers Festival encourages responsible drinking and urges patrons to take the Tri-Met MAX Light Rail, which has a station just one block away from the main entrance. Attendees can also take advantage of the Hopworks Urban Brewery secure bike corral. The Crater Lake Soda Garden provides complimentary handcrafted root beer and soda to minors and designated drivers; minors are allowed into the event all hours when accompanied by a parent.

The Oregon Brewers Festival was founded in 1988 as an opportunity to expose the public to microbrews at a time when the craft brewing industry was just getting off the ground. Today, that industry has flourished, especially in Oregon, which as of July 1, 2015 had 234 brewing facilities operated by 194 brewing companies in 72 cities across the state. The Portland Metropolitan area alone has more than 91 breweries. The economic impact of the festival on the local economy is annually more than $30 million.

Dutch Brewers and Art Larrance-Courtsey of Brian Gurney
For more information visit www.oregonbrewfest.com or follow Facebook.com/OregonBrewersFestival and @OregonBrewfest on Twitter and Instagram, hashtag #ORBrewFest16. For a complete list of participating breweries, visit www.oregonbrewfest.com/index2.php?p=beers