If the Palladium’s ‘A Rockin…

 

When someone tells you that it rains all the time in Seattle, it’s because of winter. So, last weekend it was great to get out of the elements and into the Hale’s Ales Palladium for the Washington Beer Commission’s Winter Beer Fest.

Nestled in Frellard (or Ballmont) the area between the Fremont and Ballard neighborhoods of Seattle, sits Hale’s Ales, a nearly 30-year old staple of the Northwest craft beer scene. And while we recommend dropping by and having a few tall glasses of carbonated hoppy goodness, Friday was not just about Hale’s. It was about 60+ beers from 30+ Washington State breweries.

Washington stalwarts like Pike, Boundary Bay, Redhook, Elysian, and of course, Hale’s, joined others under one roof for two days of celebrating the dark, chocolate, and sometimes boozy tones of winter beer. We ran into some friends as well. Great people like Gary and Terri Sink from Beveridge Place Pub, Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery board member Kevin Badger, and American Brewing’s head brewer Skip Madsen, were all there to partake in the awesome.

And what was so awesome you ask? Well…the beers!

Some of our favorites:

Black Raven Brewing’s “Bourbon Barrel La Petite Mort,” a great Belgian style dark ale that punches in the mouth with a nice bourbon flavor and an 8.8% ABV.

Diamond Knot Brewing’s “2009 Ho!Ho! Winter Ale,” an 8.5% ABV fantastic winter warmer that provided nice floral notes to its malty base.

A solid taste was Schooner EXACT Brewing’s “Hoppy the Woodsman,” a savory 9.5% ABV bourbon barrel-aged offering that made me want to go back for another.

The “Hearth” winter warmer from Two Beers Brewing blossomed with spices in a delicious 7.2% ABV package.

Fremont Brewing’s “Bourbon Abominable,” is a bourbon barrel-aged version of Fremont’s winter ale. Known as the “B-Bomb,” this 9.5% ABV ale hits you with flavors of its predecessor, then smacks you with the memorable bourbon flavor.

Special Shout Out:

Laht Neppur Brewing out of Waitsburg, Washington pleasantly surprised us with the “Waitsburg Winter Warmer” and “Holiday Hefeweizen,” two of the three beers they were serving up. The winter warmer was smooth and tasty. The Hefeweizen had an amazing peach cobbler flavor. It was awesome.

We want to thank Eric Radovich the Executive Director of the Washington Beer Commission for inviting us down. We had a great time, the beer was outstanding, and we will definitely be looking for all of them on shelves.