There are only a few breweries that I put into a particular category.  That being: the brewery doesn’t make a single beer I don’t like.  Their beers may not all be my favorites, but I find every beer they make to be very solid and a joy to drink.  A few breweries that fall into this category for me include: Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Fremont Brewing Company, Two Beers Brewing Company (CBM Sponsor) and a select few others.  I’ve also come to realize, as I look over their portfolio, that Black Raven Brewing Company fits into this category for me as well.

Launched back in 2009 by Owner and Head Brewer, Beaux Bowman, Black Raven has been supplying Redmond and the whole Puget Sound with a wide array of craft beers, covering various styles including: Pilsners, IPAs, Stouts, Sours, Barleywines, and many more.  For this 5 year anniversary celebration, they’ll be cracking open their cellar and bringing out over 20 different beers, including some limited edition releases and a few exclusives.  The celebration gets under way at Black Raven Brewing in Redmond on Saturday, May 3rd at noon and ends promptly at 8:00 PM.

The people at Black Raven are passionate about what they do, and that passion comes through in their beers.  Considering my schedule and where I live, Redmond is a bit out of the way for me, but I really should make more of an effort to get over there more often to visit Black Raven and enjoy all their delicious beers at the source.

From Owner and Head Brewer, Beaux Bowman:

My goal was to build a brewery that not only crafted beer I wanted to drink, but also be a brewery that I wanted to work in. The most rewarding part of this is realizing that guests and staff actually are excited about what we are doing and our vision of a true neighborhood brewery has come to life.

Here is the impressive list of Black Raven beers you can expect to find at this event:

• Sunthief Kristallweizen
• Totem Pale
• Trickster IPA
• Tamerlane Brown Porter
• Second Sight Strong Scotch
• Morrighan Nitro Stout
• White Raven Wit
• Feral Saison
• Nothing but Flowers SIPA
• Hochzeit Pilsner
• Gunpowder Plot Porter
• Pour Les Oiseaux Saison Brett
• Grandfather Raven Imperial Stout
• Wisdom Seeker DIPA
• Tangerine Dream
• Son of Birdserker SIPA
• Tri-berry Pie Wild Sour
• Corvus Kriekus Wild Sour
• Tricky Kitty Blueberry Vanilla Catnip Ale
• Ravenous Belgian Style Stout
• CASK – Trickster IPA blended with Barleywine/Brett
• CASK – Jerked Brown Porter
• CASK – White Raven Wit with blueberry roobois
• CASK – Hopzeit hoppy pilsner

The limited, rare and cask beers on this list will pour at random times throughout the celebration, and no growler fills will be available on lmited beers or casks.  Also, there will be no taster trays available at this event.

If you get hungry while celebrating, don’t worry. Black Raven has arranged to bring food to the event including:

• Black Raven Grill (Brewery brats & chips – CASH ONLY)
• Where Ya At Matt (New Orleans style food truck)
• Wiseguy Italian Street Food (Meat, vegetables and sauce!)
• Brave Horse Tavern (Hand made pretzels)

There will also be live music to keep you entertained during the celebration.  The list of bands scheduled to play includes:

• Every Single Day (Acoustic Rock – 12:45 PM – 1:30 PM)
• Georgetown Orbits (Local Ska/Reggae band – 1:50 PM – 2:50 PM)
• McTuff (Powerful and jaw-dropping funk and jazz sounds – 3:05 PM – 4:50 PM)
• C-Leb and the Kettle Black (Local Blues based Rock – 5:05 PM – 7:00 PM)

As if all this wasn’t enough, Black Raven will also have a merchandise booth as well as an outdoor cigar lounge provided by Union Cigar Society, where you can purchase a fine cigar and enjoy it with your beers.

Please note that this will be a 21 and over event.  No minors will be allowed.  Also, please be aware that many of the booths and beer pouring stations at this event will be CASH ONLY, so plan accordingly.  Just in case you forget, however, Black Raven will have an ATM on site for this event.  Last call will be at 7:15 PM and the event will end promptly at 8:00 PM.

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.