Category Archives: Craft Cidery

Yonder Cider & Bale Breaker Brewing Announce Joint Taproom In Ballard

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Many of you probably know about Yonder Cider. However, if you haven’t been following the news you may not be aware that Yonder Cider was recently forced to close their carry-out taproom in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood due to a series of (in my opinion, unfounded) complaints form ONE anonymous and apparently disgruntled neighbor. It was sad and, frankly, maddening to see the city allow a single person’s unverified complaints to shut down a struggling small business with their bogus claims.

Thanks to a new partnership with Bale Breaker Brewing Company, however, Yonder will be back with a vengeance. That’s because Bale Breaker & Yonder have just announced that they will be opening a joint taproom in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood by this Summer. They will be moving into the space formerly occupied by the now closed Populuxe Brewing Company (RIP, Populuxe).

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Portland Cider Co. Teams Up With Blue Star Donuts For Blueberry Bourbon Basil

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Collaborations are all the rage in the craft beer world and, apparently, they’re popular in the cider world as well. If you enjoy cider, blueberries, bourbon, donuts and barrel-aged libations, then Portland Cider Co. and Blue Star Donuts have the collaboration for you.

One of Blue Star’s most popular donuts is their Blueberry Bourbon Basil donut (Which sounds incredible! I need to get down to Portland to try one.). This best seller was the inspiration for Portland Cider Co’s new Blueberry Bourbon Basil Cider.

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Portland Cider Co’s Sorta Sweet Wins Two Double Golds

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PORTLAND, Ore. (Dec. 19, 2019) –– Portland Cider Co., one of Oregon’s longest operating independent cider producers, recently brought home two double gold medals for its flagship Sorta Sweet cider; the first from Sip Northwest‘s 2019 Best of the Northwest Cider, and the second from the 2019 Cidercraft Awards.

Portland Cider Co.’s Sorta Sweet is a love song to the Oregon craft cider movement and the company’s most award-winning cider. It’s semi-sweet, refreshing and effervescent, and balances the higher levels of natural residual sugars with just the right amount of tartness. Available year-round, Sorta Sweet offers a fresh finish that tastes like biting into a crisp apple. It has won more than a dozen medals in the last seven years, including two double golds and a few silver medals in 2019.

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Eastside Beer Week Kicks Off In July

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Seattle Beer Week has been running for over a decade now. This year’s festivities marked the 11th year for Seattle Beer Week and it shows no signs of slowing down. While it is, of course, Seattle based, Seattle Beer Week featured beers from all around the sound. However, Seattle Beer Week and all of the events surrounding it aren’t always that convenient for people who live over on the East side. So this July, get ready for the first annual Eastside Beer Week,

Like Seattle Beer Week, Eastside Beer Week (EBW) will be 10 days long, and is set to feature events at breweries and craft beer spots along the 1-405 corridor. If you don’t get over to the East side that often, you might not be aware that there are well over 30 breweries on the East side. I’ve been to most of them myself but not all, so this is an excellent excuse for me to visit those I haven’t been to yet. Mark your calendar now for the ‘week’ of July 12th to the 21st, and prepare to head East.

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The 32nd Annual Oregon Brewer’s Festival Is Set For July 24 – 27

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Festivals are a big part of the craft beer World, and a great way to discover new beers and new breweries. New festivals seem to pop up nearly every year and some, including myself, might say we’re starting to get too many. I have a lot of respect, however, for the festivals that helped start the craft beer festival craze and the Oregon Brewer’s Festival, which has been running for more than 30 years now, is definitely one of them.

We have great craft beer here in Washington State for sure, but we also recognize that there is a plethora of craft beer awesomeness coming out of our neighbor to the South. Showcasing all that embodies craft beer (and cider), this year’s Oregon Brewer’s Festival is set for July 24th thru the 27th.

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Two Beers Prepares For Their 11th Anniversary

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The story of Two Beers Brewing Company (CBM Sponsor) is one I’ve been following for a long time.  I can still remember when the taproom had just a few stools and couldn’t hold more than a few people.  Today, Two Beers Brewing Company – along with their sister companies, Seattle Cider Company and Sound Seltzer Company – boasts a huge, inviting taproom with 24 taps of beer, cider and seltzer (plus a cider slushie machine), pub games (billiards, foosball, darts, shuffleboard, etc.), a beautiful patio and a food service window run by the folks from Bread And Circuses.

There was some concern in the local craft beer community when, back in 2016, Two Beers Brewing Company and Seattle Cider Company were acquired by the Agrial Group, a leading French agri-business cooperative. Since that acquisition, however, I haven’t noticed any drop in the quality of their products, and they’ve even started expanding their portfolio – releasing lots of new beers this year including what I think may have been their best IPA yet, What A Time To Be Alive hazy fresh hop IPA.  Now Two Beers is prepared to celebrate their 11th Anniversary with another new release: This Goes to 11 Birthday Cake IPA.

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The PNA Summer Beer Taste Happens This Weekend

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Seattle has lots of unique neighborhoods, each with their own identity and feel.  One such neighborhood is Phinney RIdge and each year, the Phinney Neighborhood Association hosts a craft beer event known as the Summer Beer Taste.  This year’s luau-themed event, Brewkilau, is set for this coming Saturday, July 21st.

Your $30 ticket for this event ($25 for PNA Members), gets you 10 beer tastes from 30+ different, local craft breweries and cideries, plus an assortment of pub snacks.

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Get Your Tickets Now For The Washington Brewer’s Festival

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Here in the Northwest, we take a lot of pride in our craft beers.  While we recognize that there are excellent craft beers available from around the nation, most of us have a special place in our hearts (or is it livers?) for beers made in Washington State.

That’s why I’m always glad when Spring arrives and the Washington Beer Commission brings back their annual Washington Brewer’s Festival.  Set this year for Friday, June 15th through Sunday June 17th at Marymoor Park in Redmond, there are a few changes you’ll want to be aware of regarding how drink tokens will work at this year’s fest.

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Two Beers Brewing Prepares For Their 10th Anniversary

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With so many breweries in Seattle, it seems like there’s always an anniversary celebration just around the corner (not that I’m complaining or anything!).  Over the past few months I’ve told you about anniversary celebrations from such local breweries as Lucky Envelope, Hellbent, Stoup and Naked City and there’s still more anniversary celebrations to come before the year is out.

Now Two Beers Brewing Company (CBM Sponsor) is getting ready to celebrate a major milestone.  Coming up on Saturday, November 4th, they’ll be celebrating their 10th Anniversary. Rather than celebrating for just one day, however, Two Beers has nearly an entire week of events lined up, culminating with the Grand Celebration on the 4th.

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Brother Barrel Hosts Pucker Up: Washington

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Are you a fan of sour ales and sour ciders?  Not everyone is.  I wasn’t always a fan of sours.  Ten years ago, the very idea seemed odd to me.  Why would I want a sour beer, I thought to myself?  Then again, most people don’t consider bitter a flavor they seek out, yet IPA is the most popular style of craft beer around (even before they style became flooded with murky, ‘juicy’ IPAs that taste more like citrus juice).

As with many things, the enjoyment of sour ales can be an acquired taste.  Elliott Bay Brewing‘s Brother Barrel location understand this and would like to give you the opportunity to taste a few of their own sours, along with sour ales and ciders from other local local producers.  They’ll all be coming together at Brother Barrel one week from today for their first ever special event: Pucker Up: Washington.

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