September 2nd, 2010
Ahh… It’s the second day of September. Bills are paid. The weather is nice. I know some fear summer is over. It’s always nice in September. Might even have a weekend in the 80s. I hope, there is a lot of Simply Summer left. I will be releasing two new beers this month. The first is Mathilda. A tart, rustic rye beer brewed with mint. I think it’ll go great with all those late summer harvest foods. The next will be Scarlhet, a roasted rye with cumin and caraway. At the end of the month I’ll begin brewing the Biere de Gourd. It’ll be a single batch intense pumpkin ale. I plan to document the whole process and hope to release it before halloween.
I am getting married 10/2/10 so the tasting room will be closed a few fridays. Here they are: 9/24 and 10/1. I will have a bunch of family in town and really don’t have time to run the tasting room. My apologies and I thank you for your understanding.
I will start being open different days sometime this month. I will keep doing the Friday, but pay attention to Twitter or Facebook because I will be open on a few other days and those will be the best ways to find out when.
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August 15th, 2010
This is short notice and for that I apologize. But I am really really excited about this. I will be at A Caprice Kitchen for a wonderful evening of food and beer. Big Al’s Brewing will also be there, which I am really excited to meet.
Anyhow here is the info:
Caprice Kitchen is Pleased to Announce Our
Five Course Beer Pairing Dinner
featuring
Five Unique Beers from Big Al’s Brewing and Epic Ales
Sunday, August 22nd, 6:30pm
Diane Carney from Township 18 Farm and Learning Center will guide guests through each course and share her knowledge of these locally-made brews chosen specifically to compliment the five-course meal.
Menu
$60/person
(Gratuity and Tax Not Included)
Open to 20 Guests by Reservation Only
Make your reservation online or call 206-371-2886
And of course the menu
Five Course Beer Pairing Dinner Menu
Smoked-Salt Cured Salmon w/Dill-Chevre Cheese on Crostinis
Light, Crisp Wit
Butter Lettuce Salad with Ballard Bartlett Pears, Fennel Viniagrette and Seastack Cheese
Epic Ales’ Lyli, a Crisp Wheat Beer
Duck Confit with Bacon Sauteed White Beans, Nash’s Carrots, Walla Walla Onions and Spinach
Big Al’s Brougham Bitter, English-Style Pale Ale
Pork Shoulder Braised in an Aromatic Stock of Beer, Fennel Bulb, Mixed Peppers and Tomatoes from Billy’s Organic Farm
Epic Ales’ Beatrice, Spicy and Earthy Rye Beer
Triple Chocolate Brownie with Cherry-Honey Compote
Big Al’s Smoked Porter, An Award Winning Porter
One thing I am absolutely amped about the Township 18. It’s a tiny farm down in Olympia, where a small piece of my heart remains, soggy. This is gonna to be a terrior infested learning experience along with a tasty tasty meal.
Hope to see you there!!
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August 3rd, 2010
Label for Lyli
Label for The Fuj.
The label for Beatrice
As you might be aware. I have managed to release three new brews in three weeks. Pretty ambitious, but it’s been fun. Three more from this series will be released in September. For now enjoy these…
Lyli is a wheat and green tea. It’s really light and delicate. I recommend food that matches. I ideally would do shrimp, white fish or a mildly seasoned chicken. I also think a cucumber salad, or caprese salad would be pretty great. Sushi is an easy match as well.
The Fuj is peatsmoked malt, rye, black and white peppercorns. I think it’s either begging for a smoked brisket or kebabed veggies which the beer would act like your ‘meat’. If any vegans or vegetarians miss peppered roast beef or pastrami, you should try this one. I also think a french dip sandwich would completely rock with this beer.
Beatrice is rye, Szechuan peppercorns and cinnamon. I meant to go with spicy grilled foods. But I think it’d do quite nicely curries and moles. I’d love to cook some prawns in it. I also want to make a BBQ sauce with it.
All of these beers are pretty low in hops, meaning they are wonderful for marinades, also for an amazing reduction or to deglaze a pan. They’re fun to cook with and drink. Think of it as a sip for me, a splash for the dish.
I hope this post can become interactive. Please add any suggestions, discoveries or recipes.
Thanks! Don’t let this vaguely summer weather deter you from grilling outside, it’s still not raining and remember grilling reduces dishes by at least 30 percent!
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July 25th, 2010
It’s been some time. I have found the shorthand is consistently more convenient for communicating the happenings of the brewery, but it’s nice to pause for a second and reflex. I have been able to make a lot more beer lately and its been really fun. I have been able to release 3 new beers in a short 4 weeks. It’s fantastic to watch a thoughtful hope become a reality. I conceived ‘The Kids Series’ back in January, when I first opened to the public. At that point it was pretty much a ‘wouldn’t that be cool to…’ thought.
There are six brews in TKS , they share pretty similar grain bills with drastically different spices being used. They are meant to be drunk young, cold and with barbecued food. I will probably only brew them in the summer and fall months. Please drink them with food, they’re fun on their own but they’re intended to pair. If anyone comes with recipes, food pairing or tasty blending of the TKS, please email me!
They’re named after my friends’ children. They’re between seven years and ten months. With each barrel sold, I am contributing fifty dollars to a saving bond for college.
These beers are a first part of the series concept of brewing which I hope to continue as a tradition of the brewery.
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June 8th, 2010
Summer is almost here. Only 14 more days. To help celebrate, Simply Summer Ale will be released. It’s a classic bone-dry farmhouse ale. I’m really excited about it. I’m also starting to look into using the upstairs space once a month. Thinking the second Friday of the month. I hope to find local winemakers, cheesemakers, chocolate makers and hopefully do some teaming up to show our wares. If this interests anyone please let me know. I also want get people’s input on opening the tasting room on an additional day for the summer.
On release notes, look for Beatrice coming out soon. Also the Fuj, smoky and peppery. I’ve been sending formulas and designing labels like mad. If it all goes according to plan, expect a new beer to be released every month!
I’ve never done one of these blog things before. I am curious if anyone else does and have ran into massive spam issues. I get about 3 goofy comments a day it seems.
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May 3rd, 2010
Well, its been five months since I opened the doors of the brewery. Things have gone better than I ever imagined. I’ve learned so much and I really feel the brewery is starting to go from a passion project to a real functioning brewery. Which is where I want to be. In the last five months I’ve purchased two more fermenters, bringing the total to five, I have room for one more.
I need more. I haven’t been able to keep up with the demand. I’m hoping now with more fermenters and working only three days a week at whole foods will really allow me to make enough for this very thirsty town.
Seattle Beer Week is coming up soon. I have three planned appearances: Full Throttle Bottle, Bottleworks and Malt and Vine. Its tempting to over-extend myself, but I’m trying to enjoy this week plus I need to meet more people in the industry.
Lastly, there are some changes to the lineup. I have brewed the last batch of the Simple Ale and it has been labeled and waiting for homes. I will make a Simply Summer Ale, but that’ll be it. It was a joke that I never wanted dragged out, yet that’s what happened. So if you love it, there are about 20 cases left at the brewery and I have no idea how long they’ll stick around. My guess is they’ll all be gone by June.
Don’t get sad about the Simple. I will be releasing a new beer almost every month for the foreseeable future.
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April 28th, 2010
Hey ya’alls,
It’s been sometime… Things have been much busier than I ever realized. I am sure I have written about this fact on this blog before. So I’ll do it one last time.
Thanks to the four beer stores: Full Throttle, 99 Bottles, Malt and Vine and Bottleworks. You guys have bought nearly all my inventory. I am grinding away to replenish. But I’m also trying to make new stuff along the way. I have a batch of Beatrice which the draft version will be ready for Seattle Beer Week. Plus down at the brewery. The bottles won’t be out til early June… Still haven’t gotten the approval. The tasting room is going nicely. I now should always have three different things on tap. My apologies for the lack of variety these last couple weeks. That being said the tasting room will be closed this Friday the 30th for the Solo Dinner!
I’ll write some more after the Solo Dinner!
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March 26th, 2010
So its official!
1st annual Solobration- party and beer dinner.
Reason: non whatsoever.
Why: cause we have killer food and Bulgarian Gypsy Ale (no kidding, unveiling it that night!).
The beer dinner starts at 6:30pm Sunday April 30th. 4 courses made by Solo chef Anthony Travis Kukull, 4 beers made by Epic Ales brewer Cody Lee Morris, $50 for all.
There are 24 seats available for the dinner, however at 9:30 pm the doors will be open to the general public for the release of a New Epic Ales limited edition beer brewed by Cody and Travis especially for the Solobration month of April. Please make a reservation through FB, e- mail info@solo-bar.com, or contact Chef Travis Kukull @ 206 399 3074. Please leave your name, phone number, and number of guests that will be attending. The doors will open at 9:30pm for the general public.
I’m really excited about this one, Travis has come up with some amazing pairing for the beers, all four. But the real fun will be the Beer we made on Monday. It’s funky. Barley, Wheat, Rye, Palm Sugar, Saffron and a combo of the most classic west coast hops blended the most traditional European. It’s gonna be a blast!
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March 25th, 2010
Last night I was able to participate in the Brewer’s Dinner at Ray’s Boathouse over in Shilshole. It was a great chance to share the Solar with folks in its ideal condition, freshly poured from the bottle next to some food. In this case it was a lovely apple and wild green salad with a ginger vinaigrette, people said it paired it great, I love doing that one with something spicy and tart. Anyhow it was a great chance to meet other brewers, some who have been in the industry for a while, others like me were pretty new to the game. It was great to meet the fellows at Seven Seas, Grove Street, Odin and Everybody’s brewing. I’m sure I’ll be seeing them around the Washington Beer scene as time goes.
Oh, I also dropped off bottles of the full line-up at Bottleworks and 99 Bottles. So for those who’ve been wanting to try a Turkish coffee beer, the Solar or a beer full of mushroomy goodness. Stop by and grab one.
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March 12th, 2010
It’s been a while since I last wrote. Basically I have been insanely busy both with the day job, which I am weaning off from, and the tasting room is picking up and the Simple Ale has been labeled and will be delivered tomorrow. It’s been a hectic but wonderful pass couple weeks. Last Friday, I hosted the Simple Ale release party upstairs, it was great, many people came, lots of beer was drunk and several 22s found a new home. Total Success.
Other things are starting to happen. As I mentioned both Bottleworks and Full Throttle Bottles will be carrying the Simple by Saturday evening. The labels for the STA, OO and TS are being printing right now and should (cross your fingers) be up in Seattle by the following weekend. Pretty exciting.
The other major thing is working with chefs, a dream of mine slowly coming to realization. March 24th, the STA will make its appearance at the Brewer’s Dinner at Ray’s boathouse. It’ll be with four other breweries. I’m really excited to see what it’ll be paired with. I have been working on doing a full on Epic Ales dinner with Travis, the chef from Solo. We are also going to brew a special beer for the bar’s birthday bash. Late April is when we’re expecting it. I’ll keep you posted.
Again, many many thanks to all the support.
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