FoodTrek: If it's Tuesday, it Must Be Belgianfest

OK, so it's not Tuesday and Belgianfest happened the week before, but I'm a sucker for movie pun-titled blog posts! And so another beer festival celebrating Belgian-style beers through the lens of Northwest breweries came and went... and what do we have to show for ourselves? Memories of interesting and creative beers and thankfully dodging the Hangover Bullet.

Belgianfest 2013!! Cute little tulip glasses!!!  Exclamation points!!!!!! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I remember attending Washington Beer Commission's  first Belgianfest, held in the very histori-cool South Downtown Seattle Georgetown neighborhood. As seen in this post back in 2010, the Engine Room at Georgetown Studios rocked the Casbah, it had a lot of character. But the downside was its lack of facilities, given the fact that it was an old bottling factory, not a party building -- we were literally running across the street to use the restrooms at a nearby bar nice enough to let us drunkards run in and out after weaving through traffic. It's true when they say, you don't own beer, you just rent it. The next Belgianfest was held at Magnuson Park, a convenient neighborhood spot that a lot of people could just walk or bus to, only adding to its popularity and making it jam-packed with people in record time. So CROWDED. We unfortunately missed last year's Belgianfest but made sure not to miss this year's -- both were held at what I'm assuming is the festival's new home, the Bell Harbor Convention Center, right in Downtown Seattle, by the piers along Alaskan Way. Split into two separate sessions, afternoon and evening, both were totally sold out and despite the big crowds, I have to say the convention center struck just the right balance of getting a big group of beer-drinkers to mingle for some creative beers.

Drinkin' beer at the pier - Photos by Wasabi Prime

We got our beer kicks at Pier 66, wandering the many familiar Washington brewer tables, which had more than 80 Belgian-style beers being offered. That's a whole lotta beer. We of course didn't drink all of it, just sampled the brews that peaked our interest. I will say this: Belgian beers are not typical session beers. You're not going to crack a sour Kriek open at a summer barbecue and slug it down with hotdogs and a handful of Fritos. There are big, wide-audience beer companies who do lighter interpretations, like Fat Tire from New Belgium Brewery, which was probably my first introduction into Belgian beers back in college, but the flavor profile of many of the traditional Belgian style beers at Belgianfest are strongly-flavored and not shy with the tastebuds.

Beers with character! And balloons!! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

There were a lot of colorful character beers, like Anacortes Brewery's Peppercorn Saison and Elysian Brewing's Saison Poivre, which was just that -- strongly peppercorn-forward flavored beer. Seems weird, but an interesting sensation, similar to those beers infused with raw jalapenos. You get an intense savoriness from the beer, with a hint of heat. Several wine-flavored beers, like Black Raven's wine barrel-aged La Mort Rouge, Hale's Ales Hot and Nasty! Saison fermented in a French merlot barrel, and Triplehorn Brewing's Ol du Vin (Beer of the Vine) which collaborated with Patterson Cellars, blending their beer with Patterson's late harvest Roussanne. The red wine beers had a more earthy, robust flavor, while Tripplehorn's use of the Roussanne made their farmhouse Saison more complex, retaining its brighter notes.

Don't forget your favorite hat and tap handle! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I would call these beers Belgian-inspired, since it's really hard to hold back the Pacific Northwestern rebellious brewer spirit that can't help but hop the hell out of beers and play with flavors like a mad scientist. Snipes Mountain Brewing has been a longtime favorite, and they did a nice job with their Terror, a malty and smoky stout fermented with Saison yeast. Slightly tart, but rounded out with five different malted grains, molasses and honey.  It warmed me up on a cold winter's night, that's for sure.

Skulls, bung plugs and beer - it's a party!! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

There were also some new faces to the festival circuit -- even one brewery that's right in our own town of Duvall that I didn't even know about, I'm ashamed to say! The ones I took notice of were Justice Brewing from Everett, Reuben's Brews in Ballard and Duvall's own Duvall Springs Brewing. I didn't get a chance to try Justice, but heard good things about their White and Nerdy, their take on a Belgian Wit. I'll have to try more of Duvall Springs' beer at our local Duvall Grill, as they don't have a tasting room yet, but are keeping the hometown beer mugs full. I really liked Reuben's Brews, and not just because I was thinking of good friends Alice and Reuben, who were getting married that very night over in NYC -- congrats, you guys! Reuben's Brews' Belgian pale ale was a really lovely, crisp beer -- very clean, light citrus notes and one of the few beers that I could see myself having a few pints of, given its smooth drinkability.

The new brews on the block! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Not to say we weren't enjoying ourselves, trying all these funky Belgian beers, but it's definitely a tasting event. More sipping than drinking, and really working those tastebuds, trying to isolate some of the unusual flavor components of the beers. At least, that's what we were doing -- granted, I attended with the Mister and his friend Sean. They were both fresh off a homebrew judge session earlier that day with IPAs. It seems crazy to go from a beer judging day and going straight into a Belgian beer festival evening, but again, it was mostly sipping beers and I'd argue our accumulative tastes that night may have only amounted to a pint and a half's worth, since we were tossing many of the sample pours so our palates wouldn't be totally hosed by night's end. What's the point of trying multiple rare beers if you can't appreciate the flavor, right? Not to say we weren't having our own rowdy time, meeting up with friends and fellow beer-lovers. Civil Inebriation -- we like to keep things classy.

Belgian beer, meet Belgian Waffles! Match made in heaven - Photos by Wasabi Prime

We fortified prior to Belgianfest at the almighty Fatburger. That's something I rarely have the pleasure of saying, but that's what happened. Burger-ified, I was still giving much admiration to Sweet Iron Waffles' sweet and savory options being served up at the festival. Their Belgian style waffles are a perfect match, and they've been consistent beer festival vendors, keeping the crowds happy and Nutella-ified. Their brie and basil remains one of my favorites, but if my gut isn't completely engorged with Fatburger like a freshly-fed snake, I'll have to indulge in their sweet salted caramel waffle.

Never roam without your Beer Gnome - Photos by Wasabi Prime

We departed Belgianfest 2013 beer-happy and thankfully unscathed by a hangover the next day. Again, I think the sipping quality of these beers lends itself well to impulse control. You get a happy beer buzz with enough time to sober up to get home, and still wake up bright-eyed and hangover-free the next day. A beer festival success, if there ever was one!

FoodTrek: Belgianfest, Part Deux

The Wasabi Weekend consisted of two things: beer, beer, more beer, and some fire and dry ice action at a home show. This is truly living the high life, and I'm not talkin' Millertime. January for Washington beer lovers means one thing: Belgianfest. It's like the ringing of the seasonal beer festival bell, asking everyone's livers if they're ready to rumble, but in a creative, beer-making mad-scientist sort of way. Cheers to 2011, let the beer season begin!

My crew who digs the brew - Photo by Wasabi Prime

This is only the second year Washington Beer Commission has produced Belgianfest. Last year's premiere festival was held at the very cool Georgetown Studios, the old Rainier bottling plant in south Seattle. This year they moved up north to the Sandpoint neighborhood, to Belgianize the Warren G. Magnuson Park. It's a building in a large community center area that looked like it was once a military housing area. There's tons of great old buildings in and around Seattle, and this one had some nice character to it, even though we went to the evening session, so it was hard to really get a full appreciation of its details. Belgianfest 2011 was held in a large, open building that was lined with over 24 Washington brewers trying their hand at Belgian-style beers.

Booth decor from Redhook and Scuttlebutt - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I don't want to bore you with too much beer nerd info, as I know not everyone perusing through this post is dying to know the sordid details of the life and times of the brettanomyces bacteria that makes the beer distinctively Belgian. Beyond the land of microbes, when Washington brewers get together and concoct Belgian-style beers, they're just that: Belgian-style. They're doing creative riffs on classic recipes, usually keeping the beers within the flavor profiles of what local beer drinkers enjoy, which is to say hops, hops and more hops. OK, it's not just hops, but let's face it, Washingtonians have much Thug Life Love for IPAs. The Belgianfest gives brewers a chance to make small batches that lets the Belgian "brett" yeast do its thing, mixing different varieties of hops, and with playing around with methods like letting the beer age in wine barrels and flavoring it with unique ingredients like cocoa nibs, oak chips and spices. Most of the beers being shown at Belgianfest aren't available year-round and were likely brewed just for this festival, so it's a great opportunity to really beer-nerd it out with truly one of a kind beers.

Next beer festival, make it a point to chat with these folks - they are awesome! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

As for the beers themselves - my favorites still stand. I always have much brewski love for Black Raven Brewery. They earned many a token for return trips to sample their Pour Les Oiseaux (For the Birds) farmhouse ale/saison, which had a lovely complex flavor that was light and refreshing, as well as a cask version of their La Petite Mort, a festival favorite that's in the style of an Abbey strong brown ale, with the flavor of the rum soaked oak chips and dried figs that perfume the beer with a deep richness. I made sure to imbibe the Issaquah Brewhouse's cask Menage-a-Frog, a Belgian-style Trippel that is dry-hopped and had an incredible grapefruit, citrus aroma and flavor. Yes, it's a punch to the tastebuds, but in all the right ways. This is the beer you pay good money to beat you up. Snipes Mountain Brewery, always a solid team of brewers, brought their Twangzister #3, a three year old Belgian strong that was aged in a bourbon barrel and flavored with cherries. Personally, I like the unusual mixes -- none of these could really qualify as a true, pure Belgian beer, given its creative zigs and zags with methods and ingredients, but who cares? I'm a fan of flavor, and to quoth the LOLCats, these beers haz a flavor.

Another thing I like about these beer festivals is the chance to talk with the brewers themselves. They're all cool people with a playful, off-kilter sense of humor. Imagine an artist colony, but with beer. It goes without saying that their beers qualify as tasty frosty beverages, but if you have a chance to chat with the folks at Scuttlebutt, Two Beers Brewing Co., Georgetown or Naked City, they're especially nice folks. I got a chance to chat with Tom Handy of Paradise Creek Brewery, one of the newer breweries to join the Washington family. They're based out of Pullman, in Eastern Washington,. They of course hold a special place in the Wasabi household, as that's where Mr. Wasabi went to Washington State University in Pullman and remembers living right across from the Old Post Office, which is now the home of Paradise Creek. I sampled both their Belgian Wit and their Dunkel - the Wit was a very light, springtime beer, great for the hot summers in the Palouse, and the Dunkel was a flavorful but not too heavy beer, befitting a chilly winter night.
Come on, Wasabi -- is there anything that isn't perfect about these beer festivals? Aside from the fact that your palate is likely hosed by the seventh or eighth tasting, these events are so popular, you have to hit your favorites right off the bat, as soon as the event starts. There is no "fashionably late" at a beer festival -- if something's popular, it may run out early or it's just going to be too crowded to get to the tasting table. I wish I could say you get to savor each glass, but it gets harder as the night wears on because the event is so popular and the crowd gets overwhelming. I went with a group of beer friends, which was great, as even if I didn't get a full pour of a beer, everyone was cootie-free and we shared sips just to get a try of a particular beer. Don't wear anything that needs dry-cleaning, keep your good humor on your sleeve because you will be inadvertently bumped or stumbled-into by (possibly inebriated) passerbys, and take on the Washingtonian zen attitude of "be cool, man."  Follow these simple rules and you will enjoy the delightful madness that is a beer festival. See all you beer fans soon for Cask Fest coming up in April!

If it's Saturday, it must be Belgiumfest - Photos by Wasabi Prime

FoodTrek: Raising a Glass to Belgian Beer in Seattle

Belgium has a long-associated history with beermaking in Western Europe, with records dating as far back as the 6th century, where there are descriptions of barley being brewed and fermented in ceramic pots. Wait, what's that...? I hear a dissident voice from the crowd saying, "But, Wasabi, this is a food blog, what's with all the brewski-talk? Beer ain't food!" Well, let me explain myself before I release the hounds on you -- breweries were particularly popular with the Belgian Trappist monks, who during their Lenten fasting periods, would drink beer to keep themselves from wasting away to the Sweet Hereafter. Those commercials showing the goofy cut-out beer glasses for the low-cal beers aren't just a gag -- beer is primarily of a mixture of grains, and therefore high in carbohydrates. It's essentially liquid bread, and it was a hearty enough beverage to be nutrient-rich and the alcohol probably helped sleep off any serious attack of the munchies. No one's advocating an all-beer diet fad, but one can't discount the history of beermaking and its influence over human civilization. The history of Belgian beers carried itself from the past and into the present, at the Belgianfest in Seattle, and the Prime was pleased to raise a glass to the occasion!

Who's house? Brew's House! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Presented by the Washington Beer Commission, Belgianfest was held in the appropriately historic Engine Room at Georgetown Studios. The whole Georgetown neighborhood in the south downtown area of Seattle is marvelously industrial, and the atmospheric Georgetwn Studios, once the original Rainier Beer brewery building, couldn't have been a better fit for a celebration of beermaking.

I've got a Golden Ticket ... I mean Token! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

The sold-out event drew large crowds who gathered into the high-ceilinged main room, light pouring in from the giant windows surrounding the space. Beer fans were given small tasting glasses and tokens to trade for samples from over a dozen local brewers who were offering fifty different Belgian style beers. The usual suspects were all in attendance, including brewers like Elliot Bay Brewing Company, Dick's Brewing Company, Naked City Brewery, Pike Brewing Company, Scuttlebutt Brewing Company, Redhook, Two Beers Brewing, and several others. The full list is available here, if you want a comprehensive list of Washington brewers in general.

Rainbow of Belgian beers from Elysian Brewery - Photo by Wasabi Prime

So what the heck makes a beer "Belgian style," since obviously, Washington State is not Belgium? It mostly comes down to the yeast that's used. The Brettanomyces strain of yeast is what gives Belgian beers their distinctive tart or sourness of flavor. A wild yeast, it lives on fruit skins, feeding on the glucose, producing the high levels of acetic acid. Considered a fault in winemaking, what threatens spoilage for wine becomes the boon for Belgian style beermaking. When first trying a Belgian beer, people often make the "ewww" face, wondering if it's gone bad or why its flavor is reminiscent of vinegar -- that's the Brettanomyces or the "Brett" talking, and it's by all means intentional, so embrace that tartness. Much like how the flavor profiles differ between IPAs and porters, Belgian style beers have their own distinctive impression on the palate. To begin developing a taste for Belgian beers, many start off trying Fruit Lambics, a fruit-infused version of the Lambic style, whose sourness may be a turnoff to some, so the fruity versions are great Belgian beer training wheels. Saisons, Tripels, and Dubbels are Belgian ales with varying depths of flavors, having a bit of tartness and a strong yeast flavor, reminiscent of the heady smell when you make bread. There are other varieties and subcategories, but this is just a basic introduction to some of the types of Belgian beers available, and the terms that are good to become familiarized with.

Boundary Bay, Georgetown Brewing Co, Elysian, and Dick's Brewing Company - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Since this was Washington and not Belgium, the local brewers put their own spin on the Trappist methods of ye olden days. Elysian Brewing Company made a Toro Oro Yerba Mate Tripel, infusing the Yerba Mate tea into their brew, producing a Tripel with nice earthy finish. Winter Beer Festival favorite, Black Raven Brewing Company, brewed a traditional Saison and then aged it in French oak Chardonnay and Viognier barrels for several months, creating their very pleasant-flavored Pour les Oiseseaux. For those looking for strong flavors, Dick's Brewing Company's Grand Cru was an intense mixture of the vinegar-like tartness, rounded out with a malty and deep fruity flavor. There was also Snipes Mountain Brewery's Dark Matter, a complex-flavored blend that reflected its complex process that included bourbon barrel aging, different strains of the Brettanomyces, and fermentation in a Bordeaux barrel.

Smile, Pike and Port Townsend Breweries! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I couldn't tackle the epic task of sampling all the beers alone -- I had the help of Mr. Wasabi and home-brewer friend, Mr. K, along for the ride. Our SWAT team efforts of beer tasting resulted in one particular standout brewery that produced a particularly noteworthy sampling of Belgian style beers, the Rogue Ales-owned Issaquah Brewhouse. Their Menage a Frog was a delicately-flavored, fragrant Tripel that had the bready tones of a Belgian beer, balanced pleasantly with a fresh honey and fruit sweetness to make it an easy crowd-pleaser. Their heavier Polywog Grand Cru had the deep flavor of Bing cherries with the aging of their beer in Pinot wine barrels to lend a bit of smokiness to the experience.

Hot diggity Dante-dog, it's time to eat! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

We don't have the religious fervor of Trappist monks, so we did not survive on beer alone this day, much to the relief of our livers. There were several food options, including beerfest veteran, Dante's Inferno Dogs, and delightful newbies, Sweet Iron Waffles and Bluebird Ice Cream. I regret not being able to provide a photo of Bluebird's stout beer homemade ice cream, made with Elysian Brewery's Dragon's Tooth stout -- it was too creamy-delicious for me to take a moment to pull out the camera and take a picture. Malty with a bit of a coffee-like bitterness, it was the ideal dessert to indulge in at a beer festival. With a menu of ice creams made fresh with local ingredients like coffee from Stumptown and chocolate from Theo, Bluebird really is a little herald of happiness, and deserves multiple visits to their Seattle shop, if you live in the area.

Belgian waffles at a Belgian beer festival? Genius - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Sweet Iron Waffles offered sweet and savory-topped Liege-style waffles to the beer-soaked masses. Made with a yeasty dough that crisped perfectly in their irons, the waffle we chose was topped with a sweet syrup, slices of creamy Val de Soane brie, and sprinkled with a chiffonade of fresh basil. Simple and satisfying, it paired nicely with the malty, tart Belgian beers.

Belgianfest was a great way to celebrate the history of Belgian beermaking, as well as showcase the local talent of Washington breweries. While there are certain ascribed styles to making beers, there's no reason brewers can't put their flourishes on time-tested methods, producing some truly blessed results.

It's not a Washington beer festival without a good sense of humor - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Many thanks to all the breweries, vendors, and sponsors who came out for the festival, and special thanks to the Washington Beer Commission for putting on yet another great festival and welcoming the Prime to cover the event. See you in March for the Cask Fest!