Recent Stories in Drinks

"2009.276 - One Drink Too Many" by Shawn McClung, via the SunBreak Flickr pool.

Denver has been stripped of its "Drunkest" crown, but the majority of the top ten are still located in the West, with the bottom ten mostly being in the East (one exception: those Mormons in Salt Lake City, of course).  Seattle comes in as the 64th-drunkest city, with Portland out-drinking us at #40.  The rankings come from stats like "death rates from alcoholic liver disease, booze-fueled car crashes, frequency of binge-drinking in the past month, number of DUI arrests, and severity of DUI penalties."  See the Men's Health website for a more in-depth explanation of the data they use. 

And while you're there, check out the map of last year's rankings.  It's confusing and counterintuitive, but consider the numbers in a backwards fashion--so Denver, last year's #1 drunkest city, shows up with an overall rank of #100.  Or as Men's Health puts it: "For the overall ranking, a lower ranking is better. That is, a city ranked No. 17 is less drunk than one ranked No. 89. For the individual criteria, however, a higher ranking is better. So a city ranked No. 92 for DUI has fewer drunk-driving arrests each year than a city ranked No. 3."

In that case, last year Seattle came in at #79 (the 21st-drunkest city) and Portland was right there with us at #80 (the 20th-drunkest city).  So Portland is now twenty slots less drunk than in last year's survey, and Seattle's moved down the drunken list past a whopping 43 cities?  I'll drink to that.

Generally speaking, I avoid beer festivals. They're always crowded, usually overpriced, and often the beer list isn't all that different from the top two shelves found in one of the many beer shops around town. Belgianfest, however, took no arm-twisting at all for my attendance.

Twenty-five Washington breweries--an impressive figure on its own--came together for one day to showcase a common love: Belgian beer. To have this many breweries on hand offering up their take on over fifty different Belgian style beers is a dream come true. And to top it off, also in attendance were Dante's Inferno Dogs, Bluebird Homemade Ice Cream, and oh-my-god-amazing Sweet Iron Waffles.

First, the space. The Engine Room at Georgetown Studios (the original Rainier Brewery in Georgetown) was the perfect space for this festival--a large, airy room with sky-high ceilings and lofty windows filling the festival with natural sunlight. This made the crowd only more happy to be here.

The only downside to this festival was the epic fail of restroom planning. Hundreds of people drinking ten healthy samples each of beer equates to a hell of a lot more than the two single-stall restrooms on the premises. Luckily, the Jules Maes Saloon across the street was very accommodating to the folks who simply could not wait to do their business. To their credit, the organizers did realize the error of their ways and ordered up a truckload of porta-potties for the evening session....

I believe the Pale Ale standard was set back around 1990 (like so much local rock music) by Sierra Nevada's now-classic green label offering. So it's with a mix of skepticism and excitement that I greet any new Pale—even those originating in the beervana that is the PNW. Append Pyramid Brewing Co.'s name to the style and I'm even more divided.

The Seattle-born macro-micro has done IPA, Hefeweizen, and apri-hefe amazingly well for years—setting standards of its own—but its other labels, especially seasonals, are either less memorable or short-lived. (Curve Ball was once a Kolsch; Coastline died; Broken Rake died; etc.) So, Pyramid's new spring brew, Fling Pale Ale?

Sounds like an advertisement of its tightrope existence.

The press release claims, amid its loquacious superlatives, "a big, fresh hop nose followed by the perfect blend of malt sweetness and hop bitterness." And hey, it nails the latter half. I didn't detect much of any aroma after popping an advance bottle, but Fling does piggyback a very nice, crisp hop bite on an initially, briefly, sweet flavor. The first few swallows didn't do much for me, but a lingering, tongue-coating bitterness grew stronger with each (modest) gulp....

If there's anything better than drinking top-notch craft-brewed beer in a comfy neighborhood pub, it has to be making your special someone happy. While drinking delicious craft-brewed beer.

So the best place to be this evening—hell, this chilly gift-giving season—is Greenwood's new-ish Naked City Taphouse. Three reasons why:

1. 20+ taps of Washington's finest nectar for your imbibing, body-warming pleasure.

2. First-ever taps of the Naked City owners' own brews (Exhibit A: "White Russian Imperial Stout aged on Kahlua-soaked oak." Aptly named Big Lebrewski. Um, yum.)

3. Nifty artisan-crafted wares your lady or guy friend (or yourself) would love to unwrap on Christmas morn.

They call it Naked City Brewtique. Apparently booths will be set up inside the pub, where you'll find fine jewelry (some courtesy of SunBreak Jack's talented wife), greeting cards, "beer-inspired" soaps, and etched pint glasses. Cool stuff.

Craft sales start at 5 p.m. Ditch work and drop in for a beer or three well before that. Tight wallets do not a strong economy (or happy special someone) make!

Pacific Place's "ultimate shopping experience" is now a little more ultimate, with the addition of a holiday liquor store, "Spirits," on its third level. I stopped in before a movie (Ninja Assassin, a frothy little romantic comedy, with ninjas) to survey the goods.

I had no idea of the number of gift packages that involve liquor, prior to visiting. Just in case you don't get the holiday gift theme, they have built a Christmas tree out of Jim Beam. There's not much to report on prices; it's a Washington State Liquor store, after all, and it's only at the mall because the state is hoping to make a little extra green during the holiday season.

Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. The store will be open through December 31, and then it'll vanish.

One thing you'll notice is that the shop doesn't stock much wine, because there's already a wine shop on the third level, Sixth Avenue Wine Seller. They have over 2,000 bottles in stock, with an emphasis on West coast wineries, and...

The Bella Edward, at the Hunt Club.

All you need to know about New Moon is contained here.  After making approximately a bajillion dollars this weekend--well, $140.7 million here, $258 million globally, but who's counting?--Twilight fever is raging now more than ever. Soon, they will have all the monies.  But whether you are on Team Edward or Team Jacob or some other team, we can all agree that the Twilight series is for fourteen-year-old girls, the occasional gay, and sad middle-aged housewives.  So roll out the terrible themed tie-ins.

There was the Twilight menu at Gold Class Cinemas. And now there's two terrible cocktails at ostensibly classy joints:  the Hunt Club at the Sorrento has the Bella Edward, "a dance of love, evil in a cocktail glass," while Canlis (et tu, Canlis?) has a drink that sounds like a sewage-tini: The Temptation of Edward Cullen.  Head barman James MacWilliams' inspiration:

The Temptation of Edward Cullen. Photo care of Brian Canlis.

I was trying to capture some of the essence of the movie with this particularly vampires and the Olympic coast.  Forks is surrounded by the Olympic national park on one side and the pacific ocean on the other.  I was trying to create a biting crisp taste just hinting a forest and visually feeling like vampire.  This drink is not for the feeble of heart.  Strong but strangely keeps pulling you back.  The crushed ice helps chill it and if done right will frost the outside of the glass like the crystal vampire skin of the books and movie.

Nasty-ass recipe and Volvos after the jump.

The Temptation of Edward Cullen:

• 1oz Plymouth gin
• 1/4oz Zirbenz (Austrian Arolla stone pine liqueur)
• 1/8oz Le Tourment Vert Absinthe (A french vert or green absinthe with pronounce crisp eucalyptus notes)
• 2oz Champagne
• 3/4oz Green Walnut Wine (a sweet, homemade, aromatized, fortified wine with a spicy nutty flavor)

In a 10oz long drink glass pour Gin, Zirbenz, and Absinthe.  Fill glass to the top with crushed ice and stir.  Top off the glass with champagne.  Pour green walnut wine over the top so it slowly sinks through the crushed ice. Garnish with lemon fangs and a straw.

Meanwhile, the Volvo dealership on Pike has the below photo in the window.  Now all the fourteen-year-old girls can go out and buy a sensible Swedish sedan.  Edward, drive me away!

Remember back in 2006 the city of Seattle banned the sale of fortified drinks in "impact areas"? The Seattle Times said, "Supporters of the ban say those products are favored by homeless alcoholics who cause problems in city neighborhoods." The ban went into effect on November 1.

Now the State Liquor Control Board, a Foucaultian entity if ever there was one, is launching a pilot program that will put Liquor & Wine Holiday Gift Stores in a new kind of impact area: malls. Seattle's entry is Pacific Place, downtown on Pine Street. For symmetry, the program also starts on November 1, and underscores a persistent truth: If you're going to be an alcoholic, it's better to be well-off.

Harried holiday shoppers will find "spirit gift packages," booze-based chocolates and eggnogs, and a not-so-large choice of liquor and wine. As a mall-shopper bonus, the stores will be open seven days a week (hours varying by location) through December 31.

The four stores are supposed to help bring in an extra $3.8 million dollars! That'...

Though I didn't see it at Sub Pop's (much-deserved) self-congratulatory SP20 music fest last summer, Elysian's Loser Pale Ale was brewed specifically for the occasion.

"Loser" pays tribute to Sub Pop's classic, faux-emasculating slogan, of course. What's cooler yet is the label, featuring a B&W Charles Peterson original: Mark Arm's guitar neck splitting the crotch of fellow Mudhoney guitarist Steve Turner, circa 1988-ish. (Or is it Turner's guitar violating Arm? It's all axes, legs, and hair.)

You can't ride a fuggin' six-pack of this bright, tasty, 7% abv ale, unfortunately. It's only available in 22oz bombers. You can pick it up at the Elysian or, if you're lucky, find it at a city bottle shop or upscale grocery. I scored the pictured bottle a few weeks back at West Seattle's Metropolitan Market.