Bottleworks 17th Anniversary

I think they are still at the original price ($13ish). Every time I am in there, they have several cases on the floor, as well as the Lost Abbey one from 2 years ago. I was pretty pissed they raised the price of that to $25 after a month since it was a beer my wife really liked.

 

The two men I speak of are responsible for lots of beers that folks enjoyed just fine (and even got excited about) when they were brewed by a brewery with a different name (Big Time primarily). Suddenly the name changes (they move from Big Time to The Ram) and then the stuff they brew is considered "middle of the road" or "meh" without most people even trying it? If that ain't fickle then I don't know what is.

 

I love their beer, but I have a feeling Big Time probably elicits "meh" from a lot of people as well.

 

I'm not talking about NOW. I'm talking about when Bill and Kevin were there.

 

I hadn't heard a word about Northgate RAM prior to that beer being release or since then for that matter. What am I missing here?

All of that copied text from a year ago was just me being baffled by the choice, all pre-dating the beer actually being released. Not sure what the issue is with that. I still went and tried it, and just wasn't compelled to purchase any bottles.

 

The standard lineup of Ram beers is very safe and non-intimidating for your average mall shopper. It's all brewed in-house (Clackamas at Clackamas, Northgate at Northgate, etc.) but like I said, pretty safe and unassuming. It all depends on what that specific brewer wants to make, and a lot of times their stuff isn't even available there.

 

I wasn't saying they were as good as Tree House. It's just an example of a name that commands interest from people, likely many who have never even tried their stuff ... the same way The Ram fosters disinterest in people, likely many who have never tried their stuff. I was the same way before Kevin started there. Honestly I only ever paid attention when he started working there, around 2007.

Kevin Forhan now brews at Flying Bike so he's no longer affiliated with The Ram. But at the time Bottleworks had The Ram brew that beer Kevin's position was something like Regional Director of Brewers for the NW at The Ram (I don't remember what the exact title was but it was something like this). FWIW, he's brewed some tasty stuff over at Flying Bike. They had a cask hoppy pale a few days ago that was superb.

Bill Jenkins, who brewed at Big Time from something like 2005/20011ish (and actually had another stint there before that) is the current brewer at the Northgate location, and was also involved in the Bottleworks beer. Bill, like Kevin, is just a very talented and imaginative brewer. I dig his stuff. I don't get over to drink his stuff nearly enough but it isn't because I don't think he's a great brewer.

I can't speak to the quality of any of the other locations outside of Northgate. But if you're in the Northgate area and in the mood for a beer stop by check out whatever the current seasonals are. Chances are if you like Big Time while Bill was there, you'll enjoy the seasonal offerings.

 

You may not be missing anything over there, I don't know. Safe to say if you liked stuff from Big Time while Bill was there, 2005-2011 you may like the seasonals he's brewing.

And I wasn't trying to rehash the stuff I quoted from the thread last year. It was just to illustrate to John that no, people weren't discrediting The Ram based off of experience. I'd wager that many had not only not tried their stuff but weren't interested because of who they aren't and not who they are.

Anyway, sorry to get embroiled in this discussion that was hashed out long ago.

 

Crooked Stave! Yeah!

Ok, back on track.

 

well, i'm pretty stoked for this release.

 

It'll be the first Bottleworks Anny beer released in 'small-format' I guess...

 

Nice try, but this is a NW thread...

Thinking of Kevin and Bill's pedigrees, and the section of the Bend Beer book that delineated the various Deschutes Brewers' movements to other breweries, could anyone compile something similar for Seattle institutions (Pike, Big Time, etc.)? It probably gets unmanageable before too many steps, but damn that would be awesome to see the cross-pollination across Seattle and other beer cities by looking at their longtime breweries' personnel movements to start or work at other breweries.

 

I may be wrong on some of this so forgive me. Pretty certain both Bill and Kevin worked at Pike, and each had separately had two stints at Big Time. Kevin also opened the Elysian Fields location for Elysian. In addition to working at Big Time and Pike, Bill also worked at Hales at some point. As for the plethora of other brewers that have passed through those places, I don't know nearly as much.

How is that book on Bend? I may have to check it out.

 

I really enjoyed it, though I'm biased by loving the area and knowing the author. Good mix of local color anecdotes and factual history. The publisher has commissioned similar books for other towns/regions, and if they found people as good as Jon they're all worth checking out.

 

Well, I don't get on-line one day, and.....

I agree with @TheBungyo, but think the "fickle" may have been an inaccurate word (after all, folks would have had to have liked the RAM, then turned their backs on it, to be fickle) . Indifferent, or even snobby, might have been a better fit. For what it's worth, the Northgate RAM has always seemed to be a bit of an outlier in RAMiverse, regardless of brewer. The ZZ Hop they brewed for (with?, I forget) Jim Quilter compares favorably to a lot of the hoppy stuff that gets love here in the NW forum. And they've several other beers that have gotten attention.

I've never stopped in to a RAM, my only experience with them has been at fests, and that's has pretty much always been the Northgate outpost. As far as @John_M s viewpoint about expectations, how can we have expectations, when we haven't been to the brewery? That's saying we don't like them because we don't like them, because we've never had a reason to like them. Plus, given the love the Bottleworks Anniversary series has gotten over the years, shouldn't the fact that BW chose RAM to make the beer, been a sign that they had faith in the brewery? Or, do we think that that RAM roofied BW and made them do dirty things they regretted in the morning? BTW, was this the first beer RAM ever bottled? They certainly should bottle up ZZ Hop a couple times a year.

Whatevs. I liked the beer, and was a bit sad I had only gotten the one. I'm glad to hear there's some still around, and I'll try to score some. Be interesting to see if it held up.

 

Nice, so does Crooked Stave even distribute anything here yet? Had several tasters of their beer at their taproom this past summer and enjoyed them all, some more than others but they were all very solid.

Chad has done a lot for the beer world and he seems like a nice guy. One of these days I'll try and read his thesis.

 

Yes, but apparently only up here in Bellingham, which is closer to Vancouver BC, than it is Seattle. Thus, @distantmantra 's joke in post#2 of this thread. Sometimes we forget that "others" can see our threads.

 

Yup. All the Crooked Stave beer for WA is sent up that way due to Chad's wife growing up in Bow-Edison. It's a nice little surprise whenever I'm in Bellingham.