Haven't seen much of anything about this or past Chocofest events on BA, but this is taking place tomorrow night at Pike, February 9, from 6-9 PM. From the limited number of reviews online, this looks like a fantastic event with interesting one-off beers and food pairings. Any thoughts from the BA community on what to expect?
Fantastic event last night. Highlights from what was on tap: - Fremont Midnight Rider - 12% Imperial Stout that was phenomenal - best of the night by far (From Fremont: "A twist on the BBW stout") - Reuben's Orange Chocolate Imperial Oatmeal Stout - their Imperial Oatmeal Stout infused with Orange Rind and with Chocolate added - Populuxe Barrel Aged Saison - Pike Cranberry Ale - Elysian Split Shot (cask) - Naked City Mint Chocolate Chip Porter Several other standbys available (Bonfire Ale, Dark Star, etc.) as well. Overall, a fantastic event run by Pike as a fundraiser for the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. Great local food, cheese, chocolate, spirits, wine, and beer all around. Looking forward to attending next year.
Thank you for the kind words about our beer last night...unfortunately, we mixed up the beer we were supposed to bring and brought our reincarnation of The First Nail from The Pine Box first anniversary...so, the beer that was Midnight Rider last night is The First Nail reincarnate AND we will be releasing it soon as well as Midnight Rider which is the BBW beer with a tweak. Pike always puts on great events and last night was no exception. We are truly lucky to have such great breweries in Seattle.
Was the Populuxe Barrel Aged Saison really that good? How did barrel ageing a Saison improve it? Seems like it would take too much character away from the Saison base beer.
I suppose I should clarify - it was a highlight, in this case because it was so much different from the other offerings available. Out of the list I gave, this was the weakest of the bunch. It was undercarbonated and with it touching barrels for only 3 months, there was a touch of oak that was very subtle, but seemed to add a degree of mouthfeel to the brew. It also had a slight haze which was somewhat off putting, but that could have been from a variety of factors that may have been outside of the control of the producer. The First Nail disguised as Midnight Rider though - sublime, and it would be awesome if this were bottled/canned in a 12 oz. format, as an entire bomber is a lot for such a thick brew, IMO.
