Technically it’s still fall, but we got one of those overpriced red cup beverages at Starbucks yesterday, so we say it’s time to talk about the winter. The Winter Beer Festival is coming to Seattle in just a few weeks on December 4 and 5. The beer may be cold, but after a few samples, you’ll be feeling nice and toasty.

Things will take place at Hale’s Palladium within Hale’s Ales Brewery, and the tasting is open on Friday evening from 5 to 10pm and on Saturday afternoon from 1 to 10pm. Tickets are $25—save $2 for getting them in advance—and they’ll get you a tasting glass along with six 5.5 ounce samples. That’s a lot more than the usual beer festival offering, so be sure to pace yourself and savor the flavors. ]]> kjb 2009-11-13T11:24:26-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/5/8182/61673

Pumpkin season is upon us. Most places are now filled with orange displays, the convenience store is pushing their pumpkin cappuccino things, and of course there’s plenty of candy. We’re all about celebrating Halloween even if it is still an entire month until the big day, especially if it involves some special holiday beverages. One brewery in Seattle knows that there’s only one way to truly get the season underway, and that is with a pumpkin beer festival.

The Elysian Brewing Company is putting the final preparations in place for The Great Pumpkin Beer Festival. Things will be taking place this weekend, October 10 and 11, at the brewery’s Capitol Hill location. There will be plenty of pumpkin beers to help lager lovers get their fix and celebrate the season. The brewery will be honoring nine of their own beers, including The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Hansel and Gretel Ginger Pumpkin Pilsner, and Night Owl. There will be concoctions from other breweries as well including Southern Tier, Rock Bottom, and Dogfish Head. ]]> kjb 2009-10-05T14:43:54-05:00 47.6140330 -122.31571 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/27/135229/214

We thought we did a pretty good job rounding up the 5 Things You Have To Know For 2009's Fest during our 2008 Oktoberfest post-mortem, but apparently we left out the annual Fremont Oktoberfest festival up in Washington. The three day beer-soaked event, which includes over 70 brews on tap and bills itself as being "for kids and adults of all ages," includes a cigar lounge, copious amounts of alcohol, and an appropriately-named "Miss Buxom" Contest.

The festival kicks off on September 18 and goes until the 20th, with Miss Buxom being choosen at 7pm on the first night. They say you don't need to be female to enter, though we're guessing it kind of helps since the winner is chosen by audience applause. You must be wearing "traditional German attire with a Fremont twist" even to enter, which we're taking to be a euphemism for "cleavage." ]]> Omri 2009-08-28T15:19:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/19/84655/7832

For those living in New York, the Labor Day weekend usually requires an unfortunate trip out of the city to attend Uncle Herman’s annual family barbeque. However, if you’re lucky enough to not have genetically mandated plans, start thinking about attending this year’s Great World Beer Fest. This is its seventh year running and it used to be called Brewtopia, so we're thinking they've got things down to a sudsy science by this point.

This year’s festival of all things beer will be held at the Park Avenue Armory, and they’ve added an extra day. Craft porters, ales, and lagers will be available on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of this year’s holiday weekend. If you do plan on attending, the most important decision will be choosing what session to enjoy. There’s evening sessions on Friday and Saturday, and afternoon opportunities on Saturday and Sunday. The only drag is that tickets are a pricey $60 per person. ]]> kjb 2009-08-19T14:49:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/7/92159/34613

Colorado is home to one of the nation’s highest concentrations of beer geeks, and probably has more nature geeks than anywhere else too, so it’s only natural that the state would hold America’s first solar-powered beer festival.

The 7th Annual Craft Lager Beer Festival comes to Manitou Springs, Colorado on August 8 and 9, and $35 gets you an all-you-can-drink pass to more than 60 craft brews, including lots of locals like Colorado Spring’s Rock Bottom and Pott’s of Fort Collins. Plus, 14 different CO breweries collaborate each year to brew up a few barrels of “Warning Sign,” a super-strong small-batch lager made only for the festival.

And eco-conscious drinkers can do all of this guilt-free, because the theme of this year’s festival is “Drink a Beer, Save a Tree”—all proceeds from the event support efforts to preserve open space and parks in Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs. We'll raise a glass to that.

Related Stories:
· Craft Lager Beer Festival [Official Site]
· Beer festivals coverage [Jaunted]
· Beer travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Craft Lager Brew Festival] ]]> BS 2009-07-07T16:14:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/10/73031/9451

Seattle is famous for their weather and their coffee, but they've slowly been making their way onto the beer scene as well. After all, they aren't too far away from Portland, a city that has more breweries than anywhere else in the country. To celebrate this new beer fame, they’re welcoming one and all to the Seattle International Beer Festival.

On July 3-5, hop heads and beer bellies from around the country will gather at the Seattle Center Mural Amphitheatre to test out the latest and greatest from the world of beer. There will be over 150 varieties on tap and in bottles just waiting for you to sample them. We just hope there aren’t too many coffee-flavored porters hanging around, because those are less than tasty.

Tickets are $20, a price that includes admission, tasting glass, live music and ten beer tickets. Unfortunately unlimited samples aren’t available here, so you’ll need to buy more tickets for $1 each if you’re still thirsty. Also, depending on the “swank factor”—their words not ours—your sample can cost between one and four tickets. For those early risers, there’s a Happy Hour between noon and 1:00 pm where you’ll get five extra beer tickets.

Once you’ve paid for your ticket, you are welcome to visit all three days of the festival; there’s no re-entry fees. So feel free to bring your dog the next day—they’re welcome inside— so you have someone to gripe to about your hangover.

Related Stories:
· Seattle International Beerfest [Official Site]
· Trips We Love: The Year in Beer [Jaunted]
· Beer coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Official Site] ]]> kjb 2009-06-10T12:22:09-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/3/112020/7820

Now this is our kind of gap year! A California couple spent the entirety of 2008 traveling the globe with their itinerary fully dictated by one thing: Beer.

Chris Nelson and Merideth Canham-Nelson, the sudsy minds behind thebeergeek.com, declared 2008 "The Year in Beer," and spent $30,000 exploring beer festivals and local craft brewers from Anchorage to Erlangen. Their entire trip is documented with photos and videos on their website, now a comprehensive resource for where to find the best brews in just about every beer-centric locale throughout North America and Europe.

The duo also shared their best bets with the Silicon Valley Mercury News. For a domestic trip, they recommend the Oregon Brewers Festival in Portland (coming up July 23-26). Abroad, they were taken with Cologne's Kölsch bars, where guests are served in 7-ounce glasses that are constantly refilled until you signal you're done by placing a beer mat over the glass. Sounds like a dangerous system to us, but we'd certainly be willing to try.

Well we're thirsty now! And most definitely ready for a Year in Beer of our own, if we only had an extra $30,000 lying around (hint, hint to any potential sponsors).

Related Stories:
· The beer tourists [Mercury News ]
· Best bets for beer travel [Mercury News]
· Brits Complete 24-Year Pub Crawl [Jaunted]

[Photo: balajijegan] ]]> BS 2009-06-03T17:11:07-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/