Another weekend in the books…the weather wasn’t nearly as nice as it was the previous weekend, but it did the trick.

• A first for me: Before heading down to the Mariner’s game on Friday (which was a fantastic game, despite the loss and the end of Ichiro’s hitting streak) I enjoyed a beer whose ingredient list included something passed through the digestive system of a small animal. The Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel is a version of their popular Beer Geek Breakfast Stout that uses coffee beans that have been eaten by Southeast Asian animals known as Civets, which are weasel-like mammals. The digested coffee beans are then harvested from the animal’s feces, and then hopefully cleaned up a bit before being used. Yeah, beer geeks literally drink shit like this up – the beer currently sits at #19 on Ratebeer’s list of the top 50 beers in the world. I have to say it lived up to its hype. This 10.9% Imperial Stout manages to be drinkable and has tons of espresso and chocolate taste, without any offsetting bitterness that can often accompany espresso stouts.
• Saturay found Jeanne and I driving out on I-90 for our first hike of the year. Of course, one of the best things about going hiking is sitting down for a beer with lunch afterwards. We stopped by Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company and in addition to a pint of their fantastic Wildcat IPA (which is especially amazing fresh from the taproom), they  currently have a nice Belgian Double to celebrate the taproom’s 3rd anniversary and another first for me: a beer made with potato starch. “Spuds McKenzie” was about what you’d expect from a beer made from potatoes. It’s very light and not exactly a clean drinking beer. It was refreshing after the hike, but I wouldn’t expect to see this one become a regular in their lineup…but still good to see them give it a try.
• On a trip up to Naked City Taphouse (where one of Jeanne’s co-workers was having a party; works for me!) on Saturday I had a chance to try the Big Al Belgian IPA, and I loved it. It leans more to the Belgian side with complex spice/fruit yeast esters, but the citrus hops are well represented.  Defying its 8.8% ABV, it was incredibly drinkable and beckoned me to order a second schooner. Well done.
• Congrats to the WA winners at the North American Brewers Association Awards! WA brewers took home 6 bronze medals, 11 silver medals and 6 gold medals. The Washington Beer Blog has a nice summary of the WA breweries’ performance.
• Plenty of us have experienced hangovers after drinking too many good beers. But, you don’t know what a truly bad hangover is until you’ve seen the new movie called “The Hangover“. While it isn’t the most intellectually stimulating movie ever, it is freaking hilarious. And, yes. I was a bit hungover when we went to see it:-)