Come on down to Full Throttle Bottles tomorrow night, Wednesday, Jan 19, from 5pm to 7pm to sample beers from one of my favorite breweries! I’ll be there hanging out as well, so come by and say hello. New Belgium does a great job of balancing their year-round lineup with special releases, such as the Sahti and Vrienden, both of which you can sample at this tasting. Here are more details from Erika at Full Throttle:

Georgetown, WA – We’re pretty excited to have Steve W come down to present some of NBB special beers for this tasting event! We all know what they can do with malt and hops, but do you know what they can do with other ingredients? Like Juniper and flower spices? How about Hibiscus and Endive? Trust me, they do GREAT things. So come down, say hello, and try something a little different. Oh, and be sure to grab some 2 Below…did … you know they won’t be making that as their seasonal from now on? Yup, that’s what the NBB Lorax told me. Maybe I heard wrong..we’ll get Steve to confirm…so come ask and grab some before it’s all gone! And maybe…if enough people are daring me, I’ll open a bottle of La Folie. 🙂 I believe we’ll also have Geoff Kaiser from Seattle Beer News here as a special guest! So come be our vrienden!

NBB 2 Below: Pull on your wool socks and crack open a 2° Below Ale. This tasty winter warmer started life as a small batch beer brewed for the Al Johnson Uphill Downhill – a telemark ski race in Crested Butte, Colorado. The Uphill Downhill celebrates the exploits of Al Johnson, letter carrier extraordinaire, who delivered mail by ski in the late 1800’s. Dry hopping during fermentation creates a floral nose with a hint of pepper and spicy, subtle undertones. 2° Below provides a bright, hoppy palate and a cheery warm afterglow.

NBB 1554 Enlightened Black Ale: Born of a flood and centuries-old Belgian text, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale uses a light lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be. In 1997, a Fort Collins flood destroyed the original recipe their researcher, Phil Benstein, found in the library. So Phil and brewmaster, Peter Bouckaert, traveled to Belgium to retrieve this unique style lost to the ages. Their first challenge was deciphering antiquated script and outdated units of measurement, but trial and error (and many months of in-house sampling) culminated in 1554, a highly quaffable dark beer with a moderate body and mouthfeel.

NBB Sahti: Inspired by Finnish Sahti, a traditional rye ale brewed with juniper, their Sahti Ale is a hazy amber ale with a sturdy mouthfeel and a crisp and lively finnish. Brewed with Pale, Crystal, rye malts and whole oats, their version is bittered with Cascade and finished with Cascade and Amarillo hops. Juniper boughs are added to the mash and juniper berries, orange and lemon peel are pitched in the whirlpool creating a festive olfactory of citrus and juniper notes.

NBB & Allagash Vrienden Collabeeration: Get a Belgian Brewmaster and a master of Belgian brewing together and theres sure to be spontaneous imagination that leads to micro-organisms mingling in fermentation. Allagash and New Belgium are pleased to offer you their collabeeration brewed with the slightly fruity hibiscus flower, the aromatic Brettanomyces, and the flavor-boosting Lactobacillus. They recommend pairing it with creamy, soft cheeses and charming Vrienden- that’s ‘friends’ in Flemish.

We will be tasting these on Wednesday January 19, 2011 from 5-7pm. Only $3 for all of them! Bring your own glass to be GREEN and save $1!

Thanks, Erika & Crew