The Washington Beer Commission’s 2013 Winter Beer Festival will feature winter seasonals and specialties from 52 Washington breweries this weekend at Hangar 30 in Magnuson Park. Tickets will be available at the door for $30 (cash or credit).

Most breweries bring two or three beers to pour at the event, so there is a lot to choose from. The full list of what is pouring is on the website, and following are a few beers that should be worth your tokens. While there are many great seasonal beers pouring that you should think about checking out, festivals like this are perfect for finding beers that you won’t see anywhere else. My personal tastes lean towards barrel-aged beers at this festival….and there are plenty this year.

Also, don’t drive to the fest. Take the bus. Take a cab. Take Uber. Walk….whatever. There are lots of strong beers at this fest, and you just shouldn’t drive afterwards. Don’t be an idiot.

Elysian Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged Dragonstooth Stout – I love my bourbon barrel beers, and this is one of Seattle’s best stouts.

Snipes Brewing Rye Baltic Porter – A Baltic Porter made with 40% rye should at the very least be interesting. I love rye beers, and I love Baltic Porters. Not sure I’ve ever seen the combination.

Pike Octopus Ink – This black IPA sticks with the winter theme, but is a great way to get your hop fix.

Odin Barrel Aged Stout – Odin makes consistently good beers, and this 8% ABV stout was aged in bourbon barrels from Oola Distillery in Capitol Hill.

Big Al Winter Warmer – one of my favorite examples of a winter warmer. If you’ve never tried it, you should.

Hale’s 30th Anniversary Barley Wine – This special version of Hale’s barleywine was aged in Jim Beam barrels for a year, then blended with fresh barleywine and cellared for another 6 months. 10% ABV….so be careful.

Georgetown Lovely Reida Imperial IPA – I still don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of trying this 10%, 100 IBU imperial IPA…but I’ve heard good things.

Strong Arm Imperial Cherry Chocolate Porter – An 8.5% imperial porter brewed with cocoa nibs and cherries from Oregon. If executed well, could be one of the best beers of the fest. If not, could be a train wreck.