The Old Brewery at Tadcaster was founded in 1758 and is Yorkshire's oldest brewery. Samuel Smith is one of the few remaining independent breweries in England, and further is the last to utilize the classic Yorkshire Square system of fermentation solely in stone squares.

 
The rich Samuel Smith strain of yeast at The Old Brewery dates from the early 1900s. Hops are hand-weighed by the master hop blender, and the brewing water is drawn from a well sunk over 200 years ago.

First introduced to the U.S. market in 1978 by Merchant du Vin, Samuel Smith beers quickly became the benchmark ales for the emerging craft beer movement. To this day, they remain among the most awarded.

 

 

Saturday, March 20th
2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at 99 Bottles
Sample 5 beers and a cider for $1
Must be 21+ years, with valid ID, to sample.

 

What was once a dying beer style in England has been revived as an American classic. Deep Enders Dark Porter is a full-bodied porter with a rich creamy head, delicious chocolaty aftertaste and a roasted coffee character. A pleasantly bitter brew, Deep Enders is excellent with oysters and other shellfish, as well as your favorite chocolate desserts or with full-flavored meals and spicy dishes. Silver Medal, 1998 World Beer Championships. Serve at 40-45°F. 5.5 % ABV, 17 IBU

Anderson Valley Anniversary Imperial IPA

This IPA was first created in honor of Anderson Valley's 20th anniversary as a brewer and purveyor of the finest beers in the world. It's currently a rotating release beer that's loaded with excessive amounts of malts to balance 20 separate additions of the finest Pacific Northwest hops. To fully enjoy its rich and complex flavor, serve at 44-50°F. Gold Medal, 2009 U.S. Open Beer Championships. 8.7% ABV, 100 IBU
 

This Irish Red ale is deep red in color with a sweet, caramelly aroma. This beer has a big, sticky palate and is loaded with toasty, caramelly malts, a subtle smokiness and a crisp, hoppy finish. 6.7% ABV, 30 IBU

 

Brewed by Brouwerij Lefebvre of Belgium, this beer first came on our radar when we saw ads in beer publications last year. Hence, when we learned of its availability in Washington, we were quick to bring it in. Hopus is a Belgian IPA, or essentially a hopped-up Belgian golden ale, that's expected to please both Belgian beer connoisseurs and hop heads. This ale is blond, bottle conditioned, and bitter. Swing open the top and pour the beer to realize a light, bubbly, pale yellow ale. The aroma is sweet, and the flavor is a balance of bready malts with sharp, bitter hops and the finish is entirely warming. 8.5% ABV

 

Emphasizing that complexity of character can arise from simple elements, this Imperial IPA is made with 3 malts and 1 hop. Its light amber color and slightly spicy malt character are derived from the use of German Dark Munich Malt and Rye Malt respectively. North American 2-row barley combines with the other grains to lay the foundation for the hop onslaught to come. Summit hops are used exclusively in the boil for bitterness, flavor and aroma but it doesn't end there. Post-fermentation dry hopping allows the 10% ABV monstrosity to gently coax the citrus rind and grapefruit aroma to join the 100 IBUs already present. This beer will greet you with a pungent citrus blast, provide a spicy yet round middle and finish with a brisk, clean bitterness. Outstanding on BeerAdvocate. Though there's initial limited availability on its release, Burc from Oskar Blues tells us there'll be more coming later this month. Check out the GUBNA canning line in this nifty video...

 

 

Reminiscent of the early 20th century brews -- in brewing process, flavor, and label design. This certified organic ale has a delicatel flavor with subtle fruity esters from the Samuel Smith yeast strain that interact with a background of maltiness and fresh hops. Pair it with dungeness crab salad, free range herbed chicken, hummus, smoked salmon, and masala. Try it at 99 Bottles on Saturday, March 20th -- it'll be in the line-up pouring from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. were you can try 6 for $1. 5% ABV

 

Scaldis Refermentée is a 12% ABV amber ale brewed expressly to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Scaldis. Like Scaldis, it has deeply aromatic notes of praline and vanilla. Thanks to fine dosage of yeast, it undergoes a fermentation in the bottle that further deepens the complexity and fullness of body. This ale is suitable for cellaring. Refermentée  is less sweet, has an earthier nose and fine, creamy texture, the result of a slow, natural refermentation in the bottle. It's a new entry from Dubuisson, newly available in the US, with limited availability. Excellent on BeerAdvocate. Limit 1 bottle per person, while supplies last.

 

You scooped this lambic up so fast last time it was in, that we nearly ran out before we had a chance to try it! Delicious sweet-tart raspberries with a lovely pink pour. Drink it alone, or serve it with ice cream, cheesecake, or chocolate.

 

This light golden has a fresh hoppiness and a wild and rustic spice. Serve it with Easter lunch or dinner; this refreshing ale is perfect for warmer weather and spring celebrations. 6.5% ABV, 35 IBU, 4 SRM

 

Medium Sweet is a full-bodied cider, a bit sweet with light effervescence, and is spoken very highly of by the cider community. Enjoy it as a social drink to with friends, and serve with fruit and cheese. Residual sugar is approximately 3.8 %. Gold Medal & Best of Show Winner, 2008 Great Lakes International Cider & Perry Competition. 6.8% ABV
 

Very Dry is a "bone dry" cider, crisp, with a bit of effervescence. It makes an excellent addition to any meal where a dry white wine would be served, such as with salami. Residual sugar less than 1/2 percent. Silver Medal, 2008 & 2009 Great Lakes International Cider & Perry Competition. 6.8% ABV

 

More returning...

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

Great Divide St. Bridget's Porter

Great Divide Titan IPA
Victory Hop Wallop

 

This weekend

Next month
Style Night: Saisons - Tuesday, April 6th 5-7:30PM at 99 Bottles
Sky River Mead Tasting - Saturday, April 17th 2-5PM at 99 Bottles
Hop Scotch Spring Beer & Scotch Festival - Friday & Saturday, April 23rd & 24th at Fremont Studios in Seattle. Advance tickets for the beer & wine tasting are available now at 99 Bottles; choose GREEN ticket $20 (admission, cup, 5 tokens) or GOLD ticket $25 (admission, cup, 10 tokens). Cash/check to "Hop Scotch." For your convenience, 99 Bottles accepts credit/debit/gift cards for payment of tickets, but adds $1 service fee per ticket to cover our costs.

MillerCoors to test new beer to fuel sales
Brewing giant MillerCoors LLC plans to test-market a new beer called Batch 19, which is based on a pre-Prohibition recipe, as part of several initiatives aimed at rejuvenating sales in the sluggish U.S. market. Read more...


The Beer Institute spent $160K and MillerCoors spent $562K lobbying the government in the Fourth Quarter of 2009. To learn more about beer lobbyists, the three tier system of alcohol distribution in the US (i.e., one reason why you can't always get the beer you want where you live), and big breweries vs. small breweries, order up BeerWars: The Movie available now via OnDemand, Netflix, and other locations.