Latona Pub Celebrates Earth Day with Human Powered Beer Delivery

Latona is embracing the Earth Day spirit this week! (Photo: Rachel Strawn - http://www.rachelphotodiary.com)

This is a very cool event that warrants a little love from the blogging community. It also molds nicely into the Earth Day motif for the day.

Latona Pub, one of the 3 Pubs collection around Seattle, will only be serving beer from kegs that were transported to the bar by human powered devices – thus anything without a combustion engine.

You can check out photos of how breweries like Elysian Brewing, Big Time Brewing, Hales Ales, Fremont Brewing, Naked City Brewing and Maritime Pacific Brewing have each delivered their kegs to Latona. Each one has been delivered by way of hand truck (sometimes by relay).

It will be interesting to see if anyone finds some other alternative way to deliver their beer to the pub. Wheel barrow, bicycle, canoe (i know someone wants to go across green lake)?

At this moment, Two Beers Brewing of SODO is trying to figure out how to muster the 9.8 mile journey to the pub. You can join them in getting the beer to the public by visiting their facebook post and leaving a comment:

 

Two Beers Brewing Co. Help us sell a keg. Latona Pub is only taking kegs this week that are delivered in any form other than Car or Truck. This means we have to get a 140lb keg from SoDo to Green Lake under human power. Thoughts? Wanna help?

 

One thing is for sure – thanks to the resolve of great Seattle brewers and beer-fanatic Seattlites, Latona will not be dry this Earth Day.

(Photo Credit to Rachel Strawn, who wrote about Latona Pub on her site.)

 

The Tap List: 8 Cities. Lots of Bars. Beer on tap.

Latona Pub in Seattle just posted their list. That Big Time brew is looking good!

So……Friday is the day where we will be introducing the Taplist – an adventure into America’s top tap lists. Beer Blotter did a survey (no we didnt), and we tallied the votes (certainly did not) and we decided in unanimity (eh…maybe) that there are 8 epic beer cities in the U.S. of A.

Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, and Denver won out. Thus, they will be routinely displayed here every Friday (morning from now on) so that you know where to go to get a beer in your city, your vacation spot, the place where work stuck you with that guy, the place you got stuck on a layover, the place your in-laws live and you tentatively visit,  and/or the place you bought that stuff from that dude that knew that chick.

We will try to get to all 8 cities each week…but this week we only get to 6.

And now for the list……

Chicago….

• The Map Room – Updated 12/11/09 – Founder’s Red Rye Ale is up and seriously lacking a response in the beer community. The reviews are spicy with a great caramel balance. Worth a look. Also, appearing are Cleveland’s Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald,  Montreal’s McAuslan St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout (99 on RateBeer), Sierra Nevada/Dogfish Life & Limb (10.2% with maple syrup and birch) – best for last Three Floyds Alpha Klaus (beer of the month = $4)
• The Publican – Get the pig ears. order beer. Green’s Quest is brewed at Mikkeller’s De Proef Brouwerij (8.5% tripel); the list has Port Brewing’s Panzer Imperial Pilz and Older Viscosity (taste like hot pretzels – 2nd at Big Wood); you might want to save your cash and get a Matilda from Goose Island, a beer full of funky yet citrusy belgian flavor while adding a smooth but strong hoppy note.
• The Hopleaf - Updated 12/11/09 – they win for today’s list. The list includes localites Tyranena Rocky’s Revenge (Barrel Aged Brown), Bell’s Two Hearted Ale (quintessential IPA), Two Brothers Heavy Handed IPA (wet hop!), Metropolitan Generator Dopplebock (who makes these? – 8.2% is just right), Half Acre Magnus Schwartz and Point Brewing Cascade Pale Ale. But the show stoppers here are (a) Stone/Brewdog Bashah (8.6%, get this – Black. Belgian. Double IPA – i love these guys) and (b) Goose Island Pere Jacques (9% – banana monster that will turn you upside down)

New York….

• Ginger Man – Weyerbacher Quad. enough said. This went up today. Also going up are Abita Christmas Ale (New Orleans favorite), and Smuttynose Big A IPA; but the king has to be Harpoon’s Leviathan Imperial IPA – we sampled this down in New Orleans and were floored. This is an extremely well bittered IPA with perfect smooth sugars. The beer is comparable to Ruination.
• Rattle N Hum – Updated 12/9/09 – Woo. Wow. 40 taps and 4 Dark Star (England) Casks. This list is incredible – we will just rattle them off: Allagash Burnham Road, Smuttynose Finest Kind Kind (2x IPA – no ratings – rare as hell), Captain Lawrence Freshchester Pale, Dogfish Head Burton Baton (2x IPA), Stone Sublimely Self Righteous, Southern Tier Old Man Winter, Brooklyn Back Breaker, and Sixpoint Otis –  - but the champs are here Brooklyn Monster ’07 and Cigar City Hunaphu (got to love the NY and FL connection – thank NYC shitty taxes and FL no taxes) . Hunu is a RateBeer Top 50, aged in cigar box wood and severely limited in production. Get it now.

Philadelphia….

• Monk’s Cafe – East Coasters – they still have Port Brewing High Tide – go get it. Its your last amazing taste of fresh hops for the season. You want a Belgian – get the Nogne O Tiger Trippel.
• Eulogy – Austria’s favorite is Samichlaus (14%) Dopplebock, aged for 10 months and ready for the Holidays. Very rare on tap. The Belgians here are the fare; there are plenty you will like.

San Diego…

• Toronado – Updated 12/11/09 – Unlike the SF version, these guys maintain an ever changing tap list online. Holiday beers on parade. Today you can grab a Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi. This beer is biblical in theme and in effect. An incredible Biere De Garde that has been reviewed as having “hints of egg nog” – really? They also have Mikkeller’ Santa’s Little Helper 2009, Oggi’s- Freakin’ Awsome (SD brewer with some amazing IPAs), Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper, and Santa Cruz Mountain’s Ginger’s Winter Warmer
• Stone Bistro - Stone Brewing’s own brewpub/bistro has probably the most consistently-impressive tap list in the city. Right now you can grab any of Stone’s brews, including Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, as well as Avery duganA (one of the more impressive new 2x IPAs), a winter ale offering from Bootleggers of Fullerton, CA, and Mission Brewing’s  Armada Imperial IPA (collaboration with San Diego Brewing @ 9.2%). We would love to try and get our hands on that Mission offering.

San Francisco…

• Toronado - These guys do not keep an updated taplist. But, they do have a pleasant surprise for you – Speakeasy is holding an Old Godfather Release Party today at this pub. This beer is a tasty caramel barleywine (10.2%). But the versions on tap today will be Barrel-Aged and extra special.
• The Trappist – OK OK we know its in Oakland, but this bar is incredible. They are hold KerstBier Festival right now, with some amazing Belgians. De Struise Tsjeeses (10%), Mikkeller To From, and Brouwerij De Regenboog‘s Catherine the Great Stout.

Seattle….

• Latona – UPDATED 12/12/09 – They just put up their new tap list.  Big Time Malaprop 8 is very intriguing. This abbey style ale (7.2%)  has excellent reviews and an interesting spiced malt. Check this beer out.
• Naked City Taphouse – UPDATED all the time. Naked City’s use of Twitter has been an excellent tool for beer lovers. Now you can be sure to know what is running on their taps at all time. Its a must follow. Right now they are pouring Speakeasy Brewer’s Reserve Old Godfather, Snipes Diminished Returns Double IPA and Diamond Knot Industrial Ho Ho. We were especially impressed with Snipes’ 2x IPA. The beer is not too bitter, very floral and extremely smooth, while maintaining a high alcohol content (9%). Snipes has been getting a lot of attention for hoppy beers over the past year.  Take a trip to Greenwood people!
• Brouwer’s Cafe – UPDATED 12/11/09 – Brouwers put some good beers on last night, notifying us via Twitter.
  Maritime’s Jolly Roger, Firestone Walker’s Reserve Porter, and the Fall 2009 version of Hair of the Dog’s Blue Dot Imperial IPA have hit the taps. Oh yeah – they also still have a few Big Wood beers running!

Let us know if we are missing something. Next week expect to see a post about all 8 cities!