Seattle International Beer Festival

The Quick and Easy:

What: Seattle International Beer Festival; A three-day celebration of beer
When: July 4th – 6th 2008
Where:Mural Amphitheater, Seattle Center
Why: Tons of beer, sun and music on a holiday weekend.

Beer drinking and Independence Day have been bedmates from the get go. Something about the hot July sun paired with, cold, alcoholic refreshment just makes sense. George Washington himself was a brewer, concocting a draught sweetened with molasses that was about twice as potent as today’s varieties. John Adams drank hard cider for breakfast, while Thomas Jefferson’s beloved Martha brewed a honey and ginger spiced ale for her husband. Washington was a huge proponent of domestic drinks as he hated to see those rapscallion Brits cashing in on foreign rum imports.

In this grad tradition comes the Seattle International Beer Festival (SIB) to Seattle Center, July 4th through 6th. Take a veritable history lesson through brews dating back as far as 1230, many of the styles marking an innovation in technique at the time. Live music in the grassy Mural Amphitheater from Knut Bell and the Haggis Brothers (among others) will provide accompaniment. If your dog likes beer (or sun, for that matter) he can come too.

For a $20 entry fee, festival-goers receive ten tickets good for 4oz. tastes of the 130 beers on tap, with some of the rarer vintages running at two or three tickets. If you run out, though, more can be purchased at $1 each. The selection of brews are drawn from 15 different countries, so participants can look forward to a truly varied experience that will challenge and stretch domestically grounded pallets. Anyone needing a break from the whirlwind tour may also sit back with $4 pints of Pilsner Urquell. Those showing up at 12pm unabashedly ready to drink will be rewarded with five extra tickets for their eye-opening pleasure.

Show up with a thirsty throat and an inquiring pallet and you’ll not be disappointed. The SIB opens from 12 – 10pm Friday and Saturday, and 12 – 7pm on Monday. This is a 21 and over event (no babes in arms, you drunkards).