Redhook’s dad taught him lots of things. How to build a fire. How to respond to an unprovoked attack. How to be polite. And that eating meals directly from the pot you cooked them in cuts down on dishes. All valuable lessons.
Dad also taught Redhook that finishing a job meant cleaning up your mess. Things like putting away your tools, sweeping up sawdust or wiping up blood after you’ve taught someone a much-needed lesson. Which brings us to BP.
Dudes, 59 days and counting? Get it together already and plug that leak. And once you do, consider bringing in these guys with their dad-like ingenuity to help clean up the Gulf:
Nice idea, gentlemen. Thanks for sharing. We wish you and all the other dads out there with lessons to teach a Happy Father’s Day.
We’ve provided a soundtrack worthy of today’s exciting news. Please click on the audio player below, then listen to the pageantry unfold as you scroll down the giant bottle of Big Ballard IPA and read all the deets.
Soundtrack of Pageantry
A few weeks ago, we confirmed the rumors were true: Big Ballard IPA is on its way.
Now, we’ve finally nailed down the particulars of our release party in Ballard, the town where it all started for us so many years ago.
The Big Big Ballard IPA Release Party will be at the Old Pequliar in Ballard on April 22, from 4 pm to 7 pm. There will be $3 pints of Big Ballard from 4 pm to 6 pm, live music, plus prize drawings at 5 pm, 6 pm and 7 pm.
For what it’s worth, the 7 pm Grand Prize drawing is for a $1000 gift certificate to Redhook Ale Brewery — which is a lot better than a keychain beer bottle opener.
Who’s invited? You, your friends and lots of other important people, including Redhook brewers Tom Mace and Kim Brusco.
First, it was born. Then it snagged the coveted position as Redhook’s seasonal Spring Ale (while Copperhook got kicked upstairs to full-time status). Then, this past week, it won a Bronze Medal at the 2010 World Beer Cup. Go ahead and click on that link and scroll down to Category 59: English-Style Brown Ale. We’ll wait.
(Whistling tunelessly while we wait for your page to load and you scroll down to Category 59 like we asked you to.)
See, we told you, Bronze Medal. We also have photographic evidence below:
Check out the proud look on Redhook Brewmaster Greg Deuhs’ face. And why not? Greg calls Mudslinger one of his favorite beers. Or as the Brits say, “Favourite.”
The only possible downside to this news is that you’ll have to sprint to your favorite grocer’s beer cooler if you want a case of Mudslinger. Come the end of April, it’s off the shelves until next January.
Lots of news this week. The UConn women’s basketball team ran their undefeated streak to 78-0 on their way to winning their second straight NCAA championship. Very impressive.
And yes, begrudgingly, we must report that the Duke men’s team eked out a victory over Butler on Monday. Alas, if only that last-second shot by Butler’s Gordon Hayward would have gone in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDmW988_5Jg
Also, baseball is back. There’s lots of optimism around the Seattle Mariners this year. Here’s hoping that optimism will turn into about 95 wins and take the M’s into October. We’re big fans of Mike Sweeney. Nice to see a guy who’s nearly 37 years old swing a hot bat. Hopefully, he’ll get some PT.
What else? Well, to celebrate Tax Day, we’re introducing Rope Swing, a refreshing, new Summer Pilsner. Join us at the Forecasters Pub in Woodinville on Thursday, April 15 for our Rope Swing Release Party. If you’re getting a big refund, you can buy $2.50 pints for the house. If you owe big, you can drown your sorrows without draining your wallet.
Bloghook isn’t a basketball blog, but the sheer awesomeness of the NCAA Tournament compels us to finish this thing out.
One half of the bracket actually makes sense. #1 seed Duke versus #2 seed West Virginia. The other half, #5 Michigan State versus #5 Butler, was not predicted by anyone. In fact, here’s another video that’s a wonderful metaphor for what Michigan State and Butler have done to brackets across the land:
Redhook could watch that video over and over again. Another thing Redhook could watch repeatedly? Duke losing. Why? Friends, that is the age-old question.
People who like Duke include their alumni and Dick Vitale. People who hate Duke include EVERYONE ELSE ON THE PLANET. If you need reasons to justify your own disdain for Duke, simply Google “Why do people hate Duke?” Or click here, here, here or here. You’ll find you’re not alone.
If you think hating Duke is counter to the spirit of Liquid Goodness, think again. Duke fans thrive on being hated. It fuels their annoying arrogance, which in turn generates more hatred. It’s the circle of life.
As for Redhook, he will be rooting for West Virginia on Saturday and Monday. If WVU runs the table, Redhook will win his family bracket tournament for the third year in a row. The irritation this dominance causes his brothers delights Redhook to no end.
As for the other game, Redhook has no rooting interest. However, his good friend Erin is a Michigan State alumna, so he wishes her team the best of luck.
Have fun watching the games. And remember, there are only twenty-two days until the NFL Draft.
That sums up Redhook’s bracket after the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Kansas? Georgetown? ’Nova? Vandy? Temple? Wisconsin? Pitt? All gone, along with most of America’s tournament pool entry fees.
The Four Great Underdogs of 2010 as not predicted by Nostradamus
Still, Redhook’s own bracket aside, it’s hard to be too bummed when underdogs are taking down powerhouses. Northern Iowa shocked Kansas and everyone else. St. Mary’s took out Villanova. Cornell (a freakin’ Ivy League school) beat Wisconsin. And Redhook’s hometown boys, the University of Washington, beat Marquette on a last second shot, before completely running New Mexico out of the building.
Quincy Pondexter auditions for an NBA gig
Note to both Joe Lunardi and Seth Davis: the U-Dub wants an apology from both of you for saying they didn’t belong. Redhook won’t be buying either of you beers any time soon.
Good luck to the Dawgs and to the underdogs left in the tournament. No predictions this week. It’s too embarrassing. But you should hit the Forecasters Pub at the Redhook Brewery in Woodinville for game day specials on pints and apps.
Lastly, a special note to Asian cinema buff Andrew from Minneapolis. Redhook thanks you for suggesting the action-packed video that leads off this post. We hope your girlfriend’s rash clears up soon.
Every year, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament rolls around. And every year, the stodgy coots at Challenger Gray and Christmas, the nation’s oldest consulting firm, insist on reminding us how much the tournament costs America in lost workplace productivity. This year, they’re claiming the figure is $1.8 billion.
This annual prediction is a bit dubious and smacks of bitterness. Redhook suspects the sticks-in-the-mud at CG&C were rarely invited to parties in high school and silently seethe while everyone else in the room is laughing. They’re right about one thing, though: the broad reach of the Tournament across all age groups and interest levels. Just the other day, in fact, Redhook overheard Bernice in Accounting muttering something like, “Watch out for those 5-12 matchups. They always bite me in the ass.” Thanks, Bernice. Good advice.
Redhook prefers to see the positive side of March Madness in the workplace. Employee bonding, for one thing. Discovering hidden skill sets, for another. Take Redhook’s friend Tom. He’s reasonably good at his job. But he is BETTER THAN ANYONE ON THE PLANET at organizing March Madness pools and college football bowl game tournaments. If Tom could take the energy he puts into college sport pools and apply it to curing cancer, developing hydrogen fuel cells or finding peace in the Middle East, we’d all be saved. Instead, he focuses on making sure people get their $25 in on time. Yes, he takes Pay Pal.
Redhook is particularly excited that his hometown University of Washington Huskies made the field. We wish them luck against a tough Marquette team this Thursday in San Jose. The game is scheduled to start at 4:20 Pacific, so Redhook thinks he may be leaving the office early for a “meeting” that day.
When it’s all said and done, Redhook suspects it’ll be Kansas versus Kentucky in the final. We’ll see how that prediction holds up after the first two weekends. Good luck in your brackets.
Hollywood is famous for its overly-long, self-congratulatory awards shows filled with gushing, crying and tiresome speeches.
Advertising is very similar in that regard. Ad folks love to give themselves awards and then tell anyone who will listen about these awards. “Hey did you hear about these awesome awards I won? Follow me. I have a shrine where I like to display them.” Anyway, that’s kind of what we’re doing right now.
Redhook did well at last night’s Seattle ADDY Awards, garnering one Gold and five Silver awards for his efforts in print, outdoor, radio, cinema and online advertising. Below, you’ll see a wonderful collage of some of Redhook’s award-winning work composed of low-res camera phone photos of the show book. Nothing but the best for Bloghook.
Yes, great fun was had by all last night and, from all reports, there was no crying.
Redhook remembers the first time he realized what a “spoiler” was. He was about seven years old and was watching Superman: The Movie with Christopher Reeve on his parents’ Laserdisc player.
About halfway through the movie, Redhook’s jerky big brother walks in and says, [ACTUAL SPOILER ALERT] “This is awesome. Lois dies at the end and then Superman gets mad and flies around the Earth really fast and reverses its rotation so it spins backward and then they all go back in time 20 minutes and Lois comes back to life and then Superman captures the bad guys.” [END OF SPOILER]
After totally ruining the movie, Redhook’s brother plopped down on the couch and ate all of Redhook’s popcorn. Not cool.
In a similar spoiler-esque fashion, it seems word has leaked out about a little surprise we’d had planned for late Spring: the release of Big Ballard IPA.
Much like Superman reversing the rotation of the Earth, Big Ballard IPA takes us on a journey back in time, hearkening back to our early roots in an old Ballard transmission shop where we first brewed Ballard Bitter.
Big Ballard IPA is, as the name says, big and hoppy with robust 8.6% ABV. We can’t wait to unveil it at our release party — which is not at any of the venues that have been reported, btw. Where will the party be held? Stay tuned. We’ll let you know when the time comes.
Well, February is coming to a close and, unfortunately, so is the Fest. If you missed any or all of it, you have one last chance. This Sunday at 7 p.m., the Fest is having its Closing Awards Gala at Rock Salt on Westlake and we’d love to see you there.
We’ll drink, we’ll dance, we’ll point and laugh at people, and we’ll find out how much money and food the teams raised for Treehouse. Plus, we’ll all see which hairy-faced individual wins the Redhook ESB Extra Special Beard Award — a prize that includes an ESB tap handle trophy, 2 cases of ESB and 2 cases of Mudslinger.
Facial hair or not, come on out. The Stache Fest’s Closing Ceremonies promise to be a lot more fun than this weekend’s other closing ceremonies.
