On-Site Urban Beer Garden opens THURSDAY AUGUST 27!

To kick off the official end of summer celebration season, the Fremont Brewing Company is opening the Urban Beer Garden this Thursday. The UBG will be inside the brewery, very low-key/industrial in atmosphere (we turned some kegs over and put some old bleacher boards together for a table) and will be serving Universale and one-of-a-kind beers as they come to maturity. Hours are from 4pm-8pm Thursdays and Fridays until the weather turns cold, wet and rainy. PLEASE NOTE: Hop Fest is this Friday and we all have to be there, so the beer garden will not run this coming Friday but will resume the following week on September 3^rd and 4^th.

On Tap for Thursday, August 27 at the Urban Beer Garden:

Universale Pale

Rye P.A. - this is what happens when you think about beer too much. We blended organic pilsner malt and pale malt, added some crystal malt, some crystal rye and a wee touch of Belgian aromatic malt and then dropped a bomb of Amarillo and other hops in the boil and stepped back after we dryhopped with Cascade and German Saaz. How does it taste? We want to know, too. Come explore this bold beer, on tap.

NitroUniversale - it had to be done. We added a nitro tap and put the Universale on for a little fun - creamy pale anyone? Mmmmm.

Coming Up: porters, more IPAs (oaked), blonde ales, Belgian wits, and more.

Come on down to the Fremont Urban Beer Garden this Thursday from 4pm-8pm and enjoy the creative side of beer. Also, bring yer cash because we do not have the credit card swiper running yet.

Thanks,

Matt Lincecum, Founder, Owner, Brewer

Universale comes home!

The big news is that although we’ve been on tap for about 3 weeks at (by now) over 25 watering holes, we’re finally doing a media event at the LATONA PUB next MONDAY, AUGUST 17 to celebrate our “opening.” Matt will be there to talk about Universale Pale and our experience launching a small, sustainable business during a severe economic downturn.

Why there? Why now? Because Matt has lived in Green Lake off and on during most of his time in Seattle, including the last nine years in our current home, and is thus a dedicated Latona patron. Because the Latona is famous for serving high-quality craft beer and nurturing the region’s microbrewery scene. Because the Latona was the first place to tell Matt they’d put his beer on tap if he ever got this thing off the ground. That covers the “there.” As for the “now,” because the promised tap opened up. Because it could have been sooner but I needed some time to get a news advisory out in hope of attracting media attention. Because the Latona turns 22 years old at midnight on the 17^th. Because there’s no time like the present.

To witness the symbolic tapping of Universale at the Latona Pub, BE THERE BY 7:00 PM and stick around until midnight to sing “Happy Birthday” to one of the city’s best.

Acting on a tip from a volunteer, Matt talked his way into being one of three beers on tap at the Seattle Boat Show last weekend. They hadn’t planned on 3 but upon tasting Universale, they threw us on and ran through an unexpectedly high number of kegs. That exposure led to several requests for kegs o’ Universale at upcoming events and parties.

By the way, they’re draining our kegs fast at Leny’s Tavern (2219 N 56th St), another fine Green Lake bar (or Wallingford, depending on which Chamber of Commerce you’re talking to).

If you vote, remember to mail in your ballot by 8:00 pm on August 18^th! I’m voting YES on Referendum 1.

Taps and Bags

I should’ve known that my pledge to blog every Monday would result in failure. My New Year’s resolution every year is to floss and drink more water and I usually bail on that by early February. Sorry if I let you down last week but I’m really trying.

So, major progress on the retail front! Matt has secured about 25 accounts at bars/taverns/restaurants around town, mostly in the north end. Find a source near you here.

If you were to stroll along 34^th and turn north onto Woodland Park Ave, N., you’d instantly notice the striking blue (not navy, sky or royal blue but handsome “Honorable Blue”) building with a sleek, stainless steel-lined doorway on your left. The first thing you’d see upon entering is a handsome, antique (1936) wooden cooler. Matt bought that cooler at ReStore and, unbeknownst to him at the time, it was already connected to our family. Its previous home was Pies and Pints on 65^th near Roosevelt (serving meat pies and cold beverages), which was owned by Vince Gallapega until he died suddenly in 2007. Vince was my very first boyfriend and my very first kiss (March 16, 1979, Arden Junior High, Sacramento, CA). He was a charismatic lover of food and beer and showcasing this old treasure is a perfect homage to his memory.

That cooler will contain growlers and (future) six-packs as soon as Mad Mike has finished refurbishing it once he has fully recovered from his crash returning from the motorcycle gathering in Hollister, CA last month.

By now you’ve received your mail-in ballot if you’re a registered voter. My guy, Richard Conlin, is not on the ballot because he has only one opponent so you won’t get a chance to vote for him until the general election on November 3^rd. While I have a lot of strong opinions about the candidates on the ballot for the August 18^th primary, I’ll spare you my thoughts on all but one very crucial ballot measure, Referendum 1. This is the Green Bag Fee and I urge you to VOTE YES. Because this is a beer blog and I already take considerable advantage of this soap-box for issues unrelated directly to our product (like domestic and civic politics), I direct you to my Facebook note to learn more about why.