Beer Launch This Thursday: Triple Door Backstage Ale

So regardless of whether or not you celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving or Columbus Day, either, or neither, October and autumn are definitely here. It’s a time when the gardens – both edible and not – wind down, when the garlic is braided, when the potatoes are in storage, and when the pantries are loaded with the summer’s bounteous preserves, both savory and sweet.

All that’s needed is something to wash it all down, right?

Although I confess that I drink both beer and wine year-round, it’s the beer that I think of most often this time of the year. Of course, I’m not the only one: from Oktoberfest at the end of September to Pumpkin Ale, found at such venues as the Elysian Brewing Company’s Great Pumpkin Brew Festival (which took place juuust this last weekend), beer is on the brain worldwide. And just in case you missed that pumpkin party, your next Elysian beer sampling opportunity is coming up this Thursday, October 13th, 2011, when Elysian and The Triple Door officially launch their joint beerchild: The Triple Door Backstage Ale, at its Launch Party. (Recently, your Hedonista was stopped by to interview the team and have an early taste at Elysian Fields and The Triple Door.) Things moved quickly: this private label beerchild was conceived at the end of July, with the first batch brewed by mid-August.

Why this joint effort? Well, for starters, the Elysian Brewing Company has been around for a quarter of a century, with Wild Ginger almost as long, so both are Seattle icons. (Note: The Triple Door just celebrated its 8th year on September 23rd, 2011.) Elysian IPA is the best-selling beer on draft at The Triple Door; what’s more, it apparently sells more Elysian IPA than any other venue in Seattle. Given that kind of success, a private label seemed like a logical next step.

Designed to go with its Southeast Asian cuisine upstairs from Wild Ginger, such as its meat satay dishes, this beer is a medium-bodied brew that is golden in the barlight and the color of dark straw in the sunlight. It’s lively and fresh with notes of woodsy-floraliciousness on the nose, along with citrus, lemongrass, and earthy tropical fruit (think coconut shells here). This aroma is due to three factors: 1) the juniper branches with which they brewed the beer, 2) the relatively new Yakima-based citrus-tropical Citra hop, and 3) the rare Japanese-developed lemongrassy Sorachi Ace hop. The taste profile is all of the above, as well as enough hops to satisfy all of you hopheads out there (which is also of course detectable on the nose).

To me, what makes this beer unique is the combination of Citra and Sirachi Ace hops as well as a subtle-yet-very-present juniper flavor from the actual juniper greenery, not the berries, for actual tree branches went into the mash of this brewing process. Juniper branches gathered from Dick Cantwell’s own backyard, no less. (He’s the Head Brewer, Co-Founder, and President of Elysian … talk about farm-to-table! Or, should I say, backyard-to-beer-mug?) This beer – made with ingredients that Dick, who finalized the recipe, had never brewed with before – will be available both on tap and for take-home purchase in growler form ($20 per growler, $15 per growler refill).

So think about heading on over to The Triple Door’s Musicquarium Lounge this Thursday at 6:00 p.m., with the keg-tapping ceremony to take place at 7:00 p.m. and the party expected to rage on until 2:00 a.m. There will also be passed appies and music by local funk and soul band, Youngblood Groovement.

Interested? To R.S.V.P., simply visit The Triple Door’s Facebook page.

Note: In order to comply with FTC Act 16 C.F.R. 255, Heed the Hedonist would like to disclose that it does receive media “comps” and/or media discounts – but not in exchange for favorable coverage, or for withholding unfavorable coverage, of the given venue/meal/performance/product/service.