We’re right in the middle of festival season.
Whether you choose beer, cider, wine or barbeque, the month of August is chock full of great gatherings for imbibers. This weekend, Everett is hosting the Upper Left Beerfest and Food Truck Festival, while next weekend the Port of Everett will host Sip on the Sound, a wine and cocktail party.
This is the third year back post-COVID for Upper Left organizer Jared Loranger, who owns Seattle-based Fizz Events. A few years removed from the pandemic, he said things seem to have returned to normalcy. Loranger expects this year’s Upper Left Beerfest to be a huge success.
Sixteen breweries and cideries will be pouring, plus close to two dozen trucks serving food and 40 makers booths selling a wide array of goods. As opposed to their previous location on Hewitt Avenue, this year the food trucks and makers market will be at Wetmore Avenue and Wall Street, near the edge of the beer festival.
“This year it will feel more like one large, cohesive festival between all of the different booths,” Loranger said.
The Food Truck Festival will bring in a dozen food trucks on Friday and more than 20 on Saturday. Loranger wanted a diversity of food for attendees to enjoy, so you have plenty of choices in what to nosh on. Trucks will be serving seafood, pizza, wings, Indian cuisine, Hawaiian shave ice, doughnuts, halal food and much more. For a full list of food trucks, visit everettfoodtruckfestival.com.
Loranger said one issue lingering from the pandemic is brewery staffing issues. In recruiting breweries to this year’s festival, Loranger said he often heard “no” because breweries are stretched thin.
“Many couldn’t join us this year because they can’t send people to the festival to pour and also keep their doors open,” Loranger said. “But, as always, our biggest goal is to promote the breweries and cideries.”
If you’re heading to this weekend’s festival, you can purchase tickets at the gate or online at upperleftbeerfest.com.
Here’s a look at the beers and ciders I’ll be making sure to target on the day I go.
Galaxy Punk Pilsner, Peace of Mind Brewing: Let’s start off slow with this classic pilsner from this youthful Lynnwood brewery. The Galaxy hops promise to give it a bit more of a hoppy profile than the usual pils.
Czech Magnet, Whitewall Brewing: A nice amber lager from this Marysville brewery is next. I’ll grab this one for the malty backbone and hints of caramel balanced by the perfect amount of hops.
Dad-Bod IPA, 4 Stitches Brewing: Brewed and dry-hopped with copious amounts of Mosaic hops, this IPA from this new Mill Creek brewery is the perfect dive into the world of crushable bitter beers after my crispy start.
Offshore Saison, Sound2Summit Brewery: Time to drink something that will challenge our palates a bit — but in a refreshing way. This saison from the Snohomish brewery that recently opened a taproom at the Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place is made in the classic Belgian style and is light and refreshing. Perfect for summer.
Won’t Kill You, Middleton Brewing: This Everett brewery is not shy about trying something way outside the norm. Well, this beer is a must try if only for its 20% ABV. Known as a “sextuple IPA” or imperial barleywine, this big, boozy beer should be sampled in small quantities.
Stuffed, Skookum Brewing: It’s hard to believe that we’ll be taking a huge step down in going to a stout, but this pastry stout from this Arlington brewery is conditioned on a pile of Oreo cookies and is a great capper for the day.
EXTRA! Pear & Sage, Glorybucha: If you’d like something fruity and fun to end the day, check out this hard kombucha from this Arlington kombucha maker. It’s made with Washington-grown pears and organic sage, and blended with cider.
Upper Left Beerfest
The Beerfest and Food Truck Festival runs 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and noon to 7 p.m. Saturday. A pass for both days is $40, or $25 for one day, and includes six tasting tokens. Designated drivers get in for $5 and receive free water and soda.
Discounted tickets can be purchased ahead of time at Middleton Brewing, At Large Brewing, Scuttlebutt Brewing and Soundbite Cider, all in Everett. To buy tickets and find more information, visit upperleftbeerfest.com.
Sip on the Sound
Formerly known as Everett Uncorked, this summer wine, beer and spirits tasting festival will be held at the Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place on Aug. 18 and 19. The festival will take place at the Port’s Pacific Rim Plaza, 1524 W. Marine View Drive, and will include a tasting menu of more than 40 wines, beers, cocktails and spirit flights, plus live music.
Local breweries Sound2Summit and Lazy Boy Brewing will be pouring at the event, waterfront restaurants The Muse and Fisherman Jack’s will be mixing cocktails, and Everett’s Rustic Cork Wine Bar will be pouring wine. Other wineries pouring include Alexandria Nicole, Gingko Forest, Three of Cups and Kerloo Cellars. Sky River Mead rounds out the diverse lineup of drinks for attendees.
Admission is $40 for eight wine, beer and cocktail tasting tokens, $55 for the same plus a spirit flight, or $20 for a designated-driver pass with three non-alcoholic tasting tokens. Proceeds benefit youth boating programs supported by the Northwest Marine Trade Association. Tickets are available at www.siponthesound.com.
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