[1/30 Update: From Devlin… “about the tasting (2/25 release date): 5-7 pm at Bottleworks is bottled versions only. The draft versions will be at Brouwer’s at 8.”]

(Seattle, WA) – Hair of the Dog Brewing will release a beer celebrating

Bottleworks 10th Anniversary

as early as next month though bottles may come later. ‘Bottleworks X’ aka ‘

Hair of the Dog Matt

‘ honors the two Matts of Brouwers and Bottleworks fame in Seattle, Washington and their contributions to the local craft beer scene over the last decade. The base beer is Hair of the Dog Adam and will have aged in bourbon and 33-year old Apple Eau de Vie barrels for approximately one year by the time it is released.

(see release info at end of article)

When I wrote about New Belgium’s Bottleworks 10th Anniversary beer a few weeks ago, I failed to acknowledge that there was actually another beer coming from Hair of the Dog to mark the anniversary. So much for trying to keep this one under wraps! Astute readers might remember that I hinted at the probability of this happening back in November when I previewed Cherry Adam and the likely centerpiece for the 16th Anniversary Dock Sale , Hair of the Dog Flanders Red (to be named later). At that point, Owner/Head Brewer Alan Sprints had mentioned that the beer would be an oak-aged dark strong ale. That one is still to come though it won’t be for Bottleworks- so it looks like we may have three new Hair of the Dog beers to look forward to in 2009…

It is likely that this will only be released in Seattle at Brouwers and Bottleworks though it is possible that Sprints’ neighborhood of Portland will get some love, too. In recent years, the Bottleworks Anniversary Series has been released around the time of Brouwers Hard Liver Festival in late March or early April. But it sounds like the beer is ready much earlier this year. Friend of Bottleworks, Chris Devlin, posted up some info on his own blog this week on when the beer will hit the Seattle taps:

“Bottleworks will have a tasting of both X beers on February 25th from 5-7 pm. At 8pm, the festivities move to Brouwer’s where they will tap kegs of the Bottleworks X beers and older Bottleworks anniversary beers.

To add to what is already a big day, I hear that three kegs of Hair of the Dog Matt will be tapped at Brouwer’s. One was aged in apple eau-de-vie, one in bourbon and one has a blend of the two.”

Will the tasting involve the bottled version? I will have to get clarification from Devlin. Regardless, he says to bookmark the Bottleworks blog to stay informed on this event.

[ed: The original bootlegged photo that appeared in this article came courtesy of Andre Bjorkheim at NW Microbrews. Posting has been sporadic on the site over the last three years but from what I gather, Andre started the first ‘Beernews.org-style’ news site in October, 2002. Kudos to Andre for his work!]