Tag: travel

We had one more day in Seattle. It was obvious that we were beer touring but the question was where? Chris Devlin suggested we take the ferry over to the Kitsap Peninsula. With several  new breweries to visit, that sounded like a good idea to us.

The day was the most glorious of our short trip. Arriving at the ferry terminal 45 minutes before our Bremerton-bound boat sailed, Merideth and I enjoyed a few minutes of downtime and soaked in the warm sun. Joining us on the ferry for the beer tour were Chris Devlin and Dave Doran; reuniting four sevenths of the previous day’s Urban Beer Hike. Once we reached Bremerton, the plan was to make the short drive to Silverdale for lunch at Silver City.

An overlooked component to successful beer touring is luck. And luck was on our side on Friday. Chris Devlin received a text from his friend Matt, a brewer for Silver City. Matt suggested we stop by Silver City’s production brewery in Bremerton on our way through town. Usually, deviations from a plan cause me quite a bit of consternation but for some reason I readily agreed. And Merideth concurred.

We found Silver City’s production brewery on the outskirts of Bremerton. After introductions, Matt showed us around the brewery. As Matt was talking, it became evident to Merideth and me that Silver City no longer brewed at the pub in Silverdale. At an appropriate break in tour, I clarified this with Matt. Yes, all beer production was now at this facility.

At this point, for Silver City to count on “The List,” we would need to try the beer. And for all of Matt’s hospitality, trying the beer wasn’t a given. We don’t expect everyone to know our “rules” and Matt probably just assumed we would try the beers at the pub during lunch.

Merideth and I explained our predicament and Matt disappeared back into the brewery. A few minutes later, he came back with a quarter pitcher of Baby Fat 60 Schilling Scottish-style Ale. At 2.99% ABV, Baby Fat was quite flavorful and a perfect start to the day. With Silver City officially added, we bought a few bottles for home and thanked Matt for saving the day.

A mall is the last place we expect a beer place. But Kitsap Mall boasts two with the Hales Alehouse joining Silver City in the expansive shopping center. Silver City was still doing a brisk lunch business mid-afternoon when we arrived.

As Merideth and I poured over the lunch menu, we counted our lucky stars for the text message Chris Devlin received. I am not sure we would have backtracked to Bremerton if we got to Silverdale and realized that Silver City no longer brewed there. I hate backtracking on beer tours!

Lunch felt much more relaxed with the mini disaster averted. Merideth had the Baked Crab Sandwich with their nice Bavarian-style Hefeweizen. It was middle-of-road on the banana-clove scale, a very pleasant lunchtime brew. I paired the Indianola IPA with Silver City’s Pulled Pork Sandwich. The IPA was nicely balanced with Cascade and Columbus hops. I was disappointed in the Porter BBQ sauce on the pulled pork. Looking forward to trying it, I think the issue was there wasn’t much of it on the sandwich. Dave, Mr. Sweet-Tooth, ordered a seemingly odd pairing of Panther Lake Porter with the Baked Crab Sandwich. But there was method to his madness, as he was setting himself up for the very yummy chocolate brownie desert which luckily came with four spoons.

It was a short drive from Silverdale to Poulsbo (pronounced POLES-bo). With a population of just under 9,000, the tiny town astride Hwy 3 boasts three breweries. We visited two of them.

First up was Valhöll Brewing. Located just off Hwy 3, Valhöll was somewhat hard to find. The brewery was located in the garage of a private home located behind a medical office building. Despite assurances from our navigator that we were in the correct place, it took some fumbling about before we finally found it’s location.

Not knowing anything about Poulsbo, I was somewhat surprised by the number of people hanging out in the converted garage enjoying an afternoon pint. The Begian Wit, at 4.8% ABV was a refreshing beer and clearly my favorite of the ones I sampled. The others I sampled were, for a lack of a better word, strange. This included Smoked Cherry Rye, a big brew at 8.4% ABV. The smoke was provided cherry wood-smoked malt and cherries were also added. I enjoy experimental beers but this experiment I think went somewhat awry.

For our Kitsap Peninsula Beer Tour, we saved the best for last. About a mile from Valhöll, Sound Brewery was the end business in an industrial park. They had the door up and the beer flowing on Friday afternoon with a similar sized crowd as our previous stop.

Chris Devlin was also friends with Sound’s brewer/owner, Brad. After quick introductions, I purchased a taster set and settled in for our last stop of the day’s tour.

The six beer sampler had some tasty, 8%-10% ABV  Belgian-style beers including a Dubbel and Tripel. However, the stars were three of the lower alcohol brews. O’Regan’s Revenge, a 5.9% ABV Red Ale, was one of the best of the style I have ever tasted. Poundage Porter had a pleasant roasty/toasty flavor with a nice amount of hops. The third of this trio, and my favorite, was Koperen Ketel, an easy drinking Copper Ale.

Having a friend of the owner has it’s benefits, as Brad poured us samples from back in the brewery. Their Belgian-style IPA, Bevrijder, was excellent and the yet-to-be-released Double IPA was in the best beer of the trip category.

Time flew by on our beer tour. We were having a great time at Sound, but unfortunately, we had the ferry back to Seattle to catch. We finished our samples and bade farewell with thanks to both Brad and Matt who had popped into Sound after work at Silver City. It was a great end to the the trip–an afternoon with friends and adding three new breweries to “the List.”

And Dave, I’m sorry for passing that Dairy Queen. I really didn’t see it.

View all the pictures from the Kitsap Peninsula beer tour…

For more information on beer on the Kitsap Peninsula
go to visitkitsap.com

Our trip to Seattle wouldn’t be complete without going on an Urban Beer Hike. Conveniently, we are friends with the guru of Urban Beer Hikes, Dave Doran, who was gracious enough to organize a UBH for our visit. Scheduled for Thursday afternoon, our walk would take us from industrial South Seattle to trendy Capitol Hill.

The hike started at 1pm at Georgetown Brewing. Merideth and I first visited Georgetown Brewing during the Year in Beer at their old facility a couple of blocks away. The previous location in the old Rainier Brewery malt house was dimly lit and showed it’s age. The new facility, while not really looking like it on the exterior, was much more modern. Walking through the Star Trek-like automatic sliding entrance doors, we entered a brightly-lit tasting room. The stainless bar was on the right with three well-marked stations: samples, keg sales and growler fills. We arrived early, but a short time later our guide Dave, his wife Mandy and their sidekick, Link, joined us.

I seem to remember on our first visit in 2008 drinking pints at Georgetown. But this time it was only sample pours. Given that we had a long day of beer drinking ahead, starting with samples was probably fortuitous. Georgetown was all about the growler fill and at only $6 & $7 per fill (depending on which beer), we observed a steady stream of mid-afternoon customers exchanging empty growlers for full ones while we sampled a few of their brews.

We passed on the ubiquitous Manny’s and started with Johnny Utah, a wonderful 3.99% ABV session IPA. I think the session IPA is a great trend and the Johnny Utah was the latest star example I’ve had the pleasure of drinking. Really light in body, but still packing the hop punch that I enjoy. Even Merideth, the self-avowed non-hophead, loved Johnny Utah. Roger’s Pilsner, Lucille IPA and Georgetown Porter rounded out our samples. Loving the Johnny Utah, I went back for seconds before we moved on to our next stop.

Lunch was next on the agenda. After a short half mile walk through a gritty industrial area, we arrived at Hudson, a nondescript roadside diner. It’s brick exterior and interior reminded me of the 1970s and walking in, I wondered why Dave brought us here.

Merideth and I passed on the draft Miller High Life and canned PBR and both ordered the Fremont Brewing Summer Solstice Ale. We only had a small sample at brewery the previous day so it was nice to finally get a pint of this much talked about brew. For lunch, we both had the large and delicious fish tacos. I finished our time at Hudson with Big Al’s IPA. The brewery was on our target list for trip but it looked more and more like we wouldn’t make it there, so,I took the opportunity to try their beer.

Sitting at the horseshoe-shaped bar, we watched cars speed by on the busy road. I could see that Hudson would be easy to miss by drivers rushing past trying to get from point A to point B. To miss this place would be unfortunate because Hudson is a real gem.

We could see our next stop from our seats at Hudson. Painted a bright yellow, Two Beers Brewery was our first new brewery of the day. Housed in an industrial park, the brewery’s loading dock was transformed into a mini beer garden during opening hours. We took advantage of the beautiful Seattle afternoon and grabbed one of the outside tables.

Here, we were joined by our friend and Urban Beer Hike regular, Chris Devlin. In the company of so much Seattle beer knowledge, I jumped the gun. Without asking for advice, I automatically ordered the Evo. IPA. I have to say, it was quite a strange beer. I was much smarter on my second choice and ordered what our fearless leader ordered, Sodo Brown. A much more enjoyable brew.

After three stops relatively close together, we finally reached the first mile plus stretch of the day. The longer stretch came at a good time as the beers had been piling up. It was time for a longer break that comes with a well-planned Urban Beer Hike.

The walk up First Avenue was the most scenic of the day so far as the Seattle skyline loomed in front of us. Midway though this stretch our quintet plus a dog became a sextet plus a dog. We were joined by Eric from goodbeertrips.com. After introductions, we continued on our journey to Schooner Exact Brewing.

Schooner Exact, another new brewery for us, was set back from the street. I could imagine driving right on by if Merideth and I had been in a car. (In fact, after we left we were stopped a short distance away by a carload of people looking for the brewery.) Also located in an industrial space, Schooner’s small tasting room had the feel of  a neighborhood bar. Our group, again increased by one with the addition of Plus Russ, each ordered a beer and sat outside on their patio.

Of the breweries we visited on our UBH, Schooner Exact was my favorite. There were eight beers available and all the beers we tasted were well made. Merideth started with their wonderful Gallant Maiden Hefeweizen. I, of course, started with the 3-Grid IPA. My second beer was Gateway Golden. Of the seasonals, I took a sip of the Berliner Weisse. While not as tart as I would like, it was still puckery good.

We didn’t think we were going to get to visit our next stop but luck was somewhat on our side. Outside of their normal tasting room hours, we continued our journey up First Avenue towards downtown Seattle when we found Cody from Epic Ales on a smoke break out front of his building. He was gracious enough to pour us a few beers.

Epic Ales motto is “New Adventure in Beer Drinking” and that it was. The first beer, Solar Trans Amplifier was a spin on a Belgian Wit with rice, ginger and chamomile. Very enjoyable, STA was quite refreshing after a day of walking. Cinco Plantas, a Saison, was the second beer. Brewed with Epazote, a Mexican spice, this brew was very unique and hard to peg. One taste was enough for me.

We entered downtown Seattle on our next leg, a one and half mile trek to Collins Pub. It was much less crowded than the night before and our group, minus Link, all found a seat at the bar. Seven hours into our hike, I’m not sure we were still going strong, but we were still going despite things getting a bit fuzzy.

My first beer was Pliny the Elder, mainly so I could get on my soap box and complain that people in Seattle could get PtE, while I couldn’t despite living only three hours from the brewery. Rant over, I next enjoyed a  Double Mountain Hop Lava, one of my favorite Oregon brews.

We had one more stop after Collins Pub. The walk to Stumbling Monk was the longest stretch of the day, two miles, and also included the only hills of the day’s Urban Beer Hike. The walk up to Capitol Hill was pleasant in the warm Seattle evening, but by the time, we reached Stumbling Monk, we were done. I had one final beer, Russian River Damnation while Merideth abstained. We bade farewell to our friends and grabbed a taxi back to our hotel.

In the end, we covered over six miles and stopped at four breweries and three beer bars. It was quite a day and we want to thank Dave from urbanbeerhikes.com for organizing it for us.

View all the images from the Urban Beer Hike…

I was very excited a few months ago when the Seattle Sounders v. Manchester United exhibition match was announced. Not that Seattle’s beer scene wasn’t enough of a reason to make a trip to the Pacific Northwest, but seeing our first ever Sounders match against one of the best teams in the world was the push we needed to schedule our first visit to the Emerald City since the Year in Beer.

We had the afternoon to kill before the match so naturally we occupied our time with beery pursuits. Planning the brewery stops on this trip proved somewhat difficult and the first stop, Fremont Brewing, was a good example of this. They have an Urban Beer Garden, where they open up the brewery to visitors and pour their beer. Normally this would be a good thing, but the limited opening hours didn’t fit into the rest of our schedule. Luckily, Fremont Brewing also has regular drop in hours where people can pick up bottles, growlers and kegs. So that’s what we did.

We arrived right at around noon. Standing in their small tasting room/retail shop we could see the brewery workers busily plying their trade. One worker was able to take a moment to pour us a few samples–Universal Pale Ale, Solstice Ale and Interurban IPA. I knew that this was going to be quick stop, but after tasting the samples, I was doubly disappointed that we couldn’t fit the Urban Beer Garden into our schedule. We quickly grabbed bottles of the Solstice Ale and IPA and were back out the door in under ten minutes.

Lunch was next on the agenda so Merideth and I made the short journey from Fremont Brewing to Brouwer’s Café. Seattle’s world-famous beer bar was sparsely crowded as Merideth and I grabbed two seats at the bar. Scanning the beer list, I have to admit I was a tad disappointed in the range of  Washington beer choices. There were some excellent brews on the draft list but I just didn’t feel inspired. I started with the Big Time Perspective IPA, a nice brew with a refreshing citrus sherbet flavor. Merideth began with Elite Pilsner from American Brewing. I followed my IPA up with another IPA, the same Boundary Bay IPA I had the previous day at the brewery.

When traveling, our usual normal healthier eating goes out the door, especially when bacon is on the menu. Merideth went with the Brouwer’s Speakeasy, a turkey sandwich with bacon. My bacon-y treat was the sandwich special, a BLT with heirloom tomatoes. Both were quite pork-a-licious!

After a quick visit to the Theo chocolate factory for desert, we were on our way to our last stop before heading to downtown Seattle for the Sounders match. Driving to Naked City Brewery and Taphouse we came across a sign in front of a corner market that said “Tap Room & Growler Fills.” Curious, Merideth and I popped into Chuck’s 85th St. Market.

Tucked into the back of what looks like a typical neighborhood convenience store was a slice of craft beer heaven. On top of a pretty amazing bottled beer selection, Chuck’s had nine taps pouring local craft beer as well as a few national craft players. While checking out Chuck’s beer selection including his private stash, I indulged myself with a pint of Skagit River Del Rio Lager. Even the plastic cup didn’t deter me from thinking Chuck’s was a cool place.

We only had time at Naked City for a quick taster set. The five beers were some of the most eclectic of the trip ranging from Ewige Liebe Amber Weizen to Cherry Pi (a Kriek) to Double Header Oaked Imperial IPA. However, I’m not sure we were in the right mood to do eclectic. I was particularly excited about the Kriek when I saw it on the menu, but it had more of a raisin quality than cherry, which was a bit disappointing. Our favorite turned to be an IPA sample that the owner poured from the fermenter. Hopefully, on our next visit to Seattle, we will have time to give Naked City a proper visit.

We arrived downtown a few hours before the Sounders-United match and were hoping to get a quick pint at Collins Pub before the “March to the Match.” Unfortunately, the throngs of fans wandering the downtown area didn’t bode well for getting a beer. Collins Pub was packed and after only a few minutes (and not even getting eye contact from the bartender), we gave up and left.

Denied a pre-match pint, we joined the large crowd of fans already congregated in Occidental Park for the short walk to the stadium. This was my first experience with the rabid support for the Sounders. As someone who dates his support of American professional soccer to the late 1970s attending Washington Diplomats matches, I found it to be a sight to behold. It brought a tear to my eye and tingles to my spine.

The match really was a tale of two halves. The Sounders’ first team played strong in the first half but couldn’t convert any of their numerous chances. Manchester United went into the half with the 1-0 lead. Mass substitutions by the Sounders after the break and United’s introduction of Wayne Rooney, one of the world’s best players, turned the second half into a farce. United scored six goals on the Sounders’ second and third team including a hat-trick from Rooney. It would have been nice if the Sounders had played better but the experience of our first Sounders match was incredible.

View all the images from the Sounders v. Manchester United match…