It’s been a while since my last visit to Hale’s, but after a couple hours at Vertical World it seemed like a good spot for some post-climbing refreshment. For some reason, in my mind Hale’s always seemed to pale in comparison to Maritime Pacific, but thankfully I’ve now cleared up my misconception. They serve up some fine brews. Well, except for that banana beer. Shudder.

Update! May 12, 2013: Haven’t been back to the brewpub, but have tried some interesting offerings on tap at other bars around town.

Hale’s tasters — Seattle, WA

Rob’s Picks
• Pikop Andropov’s Rushin’ Imperial Stout – 8% – Bourbon barrel aged stout. Really smooth. Good underlying bourbon oaky/vanilla flavor with sweet finish. Some roasty maltiness. Usual stout flavors are pretty subtle.
• Barrel Aged Wee Heavy – 7.4% – Good, even whiskey aroma and flavor that is a nice complement to the sweet caramel maltiness. Prominent alcohol flavor throughout. Very much a winter warmer.
• Fresh Hop Pale Ale 2012 – 4.5% – Slight spicy aroma. Very light in color. Light on the tongue, too, with some spicy hoppiness, mixed with a little bitterness, to a bready finish. Drinkable but more like a summer beer than a fall fresh hop. As it warms up, though, hop profile (pungent spiciness and passion fruit) becomes more pronounced, which is nice.
• Kolsch – 4.5% – Starts off with a slight lemon flavor before the bready taste kicks in. Nice, light, and drinkable.
• Red Menace – 5.3% – “Big Amber” – Ambers are usually pretty mellow but this one makes things interesting with extra hops and an appealing red color. Nicely balanced.
• Super Goose IPA – 7.1% – Big hops! Kinda floral but also citrusy, which makes up for that…
• Troll Porter – 6.9% – Good smoky chocolate flavor. Not too heavy.
• Cream Stout – 5.2% – Nitro pour. So smooth and chocolatey and chewy. Definitely a meal in itself.

The Rest
• Pale American Ale – 5% – Pretty smooth and hoppy, but it has that floral hoppiness that I don’t particularly like.
• Cream Ale – 4.5% – Nitro pour. Very smooth and drinkable. Not hoppy at all.
• El Jefe – 5.2% – Banana beer. Fairly light, but the banana aroma and taste are very strong. The banana taste lingers, too.
• Belgian – Super smooth. Has a good caramel taste, as well as an aroma and flavor of what reminded me at first of Bazooka Joe bubblegum. As it warmed up (and after I tried El Jefe) the Bazooka Joe aspect became more like banana. It was certainly an interesting beer, but I don’t think I’d want more than a taster.

This will be it for post-gym climbing beer posts. Unless, of course, I venture out to the Bremerton or Tacoma gyms and then hit Der Blokken or Harmon’s or Engine House #9 or some such. Hmm. Now that I think about it…