While enjoying a Zeitgeist mocha one rare sunny June afternoon, I decided to make the most of the sunshine and — gasp! — walk to Schooner EXACT. It was a healthy walk from Pioneer Square, but a nice change of pace, so to speak, from biking to the Georgetown neighborhood. At the moment there are still two other breweries in that area to visit, so the Georgetown bike rides aren’t over yet…

Soon after I bellied up to the tasting room bar, the blue skies went away, and it started drizzling. Good times in the tasting room, though: a climbing friend of mine happened to be there, and then the Hawaiians showed up. One of these days I’ll have to visit Hawaii and check out its burgeoning beer scene. In the meantime, the Schooner Exact brews are quite nice. By the time I left, the squall had passed, and things were drying up.

Update! May 4, 2011: I went to the Ale-Liance IPA release party at the Bicycle Alliance of Washington headquarters during Pioneer Square’s First Thursday Art Walk and enjoyed a couple of free pints.  Nice way to spend an evening, drinking beer and checking out artwork.

Schooner EXACT taster set — Seattle, WA

Rob’s Picks
• Raspberry Wheat Sour Ale – Dark brown color.  Strong raspberry aroma and taste.  Not so bready, but very sour!  A really nice raspberry sour, with a fairly heavy body.  Aged 20 months.
• Apricot Brown Sour Ale – Aroma not so strong.  Fruity flavor — sort of an apricot/berry mix — and very sour.  Lighter body and more mellow than the Raspberry Wheat.  Really good, with a great lingering finish.  Also aged 20 months.
• Ale-Liance IPA – Citrusy aroma. Nice mellow citrus hoppiness and light maltiness/breadiness, with a bit of a bitter finish. Smooth and very drinkable.
• Gateway Golden – Nice light amber color. Good hoppy flavor. Kind of a light, less-malty pale ale.
• King St Brown – 5.5 – Good smoky coffee flavor, with hoppy undertone. Light but solid.
• Profanity Hill Porter – A lot like the brown but less smoky, a little less coffee flavor. Not as “thick” I suppose. Good.
• Regrade Pale Ale – 5.5 – Smooth. Maltiness balances out the hoppiness really well. Very drinkable.
• 3 Grid IPA – 6.7 – Subtle hoppy aroma. Smooth, with a slight caramel flavor and lots of hoppiness. Very nice.
• Brave Horse IPA – Very hoppy pale ale. Good maltiness, good hoppiness. Great hoppy aroma. Much better deal here than at the Brave Horse Tavern, and you can hear yourself think, which is nice.

The Rest
• Seamstress Union Raspberry Wheat – Peachy color. Raspberry aroma strong. Tart berry start, bready finish — odd combination. Very light.
• Gallant Maiden Hefeweizen – 5.2 – Bavarian-style. Sweet, with clove and slight banana flavors. A touch watery. Good for a hot summer day in the sun.

This walking to breweries thing has some potential. The Elysian is really close to me, and Pike Place is a 20-25 minute walk downhill. So many more options with the bike, though.