The ferry from Kingston docked in Edmonds at 9 pm, but rather than do the hilly ride to the catch the bus back to Seattle, we opted for biking a very short ways south to American Brewing, where we hoped the birthday brewery tour (and their van with space for our bikes) would still be.  We lucked out, and I even had time for a bit of a hurried tasting, before heading out.  The Breakaway Taproom is a pretty cool spot, and if I ever find myself hanging out by the docks and train tracks in Edmonds, I will definitely visit again.  Pretty easy Sounder and Amtrak access, actually.  ABC is in the same building as the Gallagher’s U-Brew, but I forgot to ask if there was any sort of connection between the two.

Drinking beer never felt so patriotic, at American Brewing — Edmonds, WA

Rob’s Picks
• Piper’s Scotch Ale – 6% – Nutty maltiness.  Crisp, with a nice balance.  Quite drinkable.
• Breakaway IPA – 7.2% – Grapefruit citrus blast.  Good malty base and finish.
• Caboose Oatmeal Stout – 7% – Thick and dry, with good coffee flavor.  Good lingering finish.

The Rest
• American Blonde – 4.5% – Very crisp and light, with a definite hoppy edge.
• U.S. vs Them Pale Ale – 5% – Very crisp, pretty bitter.  Light maltiness, but bitterness kind of overpowers it.

With the bikes in the van, we all then took off to the new Elliott Bay Brewery on Lake City Way, arriving around 10 pm.  This was certainly a surprise addition to our ride, but after the long day, I decided to stick with water and the tofu sandwich (really quite good).  After saying goodbye to our new friends, we dropped down to the Burke-Gilman trail and pedaled back south.  Overall, it was a very fun day.