During a little weekend trip to eastern Washington, a friend and I stopped by Roslyn Brewing.  I didn’t know what to expect from them, so I was a bit surprised to find out they’re all about the lagers.  There are very few craft lager breweries in these parts.  Also found out the woman working behind the bar had been an extra in an episode of Northern Exposure, and she has a picture of the scene she’s in that she’ll show you if you ask.  I might’ve been more interested in it if I’d actually watched the show, but my friend was a fan, so that was something.

Dixie cup samplers at Roslyn Brewing — Roslyn, WA

Rob’s Picks
• Brookside Pale Lager – 5.2% – Slight hoppy aroma. Nice, light and crisp, with light malty taste and subtle bitterness.
• Roslyn Dark Lager – 4.8% – Great roasted malty/smoky aroma.  Nice caramel color.  Smoky with chocolate flavor and a bit of coffee.  Dry and light.  Higher IBU’s but less hoppy tasting than the Brookside.
• Belgian Ale – 6.5% – Banana/clove aroma and flavor.  Bitter, too — good balance.  Peachy color.  Also nice and light, with slight creaminess on the tongue.

The Rest
• Fa La La La Lager – 5.5% – I think I got the number of “La”s right.  Winter ale that was still available in June.  To be fair, it was cold and rainy out — a real Junuary day.  A red lager.  Raisiny start to hops.  Caramel sweetness balances the bitterness pretty well.

The dreary weather improved the further east we drove, and by the time we pulled into the campground, it was mostly nice.  The next day we had the usual eastern Washington June weather:  hot.  A little bit of everything that weekend.