I had not planned on visiting any breweries on Day 3 of my weekend bike trip, but plans change. My friends J and M took the Sunday morning train from Seattle to Stanwood, then biked to Arlington, where I met them for 2nd breakfast. Afterwards, we had a great ride down the Centennial Trail to Snohomish, where the original plan was to keep going south and make our way to the Sammamish River and Burke-Gilman Trails. M and J were interested in checking out a brewery, though, and since I’m not one to say no to such things, we pedaled east to Adam’s Northwest Bistro & Brewery in Monroe. The restaurant had started in 1993 (original name: Sailfish Restaurant), and expanded with the Twin Rivers Brewing Company in 1994, and both were taken over by a long-time Seattle chef in 2011. The brewery side of the operation might still be named Twin Rivers, but I’m just going to go with the all-encompassing name. Anyway, it seemed like the best way to bike to Adam’s was via the Old Snohomish Monroe Road, but it turned out to be a fairly busy, two-lane road with little to no shoulder. So it ended up being a less-than-pleasant ride, especially when I got a flat. We made it, though, and were very happy to get some samplers and appetizers at the Bistro. Forgot to walk next door to look at the adjoining brewery and ask about logo glassware, for some reason. Oh well.

Sampler flights at Adam’s Northwest Bistro and Brewery — Monroe, WA

Rob’s Picks
• N.W. Pale Ale – Biscuity and bready malt aroma. Good strong biscuit and toast malt start to herbal, spicy hop finish, with a nice touch of bitterness.
• Nut Brown – Big coffee/chocolate aroma. Good lingering coffee/chocolate flavors, with subtle hazelnut. Somewhat dry and quite drinkable.
• Saison – Fairly malty saison, with a touch of floral hop aroma and flavor. Light and fairly sweet, with subtle orange peel.

The Rest
• Russian Stout – Smooth, creamy, with roasty malt character and a bit of sweetness. Not a big Russian Stout, though.
• IPA – Floral aroma. Floral and herbal hop flavors but not too strong – big malt backbone. Lingering bitterness.

The beers were pretty malt-forward, interestingly enough. Felt like an east coast-style brewery hiding out here on the west coast. After the visit, we headed south towards Duvall, then up and over the hill to Woodinville, where we put our bikes on a bus back to Seattle. Not quite the bike-all-the-way-home finish I’d originally planned, but I was okay with that. I slept very well that night, too.