Silver City Brewery

I have to say, biking from Seattle to the Silver City Brewery in Bremerton is a pain in the butt. I’ve done it pretty much twice (the first time I didn’t bike the last half mile down Auto Center Way (sounds like such a scenic road to ride on, doesn’t it?) because I was running late and the taproom was about to close). From the north, first you have to get to Poulsbo, then it’s a long-ish ride along a highway that isn’t bad until it gets to Silverdale (home of their original brewpub, but all brewing operations have since moved to Bremerton, leaving just the pub there), where it becomes the main road through town and all the cars come out to play. From the south (my successful second attempt), it’s a pleasant ride to Port Orchard, but becomes decreasingly pleasant as you ride along Bay St to Highway 16 and the horrific junction with Highway 304 at the end of Sinclair Inlet. If you manage to survive that, then it’s a bunch of hills until you get to the warehouse/industrial district where the brewery and taproom reside. I suppose the way to do it is from the east, starting at the Bremerton ferry terminal. Crossing Bremerton by bike isn’t all that much fun, either, but of the three options it is definitely the shortest.

That said, the taproom is pretty nice, and a surprising amount of people were there for a Wednesday (not that you can tell from my picture). While making my way through a four taster flight, I decided that all the bike shenanigans I’d been through with Silver City easily justified ordering a second.

Silver City Sampler

Sampler #1 at Silver City Brewery — Bremerton, WA

    Rob’s Picks

  • St Florian IPA – 6.8% – Crisp, with a good malty base, floral/citrus (grapefruit) hop mix, and nice lingering bitterness. Bubbly and a little spicy on the tongue.
  • Panther Lake Porter – 6% – Subtle start to smooth but dry coffee/chocolate flavors. Quite drinkable.
  • Whoop Pass Double IPA – 8.5% – Strong floral and grapefruit citrus hop flavors. Caramel malty base.
  • Sasquatch Stout – 6.2% – Good dryness, with coffee/chocolate and alcohol flavors that linger nicely. Not too thick, but still has a decent body.
  • Oktoberfest – 6.25% – Not too strong banana/clove flavor, with some caramel and alcohol flavors, as well. Crisp and pretty drinkable.
    The Rest

  • Ridgetop Red – 6% – Sweet banana/clove and caramel flavors. Fairly creamy on the tongue. Pretty smooth but a little too sweet for me.
  • Fat Scotch Ale – 9.2% – Amped up red. Strong banana/clove and caramel flavors, with a bit of an alcohol edge. Also fairly creamy.
  • Clear Creek Pale Ale – 5% – Light start to bready finish. A touch of floral hops.
  • Big Daddy ESB – 6% – Light start to floral hoppiness. Pretty crisp. Too floral for me, though.
  • Siri’s “FaceTime” Session IPA – 4.5% – Pilot batch. Citrus aroma. Strong citrus/grapefruit flavor with light malty base. A touch watery, but interesting. Subtle floral hops, too.

Now that it’s 2013, I’m making a new year’s resolution to finish writing up all my 2012 brewery visits (4 more to go), as well as all the updates (don’t even want to count), before it’s 2014. And pretty soon I will have at least 6 more new brewery posts to write. 2013 is going to be a busy year. Should be fun.

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by brewerytreks on January 20, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by brewerytreks on January 20, 2013

https://brewerytreks.com/2013/01/20/silver-city-brewery/

Outlander

There always seems to be something new and interesting on tap at Outlander Brewery & Pub. I’ve visited several times, either as a pit stop during a casual in-town bike ride or on the way back from the climbing gym, and it’s about time I got around to writing this little review. The longer I wait, the more of their beers I’ll have tried, and the more daunting it’ll then feel to get this post done. So let’s see, Outlander is two guys, Nigel and Dragan, and is in a cool old house (brewery’s in the basement) at the western end of the Fremont strip. They started out small, and in six months or so have become somewhat less small. When Naked City expanded and upgraded, some of their previous equipment went to Northwest Peaks, which in turn sold a couple fermenters to Outlander. They also got a couple of old bourbon barrels from Redhook. Trickle down beer economics in action.

Now, instead of having two or three of their beers on tap at any given time, they have six or seven. In theory this should make me happy, but it means I’m missing out on quite a few of their beers (they like to experiment and brew new things rather than have a fixed set of year-round offerings). Oh well. On the up side, I can pass on the beers I probably won’t like (e.g. their Strawberry Wheat, or Organic Ginger and Apple) and instead focus on the ones I probably will.

Update! 9/9/2013: I’ve been back to Outlander many times since publishing this post, and it’s about time I updated it before there are too many beer notes to type in. Their one year anniversary was in August, and they threw a pretty great party. Good beer, free food, live music, really crowded. I didn’t try the Biggus Dikkus Barley Wine but probably should’ve. I’m just not usually a barley wine fan. And did I really need a mega-strong beer before biking home? Anyway, it was good to see Dragan and Nigel are making a go of it, although I think they might be outgrowing the current space. It’ll be interesting to see what they do in the next year.

Outlander

Retro swank at Outlander Brewery & Pub — Seattle, WA

    Rob’s Picks

  • Jamaican Stout – 7.9% – Coffee/chocolate flavors with a bit of sweetness. Some dryness, and a touch of astringency.
  • Lovely Jubbly English IPA – 5.7% – Smooth maltiness with somewhat sharp herbal hoppiness. Medium lingering bitterness that blends back in well.
  • Belgian Strong – 8.7% – Sweet, funky, lemony aroma. Good sweet (turbinado sugar) and banana funk flavor mix. Nice little spiciness on the tongue.
  • Bourbon Barrel Double IPA – 9.4% – Bourbon flavor was surprisingly complementary to the fairly floral and somewhat spicy hop character, giving it extra punch. Just enough malt base and a nice bitter finish.
  • Rooibos 70 – 4.4% – Tannic/tea aroma. Dry, tannic, slightly fruity, with a bit of breadiness. Really easy drinking.
  • Goats n’ Roses – 5.4% – Valentine’s Day beer made with horny goat weed and rose petals. Light, smooth, with a touch of honey sweetness. Almost the usual amber but with interesting subtle flavors going on and a dry finish. Hope they make this one every February.
  • Astragalus and Shisandra Berry – 7.4% – Healing of the Nation #2. Light and somewhat tea-like. Some floral hoppiness, subtle ginger flavor, and a white wine thing going on, too.
  • Hop Bomb Double IPA – 9% – Good strong citrus/piney aroma and flavors with well-balanced malty backbone. Decent lingering bitterness.
  • Rauch n’ Maple – 7.2% – Made with maple syrup. Strong smoky flavor. Has that smoked gouda taste that takes a moment to wrap your brain around. Full, smooth mouthfeel. Bit of maple syrup sweetness on the finish when served, but as it warms up the maple flavor comes out more — interesting mix. Fun beer.
  • Reishi Mushroom Stout – 7.8% – Healing of the Nation #1. Made without hops — bitterness comes from the lingzhi/reishi mushrooms, some sort of traditional Chinese/Japanese medicinal fungus. Alcohol and chocolate aroma. Good mix of flavors: chocolate, a bit of alcohol, and an earthy mushroom that really rounded out the stout. Lingering bitter, earthy, woody mushroom flavor, and a little tingling in the throat — pretty cool. Not so much carbonation, but very drinkable.
  • Rye Pale Ale – 5.2% – Sweet aroma. Really smooth, with nice dry rye backbone, good caramel maltiness, and a touch of floral bitterness on the finish.
  • Peanut Butter Stout – 6.1% – Thick and crisp stout. Strong roasty malt and dark chocolate flavors, with a touch of alcohol. Peanut butter pretty subtle at first — needs to warm up a little to bring it out, and then the peanut butter and chocolate mix quite nicely. Fairly complex but very drinkable.
  • Tesla Wizard – 10.5% – Bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout. Good strong bourbon aroma and flavor, but can still taste the stout. Some coffee/chocolate flavors, as well as alcohol and sweet caramel edges. Carbonation pretty minimal but has enough flavor to compensate. Very smooth for 10.5%
  • Are U Nut? Brown Ale – Sweet alcohol aroma. Big smooth malty/nutty flavor, with caramel, too.
  • Presidential Ale – 6% – Honey ale from Obama recipe. Nice sweet honey flavor balanced by good maltiness and subtle bitterness. Some of the heavy, sharp barley wine flavor — pretty cool mix. Really drinkable.
  • Foreign IPA – 6.8% – Really nice, almost whiskey-like aroma. Light and crisp. Good mix of hoppy flavors, with a sweet edge and subtle malty base. Closest thing they have to a year-round beer.
  • Vanilla Jasmine Porter – 7% – Subtle vanilla aroma, sweet. Vanilla and jasmine flavors are pretty subtle at first, too, but the vanilla becomes more prominent as it warms up. Caramel sweetness. Quite smooth. They also offered this with a scoop of ice cream, but I passed on that.
    The Rest

  • Rye and Sorghum – 7% – Sweet fruity aroma. Interesting flavor mix of banana and rye. Herbal hoppiness. Maybe a little too much going on. Found out the grain bill was 80% rye, 15% barley, 5% sorghum.
  • Yerba, Ginseng, Ashwaganda – 8.2% – Healing of the Nation #3. Interesting. Woody, cardboard aroma and flavor, with some other subtle spiciness. Balancing caramel maltiness. Smooth.
  • Lord Byron’s Darkness – 8.2% – Belgian Dark Ale. Sharp, dark malty aroma. Sweet malty start to dry fruitiness, with a wine-like finish. Big, crazy beer. More of the fruit, including some raisin flavor, comes out as it warms up.
  • Del Boy English Mild – 4.9% – Cidery aroma. Sweet cidery flavor, bitter. Bready finish. Touch of honey, too.

If you sit at the bar, with the various regulars and Dragan working the taps, there’s a good chance you’ll get to help name one of their upcoming beers. Have a pint or two and let the creative juices flow.

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by brewerytreks on January 13, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by brewerytreks on January 13, 2013

https://brewerytreks.com/2013/01/13/outlander/

Triplehorn Brewing

The last stop on my Woodinville-area brewery bike ride was the very new Triplehorn Brewing. They are just up the road from Dirty Bucket, where I made a quick stop beforehand, and as you leave, helpful sandwich boards guide you to next brewery. Jim Jamison from Foggy Noggin was there, saying hello to his new neighbors. I sat down at the bar and ordered a sampler, thinking I should hurry in order to bike back home before it got too dark, but started chatting with folks and then did a little tour of their brewing set up.  Pretty friendly vibe at this nicely built-out warehouse space. I have to say, over the past couple years it’s been interesting to see the different ways new breweries have been starting up: from part-time nanos growing slowly to going-all-in large production micros. Triplehorn’s definitely in the latter end of the spectrum — cheers to them.

Triplehorn tasters

Tasters at Triplehorn Brewing — Woodinville, WA

    Rob’s Picks

  • Bitfrost Pale Ale – 5% – Floral aroma and flavor. Solid maltiness with caramel notes. Light lingering bitterness.
  • Landwink IPA – 5.9% – Fairly strong citrus aroma and flavor. Good malty base. Great bitterness.
  • Folkvang Irish Red – 5.8% – Solid caramel malty base, with nice sweetness and lingering bitterness.
    The Rest

  • Falcon Cloak Blonde – 6.3% – Floral aroma. Some breadiness, some bitterness, some honey sweetness. Pretty interesting.
  • Freya’s Wit – 4.7% – Apricot wheat ale. Strong apricot flavor to light bready finish, with some subtle bitterness. Bit too sweet for me, though.

I tend to be a bit of an optimist with my bike rides. Leave home at 1pm, leisurely visit four breweries, and be home before nightfall? No problem! At least I was smart enough to bring my biking lights and an extra layer or two. Next time I bike out to Woodinville I’ll be sure to leave earlier. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

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by brewerytreks on December 28, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by brewerytreks on December 28, 2012

https://brewerytreks.com/2012/12/28/triplehorn-brewing/

Brickyard Brewing

I’ve visited Brickyard Brewing twice so far.  First time was the second stop on my Woodinville-area brewery bike trip, just a short, downhill ride from Foggy Noggin. Next visit was about six weeks later, on their official grand opening. Brickyard is a two-man outfit, and the one who was there both times recognized me when I showed up for the opening party. Pretty cool. I guess arriving on a bicycle and spending up to an hour scribbling down mysterious tasting notes can you make you somewhat memorable.

Beer Brickettes

Samplers at Brickyard Brewing — Woodinville, WA

      Rob’s Picks

    • Stones Throw Pale Ale – 5.8% – Really smooth start. Fairly malty with a touch of caramel, and light balancing bitterness.
    • Brickyard IPA – 7.3% – Great mix of flavors — bit of a sweet start, good malty backbone, to floral hoppiness. Awesome balance.
    • Masonry Oatmeal Stout – 7.1% – Good chewy chocolatey stout with subtle coffee flavors and slight alcohol edge.
    • Blonde – 4.9% – Nice honey flavor, slightly bready, with some caramel, too. Very smooth. Banana/clove flavor mixed in — pretty cool. They normally call this their “Concrete Blonde” but apparently it’s not supposed to have the banana/clove flavor, so it may not be there next time. Maybe I should refer to this batch as the “Bavarian Blonde.”
    • Pumpkin Ale – 5.2% – Good balance of pumpkin, caramel maltiness, and bitterness. Not particularly sweet, which is nice. Tried this one on my second visit — you can the soon-to-be-drinkable pumpkins in the background of the picture I took on my first visit, above.

During the grand opening, they handed out samples of their ice cream stout float, with ice cream from a local creamery. It was pretty darn tasty, and I hoped the amount of ice cream was small enough not to trigger too many uncomfortable lactose intolerant side effects. Not much else food-wise, but they do serve free popcorn, freshly popped from one of those old-time movie theater-style poppers. (Lazy Boy has one of those, too.) They also sell logo glasses and growlers, as well as refurbished PCs, although I forgot to see if those sported the Brickyard logo. So, you can satisfy all your beer and IT needs in one go. Very convenient.

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by brewerytreks on December 24, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by brewerytreks on December 24, 2012

https://brewerytreks.com/2012/12/24/brickyard-brewing/

Foggy Noggin

I’d been putting off biking to Foggy Noggin Brewing in Bothell for quite a while. It seemed a little too far and not the most interesting ride for just one brewery, but then a whole bunch of new breweries opened up in nearby Woodinville, and so I finally decided to make a day of it. Unfortunately, it was a pretty hot day, and I managed to hit the final hills during the hottest part of the afternoon (with bonus not-so-bike-friendly construction work obstacles along the busy road). Made me wish I’d left several hours earlier. Or just driven. Finally at the Foggy Noggin home, I got off my bike, drenched with sweat, and the owner Jim Jamison took one look at me and said, “Let me get you some water.” Nice guy. In between copious re-hydrating, I sampled four of their beers and sat in the garage/taproom out of direct sunlight, trying to stop sweating. Good times.

A month and a half later I paid another visit for their Hoptoberfest — four fresh hop versions of their Diablo Del Sol seasonal on tap. It was rainy and at least 25 degrees cooler than the first visit. Gonna lose my hardcore bike cred, but on this day I drove. Oh well. Still a good time.

little Fn beers

Gettin’ my noggin foggin’ at Foggy Noggin — Bothell, WA

    Rob’s Picks

  • Bit o’ Beaver – 3.4% – English bitter. Good bitter start, with balancing biscuity breadiness. Really smooth. Goes right down after a hot summer bike ride.
  • Christmas Duck – 5.6% – Porter. Sweet, but with balanced with coffee/chocolate flavors to somewhat dry finish. Interesting mix of flavors and mouthfeel. Nice lingering coffee/chocolate flavors.
  • Kastrated Dawg – 5.7% – Strong ale. Dry, with chocolate/coffee flavors and a touch of alcohol. Similar to the Duck but without the sweetness.
  • Butch’s Angry Beaver – ESB. Collaboration with Mt. Tabor Brewing. Crisp, with caramel flavor and nice smoky whiskey undertones, and lingering bitterness.
  • Diablo Del Sol Fresh Hop 2012 #1 – 5.2% – Centennial and Fuggle hops. Sharp and crisp with strong caramel flavor. Floral hop mix and a touch of an alcohol edge.
  • Diablo Del Sol Fresh Hop 2012 #2 – 5.2% – Willamette hops. Not as sweet as #1, but still some caramel flavor. Maybe more herbal hoppiness? A bit of a bready finish.
  • Diablo Del Sol Fresh Hop 2012 #3 – 5.2% – Cascade hops. Less sweet, even. Noticeably more floral notes. Had to wait for it to warm up a bit to get the citrus flavor.
  • Diablo Del Sol Fresh Hop 2012 #4 – 5.2% – Mt. Hood hops. Sharpest floral notes of the four. Not quite the best flavor mix, but still pretty nice.
    The Rest

  • Rufus – 6.3% – English IPA. Aroma kind of bubble gum-like. Sweet, bitter, with some caramel maltiness. Pretty smooth. Lingering sweetness and bitterness.
  • Oski Wow-Wow – 5.6% – Scotch ale. In the flat variety of Scotch ales. Caramel flavor, some smokiness, but somewhat watery.

Didn’t stay as long as I would’ve liked on the first visit — still had a couple breweries to visit and a Burke-Gilman ride home to do before it got too dark. And miles to go before I sleep, etc.

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by brewerytreks on December 19, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by brewerytreks on December 19, 2012

https://brewerytreks.com/2012/12/19/foggy-noggin/

Old Schoolhouse

Less than a week after wrapping up Bike Tour 2012, I headed out on a five day camping trip in the Pasayten Wilderness, bookended by visits to Old Schoolhouse Brewery in nearby Winthrop. Started out with just one sampler flight on the first visit, but since I wasn’t driving and would be burning plenty of calories over the course of the trip, I signed up for extra credit with a second sampler to cover everything they had on tap. Post-camping trip we were thinking about going somewhere else, but the options in town were a bit limited mid-week  after Labor Day weekend. Made up the calorie deficit for the day (and then some) with way too much delicious fried food. Not sure why we even considered going elsewhere.

Beer Tasting 101

Beer Tasting 101 at Old Schoolhouse Brewery — Winthrop, WA

    Rob’s Picks

  • Epiphany Pale – 6% – Crisp floral/citrus hop flavor blend, with decent maltiness. Nice light lingering bitterness.
  • Ruud Awakening IPA – 7% – Citrus aroma. Strong grapefruit/citrus flavor and spiciness on the tongue. Underlying sweet caramel maltiness, with a bit of an alcohol edge. Big but balanced.
  • Backcountry Coffee Stout – 7% – Nice coffee aroma. Smooth, creamy stout. Coffee flavor not too strong but pervasive. Some chocolate, too, and a bit of alcohol.
  • Imperial Stout – 9.9% – Really chewy. Sharp alcohol aroma and flavor. Good chocolate flavor, too. A great meal.
  • New School ESB – 5.5% – Smooth maltiness with some caramel notes, and some balancing hoppiness. Pretty crisp and quite drinkable.
  • Uncle Big’s Brown – 5.5% – Pretty rich for a brown. Chocolate/coffee flavor, as well as some caramel. Smooth and a touch dry on the finish. Also pretty drinkable.
  • Hooligan Stout – 7% – Very similar to Backcountry Stout. Smooth, coffee/chocolate flavors, but with stronger alcohol edge.
    The Rest

  • Double D Blonde – 5.5% – Bready and a bit bubbly, with a touch of lemon flavor. A hint of bitterness, but somewhat watery.
  • School of Rock Imperial IPA – 9% – collaboration brew with Anacortes Brewery – Alcohol and citrus aroma. Alcohol, citrus, and caramel flavors. Big, strong, and bitter. Pretty crisp, too. Just too big for me, though.

I’d had a small taste of the School of Rock collaboration beer at the end of Bike Tour 2012, but for some reason I decided to include it only here. My thinking was I should only list it in one post, as an anti-redundancy thing for folks reading my blog from beginning to end as some sort of narrative thread. But I think that’s just wishful thinking on my end. So I should just include it with the Anacortes Brewery post, as well. (That will also make some upcoming collab beer updates easier, but I still have to decide whether to make this a retroactive change. Who knew there were so many subtleties to maintaining a beer blog?)

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by brewerytreks on December 16, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by brewerytreks on December 16, 2012

https://brewerytreks.com/2012/12/16/old-schoolhouse/

North Sound Brewing

With a belly full of food, I got back on the bike and pedaled from Anacortes to Mt. Vernon in the hot August afternoon sun, with one break en route to cool off with an iced mocha. It felt like it took forever to reach North Sound Brewing, but after parking my loaded bicycle out front and then ordering the mega sampler tray I became a bit of a conversation piece with the locals, and that made it all worth it. One guy suggested NSB install a web cam above the entrance to capture video of out-of-towners like me trying to bike away after drinking a bunch of high octane beers. Fortunately, they did not heed his advice.

North Sound samplers

A whole lot of North Sound Brewing samplers — Mt Vernon, WA

    Rob’s Picks

  • Mystery Wheat – 4.5% – Really smooth and refreshing. A bit creamy, lightly bready, really drinkable. Made with “mystery” juice — I guessed apple or grape but was wrong. It was pretty subtle.
  • Goosetown Brown – 7.2% – Good coffee and chocolate flavors. Really drinkable.
  • Rye Opie IPA – 6.8% – (Opie 2) Touch of orange plus bitterness. Pretty light, but good mix of flavors, with a nicely balanced maltiness.
  • To Hell in a Hop Basket Imperial IPA – 10.6% – Big and barley wine-ish. So many hop flavors. Piney and citrusy, with a bit of an alcohol taste, as well. Somewhat creamy.
  • Imperial Porter – Really smooth. Similar barley wine-ish flavor, but so creamy, and with some chocolate/coffee flavors, too.
    The Rest

  • Big Bend Blonde – 5.6% – Light, bready, bitter finish, but with a stale taste. Bad batch, maybe?
  • Bitter Rain ESB – 5.8% – Malty flavor, smooth, with light bitter finish. Drinkable, but I’d prefer something more aggressive.
  • Hop Chops IPA – 7.5% – Lots of floral hoppiness. Decent malt balance. Bitter finish.
  • Sláinte Stout – 5.9% – Really creamy and smooth. Coffee and chocolate flavors, with lingering coffee finish. Thick and chewy. Very drinkable, but I’d prefer more of a bite.

As I slowly made my way through the tasters, the possibility of catching the 8:30pm train back home to Seattle became increasing less guaranteed. The local farmer/homebrewer sitting next to me at the bar offered to let me camp on his property — would’ve been fun to try his potato beer, actually — but I decided to stick with the train.  Sleeping in my own bed was just too tempting.  I didn’t quite finish all the samplers (sorry, Big Bend), but I did just barely have enough time to safely bike to the station, procure a ticket and bike upgrade, and board the train.

Earlier that day, when I took the ferry from Vancouver Island to Anacortes, I met three folks who were biking down the Pacific Coast. Then on the train I met someone else who would be starting her bike tour down the coast the next morning. It was the perfect time of year to do that trip, and part of me wanted to just keep biking — it made the uphill ride back to my place a little bit harder. Ah well. Another time.

Oh yeah, the mystery juice was blueberry.

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by brewerytreks on November 27, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by brewerytreks on November 27, 2012

https://brewerytreks.com/2012/11/27/north-sound-brewing/

Anacortes Brewery

The ferry schedule from Sidney, BC, to Anacortes didn’t include a bike-friendly stop in Friday Harbor, so I went with the sailing that got me back into Washington state around 2pm, rather than squeeze in some biking time in the San Juans. After disembarking, I immediately pedaled to the Rockfish Grill, home to the Anacortes Brewery, where I had a late lunch and a beer sampler.

sampler at the Rockfish Grill

Anacortes Brewery sampler at the Rockfish Grill — Anacortes, WA

    Rob’s Picks

  • Pilsner – Light, with a bit of bitterness, a bit of breadiness. Somewhat creamy mouthfeel. Slight sweetness.
  • IPA – Good mix of floral and citrus hoppiness and bitterness. Pretty crisp. Bit of malty balance.
  • Rye IPA – Sweet caramel flavor, some floral hoppiness, bitter finish. Good strong rye throughout.
  • Darkside IPA – Light brown in color. Smooth, less carbonation. Good bitterness with caramel finish. Quite drinkable.
  • X – 10th Anniversary Imperial IPA – Reminds me of a strong Belgian trippel. Really smooth, with strong flavors: caramel, alcohol, malt. Good strong bitterness.
    The Rest

  • Vienna – Creamy and mellow, with subtle banana/clove flavor. Fairly sweet, with a bit of an alcohol edge.
  • Porter – Slightly creamy. Coffee/chocolate flavors with some caramel sweetness zing. Pretty good, but kind of standard.

My obsessive note-taking has paid off — I’d stopped by a year before en route to a friend’s wedding on Orcas Island but only had enough time to try the X before getting in line for the ferry. Now those old scribbles have finally seen the light of blogdom. Yes!

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by brewerytreks on November 25, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by brewerytreks on November 25, 2012

https://brewerytreks.com/2012/11/25/anacortes-brewery/

Swans

Saturday night, after dinner at Canoe and then finding Moon Under Water closed, I headed to Swans Brewpub (or Swans Brewery, or Swans Buckerfields Brewery — probably easiest if I just stick with “Swans”) where a rock ‘n roll cover band blasted out the tunes to a packed house of 50- and 60-somethings dancing and having a good time.  I actually considered staying and doing a tasting before coming to my senses and calling it a night.  So instead I returned Sunday right after brunch at Spinnakers and had a light lunch and the sampler tray.  Disaster nearly struck as I rattled off which beers I wanted to try when the waitress misheard “Riley’s” and instead included their Raspberry Ale, which, after three other raspberry beers over the past several days, I really did not want.  She was apologetic about it, brought me the Riley’s, and let me keep the Raspberry.  Yay.

Swans had an Old Victoria feel to it — the furnishings were pretty dated, the food I ordered (hummus plate) was okay but not very interesting, and most of the patrons looked 20 years older than me.  A brewpub my parents would go to, if they went to brewpubs.  But then two college kids sat down at a nearby table.  One waxed on about how in five or ten years, he thought it was possible that British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, and Baja would secede from their respective countries and form the nation of Cascadia, with an economy based on art and beer.  Ah, youth.

cygnets

“Cygnets” (sorry, I couldn’t resist) at Swans Brewpub — Victoria, BC

    Rob’s Picks

  • Appleton Brown – 5% – A bit sweet with caramel flavor and not particularly fizzy. Very subtle apple notes, and a touch watery. But quite drinkable.
  • Extra IPA – 6.8% – Floral aroma. Good floral hoppy bite with some caramel malty balance. Pretty light on the tongue.
  • Riley’s Scotch Ale – 8% -Strong caramel and alcohol flavors. Nice malty body. This will knock you on your ass.
    The Rest

  • Smooth Sailing Honey Ale – 5% – Not as sweet as I expected. Floral and bitter, with subtle honey notes and a touch watery.
  • Pandora Pale Ale – 4.5% – Malty, kind of floral. Fairly big body but nothing too remarkable. Goes down easy, but with some lingering bitterness.
  • Raspberry Ale – 7% – Strong raspberry aroma. Strong raspberry flavor, too, with an alcohol edge to it. No breadiness, thankfully. Best (and tartest) raspberry beer of the trip, but still not a fave.
  • Oatmeal Stout – 5.4% – Pretty light stout and a bit watery. Some coffee and chocolate flavors to a bitter finish.

There were no logo glasses for sale, but the waitress suggested I try the adjoining Swans Liquor Store because sometimes they had promo glassware available.  They didn’t have any, either, but the puzzled blank stare I got from the cashier when I asked about it made it worth the effort.

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by brewerytreks on November 14, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by brewerytreks on November 14, 2012

https://brewerytreks.com/2012/11/14/swans/

Spinnakers

Sunday in Victoria turned out to be much more relaxed than I expected.  Woke up somewhat early, so I ambled around downtown until I found a decent-looking cafe (with free wi-fi) for a caffeine pick-me-up.   Back at the hostel, I leisurely packed my panniers before deciding it was finally time for the mellow bike ride to Spinnakers Brewpub.  It’s a somewhat upscale place, which is why I scheduled it for a late brunch — dinner was a little too pricey for my not-quite-employed budget.  They had eight brews on tap, and the first flight I selected (pictured below) was quite nice, so I doubled down and ordered a second to try them all.

little spinnakers

Liquid brunch at Spinnakers — Victoria, BC

    Rob’s Picks

  • Cascadia Dark Ale – 6.5% – Smooth and creamy, with good roasty malt and coffee flavors. Not the usual dry CDA — pretty cool.
  • North West Ale – 5.5% – Floral and citrus aroma. Good floral and citrus hop flavor mix, with great malt balance. Really smooth, creamy, and drinkable. Lingering bitterness.
  • IPA – 7.1% – Light citrus and floral aroma. Lighter maltiness than NWA, similar hop flavor mix but muted by more bitterness. Also really smooth and creamy.
  • Tsarist Imperial Stout – 7.75% – Coffee and alcohol aroma. Interesting. Creamy, with coffee and alcohol flavors. Pretty smooth but makes you think.
  • ESB – 5.2% – Strong caramel start to a bit of a bitter finish. Nothing too interesting, but very drinkable. Subtle floral notes.
    The Rest

  • Raspberry Ale – 4.8% – Strong raspberry aroma. Pretty strong raspberry flavor, with breadiness. Unfortunately, doesn’t overcome my hurdle of not liking fruit beers. If only it were a sour!
  • Hefeweizen – 4.2% – Nicely balanced hefe — light banana/clove and lemon flavors, breadiness, with a slight spiciness on the tongue. Pretty smooth, but a touch watery.
  • India Session Ale – 4.5% – Floral aroma. Strong floral hoppiness, light maltiness, lingering bitterness.

On the way out, I stopped by their bottle shop/gift shop and picked up a logo glass, which has the dubious honor of being the most expensive piece of brewery glassware I’ve purchased.  Maybe it will make every beer I pour into it taste like a little pint of heaven.

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by brewerytreks on November 12, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in british columbia
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Posted by brewerytreks on November 12, 2012

https://brewerytreks.com/2012/11/12/spinnakers/

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