The late March brewery bike ride, which started with lunch at the Airways Bistro and Taproom in Kent followed by a late afternoon tasting at M.T. Head in Graham, finally reached its third and final destination in Puyallup at the Puyallup River Alehouse. Puyallup River Brewing itself isn’t open to the public, but everything they make is on tap at their Alehouse, along with a good selection of other beers (24 taps total). Would’ve been nice to have had a relaxing tasting here, but we only had about 20 minutes to try seven beers (six from Puyallup River and one from M.T. Head) and stuff our faces with free popcorn before hopping on the bikes again to reach Tacoma in time for a late night bus back to Seattle.

Puyallup River Brewing tasters at Puyallup River Alehouse — Puyallup, WA

Rob’s Picks
• Electron IPA – 7.3% – Great citrusy hop flavor and fairly assertive malt base. Excellent balance.
• Lahar Imperial IPA – 10% – Really smooth. Bit of floral hop flavor with well-balanced malt to a somewhat bitter finish. Doesn’t taste 10%.
• Point Success Porter – 6.4% – Coffee aroma and flavor. Subtle banana/clove flavor, as well. Interesting mix. Kinda dry finish.
• St. Paddy’s Day Stout – 5.8% – Pretty solid dry stout with good coffee flavor. Very drinkable.

The Rest
• Frying Pan Cascadian Red – 7.4% – Light and crisp. Caramel maltiness to bitter finish.
• Paradise Blonde Saison – 5.5% – Strong banana/clove start. Smooth, almost creamy. Bit of barnyard on finish.

I don’t get to Puyallup much, but it’s good to know they have a quality beer bar there. Next time I’m passing through (still need to visit Elk Head in Buckley), I’ll definitely stop in for a less rushed sampling session, knock on wood.

During a fairly long bike ride on one of the hottest days of the summer, a friend and I stopped by the Powerhouse Restaurant and Brewery, where about a block away I managed to pedal over some broken glass and get a flat tire. Doh! Fortunately, I had a patch kit. Unfortunately, neither of us had a pump. Double doh! My friend graciously strapped my wounded tire to the back of his bike and pedaled to a nearby bike shop to get it fixed while I lounged inside the air-conditioned restaurant and sampled their beer. I’m still not quite sure how I managed to swing that deal, but I ain’t complaining.

Powerhouse had ten beers on tap and offered five-glass samplers. The lovely waitress suggested we order two samplers to try all their beer, but we had too much biking left to do. A nearby table did opt for that — I should have invited myself over, squeezed in all sweaty from the ride — I’m sure they would have been very accommodating.

Update! September 10, 2011:  A friend of mine and I stopped by the Powerhouse after hiking at Mt Rainier, and we sampled three more of their beers.

Powerhouse Brewing sampler tray — Puyallup, WA

Rob’s Picks
• Belgian White – 4.2% – nice bready blonde with a hop bite and bit of a spicy/lemony finish
• Roasted Porter – 6.1% – Good strong roasted coffee/chocolate aroma and flavor. Subtle alcohol flavor, too. Slightly oily on the tongue but tasty and quite drinkable.
• Scottish Ale – really smooth, good caramel flavor, not too flat. Very nice.
• Imperial Pale Ale – seasonal – good taste, smooth, hoppy. I like.

The Rest
• Honey Wheat Ale – 4.5% – Server recommended this one. I was nervous, but ordered it anyway, unfortunately. Suspicious peach color. Sour and somewhat bitter and that’s about it. Very little flavor. Did they forget the honey? Couldn’t finish it. Server asked me if I liked it, and I said, “No.” He charged me for it, anyway.
• Powerhouse Pale Ale – okay, but pretty hoppy. Not that that’s a bad thing, but I’ve gotten used to less hoppy pale ales. Go figure.
• IPA – a bit hoppier version of the Pale Ale. I would prefer it to be a little crisper, but it’s okay.
• Four Alarm Stout – interesting. Initially very light, but then has a good, complex finish. Decent but could be better…

Nice spot, the Powerhouse. One of the best things going for Puyallup, as far as I can tell. But then I had to put my tire back on and hit the road.

Bike Maintenance 101: re-attaching the rear quick-release tire