Day Trip: Diamond Knot – Mukilteo, WA
Diamond Knot
One bright spot to summer changing into fall is being able to leave our dogs in the car when travelling with them. On Saturday we took advantage of this as we headed north to the Mt Baker Foothills and made a lunch stop at the Diamond Knot Brewery and Alehouse in Mukilteo, Washington.
Located right next to the Mukilteo Ferry, Diamond Knot offers a truly unique experience. The old bus garage turned bar has a real wharf feel with large open beams and a nautical theme. An Aqua-Lung sits above the long bar and a wood carved Superman soars above the pub tables. Go a little farther back and you find a section of tables next to the brewery. Despite the tall ceilings and high windows it’s a cozy atmosphere.
Parking in the adjacent Mukilteo Lighthouse Park is an added bonus, for us and the dogs. The newly renovated shoreline park provides a perfect place to let the dogs out to stretch their legs.
Stonegrill!
Beside the beer, I like coming here for the Stonegrill sandwiches. Meat and vegetables are served to you raw, searing on a 752°F volcanic stone. You cook them to your liking and then assemble your own sandwich with the accompanied condiments. Delish! I still can’t get past the novelty. If cooking your own food doesn’t interest you, they also have excellent hand tossed pizzas and other items to select from all at fare prices.
The beer at Diamond Knot has always left me wanting more. Their Steamer Glider Stout, IPA, Industrial IPA, and Industrial Ho-Ho are some of my favorite beers in the region. On this visit, we kept it simple with a pint of the Vienna, the Oktoberfest offering, for LushC, and pint each of the ESB and IPA for me. We followed the instructions of the seasonal menu and got a growler of the Brown Ale to go.
Mmm Beer!
BEER SAMPLER
Vienna Style Ale – Sweet and malty with a spicy hop finish. Just like LushC likes it.
ESB –Sweet, but not too sweet, with a hoppy bite at the end that doesn’t leave an aftertaste.
India Pale Ale – Golden in color with a thin white head and a citrusy aroma. It has a sweet malt backbone that leads to an intense citrusy and pine hop finish.
Brown Ale – (in a growler to go) A smooth toasted malt flavor that finishes with notes of toffee. Very enjoyable.
I’ll be visiting Diamond Knot for many years to come.
Cheers!
DraughtE
FTC Info: Good Beer Trips was not paid nor received anything in gratis for the posting of this article.
A 2010 California Beer Adventure: California Wine Country
I guess it’s time to close out our 2010 California Beer Adventure. As with many third parts of a trilogy I probably should have stopped at two, but here it goes anyway. (See Part 1, Part 2)
Mendocino Ale House - LushC 2010
Mendocino Brewing Company
We left Boonville with the Santa Rosa, California area in our sights. Our route took us through Hopland and right past Mendocino Brewing’s Ale House. Driving through this three block roadside town, you couldn’t miss the 100 year-old brick building that was the first brewpub in California. (They no longer brew at this location) As you walk through the door you first see the classic handcrafted oak and brass bar. As you look around, you’ll see the original ornamental stamped tin walls. (Because that what the style of the time.)
If you’re looking for food, they only serve Hot Dogs and Polish Sausages. Apparently they had a kitchen at one time, but had to close it back in aught three. Now, the primary focus is on the beer. (As if it always wasn’t?)
M is for Mendocino
BEER SAMPLER
Red Tail Lager – amber lager that is crisp and hoppy with a hint of honey.
Blue Heron Pale – something was off here, it tasted like hot dogs.
Red Tail Ale – a smooth malt flavor with a dry hop finish.
White Hawk Select IPA– sweet aroma, sweet malt flavor and a floral bitter hop finish
Black Hawk Stout Irish – dry and crisp with a robust roasted malt flavor. I would have preferred it on nitro.
Unique (ok not sure the name of this beer) – very crisp and light with a nice hop bite. Dangerously easy to drink at 8% ABV.
Bear Republic
Bear Republic Brewpub
The stay at the Mendocino Ale House didn’t last too long. Hunger was setting in, and we still had 30 miles to go before our lunch stop. It wasn’t long before we drove into the eclectic downtown of Healdsburg, found a place to park next to the town square and set out on foot. We found ourselves walking down a tree lined corridor to the back of a newer building right of the main street. There, we found it, Bear Republic!
What a great brewpub. It was very open and had an industrial feel. There was a large bar with stainless serving tanks behind it. The brewery was out in the open with a “Racer 5” car door above it. There was plenty of cool, air conditioned seating in doors. Outside, there was a wonderful patio area, where we enjoyed the warm weather.
The menu was full of hearty pub food, with plenty of healthy options. Maybe it was the warm weather, but we both craved salads. The Santa Fe Chicken for the lovely LushC, and the Shrimp Louie for myself. You know, I think that was the first Shrimp Louie I’ve ever ordered, and I enjoyed it. Oh yeah, it’s not all about me, LushC’s salad looked great too.
As we often do, we got a sampler to taste all that they had on tap. Oh boy, was it a great sampler with thirteen of their delicious beers. LushC and I passed the four ounce tasters back and forth, savoring each.
BEER SAMPLER
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Before getting back in the car, we walked around Healdsburg for a couple of hours, checking out their unique shops and galleries. It really was a great small town that seemed very friendly. I can easily see us returning and staying a night or two to really get a feel for it. (And of course to go back to Bear Republic)
Safari West - By LushC 2010
Our next destination was the centerpiece for this vacation; two nights glamping in safari tents at Safari West. Tucked into the hills near Santa Rosa, this wildlife park offers visitors up close encounter with Giraffes, Capetown Water Buffalos, Cheetahs, and many other African mammals along with birds from around the world. They offer tours of their park in Korean War era US Army transport trucks modified with seats above the cab, where you can get eye to neck with a Giraffe, as well as private behind the scenes tours where you get to feed and pet a few of the animals. (We petted a porcupine) To get the true safari feel, they offer safari style tents, complete with bathrooms, where you can sleep and wake to the sound of the animals. They also have daily lunch and dinner buffets. Sure, it’s a little cheesy, but it is the closest you can get to a safari in Africa, without leaving the States. LushC wanted to feed Giraffes on her birthday and by all means I was going to make it happen!
What were our thoughts of Safari West? First of all, both the Safari Adventure and the Behind the Scenes Tour were very fun and well worth it, thanks to the super informative guides. LushC got to feed the Giraffes as well as a Porcupine, Warthogs, and various other animals on her birthday.
LushC feeding a Giraffe on her Birthday
The tents were very large and comfortable (at least ours was), except the bathroom didn’t have heat. (Really needed it in the morning) We had a great deck with a table and chairs where we could sit out and enjoy the animals. Our particular tent was right next to the pond, where they feed the catfish every night at 8pm, which got loud with all the oohs and ahhs and screaming kids. We just ended up joining the fray. I guess the catfish were cool, but we were more excited about the bats buzzing everyone. (Surprisingly very few noticed them).
We had dinner the first night, and don’t recommend it for the price. The food was edible but bland, and it cost $29 each. We’d recommend stopping at a store deli like we did the second night getting some salads and deli meats, a bottle of wine, and enjoying a picnic on the deck. (They didn’t have bottle openers in the tent, yeah and it’s wine country. We were able to borrow one from the Café though)
If we had it all to do over again, we would have probably just stayed one night, getting there early enough in the day to the Safari Adventure, then check into our tent to relax and eat our picnic, then wake up early the next day for the private tour and then leave after breakfast.
Russian River
Russian River Brewing Company
After our tours for the day, we were ready for lunch, and headed into town (Santa Rosa, CA). LushC, the angel that she is, let me guide us to the Russian River Brewpub for lunch. I don’t think she minded too much since the pub was fantastic!
The place was packed, which meant it was real loud, but the Grunge mix jamming through the speakers made us feel at home (Soundgarden and Alice and Chains). We had good timing and two folks left the bar as we walked by, allowing us great seats at the massive bar.
Pizza is the specialty of the house (after the beer). It looked and smelled great! I went instead with the meatball sandwich and oh boy was it good.
Looking up at the beer menu, I didn’t know where to start. We asked our very informative bartender about a sampler and how many samples it included, and he said, “ALL of them”. Excellent, our decision was made, a sampler it would be. Talk about a massive sampler tray, it included a lucky thirteen tastes. Of them all the Perdition was our favorite.
All empty at Russian River
BEER SAMPLER
Odd Blonde – crisp and malty, good on a summer day.
Redemtion– Belgian style blonde – light and crisp with a cake Belgian Yeast flavor.
Perdition Beer de Sonoma – golden colored, nice malty smooth flavor with a hint of Belgian yeast and a slight nutty flavor. I liked it!
Damnation– Strong Golden Ale – light golden colored, very smooth with a citrusy sour finish.
Sanctification – Citrusy tart with a cool-aid packet taste. This beer has a big following, and I didn’t mind it. I’m starting to get the hang of the sour beers.
Porter – Dark malty and chocolaty, excellent!
Russian River IPA – big, sweet and very hoppy!
Flying Pig IPA – drier than the Russian River IPA with distinct pine hop flavor
O.V.L. Dry Irish Stout on nitro – smooth roasted malt and chocolate with a dry finish. Yum
Pliny the Elder – big sweet and hoppy just like you’d expect. A legend!
Supplication– Belgian Sour Brown aged in Pinot Barrels – sour with not a lot of malt character, it just doesn’t do it for me.
Consecration– Dark sour aged in Cabernet Barrels – instant pucker factor, but a little sweeter and more malt character than the Supplication. Both of us liked this.
Temptation– Sour Blonde aged in Chardonnay Barrels – Light and crisp, per LushC, “A nice toasting beer, a nice alternative to champagne”.
Lagunitas Brewing Company
When we left Russian River, LushC surprised me, and said that we should go to Lagunitas Brewing. Seventeen miles later we were in Petaluma and turning into the industrial park where Lagunitas resides. As you park and look around the area doesn’t look like much, but just past the arched gate an oasis awaits you. Tucked between the buildings there is a massive outdoor beer garden with plenty of sunny and shady seats. When you go inside, you enter a much smaller area, with a great three sided bar surrounded by pub tables.
The place was packed. The crowd was exactly what LushC though it would be. Everyone was wearing flip flops, shorts and had a laid back beach vibe (all in a GOOD way). There was not a seat to bad outside, so we claimed a table near the bar.
Although we weren’t hungry we glanced at the menu, which was full of tantalizing sandwiches, salads, and appetizers. As the waitress passed with other patrons orders, we couldn’t help to notice that the food looked great too. If you want something to munch on why you drink, they do provide FREE Pretzels and Peanuts. (Mrs. Prickle our porcupine friend from earlier would have been happy).
LushC was a lot more impressed with Lagunitas in person than she thought she would be. She’s always wants to like their beers, but they just don’t suit her (their beers are just usually too big). After this great experience, she has a much better impression of Lagunitas.
Samples at Lagunitas
BEER SAMPLER
Lil Something Wild – a big sweet wheat beer with hints of Belgian yeast and a pine hop finish. What LushC thinks of when she thinks of Lagunitas.
Censored Copper Ale – malt and caramel flavors balance perfectly with the hop finish. As LushC said, “That’s good, I like that”
Almond Joy – tastes and smells like an Almond Joy; a great dessert beer. “Oh that’s really good, very sweet, but good”, LushC.
Cappuccino Stout Bourbon Aged – A stout with lots of chocolate and coffee overtones that has a slow bourbon flavor build up. Per LushC, “I love that. It’s like a nice after dinner cocktail. I have to say, I’ve had a lot of bourbon aged beers, and I like this the best.”
Pilsner -clean crisp American style pilsner.
New Dogtown Pale – malt backbone with a hop kick at the end. “Wow, that’s good!”, LushC exclaimed.
IPA– sweeter than the Pale and surprising the Pale had more of a hop presence, but it was still good. I got to say, I like it better on tap than in the bottle.
Fusion II Dark malted IPA – Aroma of dark roasted malts. It had very good flavor, but really more of a sweet brown than a dark IPA.
Calistoga Inn Restaurant and Brewery (aka Napa Valley Brewing)
Unfortunately, the time had come and our vacation had reached its end. We packed up our rental car, checked out and began our drive through Napa Valley to the Oakland Airport. The first town we came to was Calistoga, most known for its mineral water. We easily found parking downtown, and checked out a few of their cute shops. We walked through a few of their neighborhoods and parks, and then found ourselves at the door of the Calistoga Inn and Brewery. Since it was lunch time, we decided to stop in and check it out.
Wow! It was a great peaceful location. The seating was right above the river (creek?) with lots of shady trees. It was so serene to sit there one a beautiful day, listen to the birds sing, while drinking good beer and eating a great meal. We’ll have to come back, and possibly stay at the Inn.
BEER SAMPLER
Kolsch – Bright, refreshing, and crisp; a great Kolsch.
Wheat Ale American Unfiltered – Kind of citrusy, but not much flavor. If you go light, stick with the Kolsch. (Maybe it needs a lemon?)
Red Ale – grainy, not as much caramel flavor as expected. Not as sweet as a red should be, but okay, LushC likes grainy flavors so “it was in her wheel house” .
Porter - sweet and malty with a hint of chocolate in the finish. A little more carbonated and a lighter bodied than the average Porter, which is good for the climate. It was pretty darn tasty.
The drive to the Airport was un-eventful, which is good. We passed by all the massive wineries in Napa, which made those in Anderson Valley look so much more charming. Eight days in this wonderful area of California wasn’t enough. We hit some great breweries, but we missed a few too. It sounds like another Good Beer Trip will be in order.
Cheers!
DraughtE
FTC Info:This is not a paid advertisement. Good Beer Trips paid for everything except the peanuts and pretzels at Lagunitas.
A 2010 California Beer Adventure: Mill Valley, Boonville, Fort Bragg
The day had come to leave San Francisco and head north to Boonville, in Anderson Valley. (The other Wine Valley) We made our way to National Car Rental, where we had a car reserved. Being an Emerald Club member sure paid off, as we got to avoid the long line (at least 2 hour wait) and go directly to the front. We chatted with the agent, told her this was LushC’s birthday trips, and we got a free upgrade to a premium car. Now, we were going to travel in style.
My route had us crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and then heading to the coast to Highway 1 for a leisurely scenic drive. It added about 25 miles and forty minutes to the trip, but would make the drive a little more interesting. It also avoided going near any breweries, so I wouldn’t be tempted to stop. Possibly, I failed to mention that beer was not the primary focus of this trip. Celebrating LushC’s Birthday was.
Pretty tall? by LushC 2010
Our first stop was Muir Woods, less than an hour from San Francisco. This well-developed National Park gives visitors easy access to a magnificent Red Wood forest. Paved trails take you right in to the heart of the coastal old-growth forest, with views of thousands of the tallest trees in the world. There are several short loops (30 min, 60 min, and 90 min) and a few extended trails. We took the 90 min loop, and began making future plans to return to hike the longer trails. If you’ve never seen these massive trees, it is a must stop.
All that walking in nature sure made us thirsty. I hadn’t planned on stopping at any breweries on the way north to Boonville, but LushC surprised me and recommend we find one. Luckily, I did program a few into the GPS, just in case. We set our target to the closest one, Mill Valley Beerworks, only 3.4 miles away in the town of Mill Valley.
Getting there was a little challenging, as the GPS took us through a hillside neighborhood, on a very narrow and windy road, and then said we were at the destination a few blocks off. We drove through town, not even seeing it. Figuring we’d do better on foot, we parked and walked through town.
Mill Valley Beerworks
We were about to give up, then in the very last storefront in the main street through town, we saw the sign for Mill Valley Beerworks. Walked in, looked around, and headed to the two seats open at the bar. The whole place had a sense of being new, in an old building. The original dark wood floors, painted tin and classic subway tile walls contrasted nicely with the new natural wood tables, bar and shelves. It had a French-modern feel. The shelves were filled with beer bottle from around the world. In the back was the shiny stainless steel brewing equipment. Mid-day, it had more of the feel of a café, rather than a bar/brewpub.
We gazed up at the beer menu, and pondered what to get. Old Speckled Hen, Old Rasputin, Maharaja… Wait a sec, those sound a bit familiar, and so I asked the bartender about their beers. Well, they were still in the fermenters, were going to be kegged that day, and then not ready for a couple of weeks. We were sorely disappointed.
Ordinarily this would be a bust for us, but with the tap selection, the very impressive international bottle list (they even had Howe Sound bottles form Canada), the great atmosphere, and an intriguing menu we were content. LushC asked for the Avery Maharaja (much to her surprise, it was served in a half liter!) and I went with the lowest alcohol beer on the board, a Kolsch from Germany (I don’t remember the maker).
We’ll definitely come back to the Mill Valley Beerworks, probably on the same trip we return to Muir Woods. We’ll probably even spend a night or two in two in the Mill Valley Inn, just steps from the Beerworks.
Not wanting to get directly in the car, we walked around town for a little bit, and checked in some of the shops. The town is super cute, trendy, and has a real upscale feel. It really had that “Stars Hollow” small town village feel. After splitting a burger at Pearl’s Phatburgers, we were back on the road.
By now it was about three o’clock; time was getting away from us, spending longer in Muir Woods and Mill Valley than planned. We had a lot of distance to cover, and wanted to get to Boonville in time to go to Anderson Valley Brewing before they closed at six o’clock. So, we made the decision to not go the scenic route, and opted for the more direct Highway 101.
Two hours later we arrived in Boonville, California. I’m not sure what I expected Boonville to be but it wasn’t what I expected. It’s about a mile long strip along Highway 128 on the way to the coast. There are a few renovated and new buildings, and some empty rundown buildings. The town has a couple of shops, a few diners, a wine tasting room, fairgrounds, a great hotel, and an incredible brewery.
View from the balcony
Our lodging accommodation for the next two nights would be at the Boonville Hotel on the western edge of town. It’s a charming hotel that could be described as modern farmhouse, well decorated with clean lines and warm colors, or as they describe, “A Modern Roadhouse”. LushC really liked the aesthetic. Our room (#6) was narrow, but had plenty of room. The bathroom was nicely appointed and the bed was amazingly comfortable. We selected this room because it had a covered balcony overlooking the valley and grounds below. Continental breakfast was included and we had some amazing scones.
Speaking of the restaurant, Table 128, it was superb. When we arrived on Wednesday they were only offering light plates, and on Thursday they offered a set dinner. We made reservations for both. The light plates were great, and an excellent value. The set dinner was lovely and relaxing and we had a nice bottle of local wine (a little sticker shock for beer drinkers but reasonable for wine drinkers). The staff did offer us a good selection of beer since they knew our preference but we opted to go outside our comfort zone and get wine. We were on vacation and celebrating.
Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Shortly after arriving and freshening up, we set out on foot for Anderson Valley Brewing Company (AVBC). I’d been excited about this visit since planning the trip in February. The brewery sits at the crossroads of Highways 128 and 253 on the site of the original town. It is surrounded by acres of fields and trees. The estate consisted of several buildings, one being the massive Bavarian-style Brewhouse and the other being the taproom. The taproom was large and open, with a small bar on one side, a few table in the middle, a cooler full of beer to go, a gift shop and a beer garden off the back. It had all the makings of great beer hall.
As we sat down at the bar, on the cool tractor seat bar stools, I spotted some familiar faces at the other end of the bar. What a small world, fellow West Seattleites and Beer Bloggers (Washingtonbeerblog.com) Kendall and Kim were in the house. They too were on a non-beer vacation and were camping not too far away. (No we were not following them). Anyway, that night we just sat and enjoyed our beers, and got to know Kendall and Kim, finding out we had a lot more than beer in common.
We returned the next night to try some more of their beers. It was another laid back night with the locals and a few other beer geeks. Instead of getting a sampler tray, we decided to try larger pours of beers we don’t find back home.
My Beer at AVBC
BEER SAMPLER
High Rollers Wheat – light, crisp, tart, and tangy, very refreshing.
Boont ESB – strong malt backbone with a floral and hoppy finish, delightful.
3-Way ESB aged 2 years in whiskey barrels and then blended with the Imperial IPA and Imperial Amber – a big beer smoothed out by the vanilla oak whiskey barrel flavor and a hint of sour.
Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout – very dark malt flavor with a hint of smoke and vanilla. Not a smooth as other oatmeal stouts but still good.
Anniversary Imperial IPA – very malty sweet aroma (smelled like wort), sweet malty flavor followed by a hop explosion. Very good, not super sweet, better than most Imperial IPA’s.
Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema – a perfect marriage of beer and cream soda, smooth and delicious. (This was my favorite new beer of the summer)
SeattleKim at AVBC
AVBC Brewhouse by LushC 2010
The first night at the Boonville Hotel was very restful, and it energized us for our next day. We were encouraged by Kendall and Kim to check out Hendy Woods State Park and the seaside town of Mendocino. Of course, since Fort Bragg is only nine mile from Mendocino, this gave us the opportunity to go to North Coast brewing for lunch. (Thanks LushC!)
I look so small. By LuschC
Hendy Woods is a nice state park in the middle of the Anderson Valley. They have camping facilitates, cabin rentals, and a day use park with trails through the Red Woods. We took a peak into one of the cabins, and it was pretty bare, just bunk beds (no mattress) and a wood stove, just a step up from camping. The trail in the day use park was a nice meandering, but not super well marked, trail. There were signs an all, but they were confusing, and we had to double back a couple of times. Once again the trees were massive.
We made quick work of the trail and then got back in the car and headed towards to coast. I have to admit, the Anderson Valley was simply beautiful; lined with hills, trees, vineyards and farms, reminding me a bit of the Methow Valley in Washington.
Feeling a bit obliged, we made a stop at Roederer Estate Winery for a bit of wine tasting. Being novices at the whole wine thing, they took it very easy on us. We were impressed, and purchased three bottles to be shipped home.
Okay, now we were finally on our way to Fort Bragg. The rest of the drive to the coast was amazing as the road went through groves of Redwoods. It was foggy at the coast, but what we could see was breathtaking. The sign for Mendocino soon past us, and ten minute later we drove into Fort Bragg.
North Coast, by LushC
North Coast Brewing Company
On the other side of town, right on Highway 1 we found the world headquarters of North Coast Brewing occupying three corners. The Brewery on one, the Brewpub on another and the Gift/Bottle shop on the other.
The Brewpub is a charming English Style publican; very cozy, and warm. There is a dining room off to the left, a small gift shop straight ahead, and the bar off to the right. As usual, we sat at the bar which was a classic antique wood.
The menu was typical coastal pub food. There were burgers, salads, sandwiches and Fish and Chips. LushC opted for the Veggie Burger with garlic waffle fries. The burger was messy but good and the fries were astounding. I had the Turkey Burger with salad which was also first-rate.
Since we were driving, and neither of us could drink in quantity we split a couple of their 4 taste sampler trays.
Taster 1 at North Coast
BEER SAMPLER
PranQster Belgian Style Golden Ale – Belgian yeast smell, golden cloudy, floral nose, light and crisp, sweet, fruity and spicy, clean finish.
Red Seal Ale (Cask) – Spicy hoppy, aroma and a smooth coppery malt flavor with a pleasant hop finish; very tasty.
Le Merle (the blackbird) Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale (7.9%abv) – spicy hop aroma, big flavor, medium bodied, a little sour, but not too sour, peppery hop finish, slight Belgian yeast flavor. “Oh it’s nice, almost tastes like wine”, said LushC.
Old No38 Stout (Dublin Style) – smooth and heavenly, robust malt and chocolate stout. LushC is quoted as saying, “mmm, mmm, really nice, smells fantastic, really chocolaty the way I like it”.
Scrimshaw Pilsner – nice crisp clean pilsner. This was one of LushC’s favorite, even though she is not a huge pilsner drinker.
Acme California IPA whole hopped – A bit in the sweet end with a floral and peppery hop finish; mild for a west coast IPA but very satisfying.
Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey – Wow! Maple syrup and caramel flavor; very smooth, dark, rich, and robust. LushC said, “a little sweet but much better on tap than in the bottle… I didn’t care for it in the bottle, but on tap it is good”.
Old Stock Ale – sweet grape/mead like flavor; quite enjoyable, just don’t drink a lot of it.
North Coast Reflection - by LushC
North Coast pub, by LushC
Afterwards we purchased some swag, and then made our way back to Mendocino. Now this was a picturesque town. It sits on a bluff high above the Pacific Ocean with views galore. I’ve never been to the New England Coast, but this is exactly what I envision. We may have been a little young for a lot of the shops, but we still had a nice time. We even ventured down the cliff to walk on the beach.
Soon enough we had to make the trek back to Boonville and the fore mentioned second visit to AVBC and our dinner at Table 128. We’ll put Mendocino and North Coast on our “go back to” list.
More photos
Foggy inlet, by LushC
Deer Butt, by LushC
Mendocino, by LushC
View from Mendocino, by LushC
FTC INFO: Everything was paid for. Nothing was received for FREE.
A 2010 California Beer Adventure: San Francisco
Another Good Beer Trip has come and gone. It was a stellar trip, where we visited eleven breweries/brewpubs and several great bars in San Francisco and Northern California. Once again, I failed to post as we went along, so now I have task of going through my notes and listening to my voice messages trying to remember what happened. A lot of beer was had, so the details are fuzzy, but I’ll give it a shot. I’ll break it down into two three parts to keep the reading light.
San Francisco
We had a magnificent time in San Francisco, as we always do. Although they only have a few breweries and brewpubs, it’s a fantastic place for a Good Beer Trip. Especially if you are like the Urban Beer Hiker and prefer long treks to get your beer.
This was our fourth visit to “The City” so we didn’t plan to hit each and every brewery in town. We were also looking forward to spending time with friends and family.
Our friends Sir Drink-A-Lot and Mr. T(eetotaler) had recently moved down and they were eager to show us around. We had dinner with them on the first evening at B-Star in the Richmond district, which is a fabulous Burmese restaurant. Since neither LushC or I had had Burmese before so we were very excited. The restaurant lived up to the hype. After dinner we went for drinks in the Mission.
Generously, Sir Drink-A-Lot set aside all of Labor Day for us. We started the day with breakfast at the Bean Bag in the Alamo. We then took their dogs to Crissy Field, a doggie paradise, to let them run around and swim. After dropping off the dogs Sir Drink-A-Lot took us over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito for lunch and then to the viewpoints above the bridge. When we returned to the city, we were ready to drink. First we hit The Sycamore in the Mission and met a nice local couple who suggested that we visit Muir Woods on our way out to Anderson Valley. It is a very cool relaxed bar. We also met the owners who are a brother and sister. LushC compliment them on their wide variety of glassware and remarked that she was surprised people weren’t stealing it. The owner said that they had only been open a few months and started to look concerned so we felt it was time to move on. The next stop was The Blackbird which LushC loved. It was decorated in grey washed wood with orange booths and had a decent beer selection not mention Speakeasy Blond for $2. Mr. T(eetotaler) had to come pick us up since Sir Drink-A-Lot was no longer in a condition to drive. We ended the evening with dinner at a Pakistani restaurant near our hotel (Hotel Adagio, which we’d recommend) and another nearby bar called Minx. Minx had quirky fifties grandmother furniture, some strange taxidermy animals and were playing “Gremlins” on the TV, so naturally we enjoyed it. LushC and I had a great time with both of them, and can’t wait to visit again.
On our final night we met up with my cousin West and his partner D-Man, for a great dinner in the Castro at a restaurant called Starbelly. We made this a short evening because we were all a bit tired from the long weekend.
During our three and a half days we did manage to make it to three breweries and two great Beer Bars.
Thirsty Bear Brewing Co.
Within an hour or so after arriving at our Hotel we were sitting at the bar in the Thirsty Bear. I’m not sure it’s on a lot of peoples radar, but it is one our favorite brewpubs in San Francisco, and we never miss it.
It has a great location, right around the corner form the SFMOMA and near Union Square. The feel is more of a European Nightclub, than a brewpub, yet it is very comfortable. They have excellent food with a Spanish theme. To top it all off they have great beer.
BEER SAMPLER
Polar Bear (Pilsner) – crisp, clean and more malt flavor than the average pilsner
Golden Vanilla – light smooth cream ale with a nice vanilla overtone. Good for people that don’t like beer. This is the beer we always remember them for.
Valencia Wheat – Belgian inspired with orange peel and coriander. Not bad, but not great. Light bodied with a slight banana and spice flavor.
Meyer ESB (on Nitro) – smooth and malty with an unexpected (slightly) tart finish.
Locavour (Seasonal Ale) Golden Ale brewed with all local ingredients (within 100 miles). – Oh! It’s really nice. Tastes like marijuana. (Very floral)
Rum Runner Dark ale brewed with molasses – Dark brown with a fizzy off white head. Molasses, roasted grain and chocolate aroma and taste with some coffee notes in the finish. Nice complexity and soda pop mouth feel.
Brown Bear – We love the brown ales, and this one does not disappoint. A robust, malty body and a slight hop presence in a medium bodied beer.
Koslov Stout (Nitro) – near perfect smooth dark roasted malt stout with coffee and chocolate overtones.
Howard Street IPA – A nice well-bittered IPA with aroma and finish of citrus hops.
LushC and DraughtE at the Thirsty Bear 2010
The Thirsty Bear taster - 2010
Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery
Yum!
On our second day we made the five mile round trip walk to the Magnolia Brewpub in the Haight. Another stop we never miss in this city.
The service was excellent on this visit and Carly, our very knowledgeable waitress filled us in on history of the location. It started life as a corner pharmacy (The old pharmacy drawers still exist behind the bar) and was later the Magnolia Thunder Pussy Erotic Bakery. (Nice!)
The brewery lies in the basement below the cool old checkered tile floor. Tall ceilings and big windows on two sides make it feel bigger than it is. Old dark wood trim and booths contrast against the rustic plaster walls. The food is great and the focus is on British Style Ales. It is a nice place for lunch because their beers are on the low side as far as ABU, which LushC appreciated, but have great flavor.
BEER SAMPLER
New Speedway Bitter – light, crisp, warm day beer. Not too malty and not too hoppy.
Ashbury Alt – interesting fruity apple front end with a bitter malt finish, refreshing.
Big Cypress Brown – Oh! The dark roasted malt aroma and flavor in a light crisp beer. Like it
Spud Boys IPA – mellow British style IPA. Copper malt flavor with a mild bitter hop finish a nice California summer IPA
Blue Bell Bitter – nice crisp malty bitter with a hint of caramel and a British hop finish.
Random dude, who wanted his picture taken at Magnolia
LushC looking cute as ever with our Magnolia Beers
The board at Magnolia
Toronado!
Toronado
We left Magnolia, headed to lower Haight, and entered the famous Toronado. It was smaller than I thought it would be, maybe 14’x28’, with small room off the back. It was packed with regulars and tourists. They did have an excellent draught (about 50 taps) and bottle list, and an impressive tap handle selection on the wall.
We were dragging from the day of drinking before, and the three or so mile walk, so we just stayed for one beer each. An Avery XVIII Black Lager (Dry hopped Schwarzbier) for LushC, and a Dogfish Head Palo Santo Maron (Wood aged dark ale) for me. Both selections you don’t find in your average bar.
The Sycamore
We were turned onto this new beer bar (it was their two month anniversary) by Richard form Elizabeth Street Brewery. We were bummed we couldn’t make it to Elizabeth Street, but were glad we made it here.
They are a small bar located on the corner of Mission and Sycamore (between 17th and 18th). They have a great patio in back some great wall art, including a space creature without a mouth holding a laser gun and a beer, and a Sycamore Tree. They have seven taps, and all were good! They turn over their taps quickly, so what you had on one visit may not be there the next. In fact, they blew two kegs while we were there. The menu is small, but the food (especially the sliders) looked amazing!
I remember I had a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, and another beer or two, but cannot remember what everyone else had.
Taps at the Sycamore
Sycamore Beer
Social Kitchen and Brewery
Social Kitchen and Brewery
The Social Kitchen almost eluded us. We tried to go there on Labor Day, but they were closed. On our last day in San Francisco, we caught the N MUNI train to go there for lunch, and found out they didn’t open until three. (It was Noon) I know, we should have looked at their hours when we were at the doors the day before, or checked their website. Determined, we found an alternate lunch spot, and then proceeded to walk around until their doors opened at three.
For our perseverance we were rewarded with a great experience. It started off with stunning service from the bartender Adam, then the great beer and snacks, followed by an appearance by their new chef, who was so excited about his new Carrot Cake that he had to share it with us, for FREE. It was truly the best Carrot Cake I’ve ever had, more of a bread pudding type consistency with a great frosting and sauce (Sorry, I don’t remember the details) topped with in-house candied Ginger. For the final piece of the experience Rich, the Brewmaster, invited us up to the brewery to take a peek at the equipment, and to sample (FREE) a couple of the beers off the fermentation tanks. Awesome! (When we received our bill, it appeared that we received a round of drinks for FREE)
A little more detail. Social is San Francisco’s newest brewery, having opened May 1st of this year. It’s located in the former Eldo’s and then Wonderbrew brewpub location. It is very clean and modern, with cool glass bottle lights and an impressive curved wood bar. They have a small, but high quality liquor selection. The menu looked great; to bad we were only hungry for snacks. We had the Beer Lovers Salad, and the Beer-battered Sweet Potato Tempura, and both were delicious.
A taster of Social
BEER SAMPLER
Kolsch – Light and crisp just like a Kolsch should be.
Big Muddy Weizen Bock – large dark wheat beer with chocolate notes. Very Good.
Old Timer Alt – crisp, light brown ale, a little sour, but LushC liked it.
L’efant Terrible Belgian-style dark ale – mild and well balanced with a dark, malty flavor with hints of chocolate and Belgian Yeast. A medium bodied beer with only 4.5% ABV. I had to get a pint of this!
Easy IPA – Greeted with a fruity aroma and flavor, then left with a floral finish. Two thumbs up!
Rapscallion – a slight peppery hop finish and pretty darn good. That was lame so here is their description, “… a rambunctious, wily Belgian-style golden ale. Quick-witted and sharp-tongued, this punk rolls with peppery, gingery spice in one hand and an apricot tattoo on the other”
Draught taking a picture at Socia; with Brewer Kyle hard at work
Cool curved bar at Social
Social Dining
We missed a few breweries this trip including 21st Amendment, Anchor, Elizabeth Street, and Speakeasy. There’s always next time!
On our last morning in San Francisco, we picked up a rental car, checked out of our hotel, and headed north. We still had four days ahead of us and a lot of beer to drink. Oh yeah, and a Birthday to celebrate.
-To Be Continued –
Some Random Photos
Sculpture in Hayes Valley by LushC
So true!
The Embarcadero - we did see things other than bars
Coit Tower
FTC – If it doesn’t say FREE, it was paid for. Nothing was received for writing this.
Another day in Beautiful British Columbia
Continued from Bombed in Beautiful British Columbia
Amazingly, I awoke from our first night in Vancouver B.C. with only a slight headache. LushC, who moderated her intake very well, (by giving half of most of her beers to me), was feeling great.
We got ready and then jumped in the elevator and headed to the top floor Cloud 9 restaurant for breakfast. Advertised as a revolving restaurant, we were disappointed to find out that it was motionless this morning. Since we were both starving, we didn’t mind that they only had a buffet. After being directed to our seats we attacked the buffet. I’d like to say that it was great, but it just wasn’t. The eggs, bacon and tater tots were luke warm at best, and the coffee was barely passable. They did have a decent selection of fruit, and the view was amazing. We got the biggest surprise when were presented with the bill, $32 for two. Ouch. I know, I know we should have asked.
Needing some real coffee, and some free internet, we made it to the nearest Starbucks. Not long after we received a text from H-Bomb. They we already up and were heading to White Spot for breakfast. We should have waited for them but we honestly didn’t think they’d be up and ready so soon. We left Starbucks and slowly headed their direction, getting distracted by some good sales in the stores along the way.
When we got to the Robson/Granville Street corner we found that Brazil Fest was going on. It was a block of good smelling Brazilian food, coffee, tourism booths and music on a stage at the end. It was a fun scene, but too bad we weren’t hungry. It was here that we began exchanging texts with H-Bomb. They were heading down Seymour St. looking for a pedicure place. We headed their direction and eventually ran into JP, T-Wrecked, and Ms. T walking towards us looking for a bar. H-bomb and Bee had found their place, and would be occupied for a while.
Eventually we found ourselves at the Lennox Pub at the corner of Robson and Granville, across the street from Brazil Fest. It was about Noon, so it was time for Bloody Maries, or Bloody Marias as LushC and I prefer. (Substitute the vodka with tequila, giving it a smokier taste) After we received our second round, water for LushC and a Granville Maple Cream Ale for me, H-Bomb and Bee caught up with us. Planning began for the rest of the day, we wanted to go to Granville Island, and there was some interest, but no takers. We had planned to meet up with our friends Bob and Shirley (From Olympics fame) sometime after 2pm, so I decided to call Bob before plans got too serious.
I found a quiet place in the pub and rang Bob. He had thought of a couple options for us, and one of them sounded outstanding. (The other was good too) The idea was to pick us up in North Vancouver and then head the 45 mile or so north to the Howe Sound Brewery in Squamish. Howe Sound had been on my radar for some time now, but since we rarely drive up to Vancouver it was usually out of the question. I quickly wrangled up LushC to see what she thought of the idea. I know we should have hung out with our other crew, but thought we could go and get back in time to go out on the town later. LushC agreed and we confirmed with Bob.
Catching the SeaBus across to North Vancouver, we met Bob and Shirley around 4:00. We made the amazingly beautiful drive north along the coastline to Squamish, about half way to Whistler. Thanks to the Olympics, the road is newly paved and has nice new signs with the English and Native Language names of all the towns and attraction. It also offers some of the best island, water, and mountain views I’ve ever seen.
Squamish is the outdoor activity hub of BC, similar to Hood River in Oregon. A huge rock face, easily visible from town, is a rock climbing mecca, the waters off the coast offers excellent wind surfing, hiking trails are numerous and in the winter you are close to the snow at Whistler and Blackcomb.
Howe Sound Brewery
Howe Sound Brewpub was clearly the destination of choice for those looking to replenish after a day of activities. The pub is rated one of the best in the Lower Mainland BC, and I can see why. It is a large open hall with high ceilings and post and beam construction. There are many large windows to take advantage of the views. On one end there is a large fireplace and on the other is the bar. We could see that there was a large patio that was full of patrons; in fact the entre place was packed. If you imbibe too much while you are here, they have an attached Inn with very reasonable rates.
The menu was full of enticing gourmet pub food selections. Everything sounded so good that it was difficult to decide what to get. Bob went with the special Steak entre, LushC went with the Howe Sound Salad with Chicken, Shirley and I opted for the Brewpub Burger.
My burger was amazing. Fresh, local beef, topped with a hunk of smoked cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, and red pepper relish. It was simply delectable. Around the table, I didn’t hear any complaints as everyone enjoyed their selection.
On to the beer, yes the main reason we made this trek. Bob went straight for a Timberline Pale, Shirley a Garibaldi Honey Pale Ale, and LushC and I split the sampler tray.
BEER SAMPLER
Pilsner Plunge – a crisp malty pilsner with a lot more flavor than an average pilsner
Whitecap Wheat Ale – Belgian style wheat ale brewed with orange peel and coriander – light and crispy, with a hint of orange
Garibaldi Honey Pale Ale – Another light crisp beer with a mild sweet honey flavor.
Timberline Pale – smooth hoppy amber with a fruity nose. A lot hoppier than 35 IBU, a little bitter, but not bad
Bailout Bitter – fairly malty, nutty flavor, very nice.
Cask Conditioned Ale – clear light amber with a sweet cool-aid smell. Strange, it tasted like honey mead or sweet tea. Per LushC, “It tastes tasted like Florence Erickson’s dandelion wine”. Surprisingly it grew on you the more you drank.
Bumbleberry – Comparable to a Framboise with its sweet berry flavor. A nice dessert beer, but not Bob’s kind of beer.
Baldwin and Cooper Best Bitter – excellent, our second favorite of the evening. It had a nice coppery sweet malt flavor that was balanced out by mild hops.
Devil’s Elbow IPA – all right for an IPA, on par with Thunderhead, nice sweet, not too hoppy, but not the cleanest finish. It grows on you and the hops are more pronounced as you drink it.
Diamond Head Stout – An excellent Oatmeal Stout with its smooth, slightly bitter and coffee finish.
Rail Ale Nut Brown (From a liter bottle we purchased and drank at home) – Wow! This is an awesome beer. We were a bit disappointed when they were out of it on tap, but were glad they had it in bottles to go. It pours a nice dark chestnut with a thick cream head. The aroma is nutty, sweet, smooth, and malty. It is sweet on the tongue at first, has mild hop middle and ends with a smooth nutty malt finish. Very delectable! LushC is quoted as saying, “It’s nice, and I like it. We are friends. It makes me want to put on a tight cashmere sweater without a bra. It’s my new favorite Canadian beer.” (Awesome, where can I get more of this)
We finished our meals and beer, ordered dessert, and had striking conversations. One of the best topics was about Hockey and how there shouldn’t be teams in Florida or Arizona. In fact we all agreed that other than the original NHL teams; Hockey shouldn’t be played below the 45th parallel. Okay, LushC wanted to exclude the Boston Bruins too, I’m not sure why, but she has something in it for them.
The drive back was peaceful. We stopped at an overlook along the way for photo ops. Nicely, Bob and Shirley took us all the way back to our Hotel so we didn’t have to deal with the SeaBus. What a great evening it was, thanks Bob and Shirley.
Upon the arrival to our room we texted H-Bomb and the rest of the crew, hoping we could meet up with them for the rest of the evening. They were hanging in the hotel room, thinking about where they wanted to go for dinner. Dinner? It was 9pm or so already. We figured we’d meet up with them after dinner then and then began walking around town. We weren’t on the streets long before I started not feeling so good and getting real tired. LushC and I turned around and went back to the room for the evening.
That night I slept great, but awoke with a slightly sour stomach still. LushC and I were anxious to get on the road but had to make one more stop on the way out of town at Granville Island Brewing.
Granville Island Brewing
As you drive on to Granville Island, you cannot miss the brewery off to the right. My guess is that the buildings previous life was a boat shop. It is large and open with large beams for hoisting heavy items. As you walk in the brewery is to the left, and the bar is slight to the right, with a beer store attached to the far right.
The staff was super friendly, even though they had to break the bad news to everyone. They are licensed as a tasting room and have to hold to a one drink policy. The choices were a 3×4 ounces sampler, glasses, or pints. As for food, they only offer light snacks. Bummer, I remember a few years back enjoying several pints here. Oh well, we were only here for one anyway.
LushC’s choice was a glass of the Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale and mine was a sampler of the Cypress Honey Lager, Gastown Amber and the Brockton Amber.
BEER SAMPLER
Cypress Honey Lager – a pleasant lager with a (not to) sweet honey flavor, and a light hop finish. A great session beer at only 4.7% ABV.
Gastown Amber– dark amber, malty, lightly hopped, with a toffee flavor finish, very interesting, in a good way.
Brockton IPA- a Northwest style IPA. Nice florally hopped, a little sweet, but overall well balanced. This beer was much better on draught than in the can.
Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale – a 5% bronze colored ale with Canadian maple syrup added. Smooth, full flavored, with a British hop finish. LushC really likes it because it has a lot of flavor but it is still light. Canadian goodness.
Soon, our stay in British Colombia was over, and it was time to head back home to Seattle. After a nearly two hour border crossing, we remembered why we usually take the train. Next time, we will!
Cheers,
DraughtE
FTC INFO: Nothing was received for free.
Bombed in Beautiful British Columbia
We love heading up to Vancouver, BC. It’s very international and different from Seattle, but at the same time similar enough to make us feel comfortable. To top it off there are some great breweries in B.C. Therefore, I was pretty excited when our friend H-Bomb opened up her girls only 40th Birthday weekend to the boys
LushC and I headed up Friday morning to get an early jump on the weekend. After making the two and half hour drive plus 15 minute border crossing we found ourselves pretty hungry. We set our destination into my new iPhone TomTom app and soon found our way to the Big River Brewpub in Richmond, BC.
Big River Brewpub
Nestled in the middle of an entertainment mall the Big River Brewpub doesn’t look like much on the outside, but on the inside it has a great riverside lodge feel. The motif is very Pacific Northwest outdoorsman. (Or is that that the Pacific Southwest Canada?) There was a canoe on the ceiling, fishing gear and buoys on the wall and other hunting, fishing and boating paraphernalia throughout. Perhaps the coolest of all was the busing station that looked like a can of tuna fish complete with a jagged cut out lid above. They had a great eye for detail.
There is a long narrow seating area, with a river rock fireplace on one end and the brewery on the other. The long bar has plentiful seating and great outdoor patio. For the sports enthusiast there is a bowling alley attached!
The menu was pretty typical pub food with a Northwest flair. Not too exciting, but it works for the venue. LushC enjoyed her Teriyaki Salmon Sandwich, and I scarfed down my Chicken Burger.
When it came down to ordering our beer sampler, we had two choices the Dark Taster or the Light Taster. We chose to join the dark side.
BEER SAMPLER (Dark Taster)
Pale Ale – An interesting English Style Pale Ale. Light bodied honey flavor followed by mild hop bitterness.
Seasonal Hefeweizen – German style Hefe with the distinctive banana and clove flavor that was light and refreshing. It was served with a lemon which added a citrus flavor (surprise) that over shadowed the clove and banana.
ESB – Interesting and very different flavored. It was smooth with coppery malt and hop flavor and a hint of smoked malts.
Nut Brown – A nice smooth and robust brown ale with notes of toffee and caramel and almost a root beer flavor.
Dry Stout- nice roasted malt flavor, creamy, smooth with a coffee finish. We liked it!
Flying Beaver Bar and Grill
We left River Rock, ran some errands, then headed to our next destination, the Flying Beaver Bar and Grill. We were very glad we did. Not only does it have a great name, the Flying Beaver is a super unique and cool bar. It is located right on the Middle Arm of the Fraser River, and serves as the float plane terminal at Vancouver airport. With its large windows we sat and relished our beer while watching float planes land and takeoff. It feels like a river front cabin, which is what it is.
We only stopped in for a quick beer and didn’t order any food. I took a quick peak at the table tent menu which had a bunch of appetizers and stone oven pizza that all sounded great. We’ll definitely need to come back!
Being part of the Mark James Group (Yaletown Brewery), but not a brewpub, I was a little disappointed in there draught beer selection. They had a few selections from Okanagan Springs, Alexander Keith’s, Sleeman’s, and a Brewmaster Black Lager. (I assumed this was from one of their breweries). They did have an impressive drink menu though.
Being in a hurry to get to our hotel, we only stayed for one beer. LushC went with a glass of the Black Lager. Feeling special, I went with the daily special, Okanagan Springs 1516 Bavarian Lager.
BEER SAMPLER
Brewmaster Black Lager – It was very nice with an initial sweet taste and a crisp finish. It has a certain lightness to it which is good on hot day yet has a deep backbone of dark malt flavor. Like a craft beer version of Negro Modelo
Okanagan Springs 1516 Bavarian Lager – basic malty lager with a mild hop finish. Not bad, but not super exciting.
Following an extremely annoying drive though rush hour and downtown pedestrian traffic we arrived at the Empire Landmark Hotel. In a very comical deadpan, but yet very helpful, manor we were assisted by Jock who checked us in. In his non-emotional way, he gave us our room card, and let us know that we got a free upgrade, on the house. When we arrived to the room, it was easy to see that the upgrade was all in the view. We were on the 35th floor looking out over Stanley Park with a 180 degree view from English Bay to Vancouver Harbor. It was definitely a five star view. Unfortunately, the room did not match. Don’t get me wrong, it was very clean, the bed and linens were comfortable, and it had a 42in Flat Panel TV. It was just very dated. I’d say it hadn’t been updated since the early nineties. Of course, if it had been updated, it wouldn’t have been only $145 CDN a night.
We freshened up and then began texting the rest of the party to see what the plan for the evening was. They had just arrived at their hotel, were doing the whole check in thing, and then were going to head to Yaletown for dinner. Did I hear Yaletown??? To me that meant only one thing, Yaletown Brewery! (They probably had other ideas) Nonetheless, LushC and I laced up our walking shoes (I was wearing very cute shoes that don’t require laces, I’m not 80-LushC) and headed to Yaletown Brewery, figuring that it would be a good place to meet up. (Checkout a previous visit to Yaletown Brewing)
We arrived about fifteen minutes ahead of everyone else and the Yaletown Brewery was packed. We found a couple of seats in the bar and each ordered a pint of Hills Special Wheat, a German style unfiltered wheat beer. As expected it had the distinctive banana and clove flavor that German Wheat Beers have, and since it was unfiltered it was full bodied. When you added the included lemon it became more refreshing. (I’m sure some Beer God is rolling over in their grave)
Before we finished our beer the rest of the crew joined us, the birthday girl H-Bomb, T-Wrecked and JP (From our Kitsap County day trip). By this point there was no more room in the bar, and the wait for a table was two hours. Forcing us to leave and find another place for dinner. We didn’t have to go far. Right around the corner was Milestone’s Grill and Bar with only a ten minute wait. We got our table and the night officially began with a round of double cocktails. During our meal, we started strategizing our evening. We had two more joining us, at different times, so we opted to head to H-Bomb’s Hotel Suite to meet them. They had brought up some wine and champagne, but I spotted a beer and wine store across the street. While they finished up with the bill I went over and picked up 6 –packs of Granville Island Pale Ale and IPA. (By the way, beer is expensive in Vancouver. It was $28 for two six-packs)
When we arrived at H-Bombs room, Ms. T was sitting outside the door waiting for us with her glass of Tilt. We went inside and proceeded to drink! I don’t remember the last time I partied in a hotel room, maybe it was in college? Since they all work together, there was a lot of shop talk, but it wasn’t too bad, it was mostly just juicy gossip. The window had a good view of several condo buildings so we (okay I) had a good time peering into see what was going on. I still want to know what the lady in pink was doing in the large living room across the way. She’d come into the room box or dance in front of the window, and then leave the room, repeating this several times before sitting down on the couch for a few minutes before she vanished for good.
H-Bomb tried to get us motivated a couple of times to leave and go to a bar or something, but we just kept drinking. Heck we had alcohol, and Ms. T turned on VH1, what else did we really need? Eventually, after sever hours, H-Bomb persuaded us to leave.
Guided by yours truly, our band of merry drinkers made our way to Steamworks Brewery. We walked into their main floor entrance, past the full tables of revelers, and down the stairs to their comfortable lower level. We found a table large enough for all of us and grabbed it. We all ordered our drinks and continued on. LushC selected the Coal Porter which was very smooth, rich and malty. I went with the Seasonal IPA, which I remember liking, but can’t remember much about it. By this point the night gets pretty fuzzy and because of this I’ll leave a full report of Steamworks for another visit. I’ll just say that it is a great place, and you should check it out.
It wasn’t long before Bee, the final member of our party, joined us. After a round or two, we settled up and hit the streets to look for our next bar. We walked down Granville St which was blocked off for pedestrian traffic only. It was late, but the streets were full of drunk Canadian Youngsters (the drinking age is 19). We saw a poor girl trying to help her boyfriend pull up his pants as he sat on a bench puking. (I’ve done worse). We made it down several blocks before an Irish Bar was spotted and a b-line was made for it.
Before entering, LushC and I decided to skip this last stop. It was past 1am and we had been at it since a little after Noon. We were tired and wanted to actually wake up the next day and be functional. With sad eyes JP tried to persuade us to stay, but it wasn’t enough. We hoofed it back to our hotel, and slept great!
To be continued….
Random photo from our night
Dear FTC, Nothing was received for free, except a room upgrade. Thank you for keeping us safe.
Beer trip to Missoula Montana, by Shaqfeasel
Another year (41) rolled for Shaqfeasel and I wanted to do something to celebrate. Last year (2009) I traveled to Boulder and had a great time. This year I was more inclined for a road trip with the family. I had never been to Montana and the Missoula area had several breweries in the region. So I packed up the family and make the 8 hour quest to Missoula.
7.5 hours of beautiful landscape later, our first stop was Big Sky Brewery. Most NW beer drinkers are familiar with their flagship beer Moose drool brown ale. As you enter the large two storied entry is a large gift shop (very cool swag) and a bar on the right. Since they are large production brewery they are not allowed (Montana state Law…more later) to serve and sell pints. They are allowed to serve samples only. The limit is 4 per day…so…I (of course) had 4 (FREE).
Pale Ale. A nice pale with a nice fruitiness
Moosedrool Brown…Brown ales are becoming my favorite lately and this never disappoints…a bit drier than a traditional brown..just the way I like it.
Big Sky IPA. I had this before in a bottle and was a little disappointed, but the draft version was excellent..nice floral finish
Seasonal Saison…This 10% ale packed a punch. I can never judge Belgians very well, but this was very drinkable.
After I loaded up with a growler of Moose Drool and the family loaded up with swag, we drove to Kettlehouse
massive bar at the northside location
Northside Taproom. A large open brick building with a mammoth long wood bar and wood floors. This is their new facility where they brew beers for canning….Yes cans. Bottles are not real popular in these parts. Missoula is a very active outdoorsy area, and bottle are difficult to pack to the trails. The state has banned bottles on the river, so the breweries can their beers and offer alternatives to the glass growler. A large 60oz Nalgene growler and a 40oz steel canister was available. OK..back to the beer. I ordered a sampler of 4 beers they offer.
Lake Missoula Amber. A craft beer drinkers amber. Well very well balanced amber. Not too sweet, not too hoppy. Robust but very quaffable.
Eddy Out Pale ale. Typical pale…not one of my favorites
Double Haul IPA. A very good NW IPA
Cold Smoke Scotch Ale. Incredible, Awesome, Amazing. A reason to drive 8 hours. Malty and Smooth and not over sweet.
Honoring my DDs bored factor, we moved on to Kettlehouse Myrtle street location. I was thinking this facility would be pretty much the same…boy I was wrong. This facility had a totally different look and vibe. They had 12 or so beers on tap (I think) I had the bartender work me up a sampler of 8 beers.
Highlights of the sampler
all gone....
Fresh Bongwater. This was my favorite of the sampler. A light dry beer with very fresh snappy character. Beer is
made from fresh Hemp seeds (THC removed)
Olde Bongwater Porter. Another amazing beer. Rich, chocolaty, nutty.
Hopnosis Pale. Very hop forward pale ale.
Next stop, Bayern Brewery. ..(backstory) A year or so ago Bayern came out to Fred’s Rivertown Alehouse in
The family enjoying the beer garden
Snohomish. Jurgen came with several beers and loads of stories. His Schwarzbier was incredible. From that time on I aways wanted to visit Back to 2010, the DD drove me to Bayern. A unique building from the outside…stripmall castle like. Inside is a unique atmosphere..comfortable and almost cavelike..(I may have had too many samplers at this point) I grabbed a pint of schwarzbier and beer card…Beer card? Montana breweries (under 10,000 barrels a year) are allowed to serve pints, but can only serve 48oz daily and must close by 8 pm. This is to prevent competition with the taverns. I would like to stat spewing f-bombs , but this is a family blog. Back to the Beer
Schwarzbier. Dark, malty and a very clean finish.
Dumptruck… A light cloudy, unfiltered summer beer. A very unusual german beer, but great for a hot summer day.
Day two.
A Rye and finally a menu
After a great day at Playfair’s Splash Mountain, I was thirsty and we headed 45 miles thru the Bitteroot Valley to the small town of Hamilton. Hamilton hosts the Bitterroot Brewing Company. Bitteroot is the only brewery that offered a full menu. I ordered some mahi tacos (yum) and the DD ordered some spinach dip (yum yum) I ordered a couple pints
Rye Pale Ale. One of my favorite styles and hard to find, this did not disappoint. This was more of a session beer and very quaffable.
Single Hop. An unfiltered pale ale with CTZ hops. Grapefruit taste and aroma. I really liked this one.
I did have a small sample of the Brown and it was very tasty. This would be a nice place to make a couple visits to try all their beers.
Next and final stop, Blacksmith Brewing in Stevensville. By far, this was our favorite brewery. An old 1908 blacksmith shop, it oozed of history and character. The family and I jumped up to the bar and I ordered the sampler
Brickhouse blonde. A beer that every small town must have, a 
gateway beer. Served with an orange…tasty.
Montana Amber. Low hopped Amber…slightly malty.
PD Pale Ale. My fav, a session pale with a great hop finish.
Pulaski Porter. A robust porter…high in alcohol, 7% a good winter beer.
Cutthroat IPA. A nice citrus IPA.
After the sampler I ordered a pint of PD Pale and chatted with the bartender and the patrons at the bar. My wife got chatting with a man that got attacked by a grizzly and lived. Great story and it got me another tasty pint. To celebrate the weekend, I had a steel growler filled and headed back to our camp cabin in Missoula. I suggest the road trip to anyone, wonderful country, friendly people, no sales tax and GREAT beer.
FTC Info: Unless otherwise specified, everything was paid for.
Mt Hood Brewing Co. – Government Camp, OR
On our drive home from Bend we stopped and had lunch at Mt Hood Brewing Co (Ice Axe Grill) located in the Ski Village of Government Camp. This brewery has been producing distinctive ales on the south slope of Mt Hood since 1992.
With its mountain location it is was not a surprise that it has a winter lodge feel. The walls and bar are clad with knotty pine and the floor is an easy to mop up clay tile. There are plenty of tables for large groups and ten or so seats at the bar. The gas fireplace in the corner looked like the perfect place to it a warm up after a day on the slopes. For the summer months there is an outdoor patio with a view of the mountain.
The menu was a bit expensive, but given the location was understandable. It was full of enticing sandwiches, salads and burgers. Neither of us was very hungry so we decided to split a very scrumptious Steelhead Sandwich, which is not something you find in every pub.
After a weekend of over indulgence, we weren’t up for another beer sampler, so we both just took a stab at the beer offerings. LushC, the safe driver, went with a glass of the Rookie Rye and I went with a pint of the Ice Axe IPA; both served on nitro.
The Rookie Rye was golden in color and came out with thick white head. It was smooth with a slight grainy flavor and hop finish. We both thought it was well balanced and would drink it again.
The Ice Axe IPA was darker amber and similar to the Rye had a thick cream head. In the nitro form, this beer was sweet, very florally hopped, and very smooth. A very mellow, flavorful beer that was not too bitter.
I wasn’t going to have a second beer but the Multifaceted Smoked Porter caught my eye on the board and I had to try it. From the first aroma all the way through the finish there was a strong smoked malt presence. I like my smoked beers, but this was too much for me. After a few sips, and letting it savor, I did notice an underlying roasted malt backbone, but not much else other than the smoke. If you like really smoked beers then this might be for you.
Soon after I finished my beer we were back on the road. We don’t get to this neck of the woods that often, but when we do return we look forward to another visit to Mt Hood Brewing.
Cheers,
DraughtE
Obligatory FTC information: GoodBeerTrips received nothing to write this post.
A weekend of fun in Sunriver and Bend, Oregon
It seems that every weekend this summer we have been busy with one thing or another, and every weeknight I’ve been exhausted from a long day at work. It’s not a surprise then that Good Beer Trips has suffered.
by Samantha - 2010
The weekend before last was one of those busy weekends. The Dancer and Jules (my Uncle and Aunt from Portland) invited us down to the resort community of Sunriver, Oregon where they rented a kick butt house for a family get together. The special guests for the weekend were Jules brother Patrick visiting from Alabama with his two eldest kids, Samantha and Austin, from Florida, and his youngest son, Cole, from Alabama. In addition, my cousin, West, flew in from San Francisco for the weekend and my cousin, Whitney, who lives and owns the Sparrow Bakery in nearby Bend, Oregon joined us when she could.
This was primarily a weekend to hang with the family, so the focus was not on Good Beer Trips. Nonetheless, LushC and I were able to get out to Bend (about 15 miles away) for an afternoon of brewery hopping on Saturday. Time was limited, and one of us had to drive back, so we only made it to three of the ten Pubquest listed breweries, brewpubs, tap houses, and alehouses in Bend. Yes, Bend is quite a Beer Town!
Sparrow Bakery
On our way in to town we made a stop at the incredible Sparrow Bakery, to say hi to Whitney and get some coffee (we were going to pay but she wouldn’t let us). It’s a little off the beaten path, in an old factory pay office in the industrial area of town, but is well worth seeking out. If you don’t believe me, check out some of their press in the The Bulletin and Sunset Magazine. Their pastries are French influenced and made from scratch. The house specialty is the hand-folded croissants and the Ocean Rolls inspired by a recipe of my grandmother’s aren’t far behind. They also do savory, serving breakfast sandwiches, lunch sandwiches, soups and salads all day. Of course, they serve coffee and espresso drinks, both hot and cold.
Bend Brewing Company
We chose Bend Brewing Company, 1019 NW Brooks St, as the first brewery of the day. This was our second visit, and it definitely deserved the return visit. The atmosphere is large and open, with a modern Northwest feel. They have plenty of indoor seating, a large patio area, and ample space at the bar. The brewing equipment is on the second floor, with large windows to make it visible down below.
The service was excellent. Our waitress, Sara, was very helpful, informative, and attentive.
The Menu is locally flavored up-scale pub food. Since it was lunch time, we made the executive decision to get a bite to eat. We ordered up the Tri-Tip Steak Salad and a basket of their homemade chips and salsa to share. Both arrived in a fair amount of time, and were very good.
The beer list was rather long, so we went with a sampler to share. Of the nine beers on the tray the Pinnacle Porter and Axe Head Red were by far my favorites, but all of them were first-rate. I tip my hat to brewmaster Tonya Cornett for a job well done.
BEER SAMPLER
German Hefeweizen (seasonal) – very crisp and refreshing. Has a classic German Hefeweizen banana flavor with a hint of spice.
High Desert Hefeweizen – American style citrusy Hefeweizen with a hoppy kick, very good and pleasant.
Metolius Golden Ale – crisp light beer, perfect for a hot day and the beer shy.
Elk Lake IPA – A NW IPA with lots of citrus and pine aroma and a kick of hop flavor, yet not to overpowering.
Rocky Stein Lager – nice mellow medium malted lager with a bit-o-honey flavor and a nice hoppy finish, very smooth, Lush C’s favorite.
Black Diamond Dark Lager(seasonal) – A Mexican style dark lager served with a lime. Smooth, dark, yet crisp and light. Adding the lime gives it a nice citrus kick. It made me want to go to Mexico.
Eclipse Black IPA – sweet up front, with a hoppy middle, and a roasted malt finish.
Axe Head Red (seasonal) – my favorite so far, I Sure like them Reds. Rich, malty, and smooth, with enough hops at the end to give it a little bite.
Outback Old Ale – The flavor explodes in your mouth. Hints of smoked malts, coffee, and plenty of hops at the end.
Pinnacle Porter – A perfect porter with flavors of chocolate, and coffee. Very robust and smooth.
Silver Moon Brewing
After leaving Bend Brewing, we made it the 5 blocks to 24 NE Greenwood Ave. and the home of Silver Moon Brewing. The last time we were there, it was a Saturday night and it was so packed there was no place to sit. Thankfully, for us, this time we easily found seats the bar. Being less crowded, it was easy to see that this was a cool place to hang out; somewhere I would have spent a lot of time at in my college days. One side has a pool table and the other has a small stage. On the walls were great Trompe-l’oeil murals that blended right into the corners. There were a dozen or so tables and plenty of stools at the bar. We didn’t check out their menu, but from their website it looks like they focus on pizza and sandwiches.
We did order a beer sampler, surprise. It was brought to us by our bartender extraordinaire, Guy. Guy is also a ceramic artist and sells his pottery in the store next to Sparrow Bakery, definitely worth checking out. The standouts in the flight were the flagship Hound’s Tooth Amber and the Hob Knob IPA.
BEER SAMPLER
Bridge Creek Pilsner – a very floral hoppy pilsner, more of a pale ale, but good and crisp as it should be.
Epic Trail Ale (Rye pale ale) – a fruity light ale, with a nice hop and grain finish.
High Plains Hefeweisen – light German style wheat beer with a banana and spice (clove) taste upfront, and a refreshing finish. A LushC favorite.
Badland’s ESB – very bold for an ESB, more of a copper or amber in my opinion. A little on the sweet side, with a mild hop finish.
Hound’s Tooth Amber – very well balanced malt and hop character. At 4.9 – 5.5% ABV, depending on the batch, this is a great session beer.
Hop Knob IPA (100 % whole flower hops). Very pleasant, hops definitely there but doesn’t burn your buds. This would be a daily drinker for me if I lived in Bend.
Snake Bite Porter – very smoky robust porter, nice and smooth, a good winter beer.
Hoptagon (Imperial IPA) Wow that’s a lot of beer! Sweet, fruity and a peppery hop finish that weighs in at 9.9% ABV. It was too much for LushC, but I enjoyed it.
Boneyard Brewing
Thanks to information from Guy, we decided to go to Boneyard Brewing, instead of the Deschutes Public House. We’ve been to the latter before, and Boneyard is so new that we had to check it out. (They’ve only been open for a few months) They are located at 37 NW Lake Pl. in a metal industrial building just on the edge of downtown. There is no pub at Boneyard, just a tasting room where you get FREE samples while you decide on what to fill in your growler.
We were greeted by Clay, Chug-Meister, from behind the counter as we entered. He quickly summed up that this was our first visit and began pouring up our first FREE sample of Girl Beer. While sipping on this offering he told us a bit of their history. Boneyard isn’t just their name, it is their brewery. At the time of our visit the brewing equipment was 100% recycled form various other breweries. This will soon change as a canning line and larger fermenters are on the way. After meeting the lovely Melodee and another FREE sample, this time the Benefit Pale Ale, we realized we had no cash to buy a growler and t-shirt. LushC generously offered to walk the three (ended up being six) blocks to a cash machine. Meanwhile, I stayed and had more FREE samples. (I think I got the better deal of this one)
Following a trip to the boy’s room I took a look around the brewery where I ran into Brewmaster Tony. He pointed out all the equipment, and it was easy to see that the 20bbl mashtun and kettle were far larger than the fermenters (3bbl???). Tony said it is a challenge trying to scale down the batches to the capacity of the fermenters. When I interrupted him, he was about to dry hop a couple of oak barrels, and he soon put me to work pouring the loose leaf hops in a mesh bag.
Once the dry hopping was complete, I headed back to the tasting room looking for LushC. There was a large crowd, but no LushC. Starting to worry a bit, I headed out on the streets looking for her. When I turned the corner, there she was, strolling down the street. (yeah!) Not only was the bank farther away than expected, she ran in to a lady looking for directions that wouldn’t take “I don’t know” for an answer. We returned, bought a growler of Girl Beer and a t-shirt, and then head back to Sunriver, very happy after a great visit to Boneyard. (Bend Brewing and Silver Moon too!)
BEER SAMPLER
Girl Beer (Cherry wheat ale) – nice light and refreshing with just a hint of fruit. A Beermosa!
Benefit Pale Ale (Grainy pale ale) – I liked it, though they were not too happy about it.
Black 13 – very smooth roasted malt flavor black ale – I love it !!!!!!
Dirty Girl – blend of Girl Beer and Black 13. Too bad I don’t remember it.
That night, we had a great meal prepared by Whitney and her friend Jess, drank a bit, and watched Uncle Buck. (There were only so many VHS movies to choose from) The next day, we got a Pontoon Boat on Elk Lake, and spent the afternoon on the water. It was an awesome day of fun, sun, swimming, and beer. One of the highlights was when we brought out our mixed Rap CD (thanks Sarah G.) and got the boat thumping, getting a lot of strange looks as we pulled back into the Marina. We returned to the house, had another great meal, this time prepared by Whitney and me, and settled down, all exhausted from the incredible day.
As all good things do, the fun came to an end on Monday, and we headed back home to Seattle. We’ll need to return to Bend and hit the breweries we missed; Deschutes, 10 Barrel, McMenemins Old St. Francis School, and Cascade Lakes. We did make a stop on the way at Mt Hood Brewing, which will be saved for another post.
So this is Bud Light - By Samantha - 2010
On Tuesday, we got to play tourist in home town as Patrick, Samantha, Austin, and Cole came up for the afternoon. We showed them Alki, the West Seattle Water Taxi, the Waterfront, Pike Place Market, the Monorail, the Space Needle, EMP (Lobby), Seattle Center, and Pioneer Square. Yes, a very busy day. We promised that when they return and have more time, we’ll show them the various neighborhoods that make Seattle special.
All in all we had a great time, and have to thank the Dancer and Jules for putting this weekend together. It was wonderful meeting Jules beautiful family and I hope to see them again soon. Spending more time getting to know my Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins was also magnificent. This is what summer is all about!
Cheers,
DraughtE
Yo FTC, We paid for everything, unless we got it for free. Know what I’m saying? If we got it for free we mentioned it. Know what I’m saying? Sparrow Bakery is my Cousin’s place, so I might have a bias. Word!
Three Creeks Brewing – Sisters, Oregon
Last week we stopped at Three Creeks Brewing in Sisters, Oregon on our way to the Blackman/Smith retreat in Sunriver, Oregon. Sisters is a western themed mountain town three hours southeast of Portland on the highway from Salem to Bend. We visited Three Creeks one time before, back in 2008, and remembered it as being a great place and our memory served us right.
Fitting right in with the rest of the town Three Creeks has a truly western mountain livery feel. The exterior is cedar (or is that pine?) clad, and the interior is accented with lots of knotty pine. As you enter, don’t overlook the very cool beer mug door handles. There is a good size dining area with a cozy fireplace with leather sofas for lounging. Through the double swinging doors you enter the bar, with several TVs, two pool tables, more seating, and windows with views of the brewery. The whole place is clean and bright, and has a very new feel. You can take a virtual tour on their website.
Surprise, surprise we sat at the bar where Mark took good care of us. Although pretty spendy, the menu looked pretty good, spanning from salads and sandwiches to entrees like New York Steak and Copper River Salmon. We ended up splitting their Halibut Tacos (a TCB Signature) and the Hummus plate. The tacos were very good with lots of tender flavorful Halibut, not the usual deep fried fish. The hummus was hummus.
We started of splitting a Beer Sample. Everything was very good with the standouts being the Rye, Amber and Red. After tasting them all, LushC settled in with a pint of the Rye, and I the Amber. Since we were asked to bring the beer for the weekend’s festivities (I wonder why?), we left with growlers of the Amber and IPA. To our surprise we ended up exposing most of the family to their first experience with the growler.
BEER SAMPLER:
Knotty Blonde – light crisp and refreshing.
Stonefly Rye – Spicy, light, and tasty. A very good rye. You don’t find enough of them.
Old Prospector Pale – very hoppy pale with a hammering of Northwest hops.
Anvil Amber – Very malty and rich with a nice smooth nutty finish. A lot darker tasting than it looks. Loved it!
Firestorm Red – has a bit of a bite. Deep smooth malt flavor finishing with a nice floral hop finish.
Hoodoo Voodoo (NW IPA) – strong hop flavor up front that sweetens out and has a slight dry NW hop finish.
It’s too bad we don’t get to Central Oregon that often. I could really see myself being a regular at Three Creeks. For now, it will remain a special treat every couple years or so.
Cheers,
DraughtE
Hey FTC, once again we didn’t get anything for free.
Good Beer Trips 
