Brewery # 2 this month was from Milwaukee which had just been eliminated by the Dodgers. Brewery # 3 is from a city that had the same fate, Seattle who fell in seven games to the Toronto Blue Jays (see brewery # 1 of this month tours).
The brewery is Here Today Brewery and Kitchen. Here are some beers for the Mariners fans who are in need of some consoling after a great season.
Patino Pils – “A snappy Bohemian-style pilsner, malt kissed and aromatic. Inspired by our friend, bar industry luminary Chris “Turtle” Patino.”
Fremont Brewing (which we get a nice little supply of in SoCal) is bringing something extra. “Extra Lush … is all the things you love about Lush packed into a 9.8% DIPA or Imperial IPA depending on your tolerance for hops.
Located in the University District of Seattle, Ladd & Lass Brewing was founded by wife and husband team of Jessie Quan and Nick Ladd ( hence the spelling in the name).
They were mentioned in the magazine for their Zoospaloos, a Czech- style dark lager.
Thankful for UDFB – West Coast IPA – “Brimming with some of our favorite New Zealand hops, Thankful for UDFB is a hearty celebration of the University District Food Bank and all they do for our community. Featuring Cryo Nelson Sauvin and Freestyle Peacharine, this IPA is a veritable cornucopia of ripe stone fruit, white wine grapes, and a beguiling piney note—all complemented by a pleasing bitterness and lightly bready maltiness.”
Olympic Peaks – NW IPA – “Our winter IPA is a garnet-hued celebration of the NW IPAs of yore. Expect a balanced beer showcasing hop aromas of grapefruit and piney resin set against a toasty malt backbone and crisp bitterness.”
A Minor Award – Winter Warmer – “At L&L, we have a nostalgic soft spot for the malty, heavily-hopped winter warmers of the early aughts. Harkening back to the seasonal warm fuzzies, A Minor Award is a holiday carol of nutty bread, deep caramel, and luscious toffee paired with a pleasing bitterness and citrus and pine aromatics.”
Deprived of Light – Imperial Stout – “This gnarly imperial stout may be deprived of light, but it still radiates with intense flavors of cacao, coconut, and vanilla. We took our decadent imperial stout and confectionized™ it—blasting your palate with a depth of flavor that saturates your taste buds while still managing to finish short of typical pastry stout cloyingness.”
Now that it is October we can legally talk pumpkin beers and Halloween. And the first thing I want to do is get a little jealous of Seattle for having Cloudburst Brewing and their beer copywriter who had a great time with this their seasonal pumpkin beers description…
Check Your Worst Nightmare out HERE. If you want to avoid opening another tab, here is the ingredient list, “a milk chocolatey base beer brewed with Libby’s canned pumpkin and spiced with a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and clove.”
Our second stop in Washington State is a little town named Seattle where we will find Human People Beer. There is a Modern Times lineage and hop farm experience in the trio behind the brewery.
Tim Kamolz and Andrew Schwartz come from Modern Times while Mallorie King has the agricultural background.
Human People Beer will be tenants in a project called the West Canal Yards in Seattle, Washington with a hopeful summer 2024 opening. First beers may be available before then as is often the case.
It was a sad day when Portland’s famed Hair of the Dog Brewing closed up shop but that news has been tempered by the fact that a new brewery will take up the space and now CopperWorks Distilling is upcycling used oak barrels from HotD for a cask finished Single Malt Whiskey and a Cask Finished Gin.
There is a Matt and Adam expression of both so you can compare and contrast.
The first stop in the Pacific NW is Seattle for Machine House Brewery. Here is one of the few places where cask ale is the order of the day.
Here is what I would add to my first taster tray…
Stinging Nettle Ale – “Amber Ale brewed with fresh Stinging Nettles hand-picked by our brewers on Vashon Island. Malty, spicy and uniquely herbal.”
Golden Ale – “One of our three year-round standard offerings. A refreshing Golden Ale, with a bright, crisp malt body and complex English hop character.”
Best Bitter – “Our flagship, best-selling English Bitter. A well balanced, copper coloured ale brewed with British Crystal malts and First Gold hops.”
Dark Mild – “A surprisingly light-bodied session ale with a rich roasted malt character. Incredible drinkable, the deliciously balanced chocolate and caramel malt character makes the Dark Mild a cult favorite.”
Not that L.A. gets any beer from Seattle based Georgetown Brewing but I have to give a shout out any time there is a Doctor Who adjacent beer…
There may be issues of copyright and such but at least this isn’t a blatant IP theft on a short lived 16oz can. Plus you can probably enjoy a couple during an episode.
This month I am traveling to three breweries that received multiple awards in the Best Of issue of Sip NW magazine. My first selection is Jellyfish Brewing.
Let’s get right to the (possible) tasters: Hydra Pils – “a classic pilsner with a clean malt body and a crisp hoppy finish. An all-German grain bill, and additions of Czech, French and German hops give this lager a truly continental lineage!”
Planktonic Red – “a very bright NW Red with 8 hop varietals, a whisper of hibiscus and a vibrantly clean finish.”
Smack IPA – “Smack is the term for a group of Jellyfish (factoid). This IPA is balanced at its core. It’ll greet you with peaches, pine and bright citrus.”
Saison Memoir – “This light ale is very dry, and is blended with our barrel-aged, wild-yeast fermented Saison. It brings soft peppercorn, bright lemon, and funk to the party.”
Cloudburst Brewing made the most of their time on the Great American Beer Festival stage. A colorful expletive on the shirt was straight to the point, “F*^%# ABInBev”
But let’s focus on the beer that earned them a bronze medal and also won in my informal, cool beer names awards that has no award (yet). Easy, Breezy, Beautiful won in the American-Style Wheat Beer.
After that, I would add the following to my first taster tray:
Happy Little Clouds – “a Bastardized” German Pilsner Ministry Of Truth – Double Stout w/ Blackberries The Ghost of Great Owl – Pumpkin Beer Out of Touch – Throwback IPA w/ (mostly) Cascade & Chinook Boom. Roasted! – Coffee Porter
