Brewery's to visit in the PNW

I will be vacationing in the pacific northwest and down to Monterey, CA. I will be driving through Washington, Oregon, and going through Redwood and San Fransico as well. I wanted to ask all of you if there are any breweries I should stop by or any beers that I should pick up while I am out there. I am hoping you guys can help me have a good time ha..

That's going to be a big list. I'm not too familiar with breweries in Washington or NoCal, but I spent the first 25 years of life in Oregon so I can offer a few suggestions. If you can only visit two breweries in all of Oregon, make sure you hit Rogue and Deschutes. Rogue is available all over the US, but there are a lot of beers at their pubs that you can't find on the East coast (try John-John, awesome). Deschutes doesn't distribute anywhere East of the Mississippi but has an annual capacity of about 200,000 bbl, so it might be the biggest brewery you've never heard of.

This sounds like a pretty long trip, so I imagine you want to stay close to I-5. There's a Rogue and Deschutes within walking distance of each other in the Pearl District in Portland and Bridgeport is a ten minute walk North. There's also a Rogue in Eugene (my hometown).

A lot of people might tell you to stay away from the bigger breweries and focus on the smaller ones, but there's two good reasons to go to them; 1. In the case of Rogue and Deschutes, they're two of the top breweries in Oregon for a reason, they're good; 2. They have a lot of beers on tap you can't find on the East coast.

Other than that, the best thing to do is go to the Northwest Brewing News map and start crossing them off the list.

I would recommend:
Deschutes
Rogue
Bridgeport
Ninkasi (tasting room only)
Alameda
Hopworks
Laurelwood

Try to get to a McMenamin's if you have time. The beer is ok and the food usually isn't that great, but their locations are old schools, hotels, and theaters and such, which makes for a pretty cool experience. My favorite location of theirs is the Kennedy School.

P.S. Get your hop hat on and pucker up.

If you roll through Seattle, go to Pike brewery in the market or Elysian on Capitol Hill. Possibly the best bar ever is in Fremont neighborhood. It's called Brouwer's and has over 50 taps, most of which are pretty rare and always changing. I went their last weekend and they had like 30 sour beers on tap. It was awesome.

If you go through Olympia on I-5 stop by Fish brewing.

Don't forget Anchor Brewing in San Fran.

jmo88 said:

Possibly the best bar ever is in Fremont neighborhood. It's called Brouwer's and has over 50 taps, most of which are pretty rare and always changing.

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+1

If you are really into going to breweries, then within about 1 mile of Brouwers are the Breweries (and tap rooms) for Hales, Maritime Pacific and Fremont Brewing. One of the HBT'ers owns a great little brew pub called Naked City a few miles north of Brouwers (which is in Fremont) which features a couple of their own beers plus over 20 NW craft beers on tap and good food too.

Decypher said:

Try to get to a McMenamin's if you have time. The beer is ok and the food usually isn't that great, but their locations are old schools, hotels, and theaters and such, which makes for a pretty cool experience. My favorite location of theirs is the Kennedy School.

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My favorite is Grand Lodge. But Kennedy School and Edgefield are both great also.

I have good memories of the Deschutes Brewery pub in Bend, Oregon as well as the Rogue Brewery in Newport.

The beer is ok and the food usually isn't that great, but their locations are old schools, hotels, and theaters and such, which makes for a pretty cool experience. My favorite location of theirs is the Kennedy School.

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I am getting married at their Old St Francis location in Bend in July! Their 'Grateful Dead' bar/patio.

Olddog said:

My favorite is Grand Lodge. But Kennedy School and Edgefield are both great also.

I have good memories of the Deschutes Brewery pub in Bend, Oregon as well as the Rogue Brewery in Newport.

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I used to live about a ten minute walk from the Grand Lodge, and stumbled home many a night from the yardhouse. They sell growlers in mason jars... priceless.

Decypher said:

Try to get to a McMenamin's if you have time.

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If you have a long list and need to know who to drop first, drop McMenamins. I have vowed to never return to any McMenamins establishment again. And I got married at a McM's, they were my first exposure to PNW craft beer before moving out here and had a huge impact on my decision to move. BUT, I've had nothing but bad experiences at multiple locations over the past 3 years.

Anyway, they actual locations are neat, but don't expect much beyond that.

Kilted Brewer said:

If you have a long list and need to know who to drop first, drop McMenamins. I have vowed to never return to any McMenamins establishment again. And I got married at a McM's, they were my first exposure to PNW craft beer before moving out here and had a huge impact on my decision to move. BUT, I've had nothing but bad experiences at multiple locations over the past 3 years.

Anyway, they actual locations are neat, but don't expect much beyond that.

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Couldn't agree more. McMenamins is not a great experience. You will, however, get to see just how bad customer service can be if you do stop there.


My suggestions would be:

Pike
Bridgeport
Rogue in Newport - great setting awesome food
Deschutes
Ninkasi - best IPA there is
Hopworks

If you are into wine at all, King Estates is a great place to tour. My brother in law is the head winemaker at Abecela winery just south of Roseburg. Great great wine.

Wow thanks for the good responses.. I hear they love their IPAs out there. Which is good cause hops are the best part haha. I am going down highway 5. I am going to look at some of the suggestions and incorperate them into my route. I see somebody recommended Anchor Brewing, home of the famous California Steam Beer. Has anybody been there? I want to try and stop there if it's worth it..

I would suggest Widmer Brothers in Portland. Loved the tour there we took back in January. Did the Red Hook tour in Woodinville, WA a couple weeks ago.

I will be doing the Anchor tour in August, looking forward to it. Also checking out Russian River in Santa Rosa and Lagunitas in Petaluma.

Someone mentioned Fish Brewing in Olympia... had dinner there on Sunday, love their IPA

Mac & Jacks in Redmond, Goergetown brewing in Seattle, and if your feelin really crazy and decide to go to Idaho, Sockeye Brewing is a must. Also there is Terminal Gravity, in Enterprise OR, but thats quite a ways from I-5

jmo88 said:

If you roll through Seattle, go to Pike brewery in the market or Elysian on Capitol Hill. Possibly the best bar ever is in Fremont neighborhood. It's called Brouwer's and has over 50 taps, most of which are pretty rare and always changing. I went their last weekend and they had like 30 sour beers on tap. It was awesome.

If you go through Olympia on I-5 stop by Fish brewing.

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This: Plus, just for Kicks, drop down the stairs to the Taphouse dowtown Seattle. Oh, and if you are in for slumming try The 5 Point.

madipop said:

...and if your feelin really crazy and decide to go to Idaho, Sockeye Brewing is a must. Also there is Terminal Gravity, in Enterprise OR, but thats quite a ways from I-5

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If you are on your way to either of these places you should stop in Baker City at Barley Browns brewpub. Some of the best beers ever. Their black IPA (aka Turmoil) is hands down the standard by which others should be judged. IMHO of course.

Terminal Gravity is a great brewery and their friendly brewers will schedule a tour of the brewery if you ask ahead of time. Scenery in the area is worth the trip.

If I am not mistaken Anchor requires a reservation for tours....Yep, here it is http://www.anchorbrewing.com/about_us/tourinfo.htm You don't say when you're going, but it looks like they are booked through June already.

Ones I wouldn't miss are:

Maritime Pacific
Fish Brewing

The Fish Brewing folks are Radiators fans.

Fish Tale Brews for Fish Head Music!!!!

Suck the Head and Squeeze the Tip.

If you do make it to Seattle check out Blackraven in Redmond. Probably the hottest new microbrewery in the US at the moment http://www.blackravenbrewing.com/

Washington Beer Blog has a map with all of the breweries in Washington State:
http://www.washingtonbeerblog.com/breweries-and-brew-pubs/

Kilted Brewer said:

If I am not mistaken Anchor requires a reservation for tours....Yep, here it is http://www.anchorbrewing.com/about_us/tourinfo.htm You don't say when you're going, but it looks like they are booked through June already.

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Also, they're not exactly on I-5, but their tour is well worth it, if you can get in. A good tour and a generous tasting of all of their beers. All for the princely sum of NOTHING!

If you're trying to stay primarily on or near I-5, Sierra Nevada is not far off, in Chico, but I've never actually been there.

EDIT: Ah, I see you will be headed to Monterrey however. At what point are you going to make the turn towards the coast?

I haven't been to these places, but my list for driving up the coast based on brewers I love...I plotted a trip even! I'll go north to south in CA since Oregon and WA are pretty well covered here....

Lost Coast Brewing in Eureka, CA
North Coast Brewing, Fort Bragg, CA
Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa, CA
Lagunitas Brewing, Petaluma, CA
Anchor Brewing Co, San Francisco, CA
21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco, CA

http://bit.ly/aD9iQ1

Other big guys to consider are Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico (I hear the facility is kickass, but it's 100mi inland from the coast breweries) and Firestone Walker in Paso Robles (a hundred miles or so farther south than Monterey)

I plan on driving this trip in reverse up to Portland one of these days. One day


Edit: I see you said you're driving down the 5, and obviously the route I posted goes a different route. The 5 will take you near Chico for Sierra Nevada, but IMO Russian River is worth going out of the way for...even if you have to backtrack from San Fran after you take the 5 down. You can see what the fuss is about on Pliny the Elder and their sours are amazing. Lagunitas which is about halfway between both makes a ton of great beer too.

munche said:

I haven't been to these places, but my list for driving up the coast based on brewers I love...I plotted a trip even! I'll go north to south in CA since Oregon and WA are pretty well covered here....

Lost Coast Brewing in Eureka, CA
North Coast Brewing, Fort Bragg, CA
Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa, CA
Lagunitas Brewing, Petaluma, CA
Anchor Brewing Co, San Francisco, CA
21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco, CA

http://bit.ly/aD9iQ1

Other big guys to consider are Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico (I hear the facility is kickass, but it's 100mi inland from the coast breweries) and Firestone Walker in Paso Robles (a hundred miles or so farther south than Monterey)

I plan on driving this trip in reverse up to Portland one of these days. One day

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You sir, have some of my favorite stops on that tour!

One of these days I want to come south and do something similar with Pizza Port/Lost Abbey, Ballast Point, Stone, and others. That will be a good tour!

Shooter said:

You sir, have some of my favorite stops on that tour!

One of these days I want to come south and do something similar with Pizza Port/Lost Abbey, Ballast Point, Stone, and others. That will be a good tour!

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Stone, Lost Abbey, Green Flash, Pizza Port and a few others are all along the same small highway in north San Diego. I've made that run a few times (I'm about 100mi north!) and it's epic. I'm planning on doing a run of the southern part of town soon, and hitting Alesmith, Ballast Point, Alpine Brewing...and well, I'd have to get my brewery map to see who else I'm missing down there.

The Stone Brewing facility is amazing...the whole place is gorgeous, I want to be married and then later buried there.

munche said:

I haven't been to these places, but my list for driving up the coast based on brewers I love...I plotted a trip even! I'll go north to south in CA since Oregon and WA are pretty well covered here....

Lost Coast Brewing in Eureka, CA
North Coast Brewing, Fort Bragg, CA
Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa, CA
Lagunitas Brewing, Petaluma, CA
Anchor Brewing Co, San Francisco, CA
21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco, CA

http://bit.ly/aD9iQ1

Other big guys to consider are Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico (I hear the facility is kickass, but it's 100mi inland from the coast breweries) and Firestone Walker in Paso Robles (a hundred miles or so farther south than Monterey)

I plan on driving this trip in reverse up to Portland one of these days. One day


Edit: I see you said you're driving down the 5, and obviously the route I posted goes a different route. The 5 will take you near Chico for Sierra Nevada, but IMO Russian River is worth going out of the way for...even if you have to backtrack from San Fran after you take the 5 down. You can see what the fuss is about on Pliny the Elder and their sours are amazing. Lagunitas which is about halfway between both makes a ton of great beer too.

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Firestone Walker is a nice stop, not sure if I would go 100 miles out of the way but it is nice, the double jack can only be had there on tap and the only sell it 8oz at a time , an IIPA if you will compared to their Union Jack, possibly the best IPA I have had.

munche said:

Stone, Lost Abbey, Green Flash, Pizza Port and a few others are all along the same small highway in north San Diego. I've made that run a few times (I'm about 100mi north!) and it's epic. I'm planning on doing a run of the southern part of town soon, and hitting Alesmith, Ballast Point, Alpine Brewing...and well, I'd have to get my brewery map to see who else I'm missing down there.

The Stone Brewing facility is amazing...the whole place is gorgeous, I want to be married and then later buried there.

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Yes, definitely need to include Green Flash and Alesmith on my tour. I'm trying to think if I've ever had anything from Alpine.

Shooter said:

Yes, definitely need to include Green Flash and Alesmith on my tour. I'm trying to think if I've ever had anything from Alpine.

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Alpine is hard to find even here, but I had their Exponential Hoppiness and it was incredible. So I figure I can pay them a visit.

So many breweries so little time. It looks like I am going to have to go down one way and up another so I can hit them all. I am leaving for Seattle on Friday, but I wont be starting my roadtrip until Tuesday. I am going to have to sit down tonight and look up all these places and plan a route. I will get back to all of you..

A very timely thread. I leave tomorrow for Seattle and will be spending a week and a half exploring WA/OR. Between little camping/backpacking trips, we'll be hitting as many breweries as we can. I've searched the archives here and come up with quite a list of breweries/brewpubs to look into and this thread topped off the list with a few more! Anyhow, thought I'd share the list I put together. Hope it helps someone! The times off to the right indicate either the time they open (i.e. 11+) or the time tours are given (i.e. 11, 12:30)

SEATTLE
Brouwer's 400 N 35th St beer bar only (no brewery) 30+ sour!
Maritime Pacific 1514 NorthWest Leary Way pub
Elysian 542 1ST AVE S. 1221 E PIKE ST 2106 N 55TH ST pub
Naked City Brewing 8564 Greenwood Ave N Seattle, WA 98103 pub
Maritime Pacific 1111 N.W. Ballard Way Seattle,WA 98107 pub 11am+
Hales Ales 4301 Leary Way NW, Seattle, WA 98107 pub
Black Raven Brewery 14679 NE 95th ST Redmond, WA 98052 taproom 3pm+ 12pm+ (S-S)
Mac and Jack's 17825 NE 65th St. Redmond, WA. 98052 W-F 11-6, S-S 10-5, tour Sun 3PM
Redhook 14300 NE 145th Street Woodinville, WA 98072 pub, Tours M-F 1,3,5 S-S hourly 12-5
Pyramid 1201 First Avenue South Seattle, WA 98134 pub (closed 10-11pm)
Pike Pub & Brewery 1415 1st Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 pub (atlas string band on Thursdays)
Big Time Brewing Co 4133 University Way NE Seattle, WA 98105 pub
Rogue Issaquah BH 35 W. Sunset Way Issaquah, WA 98027 pub
ELSEWHERE IN WASHINGTON
Salmon Creek Brewing 108 West Evergreen Blvd Vancouver, WA
Hazel Dell Brewpub 8513 Northeast Highway 99 Vancouver, WA
Dick's Brewing 3516 Galvin Rd. Centralia, Wa Friday 3-7pm
Fish Brewing 515 Jefferson Street SE Olympia, WA pub
Harmon Brewing 1938 Pacific Avenue Tacoma, WA pub
Elliot Bay Brewing 255 SW 152nd St Burien, WA pub
Ellersick Brewing 5030 208th ST SW Ste. A Lynnwood, WA pub
Lazy Boy Brewing 715 100th St SE Everett, WA Wed-Sat 12-5
Scuttlebut Brewing 1524 W Marine View Dr Everett, WA pub
Skookum Brewing 19529 17th Drive NE Arlington, WA Fri 3-7 Sat 2-5
Skagit Valley Brewing 404 South 3rd St Mt Vernon, WA pub
Anacortes Brewing 320 Commercial Ave Anacortes, WA pub
Boundary Bay Brewing 1107 Railroad Ave Bellingham, WA pub
North Fork Brewing 6186 Mt. Baker Highway Deming, WA pub (pizza!)
PORTLAND
Laurelwood 5115 NE Sandy Blvd Portland, OR pub
Alameda Brewhouse 4765 NE Fremont St Portland, OR pub
Roots 1520 SE 7TH, Portland, Oregon pub organic!
Hopworks Urban Brewery 2944 SE Powell Blvd Portland, OR pub organic!
McMenamin's Edgefield 2126 S.W. Halsey St. Troutdale, OR ?
Rogue 2320 OSU Drive Newport, OR 3 PM Daily + pub
ELSEWHERE IN OREGON
Calapooia Brewing 140 Southeast Hill St Albany, OR pub
Ninkasi Brewing 272 Van Buren St Eugene, OR 12pm to 9pm
Wild River 533 Northeast F Street, Grants Pass pub
Walkabout Brewing 5204 Dobrot Way Central Point, OR pub?
Caldera Brewing 540 Clover Lane Ashland, OR pub. 4pm+
Standing Stone 101 Oak St Ashland, OR pub
Mt. Shasta Brewing 360 College Ave Weed, CA pub 12pm+
Beer-themed B&Bs
House of Rogue Bed & Beer
748 SW Bay Blvd
Newport, OR 97365
541-265-3188

Rogue Hop 'N Bed
3590 Wigrich Rd.
Independence, OR 97351

Rogue Alehouses
748 SW Bay Blvd. Newport, OR
2320 OSU Drive Newport, OR
2122 Marine Science Dr. Newport, OR
1339 NW Flanders Portland, OR
Green Dragon 928 SE 9th Ave Portland, OR
100 39th St (Pier 39) Astoria, OR
844 Olive St Eugene, OR

Okay I have a rough idea. I will be going through Portland, so I will stop at Bridgeport brewpiub. I will then go on and drive to San Fransico and find some California Steam Beer from Anchor Brewery. On the way back I will drive a little off the beaten path to Sierra Nevada. And then back again through Portland to visit Hopworks. Then back to Seattle. Thanks to Khanti I have a good list of Brewpubs to vist in Seattle.

Now are there any beers that I have to try while I am out there? I would like to create list of them I have to try and mark them off as I go. Kind of like a beer scavanger hunt if you will.. Any suggestions?

Russian River, Russian River, Russian River beers if you can't normally get them. If you visit the rewery in Santa Rosa try seeing if there's a Pliny the Younger release being planned anytime soon. City Beer in SF (along with others - Ledger's Liquors in Berkeley has a nice selection) have a great number of exclusive craft beers if you want to take some for the road.

I can't emphasize this enough - Anchor Brewing needs reservations, so I'd give them a call ASAP and see when the earliest spot is (they're only open for tours during business hours M-F). They're usually booked way ahead of time.

If you're into distilleries, St. George's in Alameda close to SF has some great brandy, whiskey, and vodka to try.

I wish I had done smaller breweries nearer to Oregon and Seattle when I was staffed there for work. While it's owned by Anheuser-Busch, I went to Red Hook in Seattle and didn't regret it one bit. $1 tasting tours are worth it (I went twice in one day for the beer), you get to try their beers that I normally can't get all the way in California. However, if you want the smaller microbrews I'm sure you can't go wrong with the smaller ones like Rogue and Elysian.

If you end up getting short on time there are several great pubs in the Seattle area. Most the staff at these places will talk beer with you for hours:
http://www.thedogandpony.com/
http://www.beveridgeplacepub.com/
http://www.maltandvine.com/

The tap house does have 160 beer on tap, but my experience there has been less than stellar. Staff half the time could care less about beer and they have many domestics on tap in the 160.
http://www.taphousegrill.com/


Another place I've been to and loved was Full Sail Brewery in Hood River, OR. About an hour east of Portland, but I thought it was well worth the drive.

throwbookatface said:

While it's owned by Anheuser-Busch, I went to Red Hook in Seattle and didn't regret it one bit.

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I just knew you had to be wrong about this... how could I be drinking and loving beer that is from a brewer that is partly owned by A-B?! Sadly, I looked it up and they own 25% of Red Hook AND Widmer... the later being my favorite brewer. Good thing I am making my own now and dont have to worry about giving them a dime!

bfeucht said:

If you end up getting short on time there are several great pubs in the Seattle area. Most the staff at these places will talk beer with you for hours:
http://www.thedogandpony.com/
http://www.beveridgeplacepub.com/
http://www.maltandvine.com/

The tap house does have 160 beer on tap, but my experience there has been less than stellar. Staff half the time could care less about beer and they have many domestics on tap in the 160.
http://www.taphousegrill.com/


Another place I've been to and loved was Full Sail Brewery in Hood River, OR. About an hour east of Portland, but I thought it was well worth the drive.

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I'm going to be up in Seattle around Labor day, any tips in the downtown area? I think I was at the Taphouse last year...very similar to the Yardhouse, kind of corporate-y but a decent beer list

Last year I did make it to the Elysian (sp?) and Pike...bored and typed in "brewery" on google maps to see what came up.

The sad thing about your itinerary is the Monterey stop. There is unfortunately not much there worth visiting ( brewpub wise. ).

Peter B's- Monterey: No... just no.
Monterey Coast Brewing in Salinas: the beer is bland and the food can be either really good or barely edible.
The parking is heavily policed in Oldtown -- just assume you will get a ticket.

One place I have yet to visit is English Ales Brewery in Marina. Yelp reviews seem positive. Reviewers say they fill growlers.

Overall, this looks like a fun trip for you :rockin:

munche said:

I'm going to be up in Seattle around Labor day, any tips in the downtown area? I think I was at the Taphouse last year...very similar to the Yardhouse, kind of corporate-y but a decent beer list

Last year I did make it to the Elysian (sp?) and Pike...bored and typed in "brewery" on google maps to see what came up.

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I haven't been myself but I've heard great things about Collins Pub. It is down by Qwest Field.
http://www.thecollinspub.com

If for some reason you head north from Seattle, Bellingham is a worthy stop for Boundary Bay Brewing and Chuckanut Brewery. Both breweries make excellent stuff and have gotten lots of recognition for doing so.

throwbookatface said:

While it's owned by Anheuser-Busch, I went to Red Hook in Seattle and didn't regret it one bit.

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This is a misconception... Redhook is the majority owner of Redhook. AB does own a minority stake in Redhook, though (less than 25%). The ownership deal is basically a distribution agreement with AB so that Redhook gets national distribution of their beers...

thataintchicken said:

The sad thing about your itinerary is the Monterey stop. There is unfortunately not much there worth visiting ( brewpub wise. ).

Peter B's- Monterey: No... just no.
Monterey Coast Brewing in Salinas: the beer is bland and the food can be either really good or barely edible.
The parking is heavily policed in Oldtown -- just assume you will get a ticket.

One place I have yet to visit is English Ales Brewery in Marina. Yelp reviews seem positive. Reviewers say they fill growlers.

Overall, this looks like a fun trip for you :rockin:

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I also happen to be a car fan and in the city of Monterey sits Laguna Seca Raceway. Trust me Monterey wont be without its fun.

I havent seen or heard of Russian River beer here on the East coast so I will be looking for that. I have a friend here that is real hophead, Anybody know a good IIPA I can get out there that will knock his socks off haha?

On the off chance you're near Bellingham Washington, I suggest checking out Boundary Bay Brewery and either trying the Scotch Ale or their sampler.

kawickstrom said:

I also happen to be a car fan and in the city of Monterey sits Laguna Seca Raceway. Trust me Monterey wont be without its fun.

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I lived in Monterey from 1991-2001. I really enjoyed it and have some great memories from Laguna Seca. I'd still live there if it didn't get incredibly expensive to do so.

thataintchicken said:

I lived in Monterey from 1991-2001. I really enjoyed it and have some great memories from Laguna Seca. I'd still live there if it didn't get incredibly expensive to do so.

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I cant wait to go and see that track. Enough of the playstation, time to see the real thing.