Not impressed by beers of the NW

[fivehoursfree]

So far that is. I'm travelling around and am in Washington, Seattle to be exact. Here is a rundown of what I've had.

Winthrop (schoolhouse) brewery. They had a good stout, coffee stout was average, "ran out" of some other stuff. IPA was thin, like a hop-tea, no mouthfeel at all. B-

ScuttleBut (bottle). Got their Amber. It's sour. 4 out of 6 bottles tasted sour, the last 2 tasted something like beer. Either they have QC or consistency issues or it they make terrible beer. D

Leavenworth (bottle). Dunkelweizen. Where's the yeast flavor? Where's the malt flavor? Tasted like one of my crappy first homebrews... after it sat in the bottle for 8 months. C-

Anacortes Brewery. Actually had some decent stuff. Their Octoberfest was good. On the sweet side. Had a decent pilsner, and stout. The other stuff, I already forgot about. B+

Elysian. I had high hopes for them, but struckout again. Red and ESB tasted the same: Bitter without flavor, and no maltiness at all. IPA was weak in body, porter was soso. They did have a good Jasmine IPA (not sure it was strong enough to rightfully earn it's "I") and their Pumpkin Stout was pretty good too. They were also "out" of 2 of their regulars, and 2 of their special pumpkin beers. It had to be a coincidence that they ran out of these, 4 days before their big Pumpkin Brew Fest, right? Surely they didn't put stuff on the menu, then have to take it off because people were ordering it too much? B-


So there it is. I liked the beer from the 3 places in Missoula (Bayern, BigSky, and Kettlehouse) better, and so far Colorado and Texas(home) blow Washington out of the water. Maybe I just chose a bad batch of breweries. I'll take suggestions, for those that live or lived or extensively visited. I'm making a trip to the Pike brewery for sure, then Hales Ales, then I think it's called RAven something in Bellvue (maybe it's in Redmond)

 

[BrewerBrad]

This may sound odd but I'd suggest checking out Rock Bottom in bellevue. I know it's a chain restaurant/brewery but the local brewmaster does his own recipes and his IPA is pretty good. Also right now they have a fresh-hop ale that really surprised me. I've had and enjoyed many hoppy beers but I've never had one with this much natural hoppy aroma and flavor before. Reminds me of the time I got a chance to hold hops in my hands and stick my nose in it. Also try Mack & Jack's african amber. Not found in stores but most bars have it on tap.

 

[northernlad]

Man would I hate to have you form an opinion on Washington beers based on those breweries, with the exception of Anacortes which makes one of the best beers I have had, a Brown aged in a bourbon cask.
Plus, I'd be willing to bet your expectation is getting in the way of your actual enjoyment.

 

[fivehoursfree]

Yea, I'm hoping I was just unlucky. I am enjoying the beer just fine for the most part. Like I said, just not impressed. Only a few would be in my top 10 of their styles. I'll update this later as I drink more.

 

[Strave19]

I'll agree that you tried pretty lame breweries minus anacortes (have not had their stuff). There is good beer in this state, but there is also a lot of very average beer as well... IMO

 

[fivehoursfree]

Ok, Pike was a good way to start my redemption. They are quality. Liked the IPA, Wit, and Weiss. Cool place to just walk around and look at all the stuff on the wall, and their brewhouse is right in the middle of the market!.
A

 

[JonK331]

Try to make it down to the Portland Area. Walking Man, Rogue, and Double Mountain are all great, I'm not from there so I don't remember others off the top of my head. My buddy lives there though and I'm always impressed by the beers. If you make it down as far as Ashland, Caldera is awesome and is one of my favorite breweries. Standing Stone is walking distance from Caldera and has great food, though the beers are good but not spectacular. If you are going further south than that, Sierra Nevada is about 40 minutes off interstate 5 and is always a great experience. Good luck on your trip, I hope you find some beers that you like.

 

[Brewsmith]

Check out Black Raven in Redmond if you can. Their IPA is great as well as their other regular beers, and they always have something interesting as a special tap or cask.

 

[blizzard]

Elysian's Jasmine IPA is one of my favorites. I also really like Manny's pale ale from Georgetown brewery. Other people like their Chopper's Red and Bob's Brown, but those aren't my favorites styles. Pike has a lot of good offerings as does Black Raven (haven't personally been to BR, but have heard nothing but good things). There was a lot of variety at Elliot Bay Brewpub in West Seattle. Some good, some so-so. Also check out Naked City Taphouse. I've only had a few of the beers they brew since they didn't have their brewer's license until just before I moved, but they have a terrific selection and a good atmosphere. Not a great menu though. KISS Cafe in Ballard has good sandwiches and a good selection of bottles from the PNW. Oh, and you should pick up something from Dick's Brewing Co. - you'll find it in most grocery stores.

 

[fivehoursfree]

Thanks for the suggestions. I won't be able to make it to all of them. It's hard enough convincing the wife to go to one every other day. I want to try Black Raven for sure.

And Oregon and CA are also on the schedule.

 

[Myke_J]

If you don't make it anywhere else, you have to make it to Black Raven or Naked City or both

 

[steinsato]

a bit but I was just reading in Rocky Mountain Brewing News that Portland and Seattle combined make up 54% of the total craft beer market in the country, so they must be doing something right. San Francisco comes in 3rd place with 20% of the market. I would think Denver would be 4th but that is just a guess.

 

[ChshreCat]

Walk into a decent bar and have a glass of Mac & Jack's African Amber.

And +1 on Naked City Taphouse. You can try a ton of great beers there.

 

[fivehoursfree]

Hales Ales was good too. Supergoose IPA was top notch, as was their Barleywine. They served a stout, blond and esb on nitro. I thought it detracted from the stouts flavor, but maybe its because I haven't had a nitro beer in a while. The cream blond was good. I think the nitro thing is maybe a gimmick that isn't really necessary, their other beers were good on their own.
A-

 

[jmo88]

Manny's is my session goto. It's ubiquitous but delicious.

Go to Brouwer's in Fremont. It's Seattle's best beer bar IMO.

 

[toastermm]

...I liked the beer from the 3 places in Missoula (Bayern, BigSky, and Kettlehouse) better...

Yay! This is my backyard! In fact our homebrew club is getting a tour of Bayern this Friday... anyways...

I had some good beers when I went to seattle for a work trip- so I didn't get out much, but I went to the Elysian and like the jasmine ipa and a few others. But I really enjoyed pike's brewery and the double tandem ale.

 

[fivehoursfree]

Dicks brewing in Centralia has a good porter. I would have tried more but they closed at 8pm instead of the 9pm that was clearly posted on their door. Whatever.

 

[Tim27]

When you can try to get to any of the various McMenamins Pubs. Being from Oregon I am kinda partial to them. Hopefully they will meet your standards. Here's a link.

http://www.mcmenamins.com/

I always found their beers very tasty. IMHO Terminator stout is one of the best stouts brewed. After rogue Shakespeare stout it is my favorite. Their Sunflower IPA is also one of my favorites, and it is not an in your face hop bomb.


Have fun, Tim

 

[fivehoursfree]

Also Walking Man in Livinsgton was solid.
Overall, I give Washington a B+.

 

[wildwest450]

Overall, I give Washington a B+.

I bet the whole state will be overjoyed.

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

I bet the whole state will be overjoyed.

LOL, that was good for a laugh.

I'm curious to hear where you made it to in Cali

 

[hiphoppopotamus]

Gotta hit up Fremont Brewing Company!

They have an awesome bourbon barrel aged winter ale on tap right now.

http://www.fremontbrewing.com/

 

[fivehoursfree]

Here are my reviews of the various California breweries I visited:


Lost Coast (eureka, CA) "Great White Ale" I just bought these in bottles at the grocery store. I think it was suppose to be a Belgian Wit. Sort of bland, nothing special, but refreshing. B.

Russian River (Santa Rosa, CA) The Pliny didn't dissapoint. Delicious, it's strong and smoooth. A trip to their brewpub is required, and worth the drive if you are visiting San Francisco. They have maybe 20 beers on tap, half American Style, half Belgian. I did the American Sampler. Oh so good. A+

Moylan's ( Novato, CA ) I had their strong scotch ale, which was strong, but didn't realy have much flavor. Old Chub and Iron Thistle are still my standards of the style. I also had their SPiced Winter Ale, which had a nice smooth flavor. Also their Pale Ale was solid. B.

Marin Brewing (Larkspurs, CA ) Breakfast Stout is awesome. IPA is solid, though I don't remember much about it. B.

Lagunitas (Petaluma, CA) Their Wiskey Barrel aged Cappuccino Stout was amazing. Strong Flavor. They had something called a Hairy Eyeball which was another big brown tasty concoction. Also their Pilsner was top notch. A-.

21st Amendment (San Francisco, CA) They are also a little overpriced. But their winter seasonal (Fireside Chat) was delicious. It's a spiced beer, but the spice doen't overpower the rest of the beer. IPA is solid, as was their dark IPA. They also had a belgian golden ale that was alright. B-.

Mariposa (Mariposa, CA) This was a cute place. Talking with the owners was the highlight. The beer was below average in my opinion. Wheat wasn't wheaty or yeasty at all, the IPA was weak. Their amber was the best one. C-

Firestone ( Buelton, CA ) This is a solid place. Their stout was average. They have a really good pale ale, and something called a double barrell ale, which was also real nice. The IPA was also good. Tip: If you buy their 4 beer sampler you get a souvenir pint glass included! A-

 

[markg388]

I'm sure I'm too late, but you still have to hit up Elliot Bay, Alpine and Big Al's breweries in WA (those are my 3 favorites)... and it's already been said, but you shouldn't get to judge us as a beer state w/o Mac n Jacks or Manny's on the list! But I do understand where the original poster is coming from, and I have a theory...

A lot of northwest craft beer drinkers I've ran into taste anything moderately hoppy and instantly proclaim its excellence and proceed to tell all their friends how good the beer was. And if there's one thing about PNW people as a whole, we're too damn nice and polite to tell our friends that their favorite beer sucks, so we buy it anyway. We love craft beer so much that no one wants to be a PITA beer critic, so a lot of so-so breweries end up getting consistent rave reviews. When someone tells me how good Elysian's Men's Room Original Red is, I have to walk away because that guy just isn't worth the effort. I feel like I'm the only person who doesn't like that brewery.

As for the Leavenworth Dunkelweizen... I've never had it, but when a beer is named after a tourist trap that should be a pretty good warning .

 

[Shooter]

Dicks brewing in Centralia has a good porter. I would have tried more but they closed at 8pm instead of the 9pm that was clearly posted on their door. Whatever.

My brother lives up in that area and STILL hasn't sent me a bottle of Dick's Danger Ale!!

Also Walking Man in Livinsgton was solid.

Do you mean Stevenson?

 

[jmo88]

My brother lives up in that area and STILL hasn't sent me a bottle of Dick's Danger Ale!!

We call that herpes in these parts.

 

[JonK331]

Here are my reviews of the various California breweries I visited:


Lost Coast (eureka, CA) "Great White Ale" I just bought these in bottles at the grocery store. I think it was suppose to be a Belgian Wit. Sort of bland, nothing special, but refreshing. B.

Russian River (Santa Rosa, CA) The Pliny didn't dissapoint. Delicious, it's strong and smoooth. A trip to their brewpub is required, and worth the drive if you are visiting San Francisco. They have maybe 20 beers on tap, half American Style, half Belgian. I did the American Sampler. Oh so good. A+

Moylan's ( Novato, CA ) I had their strong scotch ale, which was strong, but didn't realy have much flavor. Old Chub and Iron Thistle are still my standards of the style. I also had their SPiced Winter Ale, which had a nice smooth flavor. Also their Pale Ale was solid. B.

Marin Brewing (Larkspurs, CA ) Breakfast Stout is awesome. IPA is solid, though I don't remember much about it. B.

Lagunitas (Petaluma, CA) Their Wiskey Barrel aged Cappuccino Stout was amazing. Strong Flavor. They had something called a Hairy Eyeball which was another big brown tasty concoction. Also their Pilsner was top notch. A-.

21st Amendment (San Francisco, CA) They are also a little overpriced. But their winter seasonal (Fireside Chat) was delicious. It's a spiced beer, but the spice doen't overpower the rest of the beer. IPA is solid, as was their dark IPA. They also had a belgian golden ale that was alright. B-.

Mariposa (Mariposa, CA) This was a cute place. Talking with the owners was the highlight. The beer was below average in my opinion. Wheat wasn't wheaty or yeasty at all, the IPA was weak. Their amber was the best one. C-

Firestone ( Buelton, CA ) This is a solid place. Their stout was average. They have a really good pale ale, and something called a double barrell ale, which was also real nice. The IPA was also good. Tip: If you buy their 4 beer sampler you get a souvenir pint glass included! A-

How can you mention Bay Area beers and not talk about Anchor Steam?

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

Too bad you weren't able to make it to Bear Republic, they make outstanding beers. Those are all Solid breweries you hit, sounds like you had good time. For Lost Coast, Great White isn't a real great representation of what they can do, Downtown Brown, Eight Ball Stout & the Indica IPA are all really solid brews. If you had those I think you would find them to be an "A".

 

[Shooter]

Too bad you weren't able to make it to Bear Republic, they make outstanding beers. Those are all Solid breweries you hit, sounds like you had good time. For Lost Coast, Great White isn't a real great representation of what they can do, Downtown Brown, Eight Ball Stout & the Indica IPA are all really solid brews. If you had those I think you would find them to be an "A".

I enjoy Great White, but agree that Downtown Brown really shines!

 

[WrongCoastBrewery]

My vote is for Georgetown Brewery in Seattle. Manny's is a classic that I wish I could get back here in DC. Plus their IPA is excellent too. Growlers are $6 to refill if you have one to exchange.

 

[Pabst Blue Robot]

No Elk's Head? Black Raven? Schooner Exact? Two Beers? Airways? Naked City???