My wife and I went to Seattle for a long weekend to see The Stooges. I couldn’t wait to see Iggy Pop go ape shit on stage. That guy is a machine, and he didn’t disappoint. Most importantly, he didn’t feel the need to play Lust for Life which, albeit a good song, I could really give a crap if I don’t hear ever again. In addition, Mike Watt from the Minutemen and Firehose was playing bass for them, and that was an added bonus.
On to the beer … we made time to hit some of my favorite old haunts from when we used to live there. First off was Bottleworks. What a great store. They had good info on some changes in the local beer scene. Most significant (to me) was information on Pike’s changes. I’ve written about Pike a couple of times before, so readers know its significance to me. Anyway, it would appear the new (original) owners of the brewery have hired and enabled a new Brewmaster who’s focused on bringing back quality. I was pointed to the Tandem Double Ale, available in bombers, as a prime example of not cutting back on ingredients to save cash. I asked how it was, and they gave it the thumbs up … into the basket it went. I’ll be doing a review of all the Bottleworks purchases as I consume them.
Complete purchase list:
- Lazy Boy Brewing – IPA
- Speakeasy – Prohibition Ale
- The Pike Brewing Company – Tandem Double Ale
- The Pike Brewing Company – Old Bawdy 2006 Barley Wine
- Anchor Brewing Company – Small Beer (for the Mild Session)
- Basserie Dupont, Tourpes – Biere de Miel
- De Proefbrouwerij – La Grande Blanche (Belgian Imperial White)
- Schlenkerla – Helles Lagerbier
- Baron Brewing Company – Helles Bock
Grand total: $69.46
After putting the beer in the car, we headed to Bob’s Homebrew Supply. Bob’s is my old homebrew shop, and it’s the best one in Seattle as far as I’m concerned. This is mostly because he’s got his shit organized and easy to find, but it also doesn’t hurt that he likes King Crimson and Zappa. I have plans to do an IPA recipe that I haven’t brewed in quite a while, and needed some yeast that my homebrew shop doesn’t carry.
I caught up with Bob about the brewing news in the region. He showed me the flyer for the upcoming Cascade Brewers Cup homebrew competition (formerly Cascadia Cup). I noticed that the flyer has a small logo for herestobeer.com on the bottom right corner. He mentioned that some people who entered were not aware that herestobeer.com is an Anheuser Busch marketing site, and had they known that, they wouldn’t have entered. I’ll probably be posting more on that subject at a later date, as I’m still sorting out how I feel about them.
We also made it to Brouwer’s Cafe after seeing The Stooges. This restaurant is epic. If you can get there when it isn’t crowded, it is a great place for a pint or five. It was started by the Bottleworks people, and they have about 60 handles and 200 bottles to choose from. They manage their lines well, and I’ve had many good beers there. Here’s what they had on draft the night we went. That night I had the Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout from Great Divide, and my wife had the Duchesse De Bourgogne from Verhaeghe. Both tasted so very good.
On the way home, we decided to stop in Olympia to go to Fish Brewing Company’s pub. I keep several of Fish’s beers in my cellar at any given time. For example, right now I have a 2001 Old Woody and a 2005 Poseidon Imperial Stout. Their food was awesome. I had the blackened tuna tacos, and ordered a very smooth and tasty Detonator Dopplebock that paired well with it. My wife had some really crisp, well-seasoned fish and chips where they used panko bread crumbs. This was a fantastic. I happened to bump into the brewery president while I was there. He had just returned from two weeks in Guatemala, and was lobbying for us to go to the Slurp that evening, which sounded pretty interesting:
The Slurp features live music and a live auction, and, of course, all the shellfish you can eat. Proceeds from the live auction will benefit PCSGA’s Shellfish Habitat Rejuvenation Fund. Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association partners with Mother Nature to protect and restore shellfish growing areas.
Wish we could have hung around to support what sounds like a fantastic fund. Unfortunately, there was not enough time, as we had to get back to the pets. We hauled back quite a bit of good beer, good memories of the show and larger bellies from the excellent meals in Seattle. Can’t wait to go back for The Police in June!
Cheers!
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