McMenamins Queen Anne

McMenamins Queen Anne 11Oct2017

I’ve been saving McMenamins as an easy trip since it is just a short bus ride on the D-Line to the Seattle Center neighborhood on lower Queen Anne. Today was the day since Renee wanted me out of the kitchen while she made crackers. I remember being excited to visit any of the McMenamins locations in Portland when we made family visits in the 80s and 90s. Now McMenamins is old hat with two locations within the Seattle city limits.

McMenamins Queen Anne is in a relatively new mixed use, residential retail building on the corner of Roy Street and 2^nd Avenue North. 

On the corner. An apartment here would be close to beer.

As you enter you are confronted by the bar and forced to turn right or left into the restaurant seating areas. 

Right turn.

Left turn

A beer list (and a separate cider, wine, and spirits menu) and food menu are provided at each table. 

One side of the beer list. I used both sides.

If you wander around the restaurant for a bit you may find the chalk board with specials listed on it. I studied the beer list and picked six for a flight of tasters. 

Back row l to r: Hammerhead, Terminator Stout, and Hipster Juice. Front row l to r: Thundercone Fresh Hop Ale, Passion of the Sour, and Anderson School Oktoberfest

Beer is offered in tasters, 8 ounce glasses, pints, growlers, and some canned options.

Tasting Notes:

Passion of the Sour (3.2%, 9 IBU): Cloudy orange-gold. Sharp, fruity, lactic and acetic aromas. Sweet-sour with some fruit flavors. Clean sweet-sour finish. Very refreshing.

Anderson School Oktoberfest (5.9%, 29 IBU): Slightly hazy amber-gold. Pilsner malt aroma. Sweet malt and German hop perfume flavor. Sweet finish with a touch of bitterness. The perfume note of the hops is something I seek in a lager.

Thundercone Fresh Hop Ale (6.2%, 54 IBU): Slightly hazy yellow gold. Faint aromas of piney hops, some phenols, and slight roast note. Dry malt body with balancing bitterness. Bitter finish. The only hint that this is a fresh hop ale is the richness imparted by hop oils.

Hammerhead (6.0%, 44 IBU): Clear copper-red. Perfume of Cascade and slight roast aromas. Sweet malt, hop perfume flavor and bitterness. Bitter sweet finish. Hammerhead seems to showcase Cascades more fully than does Thundercone with fresh Cascades.

Hipster Juice (7.0%, 46 IBU): Slightly hazy red-gold. Piney fruity hop aroma. Bitter, coffee flavor, malt body. Bitter-sweet finish. I didn’t read the description first and so the unmistakable coffee flavor came as a surprise.

Terminator Stout (6.5%, 30 IBU): Opaque black with no highlights. Roast malt and ester aromas. Burnt malt and sweet malt flavors with very late bitterness. Sweet-bitter finish.

I was happy to re-acquaint myself with McMenamins after two years hiatus. The greeting from at the door was laid back and friendly. The place was nearly empty on a Wednesday afternoon but business began to pick up later. At one table sat a couple and at another some business types ate lunch. Nary a hippy in sight. McMenamins Queen Anne is a warm cozy place to get out of the rain, have a bite, and drink a pint or two. The art on the walls evokes the 60s and 70s while the music was a mix leaning heavily in the same direction as the art. As the afternoon lengthened I detected brewing smells coming from the back. The smell of hops hitting hot wort is welcome as far as I’m concerned. After I finished my flight I ordered a glass of the Oktoberfest and sipped it while reading my book. I watched for the possible thundershowers promised in the weather report, but they were a no show.

So I walked a few blocks to the bus stop and rode the D-Line back home to sample freshly baked crackers.