Perihelion Brewery

Perihelion Brewery  11Jun2017

I hopped on the D-Line bus headed for the bus tunnel downtown and picked up the Link Light Rail headed south. I arrived at the Beacon Hill stop and rode the elevator to street level. Perihelion sits on 16^th S, and I found it after making a couple of wrong turns. If I had just headed across Beacon from the light rail stop, I would have been right there.

Perihelion is in a nice residential setting with a few trees around.

Perihelion sits about a block off of Beacon, which puts it smack in the middle of a residential area, a very inviting setting. The outdoor seating area was in full use this day as the sun was out and the temperature was moderate but felt warm in the direct sunlight. I had to wind around the outside table area to get inside then walk to the front of the taproom to find the bar.

You have to run the gauntlet of outdoor seating to get inside.

The beer list is chalked up above the taps and clearly lists the beers and their ABV while no bitterness indicators are given.

Beer list and food offerings are above the bar and the open kitchen area is to the left in this picture.

Tasters (5 ounce), pints and growler fills are available. I studied the beer list and ordered eight tasters and then retired to a tall stool at a counter to sip, note, read, and study the neighborhood.

l to r Apogee Dark Belgian Strong, Daedalus Rye Saison, Singularity Stout, Mango Sour, and The Milky Way IPA. Sensing a galactic theme?

l to r Summer Kolsch, Matrix Maibock, and Icarus Saison.

Tasting Notes:

Summer Kolsch (6.3%): Slightly hazy gold. Bready malt aroma with slight noble hop. Sturdy bitterness and rich malt with a full body but pleasantly dry. Bitter finish. Odd flavor like some of the saison yeast snuck into the mix.

Matrix Maibock (5.5%): Clear red copper. Faint malt aroma. Sweet malt with a little roast and assertive (not aggressive) bitter flavors. Crisp dry malt. Bitter sweet finish.

Mango Sour (5.4%): Slightly hazy orange. Fruity mango aroma. Sweet and sour mango. No detectable bitterness. Quick finish with some lingering sourness.

Singularity Stout (5.9%): Opaque black with no highlights. Roast malt and coffee aroma. Roast malt (burnt), sweet malt, and bitter hop flavors. Full body. Sweet bitter finish.

Icarus Saison (7.9%): Clear gold. Perfumed aroma with peppery phenols. Medicinal and Band-Aid like phenols, bitter hop, sweet malt. Very full body. Bitter finish.

Daedalus Rye Saison (8.1%): Clear red copper. Malty phenolic aroma. Band-Aid like phenols (like the Icarus), sweet malt, some bitterness (less than Icarus). Bitter finish.

Apogee Dark Belgian Strong (9.2): Dark brown with red highlights. Fruity plum and malt aroma is very inviting. Sweet and fruity plum and cherry. Late, slight bitterness. Full body. Sweet finish and more late bitterness.

The Milky Way IPA (5.6%): Murky red orange. Piney and citrus hop aroma. Sweet malt and hop (piney and fruity) flavors, medium bitterness. Sweet bitter finish. Some minerality.

Perihelion is in a very pleasant area in a residential neighborhood, which should make it a natural local watering hole. A constant stream of pedestrians passes heading to or from errands on Beacon and trekking to the Red Apple Market. The greeting at the bar is neighborly and friendly. It’s still a new brewery and some of the beers need work, which makes the selections hit or miss. I would order second pints of the Apogee, if I didn’t have to drive, and the IPA. I didn’t try any of the food, so I have no opinion there. I didn’t finish the two saisons and the Kolsch had an odd un-Kolsch-like flavor.

My walk back to the light rail stop was much more direct than my walk to the brewery. Line of sight dead reckoning is something I can do. Light rail to the D-Line and back home to stagger around the kitchen making dinner.

Cloudburst Brewing

Cloudburst Brewing  09Jun2017

A little threatening weather this day as some thundershowers were in the prediction. No rain fell during my trip, but the clouds were spectacular. No cloudburst while visiting Cloudburst. I hopped the D-Line to downtown and made a short walk to Western and Lenora.

Not much here to stand out from the surrounding buildings. Easy to walk right past.

Cloudburst sits in a warehouse-like building near the Public Market with a garage door opening to lead you into the inky shadows. 

The ramp into the inky shadows. Come on in.

Tables face the opening on what was formerly the ramp into the warehouse. To the back is the bar on the right and a view of the brew kit on the left. The beer list is above the bar and is clearly marked. 

The bar with the minimal beer list posted above. More detailed beer descriptions are available at the bar.

Clipboards with the beer list and descriptions are available at the bar. Cloudburst offers 10-ounce schooners, 16-ounce pints, and growler fills  – no flights or smaller tasters. I ordered four schooners from the beer list figuring that I should be able to survive 40 oz. of beer and still get home on the bus without bursting.

l to r Nut Burst Tropical Lager, Happy Little Clouds Dry Hop Pils, High End Portfolio IPA, Refracted Light IPA.

I wound up with two lagers and two IPAs, but I would have liked to taste the other offerings, which were varied.

Tasting Notes:

Nut Burst Tropical Lager (5.3%, 30 IBU): Clear gold. Fruity hop aroma. Bitterness first then earthy malt. Dry with pronounced hop flavor. Somehow the New Zealand and Australian hops were rendered to taste like Yakima hops. Quick bitter finish. A collaboration with Chuckanut Brewing.

Happy Little Clouds Dry Hop Pils (5.1%, 32 IBU): Clear pale gold. German hop aroma with a perfume note. Taste is rich biscuit malt dry followed by bitterness from which the hop flavor pops. Bitter sweet finish with lingering hops and malt. As fine a pils as I have had in the city. And, yes, it’s a Bob Ross reference.

High End Portfolio IPA (7.2%, 55 IBU): Hazy red-gold. Fruity and citrus hop aroma. Sweet and juicy, then bitter hop on the tongue and hop flavor of fruit and citrus. Bitter finish and lingering bitterness.

Refracted Light IPA (7.4%, 58 IBU): Hazy red gold. Earthy and fruity hop aroma. Flavors follow on from sweet malt, juicy hops, bitter hop on the tongue, and finally earthy, fruity hop flavors. Sweet and lingering bitter woody finish.

I drank up my IPAs saving the Happy Little Clouds Pils for last. Even though my taste was probably dulled by the hoppy beers, the Pils was still full of malt and hop flavors. It’s not a wimpy beer at all. I didn’t finish the Nut Burst. The warehouse setting feels homey and the greeting from behind the bar is Seattle friendly, polite and restrained. The taproom was full of Canadians, since the Blue Jays are in town to play the Mariners. In other words the crowd was very pleasant and polite. Cloudburst has been in business since January of 2016 and has really dialed in their brewing process. All the beers I tried were well made even if some of the flavors were not to my liking.

The ride home on the bus was without incident and I was able to stagger into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Elysian Tangletown

Elysian Tangletown  21May2017

Such a beautiful day today after a really foggy morning run. My wife decided to join me at Elysian Tangletown for a little lunch. 

Streets come into the intersection every which way but the pub is unmistakable.

I am visiting as part of my quest to visit every brewery in Seattle. As I found out today Elysian is not currently brewing at Tangletown but intends to start in June. Jeff Allworth points out that 10 Barrel does not really exist; it’s just a line-item in AB InBevs’ budget. https://www.beervanablog.com/beervana/2017/5/2/10-barrels-tenth-anniversary-there-is-no-10-barrel Elysian is in the same boat. So this is an exercise in a silly self-imposed goal. I am not sure that Tangletown qualifies as a brewery or that it even exists. Were the food and beer just illusions? If so, they were strangely satisfying.

Elysian Tangletown sits at the intersection of 5 streets in the tangled up neighborhood of Tangletown. We usually find it by driving north on Meridian from 50^th Street. The orange building and the signage make the place stand out. In warm weather the garage doors open up and people can sit at a few outdoor tables. As you walk in the main entrance you can see the dining area in front of you 

The dining area as you enter with the kitchen to the back.

and the bar to the right. 

The bar with a fair amount of booze.

I am not sure that Tangletown puts up a formal beer list but a menu and beer list are set out at each table.

The beer list. If you enlarge it, it might just be readable.

I looked over the beer list after asking our server what beers were actually brewed on site. I ordered a flight of 5 four ounce tasters. I wound up with a lot of IPA.

The flight from l to r: Savant IPA, Cedrela Oderata IPA, Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale, Chroma-key Oak-Aged Imperial IPA, and Raconteur Dark Lager.

Tasting Notes:

Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale (6.4%): Cloudy orange. Citrus and piney hop aroma and fruit ester aroma Sweet orange juice and bitter hops with piney fruity hop flavor. Bitter finish.

Raconteur Dark Lager (4.8%): Clear dark red brown. Roast malt aroma with fruity esters (for a lager?). Sweet roast malt. Very low bitterness late. Sweet roast finish.

Savant IPA (6.3%, 66 IBU): Clear gold. Juicy Nelson Sauvin hop aroma. Bitter and sweet up front with characteristic Nelson Sauvin hop flavor. Bitter finish.

Cedrela Oderata IPA (6.8%): Cloudy red gold. Lumber yard aroma. Cedar, hops, and sweet malt flavor all at once. Like walking into a cedar closet. Bitterness seems restrained by the wood. Bitter woody finish.

Chroma-key Oak-Aged Imperial IPA (8.0): Clear brownish amber. Little aroma. Sweet and bitter with little hop flavor. Woody. Oak and Vanilla. Lingering bitter finish. This beer tastes just the way you would want a barrel aged IPA to taste.

Tangletown is an outpost of the mega-brewer that controls 30% of the world beer market and it is disguised as a friendly local neighborhood brewery. I would like to say that neighborhood people walk in to visit but most people approach from the sides as if they just parked in the neighborhood after having driven in. We breathed in the fresh air flowing through the open garage doors and bathed in the Sun – my wife read her book patiently while I tasted beer. We watched foot and car traffic, both ate salmon sandwiches, 

The hefty salmon sandwich with side salad.

and finished off lunch with some sorbet. The food was good and the beer was well made (except the lager), which is what you would expect from a giant brewing concern. 

Afterward we drove around Ballard looking at flowering trees so my gardener wife could identify those that I saw on my morning run. Then home.

Bad Jimmy’s Brewery Co.

Bad Jimmy’s Brewery Co.  19May2017

After putting in a few miles on the elliptical and doing a couple of hours of light yard work I decided to ride the 40 down to Bad Jimmy’s. I just wasn’t ready for the 1.5 mile walk and the bus stop at 8^th and Leary is just a couple of blocks from the brewery.

Bad Jimmy’s is set back from Leary with the main drive way leading off Bright Street NW. 

The brewery as seen from the Bright Street entrance.

As you walk up the driveway the open garage door leads you into the seating and bar area. 

The seating area and bar as you enter through the garage door. The beer list (not visible) is to the left.

The brew kit is to the right and the rear of the seating area. Additional seating is present in an upstairs area above the restrooms. As you approach the bar you can see the taps and to the left is the chalked beer list. The flights are unlimited tasters of 5 ounce volume. Most of the beers were above 5% ABV so I limited myself to six tasters.

From l to r IPA, Habanero Amber, Cocoa Vanilla Porter, Girl Scout Drop Out, Hyper Squirrel Nut Brown, and Strawberry Hef.

Tasting Notes:

Strawberry Mango Hef (6.2%, 12 IBU): Cloudy beige with pink. Fruit ester aroma. Sweet fruit esters with subtle mango and strawberry flavors. Sweet almost bitter finish.

Girl Scout Drop Out (7.4%, 9 IBU): A clear red blonde. Ester aroma with some chocolate. Sweet malt, creamy body, semi-dry (not cloying). Esters. Slightly astringent finish. The brewer added caramel, chocolate, and coconut to this blond ale. Caveat: I have a difficult time tasting coconut in beer.

Habanero Amber (6.8%, 22 IBU): Clear amber. Peppery ester and roast malt aromas. Heat, malt and phenols (?). Lingering spicy heat finish.

Cocoa Vanilla Porter (6.5%, 17 IBU): Opaque black with red highlights. Chocolate, vanilla and roast malt aromas. Vanilla and chocolate sweet and roasted malt flavors. Sweet finish.

Hyper Squirrel Nut Brown (6.1%, 27 IBU): Clear dark brown. Ester and roast malt aroma. Sweet, esters, hop aroma, brown malt roast. Bitter sweet finish. The brewer added white coffee and hazelnuts to this brew.

IPA (8.0%, 80 IBU): Clear red gold. Piney hop aroma. Sweet malt quickly over-ridden with bitterness and piney hop flavor. Lingering bitter finish.

The guys behind the bar at Bad Jimmy’s are friendly and try to get out from behind the bar and mingle. Mingling was a bit of a stretch on this Friday afternoon as the crowd was a little thin with just an old beer geek at the bar writing tasting notes and a mother and son playing mouse trap at one of the tables. This brewery was new in December 2013 and was the penultimate stop on the annual pub crawl that year. The Habanero beer was on offer that night and it was good then and better now. Like many Seattle breweries time and competition has helped improve their brewing practices. I liked all the beers, which were all well brewed, and I especially enjoyed the Cocoa Vanilla Porter because I’m a sucker for chocolate beers. The bar tender said that they aim for subtlety in their more exotic additions while the base beers are not always so subtle – take the IPA for instance.

The beer must have numbed my legs or the coffee laced Hyper Squirrel restored my energy because the walk home didn’t seem as daunting even though it’s mainly up hill. 

Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant

Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant  17May2017

I rode the D-Line downtown to run errands. For instance, I needed new notebooks in which to record my scintillating tasting notes. Once I was done I stopped into Gordon Biersch to try some lagers.

Gordon Biersch store front with awnings, sidewalk tables, and French doors.

Gordon Biersch is on the top floor of Pacific Place at 6^th and Pike. The presentation is as if the brewery is on a ground floor with a sidewalk on which to place a few tables. The place is visible once you reach the top floor. As you approach you see awnings, huge openings framed by French doors, and a fenced off seating area to simulate being outdoors. As you walk in the main opening you can see the bar to your left with the brew kit behind and the main restaurant seating area to the rear and to your right. 

The view as you enter with the bar on the right and the main dining area toward the rear.

The beer list is on paper and presented along with a menu when you sit down. I studied the beer list and ordered a flight of 6 four ounce tasters.

The beer list. I hope you can read it. 

The flight (r to l) Märzen, Maibock, 7th and Pine IPA, Belgian IPA, Czech Pilsner, and Irish Dry Stout

Tasting Notes:

Märzen (5.7%, 18 IBU): Clear amber. Lager yeast and malt aroma. Sweet and malty with caramel or very slight roast. Sweet finish with a touch of bitter late.

Maibock (7.5%, 25 IBU): Slightly hazy red-gold. Yeast and malt aroma with some hops. Sweet, yeast, bitter noble hops. Sweet bitter finish.

Czech Pilsner (5.6%, 36 IBU): Clear gold. Saaz hop aroma. Bitter, semi-dry malt, with perfume of hops. Bitter sweet finish. If you gravitate toward hoppy ales, this is your lager.

7^th and Pine IPA (7.1%, 65 IBU): Clear red-gold. Piney citrus aroma. Sweet malt, very bitter, with citrus and pine hop flavors. Sweet finish then lingering bitterness.

Belgian IPA (7.1%, 65 IBU): Clear red-gold. Piney floral hop aroma (dusty?). Sweet, bitter, esters, perfumed hops. Garlic? Lingering bitter finish. The Belgian yeast seems to have diminished the fruity nature of the hops.

Irish Dry Stout (4.1%, 35 IBU): Opaque black with red highlights. Roast malt (coffee) aroma. Sweet roast malt flavor with late bitterness. Full body. Sour bitter finish. Mineral?

Pacific Place is an indoor mall full of stores. I sat at a table in the simulated outdoors under the bright sky light so I could watch the mall walkers. This brewery restaurant has plenty of room, which was more than adequate on a mid-week afternoon – pretty quiet. Gordon Biersch specializes in lagers and does them well. The Märzen and the Maibock were sweet or malt forward with that sulfur-y lager yeast aroma and flavor. The IPAs and the stout were well made but seemed a little out of place here. I didn’t try any of the Belgian style offerings. The Czech Pilsner was dry with challenging bitterness and a beautiful hop aroma. 

A 0.25 liter (about 12 oz) serving of the Czech Pilsner. My treacherous camera decided to focus on the floor.

I ordered a 12 ounce pour of the pils after I finished the tasters and read my book in peace and quiet.

I braved the bus stop scene in front of Mickey D’s on 3^rd Avenue to catch the D-Line back to Ballard. 

Outlander Brewery and Pub

Outlander Brewery and Pub  07May2017

What a beautiful day to visit a pub. I was off to a late start so my wife drove me down to Outlander Brewery and Pub. It’s a long walk and I needed to get back in time to thaw out dinner. Normally I would walk the 2.4 miles or ride with Joe Metro on the 40.

Outlander is in what was formerly a single family dwelling, otherwise known as a house, on the shady but busy thoroughfare of 36^th St. N. This area of Fremont may have once been residential but now the entire street is lined with businesses.

That house is a brewery!

Plenty of add-ons to the house provide outdoor seating all of which was being used on this fine afternoon. You enter into the hallway of the house and head straight back to the bar and tap on your right. 

The hallway that leads you inside and into the taproom in the back.

The beer list is chalked up above the bar in plain sight.

The small but classy bar and bar back with the beer list clearly visible.

 The inside seating areas are all interconnected rooms that were formerly dining rooms, bedrooms or parlors. I ordered tasters of most of the beers but not all. Four ounce tasters, pints, and growlers are all available. I took my beers into the living room and commenced to tasting and noting.

Clockwise from the bottom Rocksteady Jamaican Foreign Stout, Holy Basil Pale, Belgian Flanders Brown, Lime and Coconut Pale, Helles Lager, Peach Farmhouse, Cascade Warrior IPA.

 Tasting Notes:

Rock Steady Jamaican Foreign Stout (6.0%): Opaque red-brown with red highlights. Roast malt and coffee aroma. Sweet esters and roast malt flavors. Bitter sweet finish.

Lime and Coconut Pale (5.8%): Pale yellow and hazy. Bready malt aroma. Astringent oily lime and coconut rich. Dry thin middle. Saison phenolics. Dry sourish finish.

Holy Basil Pale (5.6%): Hazy red-gold. Basil aroma. Basil flavor, sweet malt, bitterness to balance. Good body. Bitter sweet finish and then gone.

Helles Lager (5.6%): Pale gold with a very slight haze. Malt and sulfur nose and a beery lager aroma. Sweet malt with very little hop bitterness or flavor. Sweet finish with a slight lingering bitterness.

Peach Farmhouse (6.0%): Hazy yellow. Fruity phenolic aroma and stone fruit. Flavor of Band-Aid and peach. Dry. Slightly sweet and sour finish.

Belgian Flanders Brown (7.5%): Hazy red-brown. Lactic acid and esters aromas. Sweet lactic and wood astringency. Spicy sour finish.

Cascade Warrior IPA (6%): Clear red-gold. Piney, fruity, and citrus hop aroma. Sweet malt and bitter grapefruit hops. Hop candy. Firm body. Lingering bitter finish.

As I sat at a small table in the living room while tasting my beers and listening to the eclectic mix of world music I was reminded of a now defunct restaurant in the U-district called The Beggar’s Banquet which was also in a re-purposed house. I felt oddly both at home and out of place sitting at a small restaurant table in house that’s really a brewery. I guess that after visiting so many warehouse-style establishments I wasn’t used to drinking in such a homey environment other than my own home. I would have ordered a pint of any of the beers I tasted except the Peach Farmhouse (phenolics out of control) and the Helles (blah, needs more hops). I liked the Brown, the Stout, and the IPA. The Lime and the Basil were refreshing.

My wife collected me a mere ten minutes after I called, which makes this one of the easiest Seattle brewery trips I’ve done lately.

Rooftop Brewing

Rooftop Brewing  30Apr2017

I’ve been slacking on brewery trips and had some free time Sunday. So there I was riding the D Line again and headed toward the south end of the Ballard Bridge. Rooftop Brewing is on Nickerson a few blocks from the Emerson stop. Rooftop started a bit farther east on Nickerson and was apparently a garage size operation with the taproom on the roof. I never did visit the old location but I have been to the new place a few times now.

Rooftop from the street. The tiny taproom is behind the bike rack and the patio is to the right.

The brewery resides in a smallish retail building on Nickerson and has as a neighbor Zoka coffee roasters. Because of that location they naturally have collaborations for coffee beer and Rooftop vends Zoka coffee. Rooftop is fronted by a large parking lot, which is under-used for parking, and is easily visible from the street. The enclosed patio area is larger than the seating area inside. 

The taproom, bar, and beer list.

The interior taproom contains a small bar with the tap list above it, a couple of tables and the popcorn machine.

The beer list and the utility room toward the back.

I pulled up a stool at the small bar and ordered a half-dozen tasters.

The first six tasters: (l to r) Glorious Basker, Stargazer IPA, American Mosiac IPA, Cascadian Dark Ale, C-Monster Imperial IPA, and Oatmeal Stout.

Tasting Notes:

Glorious Basker (5.0%, 11 IBU): Hazy orange. Aroma of yeast esters, phenols and orange. Wheat and orange flavor. Fruity esters leading to a medium dry finish and orange.

Stargazer IPA (6.8%, 76 IBU): Reddish amber appearance. Fruity and piney hops and sweet esters. Bitter hops, roasty malt, and esters. Malt rich. Lingering bitter finish.

American Mosaic IPA (6.8%, 76 IBU): Red-gold and hazy. Fruity and piney aroma. Sweet malt, then bitterness, and hop flavor. Bitter-sweet finish. Restrained bitterness for an IPA.

Cascadian Dark Ale (7.0%, 51 IBU): Brown-black with red highlights. Yeast esters, roast malt, and chocolate aroma. Bitterness up front with roast malt, then minty hops. Lingering bitter finish.

C-Monster Imperial IPA (8.6%, 78 IBU): Hazy orange-gold. Yeast and piney citrus hops but faint. Rich malt body and dry. This is a bitter hop forward beer. Sweet malt finish then lingering bitterness.

Oatmeal Stout (5.5%, 34 IBU): Red-black and clear. Roast malt and chocolate aroma. Light malt body, bitter hops, and roast malt. Bitter-sweet finish.

Pilsner Style Ale (4.8, 18): Hazy gold. No aroma. Beer flavor of malt and hops with malt forward balance. Noble hop flavor. Sweet finish. Needs more hop bitterness and aroma.

Pilsner Style Ale. I noted the previous beers seemed more bitter than the stated IBUs, so I thought this 18 IBU beer might have more perceived bitterness. I was disappointed.

I sat at the bar and talked with the bartenders about how brewery competition in Seattle has been forcing brewers to make their best beers. A steady stream of customers came to the bar to order beer and then return to the outdoor seating area (outdoor but completely enclosed and heated in winter). The beer menu was IPA heavy (much like Flying Bike) and IBU prominent. Bar patrons were known to the bartenders marking them as regulars. Hanging out in the taproom or on the patio is a pleasant way to sink a beer or two. My favorite IPA was the American Mosaic IPA. The only beer I would not order again was the Pisner Style Ale because it was so insipid.

The walk from the brewery to the north bound D Line stop is much shorter than the corresponding walk to the brewery. I was home in a jiffy.