West Seattle Brewing Company

West Seattle Brewing Company 09Aug2017

Metro used to run a bus from Ballard, through downtown, and then on to West Seattle. Now to get there I had to take two buses, the D Line and the C Line. On the plus side the transfers were quick - less than 5 minutes – and the C-Line stops quite near the brewery.

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West Seattle Brewing Company is on Fauntleroy, which runs on a diagonal, and the building is an odd shape, almost triangular a regular Seattle occurrence. The entrance is on the flattened apex of the triangle and leads you into the seating area and the bar. As soon as I step through the door I detect the delicious smell of hot beer wort. The bar is to the left of the entrance and the brew kit is straight back.

The bar with the cooler behind, the taps, and the beer list above

The brew kit in the back

The beer list is chalked up above the taps and lists the beers, their ABV and bitterness units. The cooler behind the bar holds kegs for the taps and some bright tanks.

A better look at the beer list and the available serving sizes

 Tasters (4 ounce), schooners, pints, Imperial pints, and growler fills are available. I studied the beer list and ordered two flights - one of the flights included Number 6 Cider Dry 99 - and then retired to a tall stool at the bar to sip, note, and pester the bartender with inane questions.

l to r: Weiting Pilsner, Wet Witty, Mosaic Pale Ale, and Sounder Stout

l to r: West Pale Ale, House IPA, Avalon Amber, Number 6 Cider Dry 99

Tasting Notes:

Weiting Pilsner (5.9%, 35 IBU): Yellow gold very slight chill haze. Malt and spicy hop aroma. Sweet malt leads the flavors with bitter noble hops right behind. The flavor is characteristic of a fine pilsner. Dry bitter finish.

Wet Witty (5.2%, 15 IBU): Yellow gold and hazy. Peppery Belgian yeast aroma with some orange and coriander. Coriander and Belgian yeast flavors mix with some orange. All of the flavors are well balanced. Dry finish.

Avalon Amber (6.0%, 30 IBU): Hazy red-brown. Sweet malt aroma with a hint of roast. Flavor is sweet malt with slight roast followed by a pleasant low bitterness. Bitter-sweet finish. This is an easy drinker but still interesting.

Mosaic Pale Ale (6.1%, 40 IBU): Pale yellow and cloudy. Sweaty hop aroma. Dry, bitter and hop (Mosaic) flavor. Not juicy. Dry bitter finish.

West Pale Ale (5.7, 45 IBU): Pale gold with slight haze. Lemony citrus aroma with some malt. Sweet, bitter, and hop citrus flavor. Bitter sweet finish.

House IPA (6.8%, 70 IBU): Deep red and clear. Malt and piney hop aroma. The flavor is hops up front, both aroma and bitterness followed by sweet biscuit malt. Bitter finish.

Sounder Stout (6.9%, 55 IBU): Opaque black with red highlights. Roast malt aroma with some citrus hop aroma. Sweet and burnt malt followed by hop bitterness. Bitter finish. A very pleasing stout.

West Seattle Brewing was lightly attended on a Wednesday afternoon and the pace picked up a little later when I left. I tried not to take it personally. I am not sure how widely they distribute their kegs but they seem to depend on neighborhood business. A handful of regulars dropped in as I sipped my beers and the atmosphere was casual and friendly. I have been in the place when a Seahawks game was on the TV and it was packed. Business seems good and I hope it stays that way because the beers are all so well made that I had trouble picking a favorite. I liked the Pilsner, the West Pale Ale and the Sounder Stout. The only beer I didn’t like was the Mosaic Pale, and that was just my taste not any problem with the brewing.

My reversal of the bus ride home on the C- and the D-Lines was uneventful to the point of almost being restful. I was able to read quite a bit of my latest book in air conditioned comfort on the ride - a blessing on this hot day.

Ram Restaurant and Brewery Northgate

 Ram Restaurant and Brewery Northgate 01Aug2017

I have been holding back the visit to the Ram to use it as a dinner date. Renee and I were treating my sister, and the food of chain-restaurant caliber along with fine beer sounded good. No bus rides for me on this trip as I have a designated driver.

The entrance to the Ram as seen from the parking lot

The Ram has an outpost at Northgate firmly planted in the mall while the entrance is on the outside. The front is configured to present the greeter’s desk as you enter, 

Greeter's station to the right, restaurant seating to the left, and Renee checking out the dominant sports theme

and once inside you see the large open restaurant seating to the left and center while the bar is to the right.

The bar behind the greeter's station

The everyday beer list is at the table and a seasonal beer list is presented with the menus. Both clearly list the beers ABV and bitterness in IBU.

Beers are available in 10 ounce, 16 ounce and 20 ounce servings and I bought a short flight of three 10 ounce beers.

From l to r: 71 Pale Ale, Barefoot Wit, and Big Red's IPA

Tasting Notes:

Barefoot Wit (5%, 15 IBU): Hazy gold. Wit beer yeast aroma, a nice Belgian smell with corriander. A sweet taste with peppery phenolics and a wheat bite. Faint orange and some spice. Sweet finish.

71 Pale Ale (5.5%, 40IBU): Gold and orange with some haze. Piney and peppery hop aroma. Sweet and bitter with hop flavors and biscuit maltiness. Bitter sweet finish.

Big Red’s IPA (6.2%, 65IBU): Hazy red-gold. Citrus hop aroma. Sweet and bitter balance in the flavors with citrus hops. Bitter finish.

The Ram is a destination restaurant, not a neighborhood joint. I suspect that they draw mainly from shoppers at Northgate. If it were not for the quality of beer, I would not bother much with the place. The food is pub style and filling but nothing special. The everyday beers are pretty uniform across the franchises, but, I believe, the local brewer is given a certain amount of autonomy. Even if the recipes come from a ring binder the beers at the Northgate outpost are well executed and are completely suitable for washing down dinner. Renee and I find ourselves here occasionally as a good compromise for us. She can usually find something on the menu that suits her, I can eat just about anything, and the beer is usually to my liking. As an indication we rarely visit the Ram at U-Village as it is out of our way and I would never go there alone, unless I was trying to visit every brewery in Seattle city limits. The last time I went was on a pub crawl several years ago.

Outer Planet Craft Brewing

Outer Planet Craft Brewing 02Jul2017

The trusty D-Line once again hauled me out of Ballard and dropped me on lower Queen Ann so I could catch the number 8 to Capitol Hill. Outer Planet is on 12^th Avenue just a couple of blocks from John Street in an area that transitions between retail and residential.

Outer Planet store front dominated by aggregate and glass.

Outer Planet has a non-descript store front marked by a small but distinctive sign. As you enter the door you see a large seating area to your left 

A nice seating area where you can watch the neighbors stroll past the windows.

and to the back left is the bar. Behind the bar is the tap list and beyond the bar is the brew kit.

Looking back from the front entrance toward the bar and the brewing area behind.

The beer list is chalked up above the taps and clearly lists the beers, their ABV and bitterness units.

The informative tap list.

Tasters (4 ounce), schooners, pints and growler fills are available. I studied the beer list and ordered eight tasters and then retired to a tall stool at the bar to sip, note, and pester the bartender with inane questions.

First row l to r Speculoos Pale Ale, English Space Beer, and Beams of Light Belgian Wit. Second row l to r American Amber (Flying Lion guest beer) and Moon Shadow Dry Stout. Third row l to r Beeblebrox Bret Sour, Space Trucker Bourbon Brown, and Kumbaya Supernova IPA

Tasting Notes:

Speculoos Pale Ale (4.5%, 50 IBU): Clear red-gold. Bready malt aroma with spicy hops. The flavor leads with bitterness, then toasty malt with hop aroma. I was surprised that the hops were Cascade and Centennial. The brewer managed to coax a spicy English character from the hops. Some fruit from esters. Bitter-sweet finish.

English Space Beer (ESB) (6%, 35 IBU): Clear red. Caramel malt and fruity aroma. Sweet full malt body and fruit late hop bitterness and hop flavor (again with an English character). Sweet finish.

Beams of Light Belgian Wit (6.3%, 15IBU): Cloudy pale yellow almost white color. Peppery phenols and coriander aroma. Flavor is sweet malt with coriander and a hint of peppery phenols. Not much wheat bite. Sweet finish.

American Amber (Flying Lion guest beer) (5%, 36IBU): Clear red-brown. Caramel malt and fruit aroma. Sweet and bitter balance in the flavors with some lightly toasted malt. Bitter finish.

Moonshadow Dry Stout (5%, 18 IBU): Opaque black with no highlights. Roast to burnt malt aroma. The flavor is sweet and roast malt with balanced bitterness and the hops are integrated into the profile as more of a presence than a stand-out flavor. Bitter-sweet finish.

Beeblebrox Bret Sour (5.5%, 15 IBU): Clear dark red. Cherry Kool-Aid aroma. Fruit flavors (cherry and cranberry) up front with mild sourness. Full cherry richness. Sour finish. The brett is not a huge presence and adds a nice complexity. My favorite of the bunch.

Space Trucker Bourbon Brown (8.5%, 31 IBU): Dark brown with brown-red highlights. Buttery aroma. Very sweet and malty with some fruit. Full body. Sweet finish.

Kumbaya Supernova IPA (6.5%, 70 IBU): Clear red gold. Piney and citrus Northwest hop aroma. Bitter hop and hop flavor (piney and fruity). Bitter sweet finish.

Outer Planet is situated well to be a neighborhood establishment with a local clientele. The neighborhood has apartments and single family dwellings all around. A slow trickle of customers came in and out while I was there, which is good considering this is a holiday weekend and a lot of people seem to be out of town. The Sunday afternoon vibe was quiet and peaceful and the bartender gave everyone a friendly greeting. He was helpful in describing the beers and gave sips to those who were unsure of what they wanted. I last visited Outer Planet a year and a half ago and have only a dim memory of the beer with my notes not being much help. One of the beers I had back then was a wild beer, which leads me conclude that the brewer has a continuing history of using Brettanomyces. All of the beers I had were well brewed except for the Bourbon Brown, which tasted under pitched to me. I couldn’t detect the bourbon barrel character.

My reversal of the bus ride home on the 8 and the D-Line was uneventful to the point of almost being restful. When I got home, I immediately fired up the charcoal grill and cooked some salmon and corn on the cob for dinner.

Populuxe Brewing

Populuxe Brewing  25Jun2017

On the hottest day of the year, so far, I decided to walk the 1.4 miles down to Populuxe Brewing. I went as early as I could (they open at 1 pm on Sunday) and stuck to the shade. I was still pretty sweaty when I got there, so the re-hydration and electrolyte replenishment were welcome.

Populuxe - just as blue as ever

Populuxe is located in the Ballard Brewery District (no, it’s not official) a neighborhood that can’t decide if it is industrial or residential. The brewery is in what looks to be a re-purposed house between a couple of warehouses. Populuxe is currently expanding into one of the adjacent warehouses with the construction currently in progress at the time of this writing. 

The front entrance pops you into the tiny tasting room 

The taproom viewed from just inside the front door

with the bar to the right of the door and the tap list chalked on the wall behind the bar. 

The tap list behind the bar

To the right as you walk past the bar is additional indoor seating and the large outdoor seating area, which is very pleasant on a dry day.

The outdoor seating area. To the left rear near the truck, port-a-potty and caution tape is the construction area

Tasters of four ounces are available with no limit as well as pints and growlers. I ordered 4 tasters and adjourned to an indoor table that was nonetheless well lit with sunshine. So intense was the light that in the space it took me to taste, take notes, and finish, the Citra Red became slightly light struck.

l to r Burke-Gilman Bitter, Beer Snob Brown, Saison, and Citra Red

Tasting Notes:

Beer Snob Brown (5.1%, 28IBU): Clear brown. Roast malt aroma. Dry and malty with a little residual sweetness and late bitterness. Full body. Bitter-sweet finish with roast.

Saison (7.0%): Hazy yellow gold. Citrus and phenolic aroma. Sweet malt and the flavors match the aromas. The citrus is a pleasant mild lemon and the beer is full bodied and dry. Very slight bitter finish.

Burke-Gilman Bitter (4.9%, 35 IBU): Hazy orange-gold. Esters and English hop aromas. Malt and bitterness are balanced and the hop flavor is characteristically English. Sweet malt and a slight fruitiness. Bitter finish. 

Citra Red (5.5%, 65 IBU): Clear dark red. Fruity hops and bready malt aromas mixed with a little onion. Bitter with full bodied malt presence. Bitter finish. The bitterness is not as intense as 65 IBU would indicate.

This place has been around long enough and had enough success that they can expand. I have always enjoyed the funky little tasting room and the out-of-the-way setting of the neighborhood. The outdoor seating is popular as well. The greeting when you come in is friendly and helpful with a handful of regulars often seated at the bar engaged in good beer related conversation. The beer here as in other small breweries in Seattle has been steadily improving, and I have long enjoyed the brewer’s English style beers. He often has a mild or a bitter on tap and they are usually top notch. Today I enjoyed the Beer Snob Brown and the Burke-Gilman Bitter the most.

As I commenced my walk home I noted that the temperature had started to climb. Feeling the need to keep rested and rehydrated, plus needing some stamps in my WABL passport, I planned some stops along the way. I stopped first at Stoup 

Stoup - not that crowded

to refresh my palate and my memory about the German Pils (5.1%, 40 IBU). 

German Pils - brilliantly clear

It’s a clear yellow gold with a combined noble hop, sulfury yeast, and bready malt aroma. The flavor is crisp malt with some residual sweetness and firm noble hop bitterness. The finish is sweet-bitter. Quite crushable on a hot day.

Refreshed, I sauntered on to Reuben’s 

Reuben's - also not that crowded

where the Altbier (5.1%, 36 IBU) looked attractive. 

Altbier - a pretty beer

The beer is a clear red brown with a roast malt aroma with a hint of sulfur. The initial flavor is noble hop bitterness with full bodied sweet roasted malt right behind. The hop flavor is slightly spicy and though I asked, I could not find out what hops were used.

Thoroughly rehydrated and rested I finished walking (with the mad dogs and Englishmen) to my home to hide from the heat.

Hellbent Brewing Company

Hellbent Brewing Company  16Jun2017

I find myself on another ride on the brewery bus, the 40 to Northgate. At the Northgate Transit Center I picked up the 41 to Lake City, which travels in the vicinity of Hellbent Brewing Company.

Transit Center with entertaining landscaping.

Hellbent is only blocks away from Elliott Bay Brewing but has a completely different vibe. 

Great setting for the brewery. The surrounding shrubbery obscures the signs and building from the road.

Hellbent is beer only and 21+, while Elliott Bay has a restaurant. Hellbent owns its building, a renovated former office space on Lake City Way near the Fred Meyer. You enter off the street or off the patio if approaching from the parking lot. 

Back patio.

The food trucks sit by the patio. The bar is visible from both entrances and a digital display hosts the beer list. 

The bar as seen from the front entrance. Beer list and brew kit are visible.

The digitally displayed beer list.

The printed beer list is also available at the bar. The brew kit is visible through glass behind the bar. The greeting is friendly from behind the bar.

A well-used beer list.

Flights of 4 four ounce tasters are available as well as pints and growlers. I studied the beer list and settled on four with the intention of ordering a pint of something else later.

Flight of tasters l to r: Warm Fuzzies, Northwest Pilsner, DANG! Citra IPA, Mystic Lamb Lavender Saison.

Bonus pint of Vienna Lager.

Tasting Notes:

Warm Fuzzies (9.5%, ~25IBU): Cloudy orange. Fruity aroma (peach) and some fruity hop. Sweet and slightly sour, with some bite. Late slight bitterness. Sweet sour finish.

Northwest Pilsner (5.6%, 35 IBU): Slightly hazy yellow gold. Northwest hop citrus aroma. Dry, soft malt followed by bitter hop flavors. Hop flavors are noble hops with just a touch of Northwest dank. Bitter finish.

DANG! Citra IPA (7.1%, 60 IBU): Hazy gold. Dankish (complex fruit, pine, and funk) hop aroma. Sweet malt, bitterness with fruity, piney hop flavor. Bitter-sweet finish.

Mystic Lamb Lavender Saison (4.9%, 22 IBU): Slightly hazy yellow gold. Lemony lavender and saison aromas. Lavender, malt, and late bitter flavors. The lavender is almost overpowering. Flowery finish.

Vienna Lager (5.5%, 28 IBU): Clear red amber. Malt aroma with slight hop funk. Sweet cracker malt, noble hop flavor, and late bitterness all in pleasant combination. Bitter finish. My pick of today's group.

My drinking companion. The dog hangs out on this rug. I just happened to be at the end of the bar.

The people at Hellbent have transformed a mundane office and restaurant space into an open and airy venue for beer appreciation and they are serving beers that can be appreciated. The beers were all well-made, even if the lavender saison was overpowered by flowers and the NW Pilsner tasted odd with NW hop flavors. The brewery just celebrated its second anniversary and will continue to improve and perfect their beers in time. Meanwhile the experiments are well worth trying. The clientele are mostly drawn from the neighborhood and the atmosphere in the taproom, at least on this Friday, is open and friendly. Two people struck up conversations with me as I sat at the bar sipping and taking notes. The friendly nature in the taproom flows from the community involvement of Hellbent and their desire to get to know the neighborhood.

Hellbent just expanded their hours to commence serving at noon with a deal on pints at lunch time, $3 when you purchase a lunch from the truck of the day.

My ride home could not have been better. The 41 to Northgate appeared within minutes after I hit the bus stop and the transfer at the Transit Center went off flawlessly. All my walking to and fro netted about 100 calories off the damage done by all the beer and the food truck lunch I consumed.

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.