Ravenna Brewing

Ravenna Brewing  05Mar2017

Ravenna Brewing is poorly served by Metro. I braved the rain and snow mix to catch the D-Line to Market Street and then caught the 44 to the U district. From there I walked 1.1 miles because the bus I thought I was going to take me to the brewery front door only runs at week day commute times. Even with the optimal bus route I would have wound up walking 0.6 miles. Ravenna Brewing is just a few blocks from the first apartment my wife and I rented as a young married couple. That building is now long gone.

The brewery entrance is off 26^th Ave NE and not really apparent from the street. 

The entrance tucked away from 26th Ave NE with the outdoor seating area to the right.

Just outside the door, slightly below grade, is the outdoor seating area, which is not much in use in the winter when days such as today are cool in the low 40s. As you walk in the door you see the seating area in front of you and the brew kit to the right. 

The view from just inside the front door. Brew kit to the right and bar to the back.

My feeling once inside was warm and cozy. The bar is in the back and the beer list is chalked above the bar. 

The beer list is extensive.

Flights of tasters are available as well as pints, crowlers and growlers. I picked six tastes and settled in to see what I liked.

From r to l Lion Tamer Bourbon Vanilla Porter, Sauvin Deadly Sins IPA, Farmhouse Saison, Cascadian Dark Ale, Triumph Mosaic Extra Pale Ale, Raspberry Wheat.

Tasting Notes:

Raspberry Wheat (5.6%): Yeast, malt and fruit aroma. Pale yellow, slightly pink appearance. Initial sip is fruity raspberry with some astringency. Dry. Some bubble gum. Dry finish. Adding raspberries to beer almost always turns out well.

Triumph Mosaic Extra Pale (5.8%): Fruity citrus hop aroma. Gold with a slight haze. Taste is sweet malt, late bitterness, citrus. Bitter-sweet finish.

Farmhouse Saison (7.2%): Fruity peppery aroma. Pale yellow gold and clear. Sweet, phenolic black pepper flavor with a very slight sourness. Sweet finish.

Lion Tamer Bourbon Vanilla Porter (9%): Roast malt, almost coffee aroma. Black with red highlights. Roast malt, low bitterness, some vanilla and bourbon. Sweet finish.

Sauvin Deadly Sins IPA (6.3%): Fruity hop aroma. Pale gold appearance with slight haze. Fruity sweet malt with hoppy flavor. Strong bitterness. Bitter finish that lingers.

Cascadian Dark Ale (6.5%): Roast malt aroma. Black with red highlights. Roast malt, bracing hop bitterness, very low hop aroma. Roast and bitter finish which lingers.

Ravenna Brewing is a cozy, neighborhood place. As my friend and I sipped our tasters the place filled up with young families with kids and dogs. The vibe is friendly and low key making for a good atmosphere in which to linger over a beer or three. The beers were well brewed with no clunkers in the lot. I could have drunk a lot more of the Raspberry Wheat or Lion Tamer Bourbon Vanilla Porter although the latter would quickly push me to my limit. The IPAs I tried were both well-made and good examples of the style. The saison was pretty good too.

I made the long hike – uphill - back to the U-district to catch the 44 home thinking how lucky I am to have so many breweries near me in Ballard. A long walk after a couple of beers should lead home not to a long bus ride.

Powerhouse Restaurant and Brewery

Powerhouse Restaurant and Brewery  02Mar2017

We made our annual trek down to Puyallup for the Sewing and Stitchery Expo. I spent the time marveling at the sophisticated machinery and all the marvelous fabrics. My reward for squiring my wife through the show was a stop at the Powerhouse. We drove a few blocks from the Fairgrounds to the restaurant and found a space in the small parking lot. We climbed the steps and went in the front door.

The picturesque brick building that houses Powerhouse

 From the brewery website, “The Puyallup Substation where the Powerhouse now resides was constructed for the Puget Sound Electric Railroad in 1907, supplying the current for the southern leg of the Interurban Electric Trolley that ran from Seattle to Olympia.” The restaurant is a lovely old brick building filled with heavy duty electrical equipment. When you walk in the front door, you see the bar and beyond that the seating area filled with booths. 

Inside the front door you see the bar and beyond that the restaurant seating. Above you can see underside of the floor for the second level seating.

You have to pause in front of the bar to view the beer list but a beer list is also present at each table. 

The beer list.

I looked at the beer list and ordered a flight of tasters, and then we looked at the menu to order dinner. I washed down the fish tacos with a variety of beer.

Clockwise from 12 o'clock Up Plum Kriek, Amber, Porter, More Power DIPA, No Fruit, and Powerhouse IPA

Tasting Notes:

Up Plum Kriek (5.5%): Sour and barrel aroma. Red and hazy appearance. Initial sip is sour, followed by cherry, and funk. Sour cherry finish. Delightful.

Tim and Tristans Amber Adventure (6.0%): Hop aroma. Cloudy red-gold. Taste is sweet malt, bitter, hop flavor, all well balanced. Late bitterness. Clean bitter-sweet finish.

Roasted Porter (6.4%): Roast malt and coffee aroma. Opaque black with red highlights. Taste is roast malt and coffee followed by sweet malt. Sweet bitter finish.

More Power DIPA (7.1%): Strong hop aroma, very pine. Hazy red-gold. Sweet malt, bitter hops and piney hop flavor. Bitter finish. Too easily drinkable.

No Fruit Was Harmed IPA (7.5% 90 IBU): Fruity citrus hop aroma. Very cloudy, pale yellow appearance. Fruity sweet malt with hoppy flavor. The bitterness does not present as 90 IBU. Sweet finish.

Powerhouse IPA (6.6%): Flowery hop aroma and maybe some esters. Gold and hazy. Sweet malt, perfumed hops, bitterness. Bitter finish.

The powerhouse has high ceilings and the brick extends to the inner walls. The seating area is cozy and warm, and there is additional seating on an upper level. Occasionally a train roars by on the tracks right outside the building. We ordered and shared a sundae and I sipped to determine which of the above beer s went best with ice cream. 

Vanilla ice cream with caramel and chocolate sauce topped with whipped cream and cherries.

I liked the Up Plum Kriek best while the Powerhouse IPA was a close second. The porter might be a good choice if you like coffee – I don’t. I have been surprised over the years how well pale ale pairs with ice cream.

Bluebird Ice Cream Microcreamery and Brewery

 Bluebird Ice Cream Microcreamery and Brewery  28Feb2017

Bluebird is a tiny place on Phinney Ridge, which is a medium long walk – 1.5 miles – from my house. This afternoon was partly sunny and cool, a good day for an uphill walk with beer and ice cream at the end.

Bluebird on the corner of 74th and Phinney. It's less visible if you are walking on the same side of the street.

Bluebird is right across the street from 74^th Street Ale House and is not primarily a beer producer. Still, they do brew their own beer and have guest beers on tap while most of their business is ice cream. As you walk through the front door you are smack on top of the bar and in the middle of the seating area. 

I stood with my back to the front door to capture this photo.

Tiny. In the summer they open the front to create sidewalk seating, but you can’t take your beer out there. The beer list and the ice cream list are both to the right above the bar. 

Ice cream, pop, and beer list. Ice cream dominates.

The beer list is not lengthy. I took a seat at the bar from which I could see the brewery. 

Bluebird brews here quite often as well as at other locations.

Of the three beers on the list one was a coffee porter, which cut down my tasting list to two beers. I had started out with the intention of getting a float if Theo Chocolate Milk Stout was on the list and I was in luck.

Tasting Notes:

Theo Chocolate Milk Stout (6.1% 20 IBU): I had difficulty separating the beer aroma from the ice cream aroma. I smelled roast grain and chocolate. The beer color was opaque black with some brown highlights. Sweet roasted malt with late low bitter flavor and chocolate. Sweet roast malt finish. The chocolate ice cream (Theo Chocolate Chunk) worked well with the beer and the whole thing went down quickly. So good.

Theo Chocolate Milk Stout with a scoop of Theo Chocolate Chunk ice cream.

Split Personality Stout (6.9% 32 IBU): Fruity bourbon aroma. Opaque black appearance with no highlights. First sip yields bourbon, roast malt, and bitterness. Banana? I detect esters, for sure. Roast bitter finish. Lingering sweetness. I had this beer at the Collaboration Fest in April of 2016; turns out this was the same batch. I don’t really remember how it tasted then, but the aging (cold storage) seems to have served the beer well. It is smooth and the flavors are integrated. The ingredients include vanilla extracted with bourbon then boiled down and banana. No barrel aging.

Split Personality Stout ordered straight up.

As I sat enjoying my beers a steady stream of Phinney neighborhood denizens, mostly teens and young families, stopped in for various ice cream treats. Most people didn’t linger, but in the summer the place tends to fill up and people hang out enjoying the open air warmth. I hung out conversing with the barkeep and trying to pick apart the flavors of my two beers. Bluebird only serves in pints - no schooners or tasting flights. That turned out not to be a problem for me.

The walk back home was downhill, and I welcomed the exercise even if walking fast downhill is cheating. 

Lucky Envelope Brewing

Lucky Envelope Brewing  26Feb2017

Lucky Envelope is a medium walk from my little cottage in Ballard. To get there I walked past Stoup and Reuben’s (on the way home I stopped at Reuben’s to pick up a sixer of the latest incarnation of Crush) saluting smartly but continuing on. The weather was good for walking – cool and a few sprinkles.

Lucky Envelope is a couple of blocks from 14^th Avenue NW on NW 50^th Street. 

The sandwich board place precariously on the trolley tracks on 14th Ave NW. Oh wait, no more trolleys in Ballard

The building matches its light industrial setting in that it’s nondescript and utilitarian. 

A cool blue-gray building on a cool gray day has a warm, welcoming, neon OPEN sign

When you step inside the doors, you see the bar with the beer list clearly chalked above it. To the right of the bar you can see the brew kit and a hard right presents the seating area. 

The bar and the brew kit

The chalked-up beer list. Ales, lagers, a sour, and a guest cider. You are covered

In the summer patrons can sit out on the patio. Upon my entering I was greeted by Cat, who was behind the bar, and after settling in I ordered a flight of six tastes. I was in a lager frame of mind. 

Back row l to r Helles Lager (note clarity), Pilsner, and Black Lager; front row l to r Grapefruit ENIAC, Peanut Butter Porter, and Raspberry Sour

The picture of my flight is incomplete because I was distracted and forgot to snap a pic until half way through. Good thing my livelihood doesn’t depend on my beer hunting performance because my year-end review would be poor based on this performance.

Tasting Notes:

Helles Lager (5.0% 22 IBU): Mixed malt yeast, and hop aroma - beery. Very clear yellow gold color. Sweet malt that dries to a late bitterness with low noble hop flavor is well integrated. Restrained. Bitter finish. GABF bronze medal 2015.

Pilsner (5.3% 28 IBU): Sulfur aroma – probably from the yeast. Pale yellow with a slight haze. Bitter hop with restrained hop flavor. Some malt body but dry. Some sulfur. Hint of lemon. Bitter finish. I think this beer needs some fine tuning.

Black Lager (5.2% 28 IBU): Roast malt aroma. Clear black with red highlights. Roast malt, bitter, some late sweetness. Roasty bitter finish. My favorite of the group. It’s dry, bitter, and flavorful enough to drink a bunch.

Raspberry Sour (5.4% 7 IBU): Fruity raspberry aroma. Hazy red appearance. Sour raspberry, dry thin body. A little watery in the middle then a sweet berry finish.

Grapefruit ENIAC IPA (7.1% 68 IBU): Citrus hop aroma. Bitter citrus hop flavor, sweet malt. The grapefruit is not overwhelming; it just enhances the hops. Bitter sweet finish.

Peanut Butter Porter (8.3% 62 IBU): This beer sounded repulsive to me so I had to try it. Roast malt (almost coffee) aroma with a touch of peanut. Clear black with red highlights. Roast malt flavor, then peanuts. Bitter peanut finish. Not the beer for me.

The brewers at Lucky Envelope prefer malt forward beers but still brew a pretty decent hop-forward IPA. In the past I have found some of their lagers to be cloying. On the other hand that Black Lager (Schwarzbier) is an outstanding example of an American take on the style. The raspberry sour was worth another sip as well.

The walk back home was uphill, but I was well lubricated and my body didn’t squeak.

Machine House Brewery

Machine House Brewery  19Feb2017

A long bus ride, including a transfer downtown in the damp and cold, deposited me at Machine House Brewery. I nearly turned back home while waiting but rallied myself with, “What kind of beer hunter are you?” The stalwart kind, I hope. Machine House is located in Georgetown in a complex that was once part of Seattle Brewing and Malting Company. 

When you de-bus from the 124 at Doris St, the brewery is right across the street. You might be tempted to jay-walk across Airport Way. Take care.

The specialty here is cask-conditioned ale or as CAMRA would call it, Real Ale. No food is offered but it is available to go at nearby restaurants.

The entrance is easier to find when the photographer doesn't jerk the camera

The entrance to Machine House is set back from Airport Way through a side door that is easily missed. As you enter you see the bar and seating to your left and right. The beer list is clearly visible chalked up behind the bar. 

The bar behind which you can see the beer list

The seven cask engines are clearly visible and well-marked at the bar. The ambiance is converted industrial space with the high windows adding a lot of much needed daylight. No flights are offered so I ordered four half-pints (10 ounces) with no intention of finishing all of them. I chose low ABV beers to minimize the discomfort of the long bus ride back home.

Tasting Notes: 

Dark Mild (3.7% 20 IBU): In the 18^th and 19^th century mild meant beer that was not aged. Now it means a low ABV thirst quencher. This one is dark brown to black with red highlights and clear. Fruit and roast malt aroma. Bitterness, roast malt (almost coffee like), and dry with late bitterness. Slight malt sweetness. Bitter finish. Good body for such low alcohol.

Dark Mild

Winter Sun Pale Ale (4.0% 40 IBU): Clear pale yellow. New hop aroma, citrus. Sweet malt, heady hop flavor with late bitterness and a slight astringency. Thin body. Bitter-sweet finish.

Winter Sun Pale Ale

Porter (5.4% 20 IBU): Clear reddish-black. Roast malt and fruit aroma. Slightly smoky roast malt and sweet. Low bitterness and fruit. Smokey finish. According to the brewery no smoked malt was added.

Porter on the right next to the Dark Mild for comparison. Both are suitably dark and the Porter has reddish highlights

Elm Hill Bitter (4.3% 24 IBU): Clear reddish gold. Citrus and piney hop aroma. Sweet malt, bitter hops and citrus hop flavor. Medium body. Bitter finish.

Elm Hill Bitter taken at a low angle to capture the clarity

Machine House understands cask-conditioned ales better than any other brewery in the city. Their beer is as fine as any I have had in England. Many drinkers find cask ale to be too warm and under carbonated. The ideal serving temperature for real ale is 55 °F with carbonation levels of 1.1 to 1.8 volumes. Cask ale balances the interplay of malt, hops, and yeast and the warmer temperature combined with low CO₂ allow the drinker to taste all components. The balance can be shifted to highlight any particular one, but all flavors should be present. And, Machine House does this very well – their dark mild is the best in Seattle, in my opinion. If you go, please, approach the beer with an open mind and don’t expect the hop and malt assault of West Coast IPAs – although you can find that here if you want. The IPA, which I didn’t sample, is hopped to 66 IBU.

I didn’t over-partake and the bus ride home was anxiety free. For the most part.

The Pike Brewery

The Pike Brewery  17Feb2017

A quick ride on the D-Line into downtown Seattle had me within a couple of blocks of The Pike Brewery in the Pike Place Market. 

The iconic Pike Place Market

Since 1978 Charles and Rose Ann Finkel have imported fine beers from England, Belgium, and Germany as Merchant du Vin with a goal to educate beer drinkers to the possibilities beyond industrial pils. 

Walking south on 1st Avenue

They started The Pike brewery in 1989 and it is one of the older breweries in Seattle. The Pike is a brew pub serving food, wine, cider, and their ale along with guest ales. The atmosphere captures the old of the market with the new of current small scale brewing. Funky and up to date.

You can get there from here

As you enter from First Avenue you see an open area that is the upper part of the Pike space. Stairs carry you down to the host station and behind that the dining area and the bar. 

Stairs with lots of chotskies

The bar and some of the seating area are visible from the stairs

I sat at the bar. When you sit down, a server presents you with a beverage list and a menu. Flights of tasters are offered in a limited way – six tastes of the year-round beer offerings or six tastes of the seasonal ales and one guest. I picked the latter, and the guest was Reuben’s Roasted Rye.

Front row (l to r) Pike Space Needle, Pike No. 4, and Pike Old Bawdy - 2012; back row (l to r) Pike Hopulus Erectus, Pike Octopus Ink, and Reuben's Roasted Rye

Tasting Notes:

Pike Space Needle (6.5% 58 IBU): Clear gold. Piney hop aroma and malt. Medium dry body, bitter with low hop aroma. Esters. Bitter sweet finish.

Pike No. 4 – Session IPA (4.2% 26 IBU): Pale gold with a slight haze. Fruity hop aroma. Sweet, ester, citrus hops with late bitterness. Medium dry bitter finish.

Pike Old Bawdy – 2012 (9.9% 90 IBU): Clear red-brown. Low aroma (too cold?). Rich malt and hop aroma upon warming. Sweet, dates, esters (banana and stone fruit), followed by hop bitterness. Bitter finish.

Pike Hopulus Erectus (11% 90 IBU): A triple IPA. Fruity pine hop aroma. Red, slightly hazy. Sweet, citrus, bitter. Bitter sweet finish. A well brewed beer when so many things can go wrong.

Pike Octopus Ink (8.3% 80 IBU): Black with red highlights and clear. Hops and roast malt aroma. Bitterness and roast malt contend for front flavor. Bitter sweet finish.

Reuben’s Roasted Rye (7.0% 80 IBU): Clear reddish brown. Rye aroma? Roasted grain aroma for sure. Astringent rye, dry, and bitter flavors. Piney citrus hops. Bitter finish.

I have enjoyed many a fine pint at the Pike and attended a number of beer education functions as well. Pike has brewed well-made beers in the English style for over two decades. The brewery has been an incubator for brewers, several of whom have achieved celebrity status. Charles and Rose Ann Finkel have done great service to the beer culture in Seattle and deserve great praise. I wish them many more years of robust business, because I want to be able to drink there many times in the future.

I walked out without my hat, went back and got it, and then caught the D-Line back home.

Elliott Bay Brewery Lake City

Elliott Bay Brewery Lake City  15Feb2017

Looking across Lake City Way at Elliott Bay Brewery

On a day that otherwise contained a routine errand, Renee offered to drive me to Lake City (it’s on the way home) to stop at the Elliott Bay Brewery. We were able to snag a parking spot right in front of the joint – surprise! – maybe because a Wednesday after lunch time is a good time to hit Lake City. The establishment fronts right on the sidewalk and yet is clearly visible perhaps due to its decent size. Elliott Bay Brewery is locally owned and has three current locations. Besides Lake City it has locations in West Seattle and Burien. All locations have food.

As you enter the front doors you see the entrance to the downstairs event space in front of you and to the left is the host station. Beyond the stairs you see the bar with the beer list prominently chalked above the bar.

The chalked up beer list above the bar

 Restaurant seating is scattered around the room. We chose a window seat overlooking picturesque (well, maybe not so much) Lake City Way with its constant stream of traffic. We were presented with a comprehensive beer list and menus. 

The comprehensive beer list with plenty of information

I chose a flight of tasters and we ordered the pretzel plate. The pretzel was ginormous.

The flight with the helpful list: (l to r) Elliott Bay Pilsner, Lake City Way IPA, B-Town Brown, Chocolate Porter, and Fauntleroy Imperial Stout

Tasting Notes:

Elliott Bay Pilsner (5.0% 20 IBU): Clear gold. Hoppy malt aroma. Crisp dry malt with bitterness at the back of the tongue. Good hop flavor. Dry bitter finish. My perception of the bitterness level was greater than the IBU level would suggest.

B-Town Brown (5.2% 19 IBU): Clear reddish brown. Roast malt aroma. Dry roast malt flavor with late bitterness. Some fruit notes. Bitter dry finish.

Chocolate Porter (6.5% 33 IBU): Roast malt and chocolate aroma. Opaque brown with dark red highlights at the bottom of the glass. Very dry, roast malt, slight chocolate (suggested by the name?) late bitterness. Roasty, dry-bitter finish.

Lake City Way IPA (6.0% 75 IBU): Reddish gold with a slight haze. Fruity lemon hop aroma. Very dry hop assault tasting of citrus. Medium body and late sweetness. Bitter citrus finish.

Fauntleroy Imperial Stout (9.2% 44 IBU): Opaque black with a slight red hue at the bottom of the glass. Sweet fig and roast malt aroma. Medium dry, burnt malt, late bitterness. Bitter dry finish.

Elliott Bay has been brewing beer since 1997 and the insights learned in that time show in the beer. All of these beers were well made – very dry and flavorful. The lack of cloying sweetness means I could drink a lot of any of these beers before I noticed how plastered I had become. The food was good but no fine dining experience, which suits my taste. I am not sure that a convenient public transportation option exists to get me to Lake City from Ballard – east west trips are usually problematic. I guess I will find out when I visit Hellbent Brewing.