Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery

Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery  28Apr2017

Friday was such a nice day after the record setting rains that I had to make the longish walk (2 miles) to the Greenwood area to visit Flying Bike. As with Peddler I haven’t visited for some time and on my last visit I thought the beers were too sweet and had some diacetyl, which led me to think the beers were under pitched. Perhaps I have put off visiting again because the walk is too much energy to expend for ordinary beer.

The brewery sits on a shady block of Greenwood  –  the trees forming an inviting setting. The brewery front comprises two large garage-door type openings, which on a nice day like Friday gives the taproom a light airy feeling. 

Flying Bike on Greenwood. Note the tree on the left and the large open doors.

As you walk in the front door you see the bar and the brew kit to the right while a seating area is in front of you. 

The view from the front door looking slightly to the right. The beer list is above the guy with a hat.

View from the front door looking straight right.

The beer list is written in marker on the tiles behind the bar. 

The beer list gives a lot of information about each beer.

The writing is clear but you need to be near to read it easily. I pulled up a stool at the bar and ordered a flight of six five ounce tasters.

Beer number 1, Rainemaker, is to the left side of the list under the six. The rest are listed counterclockwise from 1; Bockanalia, Molly's Bloomers Stout (nitro), Mosaic Sorachi Ace, Tropical Refresher, and Rigmarole.

Tasting Notes:

Bockanalia (6.4%, 34 IBU): Faint aroma of cherries. Clear amber. Sweet malt-forward flavor with some minerality followed by some hop bitterness. Full body. Bitter sweet finish.

Rigmarole Red Rye (5.8%, 40 IBU): Sharp and sweet malt aroma. Clear red amber. Acrid rye malt flavor. Full body and sweet but dry. Bitter finish.

Molly’s Bloomers Irish Dry Stout (3.2%, 50 IBU): Clear black with red highlights. Roast malt aroma and some (Golding?) hops. Thin body, roast malt and restrained bitterness. Dry bitter finish. Drinks like less than 50 IBU.

Tropical Refresher (4.4%, 30 IBU): Clear red-gold. Fruity hop aroma. Malt-hop balance and dry with some slight minerality. Fruity hop flavor. Bitter dry finish.

Rainemaker NW IPA (6.4%, 60 IBU): Fruity dank hop aroma. Clear gold. Fruity hop, sweet malt flavors. Dry – fermented out. Bitter sweet finish.

Mosaic Sorachi Ace (7.3%, 70 IBU): Red gold clear. Onion and manure hop aroma. Very bitter hops (onion and pine) with good malt body. Lingering bitter finish.

The beers were all much better on this visit and I would have no problem recommending a visit if you are in the Greenwood area. Flying Bike is just a few doors up the street from Naked City, and both places benefit from being neighborhood hangouts. Greenwood itself has a lot of retail businesses surrounded by residential areas, so families and couples find their way into Flying Bike. In the winter the décor is a little cold and in the spring, summer, and fall the place is light and inviting when the garage doors are open. I hung out at the bar and finished all my tasters but the Rigmarole and Mosaic Sorachi Ace. I could have stayed longer but needed to get home to thaw out dinner.

The long walk back home was mostly downhill and the sun still shined.

Peddler Brewing

Peddler Brewing  26Apr2017

Peddler is within walking distance of my home in Ballard so I did that – walk that is. I haven’t visited in over a year and the last time I was there the beer was not to my taste. The beers I had were too sweet and had some diacetyl, which led me to think the beers were under pitched. Perhaps that is the reason I have put off taking the 15 minute walk to their front door. Peddler is on Leary Way NW in the space formerly inhabited by Maritime Pacific. They have limited outdoor seating on the sidewalk and a beer garden in the back. Today the weather was too crummy to sit outside.

Peddler with its large windows, inviting doorway, and an openable garage door for warmer weather. A small outdoor, sidewalk seating area is not in use due to the wet and cool weather.

The brewery entrance is right off Leary on an expansive stretch of sidewalk. As you walk in the door you see the brew kit straight ahead on the path to the beer garden. 

The view of the brew kit and the way to the back beer garden.

 The seating area and the bar are to your right.

The bar and some seating with the chalk board beer list.

The seating area and bar are in a well-lighted space overseen by large windows. The offerings are chalked on a board above the bar with all of the statistics clearly written. Tasters of 4 oz., pints of 16 oz., and growlers are all available. I ordered six four ounce tasters.

Six tasters - right side top to bottom; Rando Red Imperial IPA, Pedal Strike Pale, and On Your Left IPA. Left side top to bottom; Chocolate Stout, Tropic Thunder IPA, and Wildflower Honey Wit.

Tasting Notes:

Pedal Strike Pale (4.6%, 22 IBU): Fruity hop aroma. Cloudy yellow gold. Bitter, dry malt, piney hops. Finishes with the flavor of NW hops and dry.

On Your Left IPA (6.2%, 77 IBU): NW hop aroma. Orange gold color and clear. Hop assault, malt full body, piney hop flavor. Very bitter. Bitter finish

Rando Red Imperial IPA (7.5%, 52 IBU): Cloudy red. Fruity hop aroma with some malt. Very bitter hop flavor, and rich dry malt body with some esters. Middle flavor of hop candy. Bitter sweet finish.

Tropic Thunder IPA (6.0%, 60 IBU): Clear red-gold. Fruity hop aroma. Fruity hop-malt balance still bitter. Dry. Bitter dry finish.

Wildflower Honey Wit (6.0%, 15 IBU): Flower (Ginger, coriander, lavender) aroma. Clear pale yellow. Flowers and potpourri, then saison like flavors. Dry flower finish.

Chocolate Stout (5.0%, 23 IBU): Opaque black with red highlights. Chocolate, coffee, roast malt aroma. Chocolate and rich malt flavor with a late roasty-ness. Sweet chocolate finish.

Not everyone who hangs out at Peddler is a bicyclist. I mean, I was there after all. The indoor seating area is open, light, and airy – very inviting on a winter’s or early spring day. I haven’t sat outside, and I hope the seating there is a little more comfortable than the high stools inside. The beers on this visit were all well made. The IPAs were all properly imbalanced to varying degrees of bitterness, the wit was very perfumey, and the chocolate stout hit all the notes I look for.

I made the short hike - uphill - back home while dodging yet another rain shower, which has been way too common an occurrence this record setting, wet year.

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.