Georgetown, Seattle
There are few nicer activities on a sunny, warm weekend afternoon in Seattle than biking down to Georgetown for a visit to Georgetown Brewing, Georgetown Liquor Company, and Full Throttle Bottles.
Georgetown Brewing
Georgetown Brewing’s Manny’s is one of Seattle’s most popular draft beer options, and many people don’t realize that Georgetown brews a variety of other suds.
The brewery is located at 5200 Denver Ave S.
They don’t bottle most of their beers, and you can sample each of the ones they have on draft for free. That’s right — gratis. Of course, you might be tempted to leave with a growler or a t-shirt or a frisbee.
Q: How many 12 oz beers can a Frisbee hold?
A: 4, plus a bit of room left over.
Georgetown Liquor Company
Georgetown Liquor Company is a lovely little vegetarian bar at the corner of Lucille and 8th Ave S.
Even if you love meat, give it a shot — my carnivorous drinking companion enjoyed his Picard (lentil-sage Field Roast, roasted red onions, fresh mozzarella, Tofutti cream cheese and roasted garlic spread, toasted on ciabatta with vegan au jus dipping sauce) and side salad, while I swooned over the Darth Reuben.
This bar is also a nerd paradise: the names of sandwiches are all references to sci-fi movies starting with “Star,” and old-school Atari and Nintendo sets greet you when you walk in.
So, if fake meat skeeves you out, just stop in for a drink and a go with the joystick.
I ordered a Lemon Meringue Pie cocktail — something like lemon vodka, vanilla simple syrup and a splash of soy milk — which was sweet and refreshing…
… and regret not getting the build-your-own Bloody Mary bar.
Full Throttle Bottles
Full Throttle Bottles is just around the corner from GLC 5909 Airport Way S.
The shop has a nice assortment of beer, cider and some wine. They have both bombers and single bottles. I didn’t pay too much attention to the selection, but was quickly able to find three exotic beers that appealed to me: Slip Point Brewing’s Spicy Fish Wife, Baird/Ishii/Stone’s Japanese Green Tea IPA, and Lucky Buddha.
David rides the elephant.
Helen rides the elephant.
Hop candy: try it once, then probably never again.
Portland drinking adventures
I was down in Portland for a conference last weekend and managed to fit in a bit of boozing. Here are some pictures.
Clyde Common
Cascade Brewing Barrelhouse
Ping
Hopworks Urban Brewery
Mmm… beeeeeeeeer.
Apex
Not pictured: Ghost Chili Golden Ale from El Toro Brewing — spiciest half hour of my life.
Hungry Tiger Too
Eating hops
I’ve eaten hops.
It’s really not all that weird– you drink hops all the time, so why not consume them in solid form?
A couple of years ago, I took a tour of the Lagunitas brewery in Petaluma, CA with my parents. We sampled brews in the taproom (Lagunitas is quite generous with their pours, considering it’s a free tour), then headed into the production area.
Our tour guide stopped near the end of the tour to pass out samples of the hop pellets Lagunitas uses in their beer. She instructed us to smell them.
My dad smelled his, then put it in his mouth. I saw his jaw move, and his Adam’s apple rise and fall. The rest of the group watched in disbelief while my mom and I looked away in embarrassment.
Next, my father turned to the brewery worker dry-hopping a keg with the real deal and asked him for a cone. The worker obliged, confused. Dad tore off a leaf and popped that in his mouth too.
“Paul, stop that,” my mom hissed. “Let’s go.”
As we stepped outside into the California sunshine, he offered us each a hop leaf. Mom declined, but I tried it. It tasted a little like garlic.
Well, now you can munch on this tasty member of the hemp family: Hanna over at Seattleist reports that Naked City is serving pickled hop shoots during Seattle Beer Week. This I must try, hopefully with fewer people judging me this time around.
Mint Juleps
I always think of the Rolling Stones song “Dead Flowers” when I think of the Kentucky Derby:
Well, you’re sitting back
In your rose pink Cadillac
Making bets on Kentucky Derby Day
I’ll be in my basement room
With a needle and a spoon
And another girl can take my pain away
Only instead of Mick Jagger’s beloved heroin, most of us prefer to drown our sorrows on Kentucky Derby day with a substance whose use is a little less likely to give you hepatitis: the mint julep.
The Kentucky Derby is this weekend, and even though I am against the use of animals for entertainment, I do support any opportunity to sip mint juleps. And wear a big hat. I sincerely hope that the hats of the Royal Wedding will inspire us Americans to don some exceptional head toppers at the derby.
The mint julep is the official drink of the derby– Wikipedia says the folks at Churchill Downs serve nearly 120,000, with “virtually all of them in specially made Kentucky Derby collectible glasses.” The Foodista blog has more tidbits about the mint julep, if you want know its history.
With its winning mix of bourbon, mint, and a touch of sugar, the mint julep is perfect way to add a languid touch of chill to a sunny, humid Southern afternoon. Which is so not Seattle right now.
Mint Julep (from Drinks Mixer)
- 4 fresh mint sprigs
- 2 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
- 1/2 oz simple syrup (or 1 tsp powdered sugar + 2 tsp water)
- ice
Muddle mint, sugar and water in a Collins glass. Fill with ice and add bourbon. Garnish with a mint sprig.
Martini in a can
Apparently, Russians have a drinking problem. I know– crazy, right?
I spent 3 months there in 2005 and witnessed that first hand. And partook a bit too.
I loved the vodka (Russian Standard? heck yes!), and I loved the beer (Baltika #8 — oh baby, oh baby) but my favorite part by far were the Gin and Tonics in a can.
Here are a couple of happy American girls (neither of them are me, if we’ve never met) with canned G&T:
In 2005, you could drink anything just about anywhere in Russia– walking down the street, riding the bus– and nothing’s more refreshing on a brisk Motherland winter’s day than the combination of juniper, quinine and aluminum.
But then I came back to the States and returned to drinking my cocktails the old-fashioned way: indoors, in a glass. Boo.
So, imagine my excitement when I strolled into the downtown liquor store looking for some cheap absinthe and found a refrigerated case full of an assortment of tiny canned beverages!
They had canned gin martinis, and canned vodka martinis, and canned Long Island iced tea, and a couple more that I can’t remember, but no gin and tonic. Double boo.
I picked up a The Club Vodka Martini.
Just to be classy, I poured it into a glass and garnished it with a couple of garlic olives.
[Sidenote: if there's ever a drink named after me, it will probably by a dirty vodka martini with garlic-stuffed -- not pimento-stuffed-- olives. Hey, if Mr. Charles Dana Gibson can name a drink after himself by substituting out the garnish of a martini, why not me???]
It poured crystal clear, with tiny bubbles clinging to the glass.
I took the awesome photograph to the right, then took a sip. It tasted like a watered-down version of a martini you might get at a cheap bar — a little sweet, with a hint of citrus, and a sharp bite on the finish. The mouthfeel mirrored the drink’s aqueous quality: very thin.
I drank about half, ate the olives, and then set it down on my coffee table. It’s still sitting on said coffee table two days later (which gives a little insight into what sort of house I keep and speaks to the sub-par quality of the beverage), and those darn bubbles are still clinging to the side of the glass.
At least it looks like a real martini:
So, in conclusion, if you’re looking for a novelty drink (now that FourLoko has been undeservedly banned in Washington State — boo hiss, Olympia) or something you can palm and discretely drink while riding public transportation, which is in fact pretty fun, if you’ve never done it (not that I advocate any illegal activity on this blog — just stating the facts in a way that allows the reader to make their own informed decision on the matter), I’d avoid this stuff.
Shaken, not stirred.
Rye + bitters
Based on a recommendation from a friend, I picked up a bottle of Peychaud’s bitters at DeLaurenti, intending to make a Sazarec.
But Sazarec’s contain absinthe, which is freakin expensive — and kinda gross on its own.
I mean, I’ve heard that Sazarec’s are quite delicious and worth investment, but I’m just afraid of being left with a ton of an expensive green liquor that just reminds me of poison in both taste and color.
I will buy a bottle at some point, once I get over my initial sticker shock, but in the meantime, here’s an alternative, based on The Rebel.
- 2 parts rye whiskey
- 1/2 part applejack
- 1/2 part maple syrup
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- 4 Peychaud’s bitters
- dash cayenne pepper
- maraschino cherry, for garnish
- Place all ingredients (except the cherry) in a cocktail shaker with some ice.
- Shake.
- Strain into a martini glass. Sip. Enjoy.
Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo Release Party
I attended Merchant du Vin’s Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo release party* last night at the White Horse in Post Alley. The beer flowed like liquid gold, and the conversation was equally abundant.
Now, Samuel Smith isn’t a brewery I always consider when picking out beer. It’s an old standby, producing solid products without making waves or headlines– the movie you’ve seen over and over that you watch when you’re in a particular mood instead of renting a new release.
The ‘Harold and Maude’ to Elysian’s ‘Inception.’ The ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ to Black Raven’s ‘Up in the Air.’ The ‘Casablanca’ to Big Al’s … I can’t think of any other movies that have come out in the past year. Oh, right: Avatar.
Considering that Samuel Smith is older than our country, it has an understandably fascinating history and equally interesting traditions.
According to Merchant du Vin’s Sam Smith page,
The Old Brewery at Tadcaster was founded in 1758 and is Yorkshire’s oldest brewery. Samuel Smith is one of the few remaining independent breweries in England, and further is the last to utilize the classic Yorkshire Square system of fermentation solely in stone squares.
The rich Samuel Smith strain of yeast at The Old Brewery dates from the early 1900s. Hops are hand-weighed by the master hop blender, and the brewing water is drawn from a well sunk over 200 years ago.
First introduced to the U.S. market in 1978 by Merchant du Vin, Samuel Smith beers quickly became the benchmark ales for the emerging craft beer movement. To this day, they remain among the most awarded.
All Samuel Smith beers are vegan products, registered with The Vegan Society, as seen here.
A few fun facts about the brewery:
- It has a cooper on staff to repair barrels; the wood from barrels is reused, so some pieces of barrels can be over 100 years old.
- Clydesdale horses still deliver the beer.
- It has a shop that still hand paints signs (the White Horse has one).
- There is an actual tavern.
Anyhow, on to the beer. As I wrote about last year, a Stingo is an old-school type of beer that Sam Smith began brewing again in 2007. The beer is aged in oak barrels, and, consequently, becomes quite hearty and potent, with a full-bodied character, hints of whiskey, rich umami, and a slight yeasty funk– the good kind of funk. It reminds me of medieval royalty: refined, yet a little wild.
Merchant du Vin poured guests samples from each year: 2009 (the current release), 2008, and the test batch from 2007 that got the whole thing started.
There wasn’t much difference in the vertical from year to year, though Merchant du Vin noted that this year’s batch is 9% ABV rather than the 8% of last year’s.
At $13, Stingo isn’t an everyday selection, but it makes an indulgent accompaniment to a nice meal– preferably a hearty, British-themed one.
Wellington, anyone?
*I left the tasting with a goody bag containing two bottles of beer and a (much needed) keyring bottle opener– many thanks! The samples were provided free of charge. I always feel uncomfortable bringing money into posts, but I believe it’s FTC mandate that I do so.
Epic Ales’ Terra Saurus
Epic Ales is a young-ish Seattle brewery that’s pushing the envelope. Granted, it’s hard to find a Seattle brewery that isn’t “pushing the envelope,” but these guys are the first I know to brew with mushrooms. Mushrooms. No, not the magic type– shiitake mushrooms.
Shiitakes are a staple in Japanese and Chinese cooking, known for their rich umami flavor. When dried in the sun, as they often are, they soak up vitamin D the way Lindsay Lohan’s bloodstream soaks up cocaine. If that makes any sense. I… was stretching for an analogy.
Anyhow.
If you think it’s weird to quaff a beverage made with mushrooms, consider this: yeast, like mushrooms, is a fungus. If you are drinking beer, you are already drinking fungus, so it’s really not that much of a stretch.
Terra Saurus pours a dark brownish black that is virtually impervious to light; it’s an oatmeal stout underneath all of the novelty shiitake. My bottle erupted after a few seconds of calm (perhaps fitting given the volcano theory of dinosaur extinction?) yet the beer in my glass had surprisingly little head– just a thin ring around the edge.
The aroma is teriyaki, a sweet soy sauce sort of deal. Flavorwise, it’s coffee with a certain smokiness, like when the roaster burns the beans but insists on using them anyhow for your tall drip. There’s a little bit of a burning sensation on the finish, with more defined burnt flavor. It’s an earthy, hearty, meaty beer; the mushroom only hits the nose in the empty glass. If no one told me that Terra Saurus was brewed with mushrooms, I probably would not have guessed.
I don’t think I’ll buy it again, though that’s no dig on the beer– I’m just not all that into super-dark, coffee-like beers. If you are a fan of the genre, give it a try and let me know what you think. I’m certainly looking forward to picking up more from Epic Ales the next time I’m in the Bottleworks neighborhood.
2010 Washington Brewers Festival
The Washington Brewers Festival is one of the highlights of the year, up there with Thanksgiving and New Year’s eve.
Like the proverbial kid in the candy store, I never know how to manage my time at WABF. In theory, one drinks the lighter beers first and slowly moves towards the richer, higher alcohol, or strongly flavored beers at the end. Or, one picks a theme and goes with it. Only IPAs. Only Saisons.
However, like that same kid at Christmas time, I get carried away by the rare and unusual offerings and throw all the tasting rules out the window.
The one rule I have is this: never drink anything you can easily buy within Seattle city limits. This throws out breweries within a bus ride (no transfer) from my apartment and those with bottling capacity, not matter how solid the beer. If you’re one of these breweries, you’d better bring it with some specially-brewed selections if you want my token. Some *cough* Pike, Pyramid and Redhook *cough* more or less brought their standards and thus had short lines.
This rule may be amended, however, to include brews that I can buy but don’t want to drink more than 6 ounces of (Alaskan Smoked Porter), and offerings from breweries that are just. plain. awesome. And may be giving away stickers (Ninkasi Total Domination IPA).
I bought the standard admission (6 tokens), while David paid for the upgrade (10 tokens). Since he carried no cash on his person and I strategically made a trip to the ATM prior to departure, he bargained two of those tokens for a grilled chicken sandwich from one of the many concession stands. Thus, we had 8 samples each.
Black Raven was the clear winner of the day, with the longest lines– hands down. Revelers also queued at Northern Lights, Iron Horse, and Dogfish Head– was Sam Calagione pouring or something? Why else would you wait for beer you can easily buy– from an out-of-state brewery?
The following is what I sampled.
Skookum Brewery: Mammoth Jack. This selection was mild in flavor, with slightly prominent alcohol and some sweet citrus– very drinkable for a double IPA, though not mind-blowing.
192: Biere du Garde. I can’t say I was a fan of this one, but give 192 major props for bringing such an unusual selection to the event. The beer poured with a pale, cloudy body the color of milky tea, the aroma of cidar and the flavor of Jerusalem artichoke– it took a while to pinpoint the exact vegetable my palate detected. It’s certainly a funky offering, with essence of moldy cheese and light acidity. Grain aftertaste.
3 Skulls: Blood Orange Wit. Clearly a wheaty selection, with a citrus flavor beyond the usual hoppy variety. It has a tangerine aroma, and had the weather been a little more pleasant, would have made for exquisite outdoor summer drinking.
Lazy Boy: Nacho Pilsener. David tried to take a sip, but I told him, “sorry, this is nacho beer.” That was a bad joke, and that didn’t actually happen. What he did do was take a sip and proclaim, “this is freaking good!” Yes, freaking good it was, with a jalapeño kick that still allowed the grain to shine through, making it truly analogous to chips and salsa: carbs contrasted with some heat. It was light and summery, and probably my favorite.
The Ram: BBLage a Trois. I didn’t want to like this beer, as I don’t want to like most beers from multi-state chains. But it was really quite a nice sour beer, with notes of coriander, some cheese and crackers and an amazing wheat finish.
Mac & Jack’s: IPA. Wait, Mac & Jack’s makes beers other than African Amber? This I gotta try. The IPA was well hopped but drinkable. My scrawled notes describe it as ‘delightful.’
There were also plenty of beers that I am upset I missed, most notably:
- Black Raven’s Jerk Brown Porter, Splinters and Coco Jones
- 192’s ‘nilla stout
- Snipes Mountain Cask Twanzista: had it Friday night at Brouwer’s instead but wanted more.
- Hale’s IX Gold on Sour Cherries
- Big Al Five Star Chili IPA
- Odin’s offerings: the Odin guys were so kind to let me film them for my mini-documentary, and I just got shy.
There are plenty of festivals before next June, but the WA Brewers Festival is always my favorite. I especially appreciated the shuttle buses to and from the Kenmore Park and Ride to get us home safely. Many thanks to the Washington Beer Commission for putting this together!
Seattle-area bottle shops
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