USA 2012-2013: Sleepless in Seattle (Part I)

Seattle, Washington. Founded by the Denny Party in 1851, rebuilt after the 1889 fire and establishing influential bands like Nirvana. But while most tourists think of Seattle as having the Space Needle and the burial site of Bruce Lee, yours truly thinks about hops. Lots and lots of hops.

Yakima Valley is in the state of Washington and south of Seattle. It holds about 75% of the total hop acreage within the United States. So, if you're a home brewer from anywhere around the world chances are you've got a hop that grew here.

But while my thoughts were on hops, I was preparing to leave the cold of Minnesota while trying to catch up on some much needed sleep. My 06:40am departure meant that a wake-up call of 04:50am was required. Thankfully I had Jenny on hand to make sure I got up at that time. I don't know about you but getting up that early is tricky at the best of times, let alone during a Minnesotan winter.

Thankfully, Jenn got me safely to Minneapolis/St Paul airport where the warmth had given me time to relax and calm down, way out of reach of the cold outside. While waiting to board our plane an announcement came over the public address system: "Flight 347 to Chicago is ready to depart. Could passenger Roger Edwards please board this flight immediately. We don't want you to miss your flight. We love you, but we will leave you."

Sound Transit

That brought a few chuckles around the departure lounge, and is very typical of the casualness of airline staff across the US. No sooner had I stopped giggling, we were ready to board our flight for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Over three and a half hours, and a bumpy landing, later it was time to soak in my new scenery and get to the hotel.

To do that, I had to take the Sound Transit light rail from the airport. What a wonderful experience that was. A pleasant 25 minute journey to the International District where I would catch a cab to our hotel situated in downtown Seattle. I say "our" hotel as Dawn was already there, with Jenny soon to follow.

Thanks to Dawn, my hotel stay was free. How cool is that! Seeing that it was still early morning, and yours truly still feeling a tad tired, I rested until lunch. After having lunch with Dawn and her friend Darren it was time for me to go back to the hotel and rest even more until Dawn finished work. Yep, I was a wuss.

Buckley's on Queen Anne

But no longer would I be a wuss. Dawn came home from work, I got up after my rest and we both decided to have a few drinks. But where? We aimlessly walked up a street and by some miracle managed to stumble across Buckley's on Queen Anne. A really comfy bar with lots of flags hanging off the ceiling, mood lighting and lots of televisions.

Could you want more? I don't think so. This bar was a lifeline for us. Only a three minute walk from our hotel, so even if we did decide to "have a few" it wasn't all too far to get back.....even if we stumbled. So the next decision both of us had was which drinks to buy. For me, that was easy.

Widmer Hefeweizen

My first choice of beer was a Widmer Hefeweizen. Oh boy, what a good choice that was. Of course, this was an American-style hefeweizen and anybody who knows anything about the style knows that the only difference between a German-style hefeweizen and an American-style hefeweizen is the yeast. Generally speaking, the American hefeweizen uses a neutral yeast like US-05 that has no aroma while the German yeasts have a banana and/or clove aroma.

Winter warmer 8%

But enough about yeast, let's talk about my next beer!  The Maritime Pacific Jolly Roger Christmas Ale Winter warmer at 8% abv was certainly a good beer, and it certainly warmed me up. 

So warm, in fact, that the chances of both Dawn and I leaving Buckley's were very slim.....unlike my waistline. It was interesting to note the decor of Buckley's, too. Not so much what was around us, rather the decor that was at our table. Sometimes I am as blind as a bat, and this time was no exception. 

Sorry, no Penthouse :(

What I had failed to see, but Dawn managed to pick up, was an extremely cool shelf with reading material on it. Although I didn't bother to pick up and read any of it (as I didn't see any brewing books) it was nice to know that people can come and sit down, pick up a book and read. 

But I guess my reading skills don't go far past the Dr. Seuss books, so it was a little out of my league. But what was definitely within my realm of doability (yep, I just made that word up and auto correct hates it!) was my next unique beer.  

Imperial IPA 7.5%

 And what a beer this was. A Maritime Pacific Imperial IPA at 7.5% abv. This was good enough to knock your socks off. Maybe the MythBusters need to revisit this myth? It's not often I get the chance to try a great IPA, but an Imperial IPA? Wow. If this was a sign of things to come here in Seattle then I was in for a great time. 

Oatmeal Stout 5%

My next beer was actually getting me ready for a fantastic time. Apart from Guinness, this would be my first nitrogen beer. It turned out to be a cracker! The Deschutes Ochoco Oatmeal Stout at 5% abv had me on the floor. 

Its extraordinarily smooth texture, chocolate and roasted flavour was something to behold. It went down easy. It was extremely tempting for me to have more than just one, but my World Beer Tour had to progress. So with that comes a responsibility of trying to drink different beers, no matter what cost of previous great beers. 

Manny's APA 5%

So, up next was Manny's American Pale Ale at 5% abv. A classic style, a classic beer. Simple in it's aroma and taste. It's a beer I'd have during a session and be very comfortable in the fact that it'd be something others like, too. I guess that's what this trip proved to me; that there isn't any real "bad" craft beers here in the US. They're very good indeed and there is always going to be one that stands out. 

Pike IPA

Speaking of standing out, this IPA did just that; Pike IPA. A wonderful bitterness and aroma that made it stand up like a Meerkat looking out for trouble. Certainly a winner in my eyes that left me wanting more. But sadly, the time had come for both Dawn and I to move on back to the hotel and prepare for the next day. 

So, as we headed back my thoughts were on this lovely state of Washington, lots of hops and all the things we can see in this great city. We had another 8 more days to stumble across little gold mines of fun and explore lots more things, tell more stories. The journey continues.....

dannbrew@gmail.com