Friday Five: 5 Most Anticipated Beer Day Trips From Seattle
I’ve lived in Seattle for over three years and I’ve rarely made it outside the city limits to drink beer. Here are the top 5 places I’m jonesing to make a beer day trip to:
1. The Red Hot (Tacoma) – Chris “Trashcan” Miller’s beer and hot dogs joint in Tacoma has been at the top of my list for awhile. I plan on making it the anchor of a day in Tacoma that includes the Parkway, The Swiss and Harmon Brewing. Someday I’ll make this happen even if I have to bribe my lady into renting a car and designated-driving.
2. Chuckanut Brewing (Bellingham) – I’ve tried three of their lagers (Dortmunder, Rauchbier and Vienna) this month in Seattle and they’ve all been solid. Lagers aren’t something you see much of in the Pacific NW and it’s exciting to see someone doing a lot of them and doing them well. I hear they have good food up there too. And I guess I could go to Boundary Bay while I’m in Bellingham.
3. Malt & Vine (Redmond) – A bottleshop with taps. I’ve heard it’s a cool place to have a few beers. Could be part of a beer day in Redmond once Beaux Bowman’s Black Raven opens in March.
4. The Dog & Pony (Renton) – Supposedly one of the best beer bars in the Puget Sound area that isn’t in Seattle. I hear I could do a three beer-stop tour in Renton by adding the Red House and Whistle Stop Alehouse to the list.
5. Snoqualmie Brewing (Snoqualmie) – I’ve had the chance to try most of their beers in Seattle, but I’ve never been to Snoqualmie Falls and I’m a big Twin Peaks fan. Plus they have a brewer’s choice beer on tap, so I could try something new. But yeah, this is as much about going to the place as it as about the beer.
January 31, 2009 at 1:32 am
Man, I’m excited to check out Chukanut and yes, why not stop in and see whats going on at Boundary Bay? Maybe a side trip to North Fork on the way up? And why not head up to B.C. after and smuggle some Cuban rum back…a good solid day right there.
The Parkway is one of my favorite places being originally from the South End. Great vibe there. The Dog and Pony is a great place with great food. We have had a lot of WAHA and homebrew meetings there. They’ve always been great about accomodating a large group of people.
Colin L.
January 31, 2009 at 5:06 pm
It’s worth mentioning that Chuckanut us owned by Will & Mari Kemper, half of the defunct Thomas Kemper. Defunct because it was bought by Hart/Pyramid, who shut down the awesome Poulsbo brewery/restaurant then not long after shut down the entire brand (except for their sodas, which they sold off). Thomas Kemper was well known for their excellent lagers.
January 31, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Thomas Kemper Root Beer on draft in Poulsbo was heavenly. So was the beer. I remember the storming vikings at their fests like it was yesterday…
February 4, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Also worth noting: Chuckanut has really good food. We stopped by on a Saturday around noon, just in time for the weekly brewery tour. Will has a very high-tech brewing system, all computer-driven. Very cool.
February 9, 2009 at 3:40 am
You will not find a better bottle shop than Malt & Vine. They are very knowledgeable and very friendly. I love that they have taps in house and you can drink what you buy in bottles for a small corkage fee. They do beer tastings for a buck on Friday’s. Usually a brewer will come in with four of their beers. You get a small taste of all four for a dollar. What we like to do is to grab some food from someplace close and bring it in to eat and enjoy a couple of beers. Makes for a cheap and fun date night. M&V also offers jockey boxes for rent for $25.00 for four days. You get the the CO2 along with it. Obviously I can’t say enough about these guys. They also offer a great wine selection and own the personal wine cellar next door where you can rent space to keep your wine. Great place all in all.