Tagged: NW Craft Brews

Road trip! Nothing beats a road trip to get you out of a routine. Road trips present an opportunity to try new breweries, explore new pubs and meet new people. A recent trip to Bend, Ore provided just the change of scenery I needed. Out of lowland Seattle up into the high desert of Central Oregon. While in Bend I had the opportunity to visit Deschutes, Boneyard and 10 Barrel. Great beers and great people all around.

Pictured here is the 10 Barrel ISA. It's their India Session Ale. A bit lower on the alcohol and very drinkable with great citrusy aroma.

A few weeks ago we had a post about Russian River's Pliny the Elder and if you investigated the brewery you may have learned about their very limited release of Pliny the Younger. The Younger is a super hopped up version of an already hoppy beer.

Only a small amount of the Younger is brewed each year and it is yearned for by hop heads everywhere. But, it's a small batch brew and only a lucky few actually get a taste before it's all gone … and then people complain about not getting any. They kvetch that it never made it to their city or how the keg was finished in an hour.

Hence Big Time Brewery came up with its response to that unmet desire: The super hoppy Whiny the Complainer.

This past Tuesday there was a little competition between 10 of Puget Sound's breweries to see who will brew a special 50th anniversary beer for the Space Needle.

With scorecards and tasting glasses in hand, a packed room in the famous landmark enjoyed the view, sampled beers and chose a winner.

Pike Brewing Company's "Pike Space Needle Golden Anniversary IPA" came out on top.

All along the West Coast, from Victoria, B.C., to San Diego, Calif., you can find not just good but great beer. We are lucky. The Racer 5 India Pale Ale is another fine IPA from Northern California available locally.

Winter has finally come down from the mountains here in the Pacific Northwest and has been pounding the lowlands with snow, freezing rain and wind. It's times like this when you ask yourself what type of beer goes with a power outage. The correct answer of course is any beer.

But really, in this part of the country we don't have to settle on just any beer. Hopefully you've stocked up on some good food and locally crafted beers to weather the storm.

What's that? Pliny is on tap? Let's go get some! I'm sure those words have been spoken many, many times. Pliny the Elder is one of those beers that has taken on a cult-like following. People go crazy for it.

Over at Beeradovate, it rates a perfect 100.

2011 was a good year for beer drinkers. We saw a huge growth in new breweries, experimental ales and carefully crafted draft lists at bars and restaurants. I'm always on the lookout for something new to try but sometimes, during special occasions, you want to go with what you know. Stick with something you trust.

It's the time of year when people reflect back on what they are thankful for... friends, family, good health, a job (for those lucky enough to have weathered the tough economy).

Here in the Pacific Northwest we can also be thankful for a wealth of good beer.

If you don't want to brave the chill winds for that walk to your favorite watering hole, here's four Pacific Northwest winter craft beers you can tote home in 22 oz bottles.