101 and done

Our annual beer adventure has come to a hasty end.  We woke up on day four with only a couple places left on our list and a steady rain.  After checking out of crazy stair rental home, we set off to the west, passing through lush northwest terrain covered with a wet, gray blanket.  Other options to extend the voyage were possible, but the lure of vastly superior Oregon beer (and, you know, our homes and families), was too much.

We stopped for lunch and a trio of beers at 101brewing in quilcene, a quiet hamlet that puts blue cheese in their french dip.  That brilliance aside, we continued south, stopping long enough  to get soaked on a short trail hike.  Our last stop was meant to be a place in Shelton, but we arrived 20 mins prior to opening.  We gave a cursory consideration to adding in Olympia or elsewhere on the i5 corridor, but ultimately decided to point the bigfoot home.

On our way now back to where it started.  Full bellies, bruised livers, and empty wallets.  A fun 2015 beer trip in the books.  Thanks for reading, we'll see all four of our readers soon!

Little hike, big pics

A mix of a couple stops: The greenery is from a small hike in Port Ludlow, the rest is from Point No Point just across the bay from our rental.

2015 Brewery 13: Pour house (10 beers)

Propolis, chuckanut, rainy daze ipa and cider.   We actually had a lot of beers here.   None of them theirs but still a great place right on the water.  I got hot on by two hottiez while sitting at the bar.  One even wanted me to come camp in their property.

dem were some tasty pretzels

convivial #2

Making friends at pourhouse.  Very fun hangout with good taps.  Dogish head pumpkin and deschuttes abyss.  Now which one do we take home?

convivial!

I'm using my big boy words.  Port Townsend brewing had 10 brews (7 of theirs). Pretty good, though nothing remarkable.  Place was loud with locals, and we moved on quickly to pourhouse.

2015 Brewery 12: port Townsend (10 beers)

Like their beers but the first were awesome.   Talking moon Porter was smokey.  Neill liked the scotch ale and Ryan digged the bitter end ipa. 

deez beerz

port angeles beer and crab

One brewery in this port town, with only one brewed beer.  Oh well.  Went with a jubelale for a taste of home, and the we tried the super crowded crab fest.  Derrick's crab poutine looks awesome, but otherwise the place is not really our scene, and over priced.  On the road to port Townsend soon!

Sad poutine!  Who would use brown gravy and not garlic butter on crab poutine! ?!?

2015 Brewery 11: Bar Hop (4 beers)

Only one of theirs but the place was cool.   Pizza with a great view.   Scuttlebutt was the best but that's easy to find.   Their ipa was ok with good citrus taste.
They had a cool pizza menu and the location is cool.

fun fact about hiking 2000 feet in about 2 miles

It kind of sucks.  Nature, you are a beauty and all, but couldn't you make your mountains a skosh smaller?  Sincerely, my legs and lungs.

Halfway Rock. The view is not as advertised.

About to discover our legs.

View from the house & light house

This is the best part of the place.   Totally sketchy inside but this is fantastic.   Alai,  there are sea critters to see.

poulsbo 3: the sound and the blurry

Final wheel of the tricycle that was poulsbo.  The sound brewery.  Another business park spot with a casual atmosphere and lots of locals.  This place has some drinkers!  The beers were fine, but not growler worthy.  Back to downpour for their coffee-vanilla Porter, and then back to the stairs challenged homestead.

2015 Brewery 10: sound brewing (5 beers)

American stout was good and Blondes are tasty, as are the doubles.

Another industrial vibe that reminded me a lot of the new place in Milwaukee that I can't remember the name of.

They had a giant advent calendar for beer but the place looked like someone did the Reno work over a weekend.  That's right, I'm judgy as fuck.

Again,  only added for the tiny bit of Neil

poulsbo 2: revenge of the umlats

Valholl brewing (umlats in there somewhere) was a nice pub, heavy with wood and Norwegian themes, which can also describe this town.  Beers were sort of mild, like most of yesterdays brews.  Now onto the third.  What wonders will it hold?  I'm guessing beer.

2015 Brewery 9: ValHoll (4 beers)

I love the look of this place with its reclaimed wood on the walls, sheet metal on the ceiling and awesome furniture.  The brewery is in the back and it smelled amazing.  It was really humid in there though and the beers were just ok.

Yet another stop that looked more like a retirement home than bar.  I'm thinking that drinking all day during week days might actually be the problem.

Poulsbo has a bit of a Scandinavian fetish

I'LL BE BACK POULSBO

the poulsbo polka

I don't know, there are three breweries here, and I needed a name to encapsulate them.  Anywhoo, first place, slippery pig, has been had.  Very creative brews, with something called an aporkalypse making an impression on us all.  Tasty. And a feint taste of ham to carry us on to the next pub

2015 Brewery 8: slippery pig (4 beers)

Aporkalypse is a delicious tomato beer that would go great in an Bloody Mary.  I want one right now.  They also had a great rhubarb IPA that I had to buy a growlet for to fill so that I could bring it back for my old lady.

It's a good thing that the pork beer isn't easy for me to get at home.  Bad choices would be made... A lot.

The town is fucking cute as shit.  Totes want to bring the ladies back up here.

Had to add my picture for the tiny bit of Neil

we have a winner (so far)

Downpour brewing in Kingston provided us the best beer of the trip to this point.  A fantastic coffee-vanilla Porter led the way, and a return visit on our way back to the house seems on the agenda.  Cool bartender\brewer as well.  Next stop, poulsbo.

2015 Brewery 7: Down Pour. (9 beers)

The BEST beers so far.  The coffee/vanilla infused porter was amazing.  He also shared his soon to be released whiskey IPA is the best IPA I've ever had in my life.  Love me some whiskey.  Dude that runs the place and brews there is cool as hell and equivalent eye candy for the ladies that the fellas got at hood canal.

T shirts are pretty nifty.

Aaaaaah yeeaaaaahhh. Not pictured: the WIPA.

Sailing the seas of serenity

brewery one of day two

Hood canal brewery in Kingston (not Jamaica) was our first stop of the day, and a mighty nice one at that.  Friendly space with nice beers and smokey cheese and salmon.  Might earn a return trip for a growler fill.  Next stop is point no point for some hiking and general non-beerness.  I guess that's OK.  Squanch.

2015 Brewery 6: hood canal (8 beers)

Best place so far best tasting beer and has an industrial vibe.  Salmon and cheese with beer is fucking amazing and the gal gave us a free bag of mushrooms.  She was very nice and blew up her car.  I ran back at the end of the night to pick up some house beers and the place was packed.  She greeted me and about half dozen dudes gave me the stink eye, it was like live action trolling.  :)

Would totally go back.

Cheeeese and beeers

...and crackers

tasty beer found, finally

Der blokken in bremerton provided our last and best beers of the day.  Cool artwork adorned the place, though the taplist didn't match up.  Still, a growler of hef was purchased and packed away for later consumption.  On to the house!

2015 Brewery 5: Der Blokken (9 beers)

Great local bar.  Love the feel of this place as well, really reminded me of my favorite place in Vancouver.  They didn't have the porter or scotch ale that we were excited to try and the rest were "ok".  Would love to try again for the other beers.  Didn't take notes on any of them because I just didn't get the tingles in my bathing suit area.

Beers and... books? Cool vibe.

2015 Brewery 4: cash (2 beers)

None of their beers on tap.  It's like a senior center and a frat house had a baby and it was addicted to televised sports.  Seriously, why no beers of yours, and no taster options?

German boobs.

Both Ryan and his camera are having trouble focusing at this point.

sustanince in silverdale

We finally had a couple slices of fried gold, filling our bellies and providing that all important base layer for further beer consumption.  Silver city brewing provided a red robinesque atmosphere, while cash brewing is neon friendly with a complete lack of their own brews.  Still, the valholl British black on nitro is pretty tasty.  Next stop, rental home?

2015 Brewery 3: Silver City (6 beers)

I only got the IPA's (cause Ellie), I'll get her whoop ass.  I loved the guest tap but won't mention it because it wasn't one of theirs and I didn't write any notes on it... Drinking.  This place was a red robin with nicer beers and cooler swearing staff.

The waitress just said "Fuck" like, really loud.

bremerton wash out

Bremerton, you are sad and have no beer for us and your video store is closed.  We leave you now for silverdale, with no regrets.

just because you can pirate, doesn't mean you should

So, slaughter county brewing, you like pirate flags and skulls.  You also like mismatched chairs, yard sale motif, and a random weird menu.  Ok, I guess.  Maybe I'm just not down with the port orchard style.  Or with beer flavor as grey as the sky.  Anyway, we will now leave the horror flick soundtrack.  13 beers so far, in flight mode

2015 Brewery 2: slaughter house. (5 beers)

Blackberry wit and Irish stout were darn tootin good.  Not many things on tap, smelled like a pirate ship poop deck and looked like someone had told a 10 year old to go nuts and decorate a bar.  We were hungry but I sent a text to the guys telling them hellz no.  This is the place you go to if you smell like pickle.

Pirate-y kitsch and meh beers on ill-fitting planks. Now I'm sad.