2008 Quarter 3 Archive

July Research

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Deschutes Brewery

My sister Gigi came for a visit during the end of June and beginning of July. We drove her to Portland on July 4th so she could make her flight home on the 5th. For dinner, we visited the "new" Deschutes Brewery in Portland. While we just adore their commercial beers (Black Butte being the whole reason Keith began to brew), we were a little disappointed in some of the ones they served on tap. They were obviously mashed too high (for us): Keith and I were barely able to finish our snifters! Keith had their Imperial IPA, and I had the Black Butte XX. The food was okay, but nothing really notable. Try the hop-infused cheesecake with cherry puree, skip the puree and eat JUST the cheesecake.

Sister-in-Law Georgina (L) and Keith (R)
doing research at Deschutes Brewery, Portland

Hazel Dell Brewpub

Next morning, July 5, after driving Gigi to the airport and a little nap, we decided to do a beerunch. First we tried Salmon Creek and discovered that they didn't open until six p.m. That wouldn't work since we wanted to also hit some wineries that afternoon, so we headed to Hazel Dell. We had the sampler (see above) and while some were interesting (their version of the Dunkle), we ended up choosing the same beer: the Dry-hopped Red. Nice beer. Picked up two pint glasses and the stamp for the WABL passport. Oh, and lunch was pretty good too.

Salmon Creek Brewing

After visiting some wineries, (still July 5) we decided to go for dinner as opposed to heating something up in the hotel's microwave. We decided to go to Salmon Creek. I had the Golden, Keith had Brother Larry's Belgian and the Scottish (better than the Larry's) and one not-so-good nachos plate. Skip the nachos for sure! Grabbed two more glasses and a stamp here, too. :-)

Silver City Brewery

The next weekend, July 12, Karla, Chuck, Keith and I made a roadtrip to Silverdale WA. Keith wanted to drive by the stereo store there and we made a day of it. Chuck and Keith had a few of the Indianola Pale: pretty good. Karla had a Bavarian Style Hefe, she didn't really like it much. I had the Clear Creek Pale and 'Fat' Strong Scotch; I liked them both. Linner/dunch was really good. Keith and I especially liked the Classic Caesar and the pizza was excellant. Shaye was the server and it turned out that she used to work at our Bellevue Rock Bottom! They didn't have any pint glasses to sell, but we ended up with two used ones anyway (clean of course!) because she liked us. Oh, and this makes 19 in the passport!

August Research

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Big Al Brewing

Chuck made a trip to White Center. Here is his report :-)

WABL announced the grand opening of Big Al Brewing, Thursday, August 7. They have a nice facility just south of Roxbury on 14th Ave. SW. They have an outdoor "Beer Garden" which will probably be shut down by the LCB as soon as they see how open it is to the street.

The two beers offered were a Belgian Abbey Wheat and an Irish Red Ale. The Abbey had almost enough spice to carry the theme, but at 5.2% ABV and 22 IBU, it had little character compared to the real deal. The "Red" was really brown and murky looking. It didn't strike me as particularly pleasing: 6.0% ABV, 27 IBU. I like Killian's a whole lot more, and Iron Horse makes a far superior product.

They are very nice people and most accomodating. Big Al says the next beers up will be a brown ale and his IPA. Jeannie McWilliams says Al is an excellent home brewer and is confident he will improve as his equipment becomes more familiar. I feel they are definitely worth more visits, especially once they get a few more brews under their belts.

Scuttlebutt Brewing Company

WABL event on Sat, August 16th. As you can see, we had a good time! Unfortunately, I don't remember much of the beer!

Chuck and Karla (Top), Ted Garman and Chuck (Bottom) and Scuttlebutt Head Brewer, Matt

Anniversary Party, August 22

What a party! We started at 4 p.m. and ended at 12:30 a.m.! BUT WE STILL didn't blow a keg! Keith even pulled out a couple special beers: Lambic and 120 Minute IPA.

From the Left and around the table:
Friends Judith and George Juno; regular Tuesdays Mike, V, Marcela, Karla, Chuck, Craig; Choirmate Bob, and friend Martha

Cake Table: Keith made the Cheesecake and the Grand Mariner bundt, Craig brought the chocolate, and Marcela provided the fruit. Twelve people ate nearly all of them! This is a better picture of Keith and me, Judith, Mike, V, and Marcela.

New Old Lompoc

Another Chuck report!

Karla and I ventured to the New Old Lompoc in Portland after Church on Sunday, August 31. Big Richard at Dog and Pony recommended this place.  What a winner!  Located in the Northwest part of Portland near I-405, the building is in a charming old neighborhood. The place looks like it predates Prohibition: Pull chain toilets, uneven floors, dark and rustic. The beer selection is very good. LSD is the signature brew, Lompoc Strong Draft.  This rich, dark malty wonder is hoppy version of a Scotch Ale. Beautifully balanced and yummy!  6.9 % ABV.

The food is very good. The Portobello Sandwich was especially appealing. The menu surpasses most Seattle places in variety and home made TLC. Salad, soup, chips or fries accompany sandwiches. Other interesting entrees are a spicy mac and cheese, fish and chips, steak frites, Cajun chicken and a chicken mushroom pie.

The Address is 1616 SW 23rd Ave., Portland, 503.225.1855.  http://www.newoldlompoc.com/lompochome.html

There are three other locations under different names, all serving the brews but with slight menu variations.  We highly recommend more research.

September Research

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St. James Cathedral Choir BREAKFAST success!

Okay, sure... this doesn't have anything to do with beer, but Chuck wanted to have it here so that people could see what they (C&K) did for the Cathedral Choir on September 14. Chuck and I are members of the CC. While Keith isn't a member, he is a Choir-groopie and seems to take great pleasure in planning the menus for our once-a-year obligation. The brunch menu came mostly from Bobby Flay's cookbook: Mesa Grill, with a few original additions.

Menu:

Blue-Corn Blueberry Pancakes with Orange-Honey Butter and Cinnamon-Maple Syrup
Mango-Glazed Bacon
Mesa Grill Grits
Homemade Yogurt and Fresh Fruit (not in cookbook)
Sante Fe Strata (not in cookbook)
Heirloom Tomato Salsa for the strata

Lazy Boy Brewing

Keith and I took a trip to WABL's September meeting... mostly to get away on the weekend but to hand in his passport. Chuck was travelling and Karla is still in Vancouver. We met up with a few fellow WABLers and got to talking with owners Shawn and Alicia. Alicia just loved my Beerstein-purse, and she was the ONLY ONE to recognize it as a purse!

They had some great beers for us... their strong was drinking very nicely and we both seemed to stick to it (9.3 ABV, nice blend of flavors), I had a Imperial red and I think they had a megga-IPA that Keith was drinking. Apologies to the Brewery, but we had such a great time with them that we forgot what we were drinking!

Shawn had a special for the WABL members too: Case of the Porter for a knock-out price. We grabbed a case. Too bad that they had all their merchandise in Fremont that day... we would have grabbed a few pint glasses and a growler.

Oh, and Keith's prize: a growler cosie with the WABL logo.

2008 Quarter 4 Archive

October Research

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Diamond Knot Brewery and Alehouse

Okay, we have been here before but not talked about it. We decided since we not only had new passports (Chuck, we will go back...) but Chuck got one of these entertainment books and LO-AND-BEHOLD, DK was there. Great beer-unch for Sunday, October 12. We had our regular pitcher --or two-- of Industrial IPA and a great lunch. What's there to say about the Industrial? Well, if you don't know it, TRY it. OR visit their website at www.diamondknot.com.

Chuck had an Interactive Seafood grill and we had The Blue Flamer pizza. They really have a great menu and some fabulous matches to their beer. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all Brewery restaurants did that? Beer first, then "oooh... this would work with <fill-in-the-dish>!"

Anacortes Brewery

WABL's meeting for October was the 19. There was only 30 spaces available at the RockFish Grill and we were lucky to get three places. Jeannie and Kevin were there of course and not so many others that we recognized. We met some new WABLers: Chris and Melinda (I think we have seen them before actually...) and Robin and newbie Sally. The beer purse was a great hit again! I am hoping to have many others get some :-)

Brewer Paul made a really big impression on Keith and Chuck with his Malt presentation and offered four great brews in the brewery from a jocky-box for the WABL members. They were Aviator Doppelbock, Mai Oh Maibock, Belgian Trippel (special), and bourbon-barrel-aged Broadsword Scottish Ale. Keith loved the Broadsword... really loved it.

Appetizers were provided by the brewery and if anyone wanted something from the menu, obviously not a problem but wasn't free. We came home with some wings, two growlers, and bill-of-lading files that Paul was clearing out. All-in-all, a great day.

LaConner Brewing Company

Well, for dinner after the event, the three of us decided to head over to LaConner to LaConner Brewing Company since we were in the area. We had tasters of the Pilsner, IPA, and their Imperial Stout seasonal. The taster glasses are REALLY cool, tall-thin steins... we wanted to get a bunch of them to go, but forgot to ask.

We chose the stout to go with our salad and pizzas. We shared a mixed greens salad, and the Sausage and Mushroom and Smoked Salmon pizzas. All good, but we agreed that it was a bit expensive for what you got, but hey... beer was good!

November Research

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WABL's 3rd Anniversary

Saturday, November 8 marked WABL's third year! WHOOHOO! And as expected, the three of us grabbed a bus (two actually) to Seattle to the Seattle Center Rainier Room near the Space Needle -- nice place right next door to the Key Arena.

We got there early, so the line was pretty short, and watched for people we knew. It was fun sitting there, pointing at everyone coming to the queue. ANYWAY, the three of us grabbed a table and I parked while Keith and Chuck headed for the beerlines. When I got back from getting my beer... the table was FULL! Doug & Nancy joined us as well as D&P regulars Richard, Charlie, and Jeannie, and newcomer Tom. Ted and John straggled over a little later. Here is my severely, marked-up list of beers...

Naturally, we grabbed a bunch of pictures of everyone at the table too:

We saw a bunch of people we recognized from other events and even Robyn (last month's pics) was there. Keith showed her the blog... don't know if it was the beer talking or if she really does want her picture removed. Hey, if so Robyn, just email and let me know! Just click on my name in the sidebar.

After the raffles (where Chuck, Nancy, and I each won something) we were shoo'd out at 8 p.m. exactly so we decided to just hoof it to the second bus instead of guessing on the connection. On the way, we met a man who needed to get to Harbor Island to his ship. He came into town to see Seattle, and was having dinner in Belltown when someone stole his jacket. After a few hours of being stranded with no money, ID, etc., and a curfew looming, he was finally desperate enough to begin asking people for cab fare (the police and even his supervisor on the ship refused to give him a lift or help out). When we invited him to walk with us -- we could get him halfway there and he could grab a taxi at King Street, thus reducing the fare-- and tell us the whole story, Chuck and I pegged him as legit the more we walked and talked... Keith was still paranoid. As we got further away from Belltown, the man began to get worried: another person had offered to drive him to the boat but he needed to hang out until he got off work. I didn't believe that this other man was going to actually do it, but I let him off the hook. I also reached into my purse and grabbed $10. I held it up and told him our plan of getting him halfway and to a taxi, then with the ten spot he could get home since the original fare was $20. At first he didn't believe me, and as tears welled up in his eyes... I could tell he was torn and didn't know who to believe, I handed to him and said, "either way, we got you half-way... here."

He asked how to repay us, I said you don't, Chuck said to repay us by spreading the kindness and helping someone else in need, and Keith chimed in with the same: repay it by lending a hand to someone else. And with that we went on our way. Let me tell you, it certainly made for an interesting (and loud at times) conversation between the three of us on the way home!

Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company

On November 15 after my voice lesson, we decided to head east for a change. There were two on our list and we decided to start at the Falls as it was a really nice day. We all have new books you know! We had lunch with our beer: Chuck his normal soup and sandwich and Keith and I decided on the pizza. Service was slow, but the food came out okay. I had the stout on Nitro... well, two since Keith stole half. Keith had the Copperhead and Chuck indulged on the Avalanche.

Then off to the second stop on our tour:

Issaquah Brewhouse, Rogue Nation

Decided to stop on the way home since we were driving past :-) We only had a beer each and met a couple doing the same thing we were: pub-hopping! They were at Snoqualmie with us and recognized us when they walked past. So we got to talking a bit. He comes from OR and while they also have a beer association, he likes ours better. I had another stout, Keith drank a Morimoto Imperial Pilsner, and Chuck a visiting tap: Young's Special Bitter. Careful though, their stamp takes up the entire spread of your passport...

Now off to the third stop!

Malt and Vine, Redmond

Stopped for a beer pickup... yes, they are a beer and wine store (that are allowed to offer taps and tastings) for those of you who have never heard of them. Website is www.maltandvine.com. SO... we were on a hunt for something different and wanted Belgium sours. Keith and I had Ommegang Flemish Red, and Chuck had a really good lambic, the name of which escapes us all. Hey, what do you expect? We were drinking all day! Keith purchased a Brasserie DuPont Avril and a Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence 10th Anniversary for me.

No dinner that night! We were so full from Snoqualmie's pizza and all the beer that we just crashed in front of the 110" screen for a little Red Dwarf!

December Research

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2008 Winter Beer Festival!

December 5 & 6

We decided to go on Saturday, December 6th. Several of us from the Tuesdays group went (see pic below). We were able to go for the WABL hour and let me tell you, it was much better this time than last year. I thought that the age group was a lot more mature this time. R&B Brian says that towards the evening, the grouping got younger and well, in my words, more stupid. But luckily, we missed it.

Left to right: Chuck, Teri, Keith, Linda, and John

Well, our friends at Diamond Knot did not fail us. The Industrial Ho!Ho! and the Bourbon Industrial Ho!Ho! were wonderful! Industrial Ho!Ho! is their standard "winter warmer" ale, the Industrial Ho!Ho!(described by the brewer as "Ruby brown in color and slightly sweet with a fruity nose. Hoppy but balanced by the sweetness. Take that to the next level with bourbon-aged oak chips and it kicks butt!

Northern Lights from Spokane brought an interesting Winter Ale with Ahtanum and Columbus hops very forward in the product. Silver City surprised us with their lovely Winter's Noche. It was very black with a great malt backbone and enough Chinook to mask some fruity ester and the power of the high alcohol content.

Hats off to Redhook. The Double Black Stout was the best brew to come out of Woodinville in a long time. Even surprised the HELL out of Keith, he couldn't tell us what it was! Other winners included Scuttlebutt 10° Below, Baron's Liberator Doppelbock, Boundary Bay's Cabin Fever and Iron Horse's Belgian Black.

2009 Quarter 1 Archive

January Research

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Fish Brewing Co.

WABL kicked off 2009 with a great day at Fish. On January 17, John, Chuck, Keith and I piled into the little G and made our way to Olympia for the event. It turned out to be a really nice day for a drive!

We got there right on time this time (sometimes we can get a late start), and picked a table at the end of the loft so that we could see everyone. The one thing we couldn't see was the beer board, so Keith kindly took a picture for us!

I started with the pils, John had the IPA I think, and Keith headed into the Detonator Doppelbock while Chuck started with Altbier. Chuck and John had some food (we had a big breakfast). I honestly don't remember what they had, I was too busy smelling the garlic fries!

Brewer Tony ran the tour. It was really cool learning the history of their equipment! Some of that stuff has great lineage!

We grabbed a growler of the Alt for home, Chuck grabbed one too and John, just bought the logo growler from Fish --- he didn't fill it.

Harmon Brewing Company

For dinner after the event, we decided to stop for a salad and pizza at Harmon. We had the giant version of Pizza Mediterranean and the Brewhouse salad. Okay, but not their best. Beer was good: IPA and Porters. They were all out of the seasonals. Too bad!

Strange thing was happening then too: they were filming a commercial and if you wanted to sit in the dining room, you had to give your permission for filming. It looked like there were several families sitting around waiting to get on TV! They were all decked out, fully generational groups filling the larger tables. Poor kids were very bored. Harmon doesn't have a game room of any kind. Which would have come in handy... got our stamps and headed home.

Ram, University District

January 25, after church and a VERY filled weekend... I had a PJ Party on Friday and Keith (and Chuck on Friday) took care of six women, from 6:30 pm on the 23rd til 4 pm on the 24th! We needed a relaxing day and to make it up to Chuck for not going to the Strange Brewfest at Water Street in Port Townsand, we decided to try Ram in the University District. We really wanted their Kobe beef hamburger.

Much to our surprise, the menu was very different from Northgate and we just grabbed a beer and a stuffed mushroom appetizer (overcharged us for it). Keith had the stout, I had the Blonde, and Chuck had the Big Red, they were all out of their seasonals. We decided to head to Northgate but not before we made our mark on the manager. He noted Rogue's exceptionally LARGE stamp and got stamp-envy. We left with an invite to visit the brewer and get yeast and several stickers for the fridge.

Ram, Northgate

It is AMAZING just how close these two places are --- less than 5 minutes apart! Since Keith and I have been to this Ram before on many occasions, we took our regular place in the bar. When the menus came, imagine our horror to find the same ones as University District! Turns out that Corporate just gave the menus an overhaul a couple weeks before and sigh, made some radical changes to it that at least for Keith and me, were not pleasing. No more Kobe as well as dumbing down the recipes and offerings.

Despite this, we had our linner and a few good brews --- they too were out of the seasonals (couldn't change the tap since it was stuck in back and the brewer doesn't work on Sundays) --- and left in a sad funk.

We met up with fellow WABLers Louise and Scott as we were leaving and got the scoop on the Strange Brewfest... also hearing that Water Street is up for sale and didn't know if it would be around for the festival. Really sad... I wonder who will take up the slack if they do fold.

Diamond Knot Brewery and Alehouse

What can I say?

January 31 --- Great food; Better beer; and a nice talk with the brewer! Oh, and they really need to get size small sweatshirts! Not everyone who likes beer has a beer gut, you know?

February Research

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Rock Bottom, Bellevue

You know, I just realized that we have never mentioned a "report" for RB! SO here goes:

We decided to skip the WABL event scheduled for February 7th and Keith went hiking with our friends Don and Karen Howard instead. I didn't go because I am not physically able to do that kind of stuff. No worries, I stayed home and worked on my painting for George and Judith. Part of the evening was to go and see one of their favorite bands, The Senate, play at the Top of the Rock at 10pm. We went for dinner too.

Our server was none other than Richard (naturally) and I had their new wild rice and mushroom chicken (I thought it was good) with the Pale, Keith had a pizza and a Hop Bomb IPA, Karen the Bourbonzola burger, and Don opted for the Laredo with chicken. Karen and Don shared a Hop Bomb and Black Diamond Stout. All was eaten and we only had one round of beer since we were heading upstairs.

We found out that the back of the loft was reserved for a private party. RB management would not allow the band to set up until they had cleared out and as a result they were a good half-hour or more late for the gig. We really should say something about it. And much to our displeasure, several tables of the party remained and made asses of themselves. Such as life when you drink right?

I had a couple more beers (Pale of course), Keith had a stout and Don had another Hop Bomb. We had a good time with the first set, and sadly needed to cruise at 12-ish since I had choir early the next morning. We ended up missing their last two sets. But at least Karen got a CD!

Flatlander's Restaurant and Brewery

Chuck, roving reporter:
Flatlander's Restaurant and Brewery
200 Village Green
Lincolnshire, IL 60069
(847) 821-1234

The facility is right across Half Day Road (IL Hwy. 22) two miles west of I-294. The building is impressive. It looks like an old Amish barn with a vaulted ceiling in the center that must be 75 ft. high at its apex. It is spotlessly clean and has comfortable booths and chairs. I started with the 80 Schilling Ale, a Scotch Ale. It was very peaty and had a great malt backbone.  One of the best I have had.  Kylie took a sampler which consisted of the Lincolnshire Lager, Harvest Amber Ale, Honest Abe's Ale, Prairie Wheat and the 80 Schilling. 

The 80 Schilling was my clear winner,with a nice blend of peat and malt reminiscent of lagavulin.  Since Kylie doesn't tolerate anything too heavy, she gravitated to the Honest Abe.  The lager was OK but not outstanding.  The Honest Abe was pretty good and made the Amber fade by comparison.  The Wheat is nice and kind of a cross between a Hefeweissen and a Belgian Wit.  It was not an outstanding example of either but it was "drinkable." 

I ordered the Jambalaya.  I was very nice, except the seafood was a tad overdone.  The shrimp were good and the sauce and sausage were exceptionally good.  Kylie ordered the Portabello burger, a great vegetarian choice with an Asian slaw that really cut through the meatiness of the large mushroom.  The service was attentive and the staff knowledgeable concerning the menu and beers.  It probably wouldn't merit an hour's drive from the Loop, but it certainly was worth 20 minutes or so from Morton Grove.

Check them out:  http://www.flatlanders.com/index.php

Maritime Pacific Brewing Company

On February 16, when Chuck got back from Chicago, we decided to visit a brewery for President's Day and the Jolly Roger Taproom was a place that we hadn't been in a while. So we went for lunch. Keith and Chuck had sandwiches --- Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Cajun Chicken Philly respectively --- and I chose the Beef stew/ seasonal soup. Not bad on the food... very different from what I remember a few years back.

For beer though, Chuck and I had the Seasonal Maibach and Keith had the Imperial IPA (twice) with Chuck going to the IIPA on his second beer. We shared one of the IIPAs in the beer garden to make room for more customers. We were soaking up the sun watching some of the spandex mafia decide if they are going for a beer. They parked the bikes in the BG and one of them nearly ran Keith over when she decided that the wait was too long, they could go to Hale's down the road!

We discussed whether we would make that type of decision: go for a beer on a bicycle? DUDE! If you thought drinking and driving a car was dangerous, think about a bike and how much more coordination it takes to stay on the thing!

Diamond Knot Brewery and Alehouse

February 22 --- Hmm... we are beginning to see a pattern --- Pitchers of Industrial and great food and company. Not to mention some major harassment of Mike, our server, while he tried so desperately to find me some schwag! It was hilarious discovering that the ladies small was fit for a nine-year old, the medium was just a bit longer, and the large barely made it around my bust! We ended up with a men's small and a ladies XL in red for me, Keith and Chuck both got long-sleeve Ts in black.

We will continue to bug them for a small sweatshirt... maybe we can prepay for it!

Elliott Bay Brewhouse & Pub

February 28 was a bad day for the guys: they were supposed to brew but the grain mill freaked out. Then the batteries in Keith's drill died and Chuck's drill died. They went out looking for another corded drill (our friend Jeff has ours) and decided that they wouldn't waste the money, they would just move the brewing date to March 1 after church. We went to lunch instead. Despite that I gave up all alcohol for Lent, I suggested that we head to Burien to go to Elliott. And to help Keith blow off some steam, he acquiesced to write for this trip and the remaining February excursions. Take it away Keith! -- ts

Well, what is there to say? The food is pretty much always really good (or better), and the beer is, well, beer. IMO, Elliot Bay doesn't stand out as a great brewery. Sure, they do a good job, but I am never really inclined to drink any of the beers. Every one of the beers I have had there really just strike me as "unremarkable" (in the sense that beer of that quality/imagination can be had in very many places). My big thing is; I don't look for "ordinary" beer. I want to be wowed... I want my taste buds challenged. I never seem to find "wow" at Elliot Bay.

So I ordered the Maritime Pacific Brewing Imperial IPA which they had on cask. It was much better than the beer Chuck had. I think that beer was called "Riot Ale" or something. Couldn't really figure out why they think the beer is an "imperial IPA"; we thought the beer was quite misbalanced -- not nearly enough hops. It seemed more like an overweight American pale ale -- and even at that, it was still way too low in hops.

Wanting to fare on the light side, I ordered the soup & salad combo with the chili. Sadly, it was unremarkable for $10, which is very unusual for them. Teri had the chilli and a blue-cheese, bunless burger, and Chuck just had the chilli.

Baron Brewing

On the way to Seattle proper, I was watching traffic and noticed that we were going to be stopping for a drawbridge and suggested, that if Baron was open, we could stop in. -- ts

At Baron Brewing, I was (of course) immensely disappointed that the Hellesbock was not available , so I "settled" for a glass of their schwarzbier, which, believe it or not, I don't recollect trying before. The beer is a nice dark brown color, smells quite malty and tastes even more malty -- a little too malty (for me), but then I have a penchant for DRY beers. But, I'm no expert at beer: I just know what I like.

After my schwarz, I ventured into the CutThroat "red" ale that Jeff is now brewing under his new non-German-beer-making label: Three Skulls Ales. Not too bad, but I'm not sure I'd call it a "red" ale, maybe a nice (actually *very* nice) amber ale. It rather reminded me of Alaska Brewing's African Amber -- before it became the sugary swill it is today... To tell the truth, I rather thought the beer lacked any yeast character. My initial reaction was that it was fermented with Wyeast 1056/WhiteLabs WLP001/Safale US05!

Laughing Buddha/Trade Route &
Schooner Exact Brewing

Right around the corner from Baron is (was?) Laughing Buddha. They were still open and we said "what-the-hell-lets-stop-too." Chris was a really great host! AND I got a LB collector's t-shirt.-- ts

On to Laughing Buddha/Trade Route Brewing. Unfortunate about the name; those Aussies can be real headstrong... [Don't ask me how I know. Really.] In any case, I've been quite shy about this brewery in the past. I've had several of their beers in bottles and at festivals, such as the Mango pale ale, and while I thought the beer was okay, it just didn't work for me -- it's not a bad beer, mind you, just not something that I'd ever drink with any regularity. But a few of my friends really love it.

So the cool guy attending us, Chris, offered us tastes of two beers, a new IPA that they were working on (which was pretty good), a Schooner Exact IPA (which was also pretty good), and a taro root ale that they were working on. Not too bad either, once you get past the "it smells like water chestnuts" aroma...

I ordered a pint of the Dragon King lager. Now that is an EXCELLENT beer. Since we've just been really starting to brew BoPils, this beer was a nice treat. I questioned Chris about it... The batch we had was made with Saaz. They were working on switching their recipe to Hallertauer. We'll see how that works. I know I'll go back to give it a try! [Chuck took home a growler of Dragon King... If I had remembered to bring a growler, I might have as well.]

March Research

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Red Hook Brewery

Okay, we wanted to try something different, so on March 7th we headed to Woodinville and had beerunch at Red Hook. Despite the immense crowds, we were seated right away. Both Keith and Chuck went for the unfiltered Blackhook Cask that they made for the Cask Festival... nothing else floated their boat that was available. Both thought it was okay.

The service was less-than stellar. The waitron got Keith's order wrong and largely ignored us after we pointed it out, so much so that Keith filled my water glass! Food was still good: Chuck had the soup and sandwich, Keith had a bunless burger with a salad, and I had an enormous bowl of chilli.

Malt and Vine, Redmond

They wanted a better beer so we stopped by Malt and Vine. Keith had a New Belgium Grand Cru and Chuck the St. Bernardus ABT 12 while they perused the refrigerated cases looking for something to take home. Once we got home though, they dove right into the Nearly Nirvana.

Naked City Taphouse

Well, with nothing to brew because the grinder is still in the shop, we decided to try out Jeff Smiley's new place, Pillager's Pub in Greenlake on Saturday March 14. We were thinking of doing lunch there too. Not too good of an idea though, they didn't open until 3! I just happened to read that Naked City was just next door and suggested that we head over there. Okay so they aren't exactly *next* door, more like down the block and across the street.

Seating was open so we sat at the bar. The bartender Jeb, was quite the host. He kept my water filled and seemed genuinely interested in the guys' beer talk. So much so that they kept getting tasters of new beers including a cask taste slated for the festival. Keith had two beers: Naked City's Dubbel and Anacortes Amnesia Imperial IPA... he seemed to like them. Chuck had an ** and **. For lunch, Chuck did a cup of soup and a Ruben and Keith and I shared the meat plate and Landjaeger. While Chuck was okay with his, we thought ours was too expensive for what we got.

We will definately be back for the beer and company though!

Pillagers Pub

Okay, so we were the first ones in after our lunch at Naked City. They were still setting up a bit... naturally since they had just opened the night before! And it was fun shooting talking to Jeff about what his plans were for the pub. Keith and Chuck had a few beers (me on the water again) and Keith continued to harrass Jeff for the Hellesbock --- finally, Jeff told him that if he joined the Mug club, he'd give him the recipe! Keith had the Liberator Doppelbock and the Maibock (Jeff said that this one is very, very close to the Helles). Chuck had the Uberweiss and the Liberator Doppelbock also, with me on my water again.

Then we were off to go shopping for dinner: Moussakka! But promised to come back again.

Since the next day was Sunday (March 15) and I could drink again, we decided to go back... but even after a nice pizza at TuttaBella, we still needed to waste some time. We headed up to Diamond Knot for a pitcher and then back to Pillagers. This time, we brought with us my scull mug from Treasure Island in Las Vegas. WHAY cool schwag that we wanted to suggest for their mug club mug...

Issaquah Brewhouse, Rogue Nation

Sunday, March 22, we were in the mood for a burger. Seattle joints were all closed so we headed back to the eastside. We thought perhaps XXX but they were having another car rally and we didn't feel much like braving the crowds EVEN if we had a coupon from Chuck's entertainment book. So we went to the next best place for a burger: Issy.

Chuck got his weener again and Keith and I split a burger. I had the White Frog wit and Keith stuck with the Shakespeare and Morimoto. Chuck had a Hoppy Frog IPA and a wit. Afterwards, Chuck and Keith transferred all the beers around and then Chuck headed home to start making dinner for his Carepartner's Birthday party. Keith and I prepped for our own dinner then headed out to Greenlake to visit Pillagers again.

Pillagers Pub

Yes, again... only this time, we got into their MugClub: punch cards that go to 50 pints. Only problem is that Jeff has yet to decide on the "prize" for filling up one if the cards and they are so far away that it makes little sense to go weekly. Sigh.

Northern Lights Brewing

Chuck, roving reporter:

Dinner there two nights in a row (3/29 and 3/30). Sunday night I wanted just something simple and opted for a Brat with soup. The brat was simply huge! It was served on a bun that was even bigger I ate a small corner of the bun and whole brat. The brat was pretty much the American version with mainly pork and a little veal, but with the potato leek soup it filled and satisfied. I stuck with the IPA, which was not on the last trip through. It is great! I picked up a growler to bring home on the way out of town. I stopped the following night for dinner with a business associate and he was equally impressed. He had a sirloin steak, which looked very nice and had decent sides of garlic mashed and roasted veggies.  Second picture was taken by our waitress and shows me with my friend Ray Lindeman from Cleveland, OH.

Coeur d'Alene Brewing

Chuck, roving reporter:

Coeur d'Alene Brewing is a delightful brew pub close to the shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene. It was too early on 3/31 for dinner so we just drank. The menu was interesting and the food looked good. Interviewing the locals led me to believe there is a loyal following and even folks from Spokane and Northern Montana frequent the place. The Rockford Bay IPA was not dry hopped and although it was nice, it was unremarkable compared to others I had on this trip. Better candidates were the Scotch Ale, the Centennial Pale Ale and the Vanilla Bourbon Stout. Will stop for lunch or dinner next time.

2009 Quarter 2 Archive

April Research

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Flathead Lake Brewing Company, Woods Bay, MT

Chuck, roving reporter: April 1: Flathead Lake Brewing is a terrific find just south of Kalispell, MT. The laws in Montana are as strange (but in a different way) as Washington's when it comes to alcohol regulation. The trick here is no food service is apparently allowed at the brewery. Prepared snacks, such as chips, popcorn or sausages like Lanjaeger can be sold. You may only purchase four pints in any establishment per day. They actually give you a punch card or numbered and dated tickets at the door before you go to the bar. Enough ranting, now on to the beer!

I brought home a growler of their Roy's Imperial IPA, an exceptionally good example of Pacific Northwest style and 9.0 % ABV. Teri and Keith were also impressed. I also tried and much enjoyed their Mile 26 English Brown Ale fermented on English Ale yeast and hopped with Fuggles and EKG, yummy! The Whitecap Pale Ale offers a less alcoholic alternative to the IPA (5.5 % ABV) and plenty of hop flavor if you like the citrus of Cascade.

Kettlehouse Brewing, Missoula MT

Chuck, roving reporter: April 2: Another brewery/tasting room. The bartender, Kevin, (I think) pictured was a heck of a fellow. He offered me a sticker for the beer fridge and a Bongwater bumper sticker. They made a "Bongwater" IPA and Porter with some hemp in the brew. ATF sued them and has prohibited them from making any more hemp tinged beers. Pale ale was very good, as was their other IPA. I only got a taste of the IPA before they blew the keg. The Maibock was very nice and the Porter was OK.

Bayern Brewing, Missoula MT

Chuck, roving reporter: April 2: The Baron Brewing of Montana. The college kids were all at Kettlehouse and the seasoned beer drinkers were at Bayern. The Schwarzbier was heavenly. The Pilsner was pretty good and the Amber was fair. The Maibock was nice, too. Boy, I had my fill of German beer for the month! They had decent but pricey Landjaeger. 

Black Raven Brewing Company

April 9th, Keith took John up on his invite to join him at the un-official opening at Black Raven. Lynda joined them. (and later again with me on the 17th because of Lent). Here's a pic...

Lynda Nishimoto (L) and John Owens (R)
doing research at Black Raven Brewing Company, Redmond
(pic by Keith off my phone)

May Research

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Big Brew, May 2

As always, the annual "Get-a-friend-to-brew-for-you" Day went well. Marcela showed up just after Chuck and was Chuck's brew-buddie. Keith was busy in the kitchen with cake, cheese-making, and other dinner prep... Marcela made pancakes for breakfast and by noon, we had about six people hanging around.

Alecia, Marcela, and I took a break to go meet up with a friend of Marcela's at Seattle Wine company and head over to Mountain HomeBrew to get a wine-making kit for sunday (Keith and Marcela were planning on making wine). I wasn't drinking any wine since I was still on beer, and the winemaker from Efeste (Brennen Leighton) began picking on me saying that I was a light-weight and couldn't hold my liquor. OOOhhh --- mistake, after I explained to him that I cannot mix my drinks: lighter alcohol content to stronger is the only way to go, I threw down the gauntlet and invited him to our house for the remainder of the Big Brew where I could proceed to drink him under the table (20 gallons on tap, 45 cases in the wine cellar, and a nicely stocked liquor cabinet).

Alecia and Marcela did most of the goading though... and he backed down, admitting that he can't drink beer because of the bloating and gas-pain. Marcela then proceeded into the alpha amylase discussion that Keith likes to use and he seemed really impressed with it. He asked our names and when I very dramatically pulled out my really cool box-card, and invited him again ("Address is there..."), he mumbled something about needing to get to the winery. I even told him that we might be compelled to open a Pride Reserve. He didn't look like he knew what it was and I even had to say, "Pride Mountain Vineyards"! We left laughing and headed to Mountain to get the Johannesburg riesling for the next day.

Attendee's were: K-C-T (naturally), Marcela, Alecia, Lynda, Dr. Bob, Mike, V, Craig, Craig's cousin, Kirsten, Mike, and Raj (although I didn't get shots of everyone). The party went until 10 p.m. and we all had a good time.

Dad Watson's, Fremont

After Church -- and a scary bout with Bach -- on Mother's Day we decided to have some lunch in Seattle and since Marcela was thinking of racking the wine, we headed over to Dad's. Marcela walked over (she lives directly behind the place) and joined us. We visited and discussed the plan for the day.

All of us had the IPA... nice drinking beer and not so heavy as some are leaning towards lately. We had few pints and then a pitcher . Keith ordered the reuben and I had fish and tater tots. Marcela had a burger and Chuck soup and sandwich. We decided that since the wine was still happily gurgling away that we could afford to wait and would head over to some wine tastings instead. On the way, we decided to Mom-nap our friend Jan and got to three places before they closed:

Gordon Brothers Cellars
Matthews Cellars
XS Vintners

Gordon's was NOT to our liking, the others... well, Keith and I got six bottles at Matthews and four from XSV. We decided we wanted bubbles afterwards and couldn't think of a winery in the area that made sparkling wine outside of Michelle, so we called Jan's husband Jeff and asked him to put a couple on ice for us. The five of us then went to Jan's for bubbles and crackers before heading home. All and all, a fun day... Bach, beer and wine, and a few good friends. AND we made a Happy Mother's day for Jan!

Black Raven Brewing Co.

WABL's May event was hosted by Black Raven! Huge thanks go to Beaux, Kat, and Andy for hanging out with Keith and me until after midnight! Shooting the breeze and drinking beer are a few of the better things in life. And yes, we are still welcome back :-)

Presented to us WABLers who signed up before they closed the event seating --- sorry they locked the door John --- was a Jockey Box with a nicely drinking Golden (I believe it is the same one that they brewed for Malt and Vine called Vertigenwoordigen voor de Oostkant) although we agreed that Keith's version smells better :-), and their Trickster IPA. Finger foods and delivery were available and we all got a nice logo glass too! Not to mention the way-cool part of sitting INSIDE the brewery for the presentations and tour.

June Research

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Washington Brewers Festival

June 20, Keith, Chuck, and I headed off to the park. We brought with us a few chairs and the picnic table. Don and Karen came too and brought with them a couple of their friends, Aaron and Brandi. We got a bit toasted from both the SUN and the beer (hehehe) and they all signed up for WABL. There were 32 IPAs! Can you imagine?

Like always, we scored the beers that we tried from 1-5. Keith and Chuck gave fives to Ninkasi Brewing Co (Eugene OR), for the Tricerahops Double IPA, and Trade Route Brewing Co (Formerly Laughing Buddha) for their critter beer, Sweet & Sour. My five went to Rock Bottom Bellevue for the Black Cherry Saison. Chuck also gave that one a five. On Tuesday, Brian gave us a couple growlers of the left overs.

After the festival, everyone came over to the house to have dinner. It was a really big spread as always, and Karen and Keith did a great job! Way too much beer and food! I gained five pounds!

Volunteering on June 21 was a blast! Keith made tons of cookies and we shared with as many people as we could. He made a few friends through those cookies! Most memorably Janis and Estrellita, who just plain fell in love with Keith's Cowboy Cookies. Okay, they weren't his per se, they were First Lady Bush's cookies and he didn't like the way they turned out. But everyone else liked them!

WA Brewers Fest Volunteer Appreciation Party

The Beer Authority hosted a party to celebrate and thank the WABL volunteers that helped out. Saturday June 27th, after a light lunch at Metropolitan Market over by Chuck house (and dropping the car off at his condo), we headed over to Jabu's Pub for the 2:30 party. Not many showed, which surprised us since the beers that they were poring were gratis. On tap were the Industrial IPA from Diamond Knot and Iron Horse's Quilter's Irish Death. Both really great, high octane beers.

Janis and Estrellita from the ticket booth showed as well as Ted, and we ended up getting a booth. There were vote-in contests for various things, such as "The most funny thing that happened" and "Mr./Mrs. Congeniality" -- which Keith won because of his cookies! The party was only for two hours but somehow Ted got hammered, and we mean HAMMERED. Keith and I took him home with us and made sure that he lived through the night. He was having a really bad week.

2009 Quarter 3 Archive

July Research

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Pillagers Pub, WABL event

Pillagers hosted their first WABL event on July 16th, at 7 p.m. Keith and I headed out over an hour early to meet up with Chuck. They were tapping their Baron Kolsch... it took us over an hour to get there from Bellevue! We just couldn't believe it! Turned out that Chuck had just arrived minutes before we did, so it wasn't too bad for him. It was kind of sad that not a whole lot of WABLers showed... Jeannie and Robert were all that I recognized. It has been a while since we made a stop in Greenwood, mostly because of traffic and it was good visiting with Jeff for a while. I know that if more people had showed, that wouldn't have been possible... so we stayed for a good long time: I think we left at 10!

Goose Island Brewing Company, Chicago IL

http://www.gooseisland.com/

Chicago Visit: July 30: After our meeting with our Best Man from our wedding and hanging out in Millennium Park for a great few hours we met up with Mike after work.

Gisella, Kevin, and Baby Elliott (eigth weeks at the time)
having an ice cream social at Millennium Park

We decided to stop at Goose Island on the way home and Mike treated us to the water taxi so that we could make the train. We got off at the Clybourn station and trekked for over 40 minutes to get to the pub! We SO needed beer by the time we got there!

Keith and I got a sampler: Golden Goose Pilsner; India Pale Ale; Celebration Red; and Pere Jacques Belgian (which Keith calls a "barely-Belgian"). I ended up with the not-the-IPA since it was really light and more like a pale ale, and Keith decided to just have the Inspiration Stout (tapped that evening). Mike stuck with the Honker's Ale. For dinner, Mike and I shared a burger called the "Tallgrass" and he told me that I could have it anyway I liked, so I ordered it medium-rare. The look on his face was priceless, and we could guess that he had never had a burger done that way. It was a 1/2lb, grass-fed beef with beer-fed bacon, cheese, house-pickled onions, and a fried duck egg on top. I got a side salad and Keith ordered a chicken sandwich and salad.

AWESOME burger, but wow... the bill was big! Turned out that Mike fell in love that night and went back without us twice more. By then he was eating the whole burger himself! Mike caught us a cab for the ride back to the train station, otherwise we would have been there all night!

TGI Friday's, Wheeling IL

Chicago Visit: July 31: Dinner with Mandy, Keith's sister, and Tony, my "little" brother. Keith suggested that we go some place close and he chose TGI Friday's in Wheeling, just down Lake-Cook Road from Mike and Tony. Tony came with us and I was glad that he did! HE was the one to recognize Mandy! Keith walked right by her!

Our tron Sabrina let us sit and visit awhile, and when we finally decided on at least getting appetizers, she was ready. We also decided to get a pitcher of margaritas since the beer list was quite disappointing and ended up with so much ice that when we finished it, the ice STILL reached the top of the pitcher -- despite the fact that it had started to melt. We were all really disappointed and Mandy took back the pitcher to the bar to point out that it was not what was expected. She succeeded on scoring us another pitcher gratis. It helped that she arrived over an hour early and was hanging in the bar with the manager!

Mandy Seitz (L) Keith, me, and "little brother" Tony (R)
having a reunion at TGI Friday's in Wheeling

We did finally order dinner and it went fairly well --- read too filling for us --- but we all agreed that bigger tables were needed for parties of four! Poor Sabrina though, was she ever freaking about the whole thing not going perfectly!

August Research

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Flatlander's Restaurant and Brewery

http://www.flatlanders.com/

Chicago Visit: August 6: Okay, this time Keith, my dad, Brad, and my mom, Dottie, and I went to visit Flatlander's. We didn't have a full-blown meal there since we had just had Portillo's for lunch -- so this was mostly a beer run. We had a sampler: Lincolnshire Lager; Brayden's Red Ale; Jackson Wit; Flatlander's IPA; and Locomotive Stout. We were not too impressed. These brewers really need to make a trip to the great NW and discover what an IPA should be or break the midwest mold and brew a real IPA in complete disregard to the area's swill-drinkers. Education is everything!

I ended up getting the red and to our surprise so did Mom. Keith had the stout. It was here that we decided that my mom is a hobbit. Despite just having two Portillo's dogs not an hour before, she just had to get 20 of the 25-cent hot wings!

Goose Island Brewing Company

http://www.gooseisland.com/

Chicago Visit: August 10: Back again to Goose for a last dinner with Mike. We had hoped to get there with Mom, Brad, Gigi and Ben, but Mike overslept on Sunday. No matter... Keith and I hit the Art Institute and OH-MA-GAHD, it WHOMPS the living crap out of the SAM. You know, for a city that calls itself an art-mecca, Seattle is really LAME!!! Anyway...

We met Mike again, and this time we took the light rail to Clybourn --- much cheaper at $2.25 and only had to walk three blocks! We were originally going to meet up with Mike's neighbor Elliott and his wife, Kirsten, but they didn't show and we plowed ahead on our own. Mike had his usual pints of Honker's Ale, I had the Goose Pils and Keith had a pils and two Matilda Reserves. Mike and Keith ordered the Tallgrass burger, and I decided on the fish & chips. Mike STILL has dreams of that burger! It looks like it is only going to be on the menu through August, so he'd better make the most of it!

Oh, here's Mike in front of "his" building:

http://www.childrensmemorial.org/newsroom/web-cam.aspx

Issaguah Brewhouse --- Rogue, WABL event

August 24, Chuck came over to the house to grab us... it was on his way anyway :-) around 5:30-ish. The event started at 6 p.m. and we arrived just in time. We met up with Ted at his really choice booth in the newer wing of the Brewhouse. This is the first time we sat there and it is very much a banquet area. Lisa went on vacation so Louise and Dennis filled in for her. I wasn't able to get a new passport (the one thing she forgot to give them) but I was able to renew and get my mug and new t-shirt.

Dave Hutchinson, "Hutch", the resident brewer at IBR (shown with his new t-shirt after just having joined WABL) was our gracious host. His setup is only 15 barrels, up from 5 and he is nearly always brewing the White Frog and Menage A Frog to keep up with demand. I didn't get any pictures of the nice wooden barrels that he has sitting outside the room, but we cannot wait to taste the critter beer currently residing inside! He tapped his seasonal pumpkin and wow! I liked it very much... not overly spiced like the others are normally. It needs another week to get really good.

We decided to have dinner and discuss the next evening's tapping party at our house. I had a couple pints of Morimoto Soba Ale and I think Keith stuck with the White Frog and Younger’s Special Bitter. Sad, I don't remember what everyone else had for beer or food: there were too many beers going around at our table as well as too much talk about Tuesday! Then Chuck gets an email from United about his Chicago trip: he messed up on the date! Instead of leaving on Wednesday, he was leaving before the party!

Most everything was great except my chicken was WAY undercooked and we alerted the kitchen. Much to our surprise, not only was the chicken was removed from our bill, but the manager handed me $30 in Rogue Hopoes. We tried to argue since I did eat most of the sandwich, that all we wanted to do was alert them to the potential problems. But in the end, it was Ted who convinced us to just accept it. He asked Keith this question: if it was your house, how would you feel about it?

Our friends know us too well, we graciously accepted the effort. We will be seeing them again.

Tapping Party --- Keith's and Chuck's new beers

Well, without Chuck we were not too sure how things were going to go. A couple of the RSVPs dropped out! This was the menu:

Seared piquillo peppers stuffed with Roncal cheese
Lentil salad with blue Valdeon cheese
Jacques Pepin's Paella
Chocolate toast

Surprisingly, we had eleven people! Okay, that includes me and Keith but has always done... A few people showed that we didn't think would: Marcela came despite her back problems and both Jeffs made it, Hurray! Jeff H said the Golden was the best one he has ever had! Dorothy played her recital pieces and everyone was impressed with the show, especially Craig :-)

It came really close to being a renaissance salon!

Flyer's Restaurant & Brewery

Friday, August 28th, Keith and I headed up to Mount Vernon to our Karen's and Don's for a BBQ. It was kind of an end-of-summer, back-from-vacation, Don's-bday type of thing and we decided that rather than drive home so late at night, we would get a room at Skagit Ridge Hotel again. This way we could visit Judith and George in Oak Harbor and deliver their painting. I painted a picture of their beloved Mocha, who recently passed on. ANYWAY, we decided to do lunch at Flyer's before heading home on Saturday.

They have a very interesting take on nachos: basket of chips and a cast-iron pan of melted cheese and toppings. We liked it! George, Keith and I had their Pilot Stout (we think --- their website is down right now) and Judith had a schooner of the Afterburner IPA. Keith and I shared a pizza and he had a second pint with the IPA. Judith had the coconut prawns and George the smoked salmon penne. We headed back to their house for more visiting and the little G ended up getting a dead battery! Keith forgot to turn off the auxiliary power after he opened the sunroof and poof... ran out of juice in two hours. Luckily for us, George had a big SUV and heavy-duty jumpers. We didn't have dinner that night!

September Research

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Rock Bottom Bellevue, WABL event

September 17th! A freaking Thursday. Chuck and I have choir! Okay, I got sick and wasn't even able to go to Choir. Keith met up with Mike, V, and Lynda. Here is the scoop:

Well, what is there to say? I was extremely disappointed with this event. By far, it was the worst WABL "party" I've ever attended. Complete chaos and disarray. I don't know if it was just cleverly planned to coincide with their new beer release party or whether Rock Bottom corporate told them they couldn't do anything different, but it really sucked. I was a shame, really. I was really hoping for a brewery tour.

On the upside the beer was pretty good. It was all the usual suspects plus the newly tapped Rocktoberfest and Fresh Hop Ale. The Rocktoberfest was quite tasty, if a bit young. I did not try the Fresh Hop Ale, but others reported that it was quite mediocre. Mind you those people (you know who you are!) are all die-hard NW IPA bigots. [And I say that in the most endearing way!] So the beer was probably quite drinkable as a pale ale. I'll give it a try the next time I'm at the Rock and update this page with my impressions.

"A case for wine" Section

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For anyone interested in our new foray into winebrewing/making, I decided to write about it in a section on the brewin' page. This page will be a complete quarter of reports instead of tabs like for the beer sections. It will also join the archive at the end of the beer adventures. (Here it is as promised!)

On June 28 of this year, Keith made his first wine. We decided that it would be much cheaper for us to make our dailies than to continue to purchase them from the store. Besides, our financial advisor will be most appreciative when we start handing over a few extra bucks.

And in true "What's Brewin'" fashion, I will report on a real unique find in Chicago.

Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant

http://www.coopershawkwinery.com/

Chicago Visit: July 31: Friday, we decided our feet/ankles needed a rest and chose not to visit the Shedd Aquarium (I know, we could have gotten a wheelchair, but we were too tired to push it!). Instead, we went looking for a gym in South Barrington called "Xsport Fitness." We were going to look for a late lunch along the way and found Cooper's Hawk just across the parking lot from the gym! It sounded intriguing and we stopped. The idea is the same for our restaurant/brewery combos, only this is wine. They offer ALL of their wines as free tasters as well as by the glass. The wine is made locally with grapes sourced from California, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, and Michigan by winemaker, Rob Warren. Take a gander at the website for the full jist, but be warned: the site is FLASH.

Keith had the Pepperjack Cheese with Jalapeno Bacon Burger, and I chose the Fried Green Tomato BLT. We had a couple flights on top of the regular glasses. Here is a list of the wines that we had that day:

Pinot Noir	Sangiovese	Merlot
Barbera	Petit Syrah	Cabernet Zinfandel
Zinfandel	Blanc de Blanc	Almond Sparkling

OH, and they make their own chocolate! Wonderful!

After our lunch outing, we walked over to the gym and got a tour from Billy, the general manager. We were looking for Precor's AMT specifically, and we were so impressed with him and the facility, that we signed up for the weekly guest pass -- he promptly extended the pass for the entire time we were in town. What great customer service, too bad we only made it there once.

Chicago Visit: August 7: Wheeling location... After a hugely disappointing RAIN day at Six Flags Great America (don't dwell on it Gigi, it wasn't your fault!), we tried a brewery (so unremarkable we don't even remember the name) on the way home. Nobody had beer and we only grabbed appetizers as we tried to decide what to do for dinner. Brad, Mom, Gigi, Ben, Keith, and I just sat their trying to warm up. Brad needed to go back to the hotel because his leg was in a really bad way... everyone else wanted to change and get a warm shower. Nothing came to us while we sat there, and we just headed back to Mike's. We arrived just as Mike and Tony pulled up.

Despite sitting at Mike's for a good couple hours, nothing came out of that meeting either but Cooper's Hawk or Keith cooking. Brad decided that he wouldn't be joining us (he was sleeping anyway), and Mom, Gigi, Ben, and Keith went with him to get Ben's car from the hotel. I waited for Tony and Mike to get ready and then we headed to Cooper's Hawk in Wheeling. Tony drove himself (he didn't really fit in Dee's mustang) and Mike came with me.

Once there, Mike treated for two tastings and Tony left... he wanted a little less wine I guess... Here are the wines that Mike and I (when Keith showed up, Mike let him finish it) tried there:

Blanc de Blanc	Sauvignon Blanc	Chardonnay
Riesling	Shiraz	Primitivo
Lux Cabernet Sauvignon	Sweet Red

Dinner was great! I won't list what everyone ate since it would get quite long, but Mike treated. He sold his time-share that day and wanted to celebrate, he also toasted our 15th.

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And now for something completely different!

For our wine research I am going to just list the wineries (and one-to-five star ratings of them) which we visited over the weekends. Most of the time, there is just too much to talk about and if you are looking for a wine-weekend, it's a quick glance to let you know which ones to hit. You can then ask about which wines are ones that shouldn't be missed.

August 15 weekend
Smasne Cellars (club members) *****
Gård Vintners (club members) ****
Alma Terra Wines ***
Red Sky Winery **
Alexandria Nicole Cellars ***

August 21 (anniversary)
Chateau Ste. Michelle (club members)*****
Bookwalter Winery ***
Mark Ryan Winery ****
Smasne Cellars (club members) *****
---Lori even brought out cheese and crackers to celebrate our anniversary!
Gård Vintners (club members) ****
Alma Terra Wines ***