Sunday, July 19, 2009

Breckenridge Brewery and Pub, Denver, CO

Since we had the shuttle for later, we figured we could have another
beer or two, so we set out to Breckenridge to try the vanilla porter
and their small batch beers.

We got the 471 Extra ESB, which had an interesting savory flavor to it
(umami anyone?) but had a super bitter long finish, very appropriate
for the style. The vanilla porter was one of the best porters we've
had and was exactly what we expected: nice and roasty with coffee and
nuts, and goes down with a super sweet vanilla finish. It almost
tasted like chugging vanilla extract, which may be too much for some,
but we loved it.

After splitting a delicious bison burger with our beers, we headed
back to the hotel to rest up before the long drive through the Midwest
on Sunday.

Overall, a great few days in Colorado and we'll definity be back.
We're already in Iowa as we write this, but we'll send another update
once we get back to civilization (i.e. Chicago). We didn't feel the
need to post a picture since we're pretty sure you all know what a
corn field looks like. Talk to you from Goose Island.

Great Divide Brewing, Denver, CO

After checking into yet another hotel for Saturday night, we took the
free shuttle into the city straight to Great Divide. The brewery is a
bit smaller than we expected, but they do make solid beers. The small
taproom had a couple of great bartenders and we took advantage of the
free tasters of most of the lineup. As expected, Sarah enjoyed the
Titan IPA, but the Denver Pale was a nice surprise. Chris liked the
15th anniversary ale, along with the Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti. Another
great brewery and we're glad we'll be able to pick these up on the
east coast.

Since the night was young, we walked a couple blocks to Breckenridge.

New Belgium, Fort Collins, CO

New Belgium is best known for their very drinkable amber, Fat Tire.
But they also make a great variety of other styles, including sours.
Sours? Sign us up.

Even though we got there at 11 am, all the tours for the day were
full, so we just started standing around waiting for a table, when we
heard the guide asking for two last-minute additions. Chris' arm shot
up and we were in!

The tour was very cool as they showed the progression from Jeff's
original equipment all the way to the 200-barrel system they employ
now. After learning a good bit about the corporate culture, we were
given a private tasting room to enjoy most of their lineup (for FREE),
including 5 of their premium Lips of Faith series. This was the second
time we've had La Folie on tap on this trip and it's better and better
each time. You know it's a great beer when you're still talking about
it hours later! So we picked up a few bottles of La Folie and the
Transatlantique Kriek, saving these all for special occasions.

Unfortunately no time to stay in Fort Collins so we shot down I-25 to
Denver for the night.

Avery Brewing, Boulder, CO

After almost three weeks on the road, we made it to Avery, hoping for
some monster beers. Unfortunately, no big beers were on tap besides
Hog Heaven, but we got to try some that we'd never seen in Seattle
including the 15th anniversary and a couple others.

The highlight was the tour. Phil was the most technically
knowledgeable guide we've had to date and he even showed us the barrel
aging room where a few great beers are coming down the line, hopefully
later this year. We can't wait for these!

After the tour, they tapped Black Sabbath, which was one of the
brewers' home-brewed stout with cocoa nibs. It was on par with Out of
Bounds Stout and perhaps the best beer we had on the day.

After that, we stopped at Chipotle for our first big meal since
Malibu, and then back to the hotel in Longmont for another night of
rest. After not watching tv in weeks, our eyes were immediately glued
to Talladega Nights for the evening. "Shake and bake!"

Mountain Sun Brewery, Boulder, CO

Sarah was feeling a bit better, so Friday we headed over to Boulder.
While waiting for Avery to open, we stopped by Mountain Sun to try a
couple beers based on locals' recommendations. We got tasters of
FYIPA, Colorado Kind Ale, and Isadore Java Porter, the latter two both
being on nitro. The java porter was a great example of a nice coffee
porter and the others were both decent Colorado beers. The restaurant
had a cool Boulder atmosphere and we're glad we stopped in.

Left Hand Brewing, Longmont, CO

I decided I had a little time left in the evening, so headed around
the block to Left Hand Brewing's tasting room. I had a few tasters of
Sawtooth ESB and 400 lb Monkey (both on cask), as well as St Vrain,
Black Jack Porter, and the imperial stout both plain and aged in a
brandy barrel.

Overall, the beer wasn't anything to die for, but the maltier brews
were the highlights. I also have to mention that the atmosphere was
great and the bartenders were knowledgeable and fun to talk to. I even
ended up staying after closing to taste a Victory Wild Devil with
them. It's an interesting IPA with brettanomyces in it and I'm excited
that Victory will be in my new backyard.

Left Hand was definitely a fun place to kill a couple hours before
getting a good night's rest at a hotel.

The Tasty Weasel at Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont CO

After getting a hotel and Sarah resting up for the night, I decided to
head out to the tasting room at Oskar Blues Brewery. In my defense,
the hotel was only 1.3 miles away so I could get to her if she needed
anything. Beyond that, she woke up Friday thinking we were in Fort
Collins and she didn't even know I went out Thursday until I told her
later Friday afternoon. The only thing I feel guilty about now is that
she didn't get to enjoy great canned beer with me.

For those of you who don't know, Oskar Blues (OB) was one of the first
craft brewers to can their beer. They certainly use this to
distinguish themselves in the craft world, but the truth is they make
incredible beer regardless of style and vessel. They had the entire
lineup on tap, plus an Alt-itude and Ten Fidy aged in whiskey barrels.
Ten Fidy is probably my favorite straight up imperial stout and when
you throw it in a barrel, I'm in heaven.

I also got to meet the head brewer and got a nice little tour with one
of the canners. Definitely a great little evening out by myself.

Rocky Mountain NP, 7/15 - 7/16

After getting to Rocky Mountain Wednesday afternoon, we set up camp on
the west side of the park and then headed up to the Alpine Visitor
Center for a nice scenic drive through the alpine tundra. A very cool
place, especially considering how high the tree line is and the fact
that vegetation can survive in the tundra above.

Unfortunately, that was essentially the end of our stay in the park.
Sarah got extremely sick through the night and into Thursday, so we
packed up and drove out of the park early Thursday afternoon to see a
doctor and grab a hotel.

And to avoid any suspense, Sarah is now more than recovered as we
write this. We also have a great excuse to head back to the park some
day.

Landscape Arch, Arches NP, 7/14

After a stop at Delicate Arch, we drove all the way into the park to
check out another highlight of Arches: Landscape Arch. This is a
massive 306-ft arch that is as thin as ten feet near the middle. We
made the short hike in late in the afternoon heat, which wasn't so bad
with the interesting rock formations providing some much-needed shade.
Definitely cool to see since noone knows when it'll completely fail.

After Arches, we drove a few hours into Colorado to spend the night in
Glenwood Springs before heading to Rocky Mountain NP.

Balancing Rock, Arches NP, Tuesday 7/14

After Canyonlands, we headed over to Arches National Park, just in
time for the mid-afternoon desert heat. First stop was Balancing Rock,
which is this massive rock held up 120 (or 160, the heat made our
memories a little hazy) ft. up in the air.

Grand View Point Overlook, Canyonlands NP

We didn't have time to stop at the Needles, so the last thing we did
in Canyonlands was to drive to Grand View Point Overlook. The point
provided a panoramic view of this vast expanse where the Colorado and
Green Rivers meet. The only thing that might provide some idea of the
scale is the thin light tan lines in the picture which are actually
dirt roads running through the park. This view was pretty impressive!

Upheaval Dome, Canyonlands NP, Tuesday 7/14

So we're a bit behind on the blog updates, but we had a pretty
eventful week. The next few entries will hopefully get us up-to-date.

Last Tuesday we had a leisurely morning in Moab and then headed up to
Canyonlands for a drive around and some short hikes, due to the hot
weather. We made the short trip to Mesa Arch and then another short
hike up to Upheaval Dome, seen in this picture. This was a pretty
interesting feature that was basically a two-mile crater with sheer
walls and a mound in the middle.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Moab Brewery, Moab, Utah

After much debate, we finally settled on Moab for the night, after a 5
mike morning hike and 450 miles on the road. Once we set up camp, we
ran down the street to the only brewery in town: Moab Brewing. We were
intrigued by the low ABV beers so we just had to give it a shot. We
got the 9-beer taster and really, it wasn't all that bad, given the
alcohol restrictions. The Belgian Wit was okay, and the pilsener and
oatmeal stout were great examples of the styles, and Sarah liked the
pale ale the best. Only problem is that noone knew how to get us the
Desert Select Black Imperial IPA. Not sure if it's crazy Utah laws or
people who don't know what's going on, but we'll give it another shot
tomorrow. For now, it's time to krash at the KOA.

Lake Powell/Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah

At about 300 miles on the day, we made it to the Hite crossing of Lake
Powell. We really can't describe the scenery along the way, but we
managed to see more cliffs and mesas than imaginable before we finally
came to this viewpoint. Again, the views were inceedible and we're
lucky to have the opportunity for this kind of trip.

Capitol Reef NP, Utah

After our Monday morning hike, we drove up to Capitol Reef National
Park for a scenic drive that would start to take us to eastern Utah.
This is a pretty small and new park, but it had some cool scenery to
offer as we drove through this one-sided canyon. A pretty quick visit,
but just part of our incredibly long Monday.

Queens Garden + Peek-a-Boo Loop, Bryce Canyon NP

Due to the imminent heat, we got up at dawn and made quick work of our
campsite and were on the trail at 7am. There are some great inter-
connecting trails in the Bryce Amphitheatre that allowed us to make up
our own little 5-mile one-way hike. We started out in the hoodoo in
Queen's Garden and worked our way over to the peek-a-boo loop where we
saw Wall Street and the Wall of Windows. After gaining back our 1800
ft. of elevation, we ended up at Bryce Point, where you can see the
expanse of the park in the pic. This park was completely unique and
right up there with Death Valley for the surprise factor.

"Gourmet" Dinner, Bryce Canyon NP

One can only eat so many freeze-dried dinners before it's time for
something else. After working up a little appetite on our hike, we had
a great spaghetti dinner, thanks to Mr. Newman, may he rest in peace.
Along with the pepperoni, sausage and muenster we had wax beans and
Diamond Knot Industrial Pale Ale for the nightcap. A much-deserved
dinner and one that would help prep for our Monday morning hike.

Navajo Loop Pt. 2, Bryce Canyon NP

After setting up our tent for the night, we decided to make a quick
run of a trail before dinner. So we set out for the Navajo Loop trail,
which encompassed 550 ft. of vertical in about half a mile, as seen by
the switchbacks in the other pic. Overall, this was probably the most
amazing 1.3 mile hike that we have ever done, with such amazing
variety of hoodoo (tall sandstone spires in pic) and animals. We loved
every step of the trail and have to recommend it as a must-do if you
ever go to Bryce.

Navajo Loop, Bryce Canyon NP

Grand Canyon (North Rim), AZ, Sunday

We made the scenic few-hour drive to the north rim of the Grand Canyon
NP, in part for convenience and in part to avoid the crowds.

Upon getting there and walking a short bit to a viewpoint, it became
clear that this park was even more amazing in person than any picture
we have ever seen. The views are simply majestic and pictures really
do not do it justice. Go there for yourself. Trust us.

After a nice picnic lunch overlooking a side canyon, we decided that
it was time for the next stop, so we headed back into Utah towards
Bryce Canyon NP.

Zion National Park, Utah

After staying in a "lovely" Vegas motel (we've had better campsites
than this!) and taking advantage of free breakfast, we made the drive
to Zion National park Saturday afternoon. We managed to snag one of
the last front country campsites and then set out for the scenic
shuttle. We did a few 1-mile hikes along the way to see some of the
amazing features in this park including Weeping Rock and the immense
cliffs at the Court of the Patriarchs. Unfortunately, thunderstorms
were a possibility, so backpacking the Zion Narrows was not. Maybe
another trip. Overall a pretty unique park with the diversity of
wildlife and it's massive sandstone cliffs.

After an incredibly windy night, we headed to the Grand Canyon Sunday
morning.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Lost Abbey/Port Brewing, San Marcos, CA

After a 45 minute six-mile drive (Maps on the iPhone really isn't all
that good), we ended up at the Lost Abbey tasting room and wow, what a
lineup. We did the $3 taster flight and were at the mercy of the
bartender and were not at all disappointed. The LA beers are
incredible and I can't say enough good things about Port Old
Viscosity. Easily one of my favorite beers. After a great taster
flight, we managed to pick up some Cuvee de Tomme and both brandy and
bourbon Angel's Share. Can't wait to crack those for special
occasions! And the incredible atmosphere in the brewery madd for a
great stop! Now off to Vegas, baby.

Stone Brewing, Escondido, CA

Finally made it to the much-awaited Stone Brewery. We were a bit early
for the tour so we sat down at World Garden and Bistro for some
tasters. We had Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Old Guardian Barleywine,
Sublimely Self-Righteous, Vertical Epic 07.07.07 on cask, and the 13th
Anniversary Ale (an imperial red).

The tour was incredibly entertaining and cool to see a large craft
brewer's operations. Their fridge made us drool with bottles of 07
Imperial Russians and all the old Vertical Epics and ridiculous casks
like vanilla smoked porter (see Sarah with all the bottles of oaked
Arrogant Bastard and Levitation). The free tour was great and came
with tastes of their basic lineup and we both thoroughly enjoyed our
couple hours there. Next we headed down the road to Lost Abbey.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Toronado, San Diego, CA

So we made a short stop for happy hour at Toronado and were impressed
by the draft list. We tried great local IPAs like Green Flash West
Coast, Alesmith Yulesmith IPA and Ballast Point Sculpin. However the
highlight was by far the St. Louis Tradicion Gueze. This sour was a
rarity on draft and is definitely worth the price (especially at happy
hour).

After this, we drove through the city to Coronado Island for a little
scenery. The beach looked nice and we picked up a bottle from Coronado
Brewing. However, our friend, Beth hooked us up by recommending an
awesome "restaurant" whose sign simply read "Mexican Take Out." The
daily special was fish tacos, so we indulged in the local delicacy.
Diet starts tomorrow...well, after Stone and Lost Abbey. It's a good
thing we've gotten some tennis and hiking in on this trip. Hope to
rack up some more mileage in Utah and Colorado next week.

Pizza Port, Carlsbad, CA

After leaving Malibu we made a stop in Carlsbad to one of the famous
Pizza Ports. We shared a pizza and 8 tasters. The Poor Man's IPA was
amazing for 9.2%, and we enjoyed all the IPAs as well as Port van
Porter and the Great American Brown Ale (which was Sarah's favorite).
These guys were great at letting us into the bottle shop next door
even though it wasn't open, where we picked up Port Old Viscosity,
Port Hop 15 and some non-Port stuff including the Maui coconut porter
and Alesmith barley wine. The pizza was incredible (though not
comparable to Pizzalad) and, combined with the great beer, made this
one of our favorite beer stops thus far. Next up was San Diego.

Malibu, CA, Monday night to Thursday morning

We stayed with Sarah's Aunt Janet and Uncle Peter for 3 days in Malibu
and had some good old SoCal fun. We spent our time drinking California
wine, playing tennis, hot-tubbing with views of the Pacific, making
Pizzalad ("It's a pizza, AND a salad!"), introducing Peter and Janet
to Lambics, sunning on the beach (After all this fun in the sun, Chris
STILL has a horrible farmer's tan), giving our undivided attention to
Magic the Macaw (see pic), and enjoying conversation and time with
family. Hearing travel stories of "The famous Prof. Peter Monge's"
time in India was incredibly entertaining. Playing tennis also was a
blast, but luckily we split teams since there's no way we could take
on Peter and Janet in doubles. After a hard-fought set, Chris and
Janet eeked out the win 6-4. The weather was also gorgeous for the few
days and we had a great time overall.

We would like to take this moment to give a shout out and special
thanks to Peter and Janet for hosting us!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Daily Pint, Santa Monica, CA

Monday afternoon Sarah and I stopped at The Daily Pint in Santa Monica
which had one of the most impressive scotch lists I have ever seen.
But we were there for the beer, and we were not disappointed (even
though the sign was falling apart).

Sarah had the Green Flash Hop Head Red which was an incredibly hoppy
red ale that didn't disappoint. I tasted the stone smoked porter on
cask which was even better than typical draft as the natural
carbonation brings out the smoke just a bit more. But I went with the
Firestone Walker Reserve Porter which was incredibly creamy with nice
chocolate notes. Definitely my favorite Firestone brew. The highlight
though was Stone Ruination on cask. This was served at a perfect
temperature and the Amarillo hops provide an incredible citrus aroma.
A great beer and I can only hope that Stone will have it on cask when
we visit there later in the week. After The Daily Pint we headed over
to Malibu to stay with Sarah's aunt and uncle to visit and regroup for
a couple of days.

Death Valley National Park, Monday

So we made it to Death Valley just as the sun was setting and it was
absolutely gorgeous. As for spending the night, there was one other
tent in the entire campground at Patamint Springs, and I swear it
didn't get below 85 that night. Poor choice on our part? Maybe, but
the scenery was worth it.

So Monday morning we got up with the sun and drove over another 5,000
ft pass into Death Valley itself and down to sea level. After some
quick pictures and a visit to the dunes, we were out of the park by
8:30 or so and it already felt like 100 degrees. But this park was a
pleasant surprise and we can't wait to head back some spring or fall
to actually backpack.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Mono Lake, CA

Just to the East of Yosemite lies beautiful Mono Lake. This salt lake
lies in the high desert with the Sierra Nevada to the west and White
range to the east.

Much needing a little cool-off, we decided to take a dip in super
salty, extra bouyant Mono Lake. I can't say I've ever felt anything so
strange as I sat their floating, but if you ever have a chance to swim
in something like this, do it.

Next up: Death Valley National Park...in July. Is this a good idea?
Stay tuned to find out

Yosemite, Rafferty Creek

This picture is just one of the many waterfalls along the way. Trust
us, Yosemite is not just all about the valley. The High Sierra was a
great way to spend a couple of days, even if our feet are paying for
it now.

Yosemite, Evelyn Lake

After swarms of mosquitoes proving to be more mentally challenging
than a fwenty mile hike, the decision was made to hike out the
remaining ten miles sunday morning. This lake was the first thing we
came across on the hike out and is pretty representative of the hike
back.

Yosemite, Unnamed Lake

After realizing that we were flying through the trail and could easily
make it back in a day, we decided to set up camp near an unnamed lake
(see left in pic) at about 10,250ft and about ten miles in. This
setting was gorgeous with peaks 360 degrees around us. Speaking of
degrees, it was definitely below freezing as we awoke to a few frozen
puddles near our site, but Marmot and REI kept us warm as usual.

Yosemite, Lyell-Vogelsang loop

After our climb through the trees, the trail gave way to a boulder
field just above where this shot was taken. Unfortunately, the trail
wasn't marked so well up here. After fumbling around and back-tracking
for 30 minutes we regained the trail and ascended to the 10,600 ft pass.

Yosemite, Lyell Canyon

The beginning of our loop took us along Lyell Creek through this
picturesque meadow before beginning our steep ascent.

Yosemite National Park summary, Friday to Sunday

Since we can only upload one picture per blog entry we thought we'd
make this a summary and then upload other pics as short entries.

Friday morning we drove into Yosemite Valley to get our wilderness
permit. Not backcountry, wilderness. Then a short 1.5 mile hike to
lower Yosemite Falls. Next up was the long drive to Glacier Point.
What made this interesting was the fact that we had to drive through
an active forest fire to get there. There were flames literally two
feet off the road. Glacier Point offered the classic Yosemite Valley
panoramas, including Half Dome (see pic; we apologize for the
haziness, but again, we drove through an ACTIVE forest fire).

After driving back through the valley, we headed to Tuolomne Grove,
where we did a short 2 mile hike to see giant sequoia trees. From
there we made a couple more viewpoint stops before making a 1 mile
hike to our backpackers campsite. We got up early Saturday morning to
start our hike into the wilderness...

Original Plan: 4 days, 3 nights, 20 mile loop plus side trips
Actual Results: 2 days, 1 night, 20 mile loop, no intentional side
trips (details coming soon)

Positives: beautiful scenery including meadows, lakes, wildlife,
creeks, snowcapped mountains, etc.
Negatives: mosquitoes, mosquitoes, mosquitoes, etc.

After getting back to the car early Sunday afternoon, we shared a
cold, much-needed Calderra IPA. We finally left out of the east end
of the park toward 395.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Yosemite Falls, Yosemite NP

After Thursday in San Francisco, we drove out and spent the night in
Stanislaus national forest. Just got to Yosemite this morning and will
be doing 3 to 4 nights backpacking around Tuolomne Meadows. Should be
back in range Monday or Tuesday. Talk to you then.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Moylan's Brewery, Novato, CA

Spent a gorgeous afternoon in Napa at Franciscan and Sutter Home
wineries. Yes, you read that correctly, Sutter Home. This trip is all
about high quality craft beer, with a little cheap wine thrown in for
good measure. Though I must admit the Franciscan Cuvee Sauvage was an
incredible wild-fermented wine that had some similarities to great
sour ales. The line between wine and beer is definitely thinning.

Anyway, we made a quick stop at Moylan's for a couple tasters. The
o'Sullivans imperial stout had some nice complex chocolate and coffee
notes. Unfortunately the alcohol was a bit too pronounced and somewhat
harsh. I'd love to try this after a year or two in the bottle. They
also had Hopsickle on tap, which is a great triple IPA. This had an
incredible floral aroma with just a hint of grapefruit. However, Sarah
and I were both slightly disappointed that this didn't have the
massive up-front hop kick that a name like Hopsickle led us to
believe. Not a bad ten minute stop but we won't be going back.

After that, we made it into San Francisco for a night in a hotel. It's
amazing how quickly you learn to appreciate small amenities after just
a few short days. I met up with an old roommate for a bit and now
resting up for the big Yosemite trip. Hopefully we'll make it there
tomorrow or Friday but not sure when the next update will come. Until
then, enjoy the pics.

-Chris

Russian River, Santa Rosa,CA

Well, this was one brewery I couldn't wait to get to and it did not
disappoint. All their IPAs are world class and tasters of the 14 beer
lineup for only $12 has to be one of the best deals in the world of
craft. Also had sanctification on draft which was great, but not as
good as Consecration, which is one of Sarah's and my favorite sours.
Having that on tap again was a treat, to say the least. Then spent the
afternoon in Napa. Check back in later.

Bear Republic, Healdsburg, CA

After checking into a campsite Tuesday night, we made it to Bear
Republic and this was definitely one of the best so far. Everything
they make is just a very good representation of the style and the hop
rod rye is truly a unique IPA. On top of that, the bartenders were
awesome with tasters and recommendations, especially the K-bizz, a
blended specialty. Just don't tell the brewers!

North Coast Brewery, Fort Bragg, CA

After a hair-raising drive along beautiful route 1, we made it to
North Coast and sampled most of the lineup. The Old Stock barley wine
was my favorite while Sarah enjoyed the IPA and the cask Red Seal. Alo
managed to pick up Old Rasputin XI and the 20th anniversary ale made
with agave nectar. This better not taste like Tequiza!

Tall Trees Grove, Redwood National Park

Spent Monday morning doing a four mile loop to Tall Trees Grove in
Redwood NP, home of the world's tallest tree, some 360+ feet from the
forest floor.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Devil's Churn, Oregon Coast

We've been spending the day driving down the coast and this picture is
representative of the many viewpoints we stopped at. Shooting for
Redwood national park tonight so we'll see how it goes.

Rogue Brewers on the Bay, Newport, OR

Stopped at the brewpub at Rogue brewery and loved the atmosphere and
the 30 or so beers on tap. Split a couple samlplrs with my wife and
loved Old Crustacean, chocolate stout, dry hopped red and the
imperial pilsner. Though not my favorite style, this may be the best
pilsner I've ever had. After a quick break, we'll be heading south
down the coast to the redwoods of northern California.

-Chris

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Pelican Brewing, Pacific City, OR

A short drive down the coast to the beautiful coastal town of Pacific
City. This place was gorgeus and I'd love to spend a week in a
vacation home here. But our time was short so we got the sampler and
were on our way. I have to say that Pelican, licated on the water, is
easily the most scenic microbrewery i have ever been to. Tsunami
stout and the Indian pelican ale were the highlights, as expected and
I picked up Stormwatcher winter and wee heavy Scottish to go. Then a
quick drive down the road to south beach state park for sunset and to
spend the night. Great start to the trip.

Cape Lookout Oregon

After a quick visit to tillamook we were off to the beach near Cape
Lookout. A beautiful day and the picture says it better than I ever
could.

John's Marketplace and Raccoon Lodge Cascade Brewing

Made a stop at John's Marketplace outside downtown Portland and I can
say that this was, by far the biggest bottle store tha I have ever
been to. Picked up some hair of the dog Fred and Adam as well as some
other west coast goodies. Then off to Raccoon Lodge.

All day happy hour in the den and if was great to see so many barrels
right in your face; immediate cause for salivation. They were pouring
Mouton Rouge, among other things, and this was another great sour by
cascade. Managed to pick up some bottles of kriek, blackberry, apricot
and Sang Royal, one of my favorite sours ever.

Harborside, Henry's Tavern and Bailey's taproom, Portland, OR

Spent the rest of Saturday touring some taprooms starting with
harborside restaurant for their Full Sail lineup. Slainte stout on
both cask and nitro were both solid and the imperial porter was a
great take on the style with nice coffee notes. But the barley wine,
old boardhead, had some nice sweet honey and maple and was incredibly
drinkable.

Henry's was next up with 160 taps...what a selection. I have to give a
big thanks to the bartenders who were incredibly helpful with tastings
and suggestions. Highlights were hair of the dog blue dot IPA,
Oakshire espresso stout, and Fanno Creek vanilla porter. We enjoyed
those couple of hours so much that we went back later in the night.
Definitely recommended for anyone visiting
Portland.

In the mean time we made a quick stop at baileys taproom which had a
great lineup for only twenty taps. My sampler consisted of deschutes
mirror mirror, laurelwood tree hugger porter, amnesia double
desolation, new old Lompoc Brussels stout and new
Belgium la folie. Some great Oregon beers, but la folie is still one
of my favorites. Great first day in Oregon and looking forward to
heading down the coast next!

On the way: John's marketplace, raccoon lodge (cascade brewing),
Tillamook cheese then to the beach. I'll check back in later.

-Chris

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Deschutes Brewpub, Portland, OR

A bit early for the Black Bute XXI release party but the keg was
already tapped so drink we did. What an
Incredible porter! Incredible coffee notes hit the nose up front as
well as some great oak and caramel aromas. Nice sweet up front with a
balanced bitterness. Incredibly smooth 11% brew and i can't wait to
see how this ages in the bottle.

Also had a great sampler (see pic) with red chair ipa, ocho negro ipa,
twilight cask, cellar door on cask, and harms way. Great start to the
day and can't wait to be back later in the day for the 21st party!

Diamond Knot, Mukilteo, WA

Well, we are officially on the road to Portland and thought I'd throw
a little love to a local "Seattle" brewery: Diamond Knot. Decided to
make one last trip before hitting the road and had a nice sampler.

The front street bitter poured a nice golden with smooth lacing a long
bitter finish and this definitely outshines the ESB, which has a nice
sweet balance but not the bitterness I was looking for. Next was the
stout on a nitro tap which was a beautiful dark brown with frothy tan
head. Mild coffee and vanilla aromas with a sweet nut flavor. The
porter was solid but they also had an oaked cask porter which was the
highlight of the day! Incredibly smooth, with nice roasted nut and oak
aromas, this had the perfect amount of complexity while still being a
solid drinkable porter. Finally I have to recommend the industrial IPA
which is a northwest classic and typifies a Seattle IPA. I'll be back
someday, dknot, but until then keep making great brews!

Next stop: Portland

-Chris

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Trip Preview

Okay, so now that I've got the whole mobile blog thing figured out from my new iPhone, I figure you're due a trip preview (from a real computer).

First of all, for those of you who don't know, I'll be beginning my MBA at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania this coming summer. But in order to make that happen, I need to leave Seattle and make my way across the United States to Philadelphia. Cue 3,000 mile roadtrip. So that's what this blog is all about: my wife's and my month-long journey traversing this beautiful country.

Here's what you need to know (in bullet-form, as any typical engineer would do):
- Mode of transportation: 2000 Jeep Cherokee with 128000 miles on it and an intermittent A/C; don't be surprised if you hear me complaining about this in Arizona and Utah in July
- Sleeping venues: primarily car camping and backpacking with an occasional hotel thrown in for good measure.
- Cuisine: While I'd love to say that we'll be sampling the western U.S.'s favorite cuisine, it's just not going to happen. Baked beans, ramen noodles, sandwiches and salads will do the trick for the car, with tons of dehydrated meals for backpacking, with my occasional backcountry specialties as a treat
- Beverages: lots of filtered water. Lots of filtered and unfiltered beer (see below)

As you're probably aware, this country has infinitely too many things for anyone to do them all in their lifetime, let alone in a four-week road trip. So my wife and I decided to put some constraints on the trip. Well, not so much constraints as two points of focus: National Parks and some of the western U.S.'s best breweries.

If you know us, you know that we love the outdoors, but we love beer even more. Given the sheer number of great breweries there are in the western United States, we decided that this would be a great complement to our backpacking, hiking and drive-throughs of national parks. The list below is what we're shooting for, but we'll see what happens.

Breweries:
- Deschutes (for Black Butte XXI release party)
- Full Sail
- Cascade
- Pelican
- Rogue
- Ninkasi
- North Coast
- Russian River
- Lagunitas
- Valley Brewing
- Port
- Lost Abbey
- Alesmith
- Stone
- Oskar Blues
- Great Divide
- Avery
- New Belgium

Parks:
- Olympic National Park (see previous posts)
- Black Sand Beach (Mendocino)
- Point Reyes National Seashore
- Yosemite
- Grand Canyon
- Zion
- Arches
- Bryce
- Canyonlands
- Rocky Mountain


With that in mind, if you really know me, you know that I'm incredibly organized and love to plan out every little detail. However, I realize that my next two years of school are going to be so busy and structured, that I wanted to throw that all out the window. So for the next month, we'll be living without a real agenda, no schedule, and no requirements to be anywhere any time. So really, while I've listed the stuff above, who knows what's going to happen? We might spend two weeks in Yosemite and skip a ton of stuff. We may only have time for 5 breweries (though I'm pretty sure that won't happen). The point is, I don't know what's going to happen, so feel free to follow along this adventure with me.

The posts from here on out will be from a phone, so I apologize for the brevity, but hope you enjoy the updates and pics along the way. And if you have suggestions, comments, etc. shoot me an email or just post in the blog. I'll try to keep up. Take care and enjoy!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Second Beach, Extra Pics





Here's some additional pics (courtesy of my wife) from Olympic National Park, Second Beach without beer. This really is one of the northwest's most beautiful places and it will be missed. Hope you enjoy.