Seattle visit. . . .bottles to bring back.

Not an ipa, but have him look for the Bourbon Barrel Abominable (B bomb) by Fremont Brewing. Among the best strong ales out there and still easy to find around town.

 

All the beers you seek are not sold in WA or OR. Shit you can't buy 3 Floyds beers at the brewery on some days let alone 2500 miles away. There are plenty of delicious NW IPAs available.

Breakside Wanderlust and reg IPA
Double Mtn Hop Lava
Schooner exact Hop Vine
Laurelwood Workhorse IPA
Block 15 Stcky Hands

 

He can get Cascade Sang Noir (along with the regulars) in Seattle, but Tangerine Dream is still brewery only.

And for IPAs, have him grab some Boneyard growlers.

 

Cascade is sold in both places.. although I seriously doubt tangerine dream is still being sold. Perhaps its a shelf turd covering dust at some lucky hole in the wall convenience store. That lucky dust!

 

As said above brewery only, and still is avilble.

 

For IPAs, ditto on the Boneyard growlers. Check taplister and you'll see some on around town. Hop Venom or RPM will be in the same league as Alpine. Armored Fist CDA looks to be on around town as well and it's among the best CDAs I've had.

Trickster (or Wisdom Seeker - both currently at Malt & Vine) from Black Raven would also be a good growler fill.

Alternatively, you could just have your friend go to Chuck's Hop Shop, Beer Junction, Bottleworks, or Malt & Vine (the best bottle shop / growler spots around town) and have him ask for growlers or stuff that won't be available in CA. You can see the tap lists for all these places online. This would be a good route IMHO - then s/he could ask for a selection of local IPAs or other styles you like. There are many solid examples ... Humulo Nimbus by Sound, Wildcat by Snoqualmie, Whoop Pass by Silver City, Fremont's Interurban, Laurelwood's Workhorse, Ruud Awakening by Old Schoolhouse, Rude Parrot by 7 Seas, Vortex by Fort George (also their Next Adventure CDA), Reuben's Imperial or Imperial Rye IPA (one year old brewery that's killing it - the robust porter is great too), Goodlife's Descender, and on.

 

Oh, and I should have thrown in HUB IPA, their Ace of Spades IPA (which I think is fantastic), and Gigantic's normal IPA. HUB's Abominable is also great and has one of the coolest cans around.

 

If he drove to Seattle, he can easily stop in Portland on the way back and pick up Cascade stuff. Among other things.