There's the breweries we always talk about. And, there's the breweries we rarely talk about, because they're not very good. But what about the middle ground? The breweries that make solid, if mostly unexciting, beer? Three examples off the top of my head: Scuttlebutt, Lazy Boy, and Big Al. I love Scuttlebutt's Tripel 7, and I don't think I've ever had a "bad" beer from them, but I don't remember the last time I saw them mentioned here. Big Al makes a nice variety of of beers, but I rarely get excited by one, and the same is pretty much true for Lazy Boy. Are we, the active on-line beer nerds, so jaded that we overlook some of our breweries just because they're not jumping on every trend? What breweries do you think are "middle of the pack" for the Northwest?
"Solid but unexciting" nicely describes McMenamin's, in my opinion. My wife and I have sampled dozens of their beers over the past couple of years. I think I've had 4 or 5 that were really outstanding, 2 or 3 that I couldn't finish, and the rest were "solid but unexciting." Not bad, but not memorable either. That said, I will still continue to go back to McMenamin's. The food is tasty, their restaurants are comfortable, their prices are reasonable, and I have certainly had worse beer in the Northwest. (Besides, we still have Passport stamps to collect.)
I would venture to say that we talk about maybe 10 Washington brewers, which leaves about 95 percent of breweries we don't talk about. So that list would be very long.
Off the top of my head, I think Snoqualmie fits this description. I've had some downright great beers from them, and none that I'd say were real duds. Yet they don't seem to get as much love as others that are maybe just a fraction better. As @TheeWalrusHunter says, between Oregon, Washington and Alaska that list would be very long.
Totally agree with all the names mentioned so far, although for me personally, having had single beer exposure to Lazy Boy and Big Al's, and having infection issues with both, that has kept me from exploring them more (plus Lazy Boy would be a chore to even locate in my neck of the woods). I've had literally one McMennamen's beer (they seem allergic to crossing the Cascades), their stout: good but nothing earth shattering. I really like S.F.'s Wildcat and Steamtrain, but have found their other beers to be kind of "meh." Scuttlebutt always seems competent yet uninspiring. Whenever I buy new beers, there's always something that just seems more interesting to me for whatever reason. Caldera's IPA is a staple whenever I go to the Swamp Tavern, where it's nearly always on-tap, yet for whatever reason I tend to skip them otherwise.
This is a really great topic, however is it a case of them being middle of the pack or not overly hyped? There are a lot of Alaskan breweries that I think are great, but don't get as much attention as Midnight Sun, Anchorage Brewing Company, and Alaskan (large distro). I personally think Denali Brewing, King Street, and Sleeping Lady brew quality and top notch brews comparable any of the bigger named Alaskan breweries. However so few if any of their beers get outside of Alaska other than through tourism or trade. Back on topic my local brewery Last Frontier Brewing out here in Wasilla makes pretty ordinary middle of the road beers. I go there more for the restaurant food than the beer. Although they did surprise me with their Barley Wine and Imperial Stout this past year. So many beers, so little time!
I think that is a big part of the equation as far as non-PNW beer consumers are concerned, and even interstate within the PNW. I haven't had anything from the latter three breweries you mentioned, and the same is true of a lot of Oregon breweries whose beer almost never leaves the state. When asked to name Oregon or Washington breweries, a lot of people from other regions of the U.S. think Full Sail, Widmer, Redhook... and that's about it. But I think this is a good thing. Having had a fair amount of beer from the more hyped breweries east and south of here, I know that what we have relatively easy access to is as good as or better than most of it. Hype just makes good beer harder to get, but it doesn't make it better.
But it does bump up its trade value, amirite? This works out for the PNW traders among us, while having the added benefit of making our beer harder to get for us locals.
Hey! 3-Way didn't make it to #28 on the best IPAs list on its own. You can thank the raters and reviewers from Massachusetts, Colorado, North Carolina, Florida, California, New York, Nevada, Michigan, New Jersey, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, New Hampshire, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Missouri, the District of Columbia, the Netherlands, Texas, Pennsylvania, Maine, Indiana, Vermont, Tennessee, Minnesota, Hawaii, Georgia, Alaska, South Carolina, British Columbia, Connecticut, Louisiana, Alberta, and Kentucky for that. Anyone know where I can find a 4-pack by the way?
