Periodic I Miss the PNW Thread

Hmm. That's good to know. Still, I loved the ambiance at Machine House ... and the several cask options there. Speaking of which, what places around town have a beer engine? The Local obviously ... Boundary does as well right?

 

Local has one, BB has two (BB beers only though), Archer Ale House used to have one, not sure if they still do, and I seem to remember Copper Hog having one sometimes. BB also puts out a firkin during Happy Hour in the beer garden on Thursdays. Although, I don't seem to remember one the last couple weeks. I'll check on that. Maybe McKays? I think that's it. I wouldn't mind trying cask Global Mutt or Shoe Toss though, might be time to drop Wander a hint.

 

McKays has one, Boundary has two, Local has one, Archer may still have one. The only place I can consistently go and get good quality Cask Ale is Boundary. Had the Scotch on Cask last night and it was superb. I find myself only drinking cask when I visit Boundary more and more these days.

Would love to see more cask engines, but the one at McKays is always breaking and the one as the Local is often empty.

 

This makes me wonder about what, if anything, the Northeast has that the Northwest doesn't--and so often better, and so often without most of the unsavory BS that sometimes mars the craft beer scene elsewhere. I'd always assumed it was so-called "NE Hops"--these miraculously juicy, hazy, low-IBU I/IPAs characteristic of the region that seem to be all the rage (and may or may not, as others have suggested, be little more than the latest fad).

I suppose I get the appeal of these beers, insofar as I've had a chance to drink some, or locals that approximate them. At their best, they're astonishingly good--super-tasty, easy-drinking and refreshing. But they're also, to my mind, a touch boring. I've been drinking various kinds of citrus juice since infancy almost; these days, much older, I'm typically looking for something a little more complex, something that keeps me, for one reason or another, coming back for more.

At any rate, a handful (and growing number) of NW breweries now seem to be offering something like this style in their line-ups. That's great, and it'll sate the urge whenever one's in the mood. But on top of everything else already readily available here, what, exactly, is the reason to ever not miss the NW now that you can also have this cake and eat it too?

 

Agree, I've had a good smattering of many of the popular ones and for the most part they are either on par or just below a beloved PNW IPA / DIPA in my opinion. Worth trying, but not worth chasing at all. Heady is still fantastic, but once you've had a couple 4-packs the luster wears off and you realize it's just another really tasty IPA in the mix of really tasty IPA's.

I can't stand the way some beers are sold in the East, big lineups outside breweries just to buy an IPA seems insane. Should be able to walk into a beer store and pick up a bottle or pack of cans any day of the week, that's what I love about the PNW beer scene.

 

Yeah, there should be a cask on the bar in the garden during Thursday Happy Hours. It's generally something IPA-ish, and dry-hopped.