Dan is listening to some random podcast (Better on Draft) and they're going down some Best Of lists. They listed Yakima as a beer city worth visiting, on par with Bend and Bellingham. This seems, as the kids say, sus to me. Have more breweries opened there that aren't yet listed on BA? Sure, it's worth hitting up if you're in the area, but as a destination? Discuss.
I guess it depends on your criteria for a worthy destination, but I've never found it to be. I enjoyed my visit to Bale Breaker, and I wouldn't mind visiting Single Hill... I also think Cowiche Canyon restaurant is a great spot. After that, well... I haven't been to Yakima in a while, but my recollection is that there are some decent taphouses downtown as well. Nothing extraordinary, but good, solid spots to hang out with a beer. There are also some really good Mexican food restaurants in town, if that's important to you.
I wouldn't single out Yakima as a beer city on par with Bend or Bellingham, nope. Yakima doesn't have the depth or the quality. That is not a slam against Single Hill (who make terrific beers across a variety of styles) or Bale Breaker (whose location in the middle of a working hop farm makes it a mandatory visit in the area) or Cowiche Canyon. But things drop off pretty quickly after that. Whereas in Bend or Bellingham you mention the top 2 breweries and the best taphouse and it is easy to keep coming up with places. (I thought Astoria would be a better comparison to Yakima, but Astoria wins that competition too. After you get past Fort George, Buoy, and Bridge & Tunnel, you still have Obelisk, and Breakside, and Astoria Brewing Co.)
I would imagine the only time worth seeking out a trip to Yakima is during fresh hop season. As @John_M and @vurt have noted. Basically BB and SH worth visiting for the beer and Cowiche Kitchen for food. I found Wandering Hop to be quite mid (to borrow a middle schooler’s slang term). I did enjoy Varietal, but that is 35 minutes down the road in Sunnyside.
I’ll add Bill’s Place and Schaub’s Beer Den as worthy taphouses. 5th Line and Outskirts, and was fine but not in the same tier as Single Hill or Bale Breaker. The 2 Public House locations have a lot of taps so are great for FH season (the only times I’ve visited) but their current lists are pretty unexciting, and the place is brightly lit enough to be a negative to me. I’m obviously biased, but I’d go Bend #1, Bellingham #2, Yakima a distant #3. During FH season Yakima closes the gap but remains #3.
Here's the homepage for the blog, when Dan gets home I'll find out which episode he was listening to. https://www.betterondraft.com/
This summer I'm going to visit my brother in Oly and may take a detour to visit BaBr and perhaps Single Hill. Of course, a visit to the breweries in Naches and Packwood are still virgin territory to me as well. I have a cousin with a vacation place outside of Packwood. Maybe drunk me could spend the night there if I were to knock out all in one go.
Last time I went by (the Paternal Parental Unit was behind the wheel at that point and he obsesses over deadlines he no longer actually has, so there was no stopping for something as gauche as beer), over the super bowl weekend, the sign said something about it now being a distillery.
