Dry side lovin'

I think us eastern WA/E. OR/N. ID BAs have our work cut out checking out all the new places that have recently opened up or are opening. Without resorting to the Interweb, The places I need to check out are Red Barn in Mead, English Setter in the Valley, Top Frog up in Newport, Mad Bomber in Hayden, Downdraft in Post Falls, Daft Badger in Coeur d'Alene, Paper St. in Richland, plus there's some sort of Belgian inspired place opening in Spokane soon, and a brewery in Cheney that apparently opened it's doors this weekend!

When the hell am I going to find the time? Once Iron Goat moves to a few blocks from me and Orlison opens their nearby tasting room, will I even be able to get out of my neighborhood without a beer? First World problems...

 

Does anything from Prodigal make it out of Pendleton? I regularly go down to the Tri-Cities to hang w/ the parentals & occaisionally down into E. Oregon for camping.

 

I don't know for sure. The only time I've seen Prodigal beers in the Portland area, for instance, is at the Oregon Brewers Fest. Can't remember if I've ever seen them on tap in Boise.

 

No one has yet mentioned Old Schoolhouse in Winthrop. They are pretty well known, of course, but worth a mention in any "Dry Side" thread, and well worth a visit, even worth going out of your way for (of course Winthrop and the Methow have plenty of good reasons to visit).

Icicle in Leavenworth is one of my favorite places for post hike suds. Extremely mellow. Might win the contest for "best combination of fine beer and great hiking within a 15 mile radius". Old Schoolhouse might want to compete for that prize.

Bale Breaker's taproom at the edge of the hop fields is unique, so you should go, even though their beer is not hard to find on the west side.

Then there are two new breweries on my radar. For both of these, I've had their beer, but not yet visited either location.

Ordnance is a new brewery in Boardman (Oregon). I had a very good coffee puorter of theirs, called "Of Chimpanzees", at Saraveza in Portland. The fact that Saraveza is interested in them is a point in their favor. I added the brewery to the BA website, and just that beer (with a review). Someone just added 18 beers of theirs to the BA website, but no reviews. Curious eastsiders should let us know what's happening. How good are those other 18 beers? Right now, their taproom is only open on the weekends.

Then there's DruBru, a new brewery right at Snoqualmie Pass. Does that make them a "dry sider"? Well, they are in the borderlands for the great east/west divide in our region. I had their Kolsch a couple of days ago (at a bar in Roslyn). It wasn't great, but it was pretty solid (I haven't gotten around to posting a rating/review).

 

I like how DruBru is low ABV stuff considering most people who visit the taproom have to drive.

 

Dark Persuasion from Icicle was a nice surprise.

 

Cool info.
Ordnance is a great name considering the bombing range.
DruBru will definitely be visited next time I'm going over the pass, if they are open.

 

I like Hop Nation! Whenever a train goes by, they spin a wheel for discounts for everyone. Cream On is excellent.

 

Ice Harbor in Kennewick has been doing that for years, yet I've only managed to be there maybe twice when a train has actually gone by.

 

Sounds like you need to hang out there more often! I do love their Tangerine Hef, I lived in Kennewick for several years. Good stuff.

 

I stop off there every few months, when in town visiting family. If I lived in Kennewick, I'd be there regularly.

 

I was not impressed with Hop Nation. They're young, but the beer and service were both subpar.

 

Ah shoot. Sorry to hear that. The service can be a little inconsistent.