Fremont Dark Star vs. KDS

My thing with Veil is that I have never seen a brewery produce 50 IPAs of different variations that all fall into the 90th percentile of the style. It's remarkable.

Aslin is great though, maybe I just haven't had the smorgasbord of their offerings.

As far as BA beer-Fremont smokes everyone in VA. Though BBA GBS is amazing.

 

BBA GBS is great, one of the best dessert beers I've enjoyed. Wish they made more of it.

What do you mean Veil makes different variations? I still don't find much variation in flavor and aroma from any American-style IPA. Sure, an IPA with Nelson Saivon is going to taste drastically different than the same recipe made with centennial, but its all IPA. Fresh is best, oxygen is the devil, and some people are keen to certain hops more than others.

 

shut out? I showed up a full day after spice wars/coffee release and bottles were all over the place. and just from following beer places on Twitter in Portland, it seems like a lot of places got CCBbomb and it would have been easy to get.

Did Fremont short change their home state?[/QUOTE]

Having driven all over Seattle, Tacoma, and Kitsap County...I've accrued 0 bottles of CCBBomb. I guess I'm doing it wrong, because last year I bought a case without any trouble.

 

I'm just going to leave this one alone.

 

A CASE?!? I don't think I've ever had a whole case of any limited release seasonal...

(However, seeing you post here reminds me that I owe you a PM...)

-- Nathan

P.S. -- BTW, totalwine.com shows that Bellevue has 3 bottles of CCBB in stock. Now, that being said, given that it's TW, it's likely to be an inventory error.

 

Gathered over several places over a week or so. Bellevue is too far a hike for me, but thanks for the effort.

 

Still. I read "a case of CCBB" and I think "my poor wallet" and "how on earth could I consume all of that" (and that's with CCBB being one of my favorite beers).

Check your PMs.

-- Nathan

 

Same experience. Had probably 8 bottles total last year, some found a full month late. This year I've seen zero in the wild.

 

Last years didn't do it for me so I bought zero bottles. Two years ago it was magic and about as scarce as mentioned now. I think we can chalk up last year as the anomaly.

 

I can't remember ever seeing Skookum bottles or draft down here. (Then again, I couldn't remember Veil, and that was only a few months ago, so make of that what you will.)

I will keep my eyes open for their beers. If nothing else, the wife and I will watch for it next time we're in Washington sometime early next year.

 

WA only, and pretty much draft only. A few random bottled beers but none of the IPAs.

 

Mammoth jack double IPA is bottled, saw it yesterday at Pint Defiance

 

That's a new development! I've seen stouts, Barleywine and ambers before.

 

FWIW, Skookum is an hour north of Seattle, and their hours vary. If you actually mean "tomorrow" to mean December 24, I would encourage to do some due diligence. That said, anytime you are in the neighborhood (IE: they are worth going out of your way for) of the North Sound, they are a must hit. And, I suspect @NWer, some of my Bham peeps would be happy to meet. Plus, Whitewall is less than10 minutes down the road, and they're doing very nice work as well.

Skookum bottles Mammoth Jack, Murder of Crows Stout, and Ambers Hot Friend regularly, but, AFAIK, WA only and basically I-5 corridor for distribution. They're just a couple miles off I-5 , right across from the Arlington airport. a must hi if in the area, but their hours are wonky, so check before heading out.

 

Yep, I looked 'em up, and went, "Oh nice, a good place to stop on the way to Bham."

Side thought: The wife and I need to do a better Washington beercation. Or maybe a bunch of small ones. I haven't visited Seattle proper in a few years, which is madness considering how close it is...

 

One could make a nice little weekend out of a Snohomish/Skagit trip. There's several breweries in Everett, Just down the road from Skookum is Whitewall, and they are making some nice, under the radar beers. i especially liked their Barleywine. Alespike in Stanwood is a great little bottle shop with about 20 taps. Then there's Farmstrong/Anacortes/Flyers/South Nut/LaConner to hit in Skagit (technically, Flyers is in Island County, but, it's just down the road from Deception Pass, which is awesome).

Then you've got the West Sound/Oly Pen breweries, that also makes for a nice weekend.

 

You didn't mention North Sound in Mt Vernon. I don't know what to make of them myself. Stopped in once and had a great time trying their beers. Went back, not so much. Haven't figured them out.

 

Not intentional. But yeah, they can be kinda forgettable. I've had some solid stuff from them, but I've also had some clunkers. I had an IPA of theirs once that tasted like ham. Also, Birdsview is out highway 20. I wouldn't make a special trip to hit the place (beers are OK, at very best, and some have been terrible.), but their spot is nice, and they make a nice burger with local beef. if one were heading to Winthrop, it's an OK place for a pitstop.