Hey now... I'm heading to Seattle in a few months, is there anything out there (either small/regional or something more widely known) that I cant get here in the NY area worth shipping home?
If you can find Silver City's Whoop Pass or porter. Look for Humulo Nimbus (Sound Brewing, I think). What part of the area?
not sure what part yet, details to follow. i know the folks i am with arent going to want to go out of their way for me to get what they call "beer with fruit in it" (a/k/a craft/microbrews), so i just want to plan ahead a bit.
If you're going to be doing touristy things, theres a gourmet deli/grocer shop down just past the Starbucks at Pike Place Market (that'll make sense if you're there) that had a really awesome bottle selection. Was just there last week and picked up a few bottles I know I can't find in Portland. Prices weren't out of this world, either.
Not sure, I'm staying with a friend (and not in a hotel), but I'm sure she's not really in the 'outskirts' (forgive my total ignorance of the Seattle area). I'm heading out there with some other folks though, and will be renting a car, so we'll be venturing out on our own as well. I had been looking forward to some Russian River stuff, but they no longer distribute in WA, correct?
The "outskirts" are probably better, since the good breweries and bottle shops and bars aren't really centrally located. Lots of good stuff in North Seattle.
If you want to take in some scenery with the beer trip you should take the ferry over to Bremerton. It's a nice scenic one hour ride over. In Bremerton you can check out Silver City and their bottles. From Bremerton you can drive up to Poulsbo and check out Sound and Valholl breweries. Sound bottles, but I don't think Valholl does. Poulsbo is also like a little Norwegian town that's fun to look around and very pretty with the water and mountains. Marina Market there also has a pretty decent bottleshop. From Poulsbo you can drive over to Bainbridge and check out Bainbridge Brewing. You then can take the ferry from Bainbridge back to Seattle. All four of those breweries are very good. There is also Der Blokken in Bremerton, Slippery Pig in Poulsbo, and Hood Canal in Kingston. They're all okay, but nothing special.
Also download the WA beer app. It has a list and map of every Washington brewery. It will come in handy. In Ballard you can almost walk from one brewery to another following the map. It's at the bottom of this page. http://www.washingtonbeer.com/
i applaud the effort of providing a different and unique answer to the monthly question "visiting seattle: what do i want to do?" instead of the same 'ol "bottleworks, chucks, brouwers, fremont" response.
I wouldn't worry about it. Things are different out here. You are going to find so many beers, from so many breweries, that you'll have no trouble finding interesting stuff. You don't have to go to a "beer bar", just walk into any bar, and you'll find local and regional beers worth your time. Same goes for stores. Beer is the least of your worries when visiting the PNW. Just make sure your Gore-tex, fleece, and waterproof hiking boots are up to snuff, so you stay dry and warm.
