Washington Fancy Beers

Discussion in 'Northwest' started by CEL, Mar 8, 2018.

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  1. CEL

    CEL Initiate (0) Mar 8, 2018 Washington

    Over 70% of US hops are grown in Washington state yet it doesn't seem we make our way much up to the top of the beer rating lists...we also have some of the best grains from the Palouse and plenty of access to nice clean water. There is some great beer in Washington but does anyone have any theories why we don't make the extra-fancy list more often...ffs Florida is beating us!
     
    #1 CEL, Mar 8, 2018
  2. distantmantra

    distantmantra Pooh-Bah (2,954) May 23, 2011 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    No rare beer in Washington.
     
    #2 distantmantra, Mar 8, 2018
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  3. distantmantra

    distantmantra Pooh-Bah (2,954) May 23, 2011 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    But seriously, we’re too busy drinking the beer and doing other things. People in the PNW aren’t very concerned with rating beers on BA or hyping stuff up for stupid secondary value.
     
    #3 distantmantra, Mar 8, 2018
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  4. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    We've talked about this a few times over the years , and a lot of it comes down to the fact that we tend not to review a lot, and when we do, we tend to be "tough graders", and give lower scores. I wonder what the score differences are, for the same beer, between BA, UT, and RB? I bet UT scores would be highest.
     
    #4 BBThunderbolt, Mar 8, 2018
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  5. NWer

    NWer Pooh-Bah (2,145) Mar 10, 2009 Washington
    Pooh-Bah

    We know we're flying under the radar nationally. We just don't give a shit. Fremont is ruining that for us though as they've been getting a lot of attention lately for their barrel aging program. A few others such as stuff from Holy Mountain are becoming more sought out from other areas.
     
    #5 NWer, Mar 8, 2018
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  6. ExVashonGujy

    ExVashonGujy Pooh-Bah (2,114) Mar 7, 2013 Washington
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Remembering Emmett Watson, KBO friends, KBO. Hype and praise are our enemy. Plus this suits the Scandinavian influenced regional ethos.
     
    #6 ExVashonGujy, Mar 8, 2018
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  7. Slamminson

    Slamminson Crusader (423) Mar 24, 2012 Washington

    I laugh a bit when I read some Lifestyle Publication listicle that claims the best breweries or beer towns are centered around the East Coast or the Heartland. It's usually because whomever compiled the list didn't venture outside their area.
    I don't mind that Washington is under the radar. I just go for the next fresh offering that my local brewery tapped.
     
    #7 Slamminson, Mar 8, 2018
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  8. itracy63

    itracy63 Savant (1,187) Apr 20, 2013 Washington

    I have no idea what “fancy beer” is and beer ratings don’t mean shit.
     
    #8 itracy63, Mar 9, 2018
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  9. BuckeyeOne

    BuckeyeOne Initiate (0) Mar 9, 2008 Washington

    Don't get wrapped around the pole on this, people. The OP created an account and this is his/her first and only post.
     
    #9 BuckeyeOne, Mar 10, 2018
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  10. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yeah. I was even going to mention that this is the sort of question one asks when they first join BA, as it seems contrary to common sense (as obviously there is a ton of world class beer made out here).

    However, once you've been on BA for a while, read some of the posts from the other regional forums (especially the beer release announcement posts from some of the more popular breweries), including some of the trade forums, you begin to understand.

    It's precisely because great beer is so scarce (relatively speaking) in other parts of the country, whereas here it's so plentiful, that folks get so wound up about reviewing and rating those hard to find, limited release beers (and I'll readily admit I used to be in that camp). Here in the NW, I constantly feel overwhelmed by the amount of choices I have when it comes to great beer, to the point I just take it for granted (and so I rarely bother to go to the trouble of rating a new beer anymore).

    My impression is that this is the reaction most folks have out here.
     
    #10 John_M, Mar 10, 2018
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  11. Reidrover

    Reidrover Grand Pooh-Bah (4,886) Jan 14, 2003 Oregon
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I still rate now and again..but it is correct that some great beers have very few ratings let alone reviews.
    This goes for the whole PNW..not just WA
     
    #11 Reidrover, Mar 10, 2018
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  12. itracy63

    itracy63 Savant (1,187) Apr 20, 2013 Washington

    @John_M, I was going to say the same thing. I moved to WA a little over 2 years ago and immediately quit trading and reviewing beers.
     
    #12 itracy63, Mar 10, 2018
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  13. BuckeyeOne

    BuckeyeOne Initiate (0) Mar 9, 2008 Washington

    And given that a number of our local breweries, especially those that are draft only, are churning out new beers on a regular basis, it would be nearly impossible to keep up with reviews even if I'm inclined to do so. Which I'm not.
     
    #13 BuckeyeOne, Mar 12, 2018
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  14. NWer

    NWer Pooh-Bah (2,145) Mar 10, 2009 Washington
    Pooh-Bah

    At times out of boredom I'll review the Top 250 list to see how Fremont is doing and to see what I've had and haven't had. On occasion I'll see something I've had and will tic it off just for my own edification. That's about it as far as "reviewing" goes for me.
     
    #14 NWer, Mar 12, 2018
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  15. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    For me it's completely a mood decision as to whether I'll review a particular beer. If I try something that I really thought was outstanding, or was a beer that surprised me by how good it was, then I might review it. Conversely, if a beer is unusually bad, or is a beer I expected to be good but wasn't, then I might review it as well.

    Yesterday I did a review of the Wayfinder doppelbock, just because it was such a disappointment. I think highly of Wayfinder, especially their lagers, and so was surprised by how lame it was (it also had not yet been reviewed or added to the data base). If I review a beer, there's a better chance I'll recall the experience, and won't make the same mistake again (ordering it).
     
    #15 John_M, Mar 12, 2018
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  16. ppilot

    ppilot Zealot (522) Jul 17, 2009 Oregon

    I generally don't get overly fussy when reviewing beers as it's more just to help me remember what I liked, which actually is a problem when you live in the Portland area where there are so many great one-off draft only beers to try.
     
    #16 ppilot, Mar 12, 2018
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  17. GrinchsDog

    GrinchsDog Initiate (0) Mar 25, 2018 Washington

    I never thought about why Washington didn't have a flagship beer. A lot of your comments make sense though. Cloudburst jumps to mind in that it's just rotating beers so often, how do you get any acclaim nationally?! So instead of having a singular beer to celebrate and share with the world they just keep churning out cool stuff. Which I guess is the way the beer culture works, you have to have one beer to get you attention, to get you a reputation on a larger scale, which gets you fancy status.

    As a resident I don't mind the lack of attention as many of you said. I'll take the quality under the radar lifestyle.
     
    #17 GrinchsDog, Apr 8, 2018
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  18. mudbug

    mudbug Pooh-Bah (1,762) Mar 27, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    Kind of hard to get overly excited about a single beer when you are swimming in an ocean of it
     
    #18 mudbug, Apr 8, 2018
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  19. CEL

    CEL Initiate (0) Mar 8, 2018 Washington

    Some great points. What made me question this is comparing the wine industry to the beer industry. It's interesting to me that places renowned for good grapes are typically also known for producing the best wine, while in the beer world this correlation doesn't line up quite as well.

    But...I work in ag and I think I see some of the disconnect. In the winegrape industry grapes are typically grown and controlled from start to finish to produce a specific wine. While hops are more commercially produced and distributed. It would be cool if more Washington hops growers would coordinate with brewers and set up more yard to beer projects.

    I do see some hop yards in Washington starting to catch on to this idea and setting up beer production operations and even tasting rooms in their hop yards. Balebreaker comes to mind but it sure would be cool if there were more farms that did this. I am sure greatful to have so many good beers in my state and while it's nice to be "under the radar" I don't think it would hurt our industry (ag and brewing) to fully own up to our kick ass beer a little more.
     
    #19 CEL, Apr 8, 2018
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  20. sharpski

    sharpski Grand Pooh-Bah (3,100) Oct 11, 2010 Oregon
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    To me, this is a key part of fresh hop season.
     
    #20 sharpski, Apr 8, 2018
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