I had to make my way over to Lynnwood so I thought I would check out any breweries in that area. Again, I had to eat lunch so I figured a brew pub was just as good of a place to grab a bit as anywhere else.

I found Big E Ales located in an industrial area next to an auto repair place and near the interstate.  The location could definitely be better but the beers were decent and the place was very reasonably priced– a rarity I am finding in Seattle.

I did a sampler with six beers and tried to vary styles.  I wasn’t overall impressed, but I didn’t leave disappointed either.

The first beer I tried was the Blackberry Ale.  As everyone probably knows, I am always on the lookout for a great fruit beer, as they are so far and few.  Generally, there is either too much fruit, making the beer syrupy and unrecognizable as beer, or too little, leaving the question of why add the fruit at all.  This beer was a little on the too much side but was not as bad as many out there. There was not a huge amount of blackberry on the nose. This was unusual considering the amount of blackberry on the flavor– dial it down a little and you would have a good mix of beer and fruit.

The Hoppy Redhead was the best beer here. The Red IPA is really growing on me as a style. I am beginning to really like the toasty malt upfront with the stronger bitter end.  This beer had a good nose of grapefruit and grass. It started with good toasted malt up front and finishes with a good grassy hop taste. This was well done and well balanced.

The 12 1/2 Man IPA (this has something to do with football and I am still trying to figure out this 12th man thing) is sweet on the nose with an almost vanilla aroma.  It is very bitter with mint undertones and not well balanced.

The 2 Pint IPA has the opposite problem of the 12 1/2 Man. This has a lot of toasted malty flavors and not much bitterness. Overall, the flavor is more toasty than anything else although there is a lingering hint of bitter.

The Pau Hana Porter is a nice style porter with coffee undertones and good chocolate flavors up front. However, it is a bit too sweet drinking more like a chocolate milk than a coffee.

I would recommend if you are in the area stopping by, if for nothing else, to try the Hoppy Redhead. If I find myself in the area, I will definitely give a try to the beers I didn’t get on this round and maybe I can find another winner.