For those of you not familiar, Woodinville is just north of Redmond and is home to about 100 wineries. We were driving through a few weeks ago and saw a little tasting room for Fish Tale beers, which advertised that these beers had been voted some of the best in the state. We decided that the next time we were up there, we would stop in and give them a try.

I started with the Vicious Circle, an amber ale. This was a typical amber with a slightly toasty nose and caramel undertones in the taste. However, it was a bit hoppier than many. The mix of hops and malt was pretty good in this beer and, although I am generally not an amber fan, I found this a good beer.

Beyond the Pale had a good nose with lots of hops. Overall, this was a hoppy beer for just a pale ale with hops that gave a good grapefruit flavor.

Hodgsons Bitter End had a very off nose and  a bit of sticky sweet on the end of each sip. The flavor up front was way too bitter.

Full Blast Blonde had slightly skunky and off putting nose. This little bit of skunkiness can be tasted up front but it ends with a good malt flavor.

The Organic Amber was not as good as the Vicious Circle. This beer was sweet up front but didn’t have much nose or caramel.

Organic Wild Salmon Pale Ale had a very nice grassy nose with underlying aromas of flowers and citrus. It was a well balanced, slightly sweet but had good hop flavors that were earthy and grassy.

The Organic IPA had a very sweet nose and was very sweet upfront on the tongue. However, it didn’t finish well and didn’t seem well balanced.

Mud Shark Porter had a very chocolate nose. The first flavor is coffee but it finishes quite sweet, like a sweet coffee drink.

Overall I didn’t find the organic beers as good as the non-organic ones. If you have been reading my blog, you would know that I have mentioned this problem before– organic beers don’t usually turn out as well. I am not sure why, but sometimes they don’t seem well balanced or have slightly off flavors.

I will, however, give Fish Tale another try. Apparently the original Fish Tale Brew Pub is located in Olympia, so if I am ever up that way I will probably give them a try.

Before you start criticizing about the fact that Elysian sold out to In Bev and thus they should no longer be considered a craft beer, consider that I came from Florida and so I wasn’t lucky enough to try most Elysian beers either before or after their sell out. Therefore, I wanted to try their beers.

I went to the Public House in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle to have lunch after a morning at the Pacific Science Center. I was impressed with the menu– lots of choices for those of us who don’t generally eat meat.  I had tried a few of the beers prior as I picked up several of the seasonal pumpkins at the local Trader Joes, but hadn’t tried many. The Punkuccino is as good as everyone says it is, so if you haven’t tried it, you should.  You can find reviews of this on my Untappd (terezam).

One thing that I didn’t like at Elysian was that the flights were set– you couldn’t get the beers that you wanted to try in each. I really don’t like to be forced to try beers that are styles that I am probably not going to like.

The first beer was such a brew. I am not a fan of pilsners. I don’t care for that funky taste at the end of a pilsner. If I want something light, I would prefer a good wheat beer or a Belgian style. The Zephyrus was a good pilsner but not my style.

Men’s Room Red had a good malty finish but was a bit bitter up front. Although I appreciated the toastiness of this beer, again reds are generally not my style.

Immortal IPA didn’t have much nose and had a very strong bitter flavor at the beginning. However, the hop profile didn’t seem a good fit and gave the beer almost a skunked flavor.

Avatar Jasmine IPA was a very interesting beer. The flavor was initially like jasmine tea but then strong hop flavor takes over. With this beer, jasmine hits you up front but then the hops reign.

Perfesser, a plum based fruit beer, had a sweet nose and was very plum up front. There were obvious German hops at the end with flowery tastes. I am not a fan of plums (I hate them actually) but this beer was pretty good.

This was the second time that I had Night Owl Pumpkin Ale. I had it originally in bottle and didn’t particularly care for it. However, I found it was much better on draft (either that or it is growing on me). It seemed to have much more cinnamon flavors this time around.

Space Dust had a nice clean nose with a hint of chlorine. It was lightly hopped with flavors of citrus and grass. This is an easy drinking IPA.

Elysian of Boom was really nothing special but a typical IPA. It had little nose with a medium hop flavor.

Obnoxious was another typical beer. This Imperial IPA had a similar light nose and medium hop flavor.

I actually would definitely go back to Elysian. I would like to see how it is on a Friday or Saturday night when the place is hopping. It was quite dead on Saturday afternoon. However, that did make service fast and the food quick.

So as I was driving around aimlessly looking for Black Raven, I saw another sign that said “Beer” with an arrow. Well who can turn down that sign…. so I went looking for the beer.

I found Hi Fi, another brewery located in the same industrial park as Black Raven.  Again this one was a bit hard to find, but I managed.

I stopped and got a flight to give them a try. After Black Raven, they were a let down. The beers here were marginal at best and not terribly creative. I did appreciate the music theme, down to the records used as flight holders and the names of the beer. I give them creativity points for atmosphere but not beer.

I started with the Van Hagar which had a nice pale ale nose, but was a let down on flavor. The hop mix was odd giving the beer a very lemon flavor up front but that finishes almost sour.

On the Metro Blueberry Berliner was very purple in color but didn’t have much blueberry flavor in the final product. Overall it was a typical berliner with good sour flavors, but the fruit used could have been anything.

The Black Album Black IPA had a very chocolate nose. The chocolate was way too strong upfront in the taste but the beer did finish with a good hop flavor.

Pump Up the Volume Pumpkin had a nice spicy nose but was not overwhelming in either smell or flavor. The beer was a bit too sweet up front for my taste but did have a more subtle pumpkin flavor than many of these seasonal brews.

Maybe I will try to make it back to give them another try. They did have a few specialty beers that looked interesting but after the commonness of the larger batches I decided not to give them a try.

There is a local little sports type bar here that I happened to notice was doing a tap takeover event with a local brewery, Black Raven, a few weeks ago. I stopped by the event as it was a chance to try some new local beers and see a new restaurant. The brewer was there and we chatted– I was surprised at the quality of these beers.  Anyway, with every beer you got a raffle ticket and I happened to win a tshirt.  Of course, the shirt was size 2XL and I am a medium generally. Luckily, the brewer told me all I had to do was come by the brewery and I could exchange the shirt. Well, that was a stroke of luck because Black Raven turned out to be a great local brewery.

Located in Redmond, this is your typical brewery. It is in an industrial park and a bit difficult to find if you don’t know what you are looking for– which I didn’t.  After finding the brewery and exchanging the shirt, I got to try some of the best beers I have had in the area. This place is definitely worth the trip.

I had tried Trickster IPA, Hochtoberfest, and Second Sight Strong Scotch Ale while at the local restaurant so I avoided those on this trip. You can see my reviews on Untappd at terezam. The Hochtoberfest was one of the best fall beers I have had so far this year– a must try.

I started with the Sunthief Kristallweizen. This beer was very wheaty, bready, and yeasty. It had little nose.

Kravens Kirweisse smell like a sweet wine and, being currant based, has very currant flavors. Overall, this beer tastes a lot like a sweet wine and would be a great introduction for a wine drinker to beer. It is very unusual.

Three Sundays Oaked Tripel has a slight oak nose. The taste is very sweet up front, like candy, but finishes with a bit of burn. My husband wasn’t keen on this one as he said it tasted like bubble gum. I thought it was quite unique and different but definitely would be an acquired taste.

The Totem Pale has a slightly hoppy nose. The taste is way too bitter up front but luckily it doesn’t linger long. The beer seemed a bit unfinished.

Tamerlane Brown Porter has a nice nose of chocolate and hazelnut. Another unusual beer, the flavor starts out sweeter like a nut brown and ends more bitter like a porter.

La Petite Mort has a strong nose of spices, particularly cinnamon, and a bit of sweetness. This beer starts out very sweet and ends a bit sour, like fermenting fruit. Again my husband said this beer had a bubble gum like flavor. I found it very interesting and well balanced between sweet and sour.

By far, Black Raven had the most innovative and experimental beers I have yet seen in the area. I was glad to see something other than a West Coast style IPA. I am definitely going to look for their beers around town and try to make it back to the brewery.

I happened to have a job interview in Burien so decided to stop at the Elliott Bay Brewing Company location there after to give the beers a try. I didn’t know they were all organic until I went into the brewery. I really appreciate when a brewery, like any business, tries to be environmentally friendly. Shouldn’t we all be?

I started with the Demolition IPA which had a very hoppy, strong nose. The beer was well balanced in general but the bitterness did hold a bit long on the tongue.

Next beer was the Hop Von Boorian, a Belgian IPA, which had a very nice herbal, Belgian nose and was very Belgian in flavor up front. The beer finished with a good about of bitterness and was very good and unusual.

Riot didn’t have much nose, but what was there was very grassy and earthy. This was an OK beer but the balance was a bit off leaving it feeling a little unfinished.

Virgil Sunshine IPA didn’t have much nose but had a good floral hop taste up front, yet finished very malty. Not my style of beer but would be good for a light beer drinker.

Alembic Pale was another beer without much nose. This beer was sweet with a tad of bitter at the end.

No Doubt Cherry Stout had a very slight chocolate nose, but has bold tastes. This beer is reminiscent of a chocolate covered cherry and is sweet without being too much so. There are also subtle underlying tastes of coffee and coconut.

Overall, this brewery did a good job with there beers. I have found that many breweries that do organic beers leave behind a lot of taste or the beers don’t seem well crafted. This was not the case here.

The location is also great– right downtown Burien. There is lots of shopping and restaurants nearby. The area seems one of the more international that I have seen with a good mix of flavors and styles.

After my let down at Fremont, I wasn’t expecting to find anywhere that overall had a good selection of beer. I stumbled upon Hale’s Ales while driving through town on Labor Day and finding most of the breweries closed. This place had reasonably priced food and the beers here were good across the board. This one was a great find.

The Mongoose IPA had a very nice hop nose and very good balanced flavors. Its partner, Supergoose, had a good hop nose also but had lots of citrus. The Supergoose was also well balanced even though the hops gave it lots of lemon flavors.

Guapo’s Saison Sour was a good saison but didn’t really come across as a sour. The nose had a slight underlying scent like fermenting fruit. However, it still was predominantly the herbal nose of a saison. That underlying fermenting fruit was still prevalent in the flavor giving it a bit of a hard cider like undertone. There wasn’t really much sour here.

New Trick had a very smoky nose and very smoky flavors up front but finished more like a brown with caramel flavors. I am not usually a fan of smoky beers, but this one was quite delightful.

Night Troll Porter had a very slight coffee nose and was very nutty in flavor up front. It was interesting but not really a full-on porter. This was kind of a nut brown porter, if there is such a thing. This was definitely not a traditional porter and had a slightly sweet finish.

I am definitely going to try to make it back to this brewery. The food was great too. It is in a neighborhood surrounded by several other breweries so I will have to make it part of a multi-stop tour next time. I just hope that next time I am up that way, everything is open.

The Ram was a must visit because it is up the hill from me.  I couldn’t really never go. However, this is one of those typical chain breweries like Gordon Biersch and BJs.  I am not really a fan of these places– I guess the patrons are at least not drinking Bud Light. But, I do feel like they con people into believing that the beer is actually made on site.  Basically, they are yuppie places for those who don’t want to wander to their real local brewery which might be located on the wrong side of town or in an industrial park.

Anyway… I had to try the beers.  I wasn’t impressed. Like all the other chain breweries, the beers here are for the masses and not bad, but not good.

RAM (Random Access Memory) IPA has an earthy nose that doesn’t represent the true bitterness of this beer. This beer is very bitter and unbalanced to the point it is not really palatable. They did try to make it more balanced as you can taste some sweetness up front but that sweetness doesn’t carry through and you are left with a very strong bitter at the end.

Buttface Amber has a hint of caramel on the nose and finishes malty. However, it is a bit bitter up front.

Disorder Porter has a good porter nose of coffee and is a good overall porter. However, it could stand to be just a tad bit sweeter.

71 Pale Ale has a hint of grass on the nose and good hop flavor up front. However, it finishes with a bit too much lemon and that makes it a bit sour.

Big Red IPA has an earthy nose and good grassy hop flavors. These are well balanced with the malt.  Overall, this is the best beer here.

I don’t doubt that I will be back to The Ram. After all, it is directly across the street from the movie theater. However, I don’t think I will go back because of the beer– more just because they have beer.

In contrast to Fremont, Snoqualmie Brewery was a pleasant surprise. I really walked into this brewery because it was close not because I expected to find some good beers. This is another one that is very close to my house– about 20 minutes away. I remembered after I had gotten there that I had tried one of their IPAs at the local Chinese restaurant and found it quite good. The other beers were not a disappointment either.

The Haystack Hefeweizen was the odd beer out. This was not a hefeweizen but just a typical wheat beer. This beer had none of the necessary banana and clove flavors to make it a true hefeweizen. This beer had a wheaty, yeasty nose and was very malty with strong bready flavors.

The Copperhead Pale Ale had good hop flavor up front with grass and citrus, then it became malty with a bit of bitter lingering at the end. Overall this was a good pale ale. I would  have expected more nose from this beer though.

Wildcat IPA also lacked much nose but was very bitter in flavor. This beer was not well balanced and had an odd lingering taste like tar.

Steam Train Porter was one of the best porters I have had in a while. It had a good nose of coffee and was very well rounded in flavor having just a hint of sweetness at the end. This reminded me of a good cup of coffee with just the right amount of sugar.

The Harvest Moon was a good traditional Marzen with good sweet and malty flavors.

The Black Frog Stout served on nitro had a sweet chocolate nose and great mouth feel. Overall, this stout was good but a touch too sweet.

The Powerhouse IPA had a slight hop nose with lots of caramel.  The caramel flavor comes out strong at first but finishes bitter. This is better balanced than the IPA but still is not great.

The Bunghole is a double brown ale that is very sweet up front, much too sweet for my taste, and had underlying hints of tea like flavors. This one is really not my cup of tea.

If you find yourself in Snoqualmie, definitely make a stop here. They have a full menu and prices are very reasonable. The brewery is located in the quaint downtown area and there is lots of on street parking.

Everyone here talks about Fremont Brewing and how great it is. Sadly, I found it a bit of a disappointment. They have a great location and really nice outside beer garden area. However, the beers are really not worth the trip. Many of them had off-putting flavors and others were just really not that spectacular.

I started with the Summer Ale which had a nice herbal nose and was very light with a hit of bitter at the end and hint of sweetness upfront. Not a bad beer for this style, but definitely nothing to rave about.

The Universale Pale Ale had a light nose and was malty up front but finishes with a bit of coffee flavor after it sits for a few minutes. The first few sips were quite good but after a few minutes, it began to taste quite odd for a pale ale.

Interurban IPA was very bitter at the end and so unbalanced it actually made my eyes water a bit. The nose on this one doesn’t reflect the amount of hops and is oddly very light.

The Session Pale Ale had a bit of an off-putting skunk like nose and and odd taste up front like burnt grass. It finishes with an odd malty flavor that is lightly sweet and slightly bready.

The Brother also has an off-putting slightly skunky nose. However, it is more balanced than most of the beers here with good mix of sweet and bitter. It is a good beer but not great.

So should you visit Fremont? Pick a nice day when you can sit outside near the water and relax. However, don’t come if you are expecting great beers.