So I had been hearing that there were several good breweries in Woodinville. However, I had never found them up until a couple of weeks ago because they are all located right next to one another. Once you find one, you have found them all.

My big complaint with the breweries was not the beer but the lack of good food trucks. The Seahawks were playing and it was a Sunday afternoon so I would have expected every brewery to be packed and be offering some great food options. The food trucks were pathetic though– hotdogs and disgusting looking sandwiches. Come on– this is Seattle which is known as a foodie town. None of the ones that I saw even offered any vegetarian or healthy options.

Well enough about the sad state of the food. We ended up driving down the street to Panera to get something to bring back. Let’s move on to the beers.

We started at Triplehorn as it was located furthest up the street. We did a fixed sampler– which I always hate  to do as they pick beers that are their year rounds but not necessarily the best. I wish breweries would concentrate on highlighting their best brews in their flights.

The flight started with the Falcon Cloak Blonde. This beer didn’t have much nose up front, but what was there was sweet. The taste had too much hop up front and ended with a very weird taste that we couldn’t really define.

The Landwink IPA, on the other hand, was a good beer. The grassy and citrus hoppy flavors were well balanced giving a good overall brew.

Folkvang Red Ale is one that I have tried at a local gastropub, Levitate. I am not really a fan of reds but am trying. I also think I know a good one when I find one. This one had smoky flavors up front but an off finish that was quite off putting. Again, the finish was really hard to categorize.

The Enabler IPA had a nice grassy nose and good balance. This was a much more sessionable IPA than the Landwink.

Symbol Blackberry Wheat was another that I had tried locally. When I first tried it, I didn’t really like it. However, I found that it was a bit better at the brewery. The nose was very good with a subtle blackberry aroma. However, the nose is a bit deceptive as the taste is still a hint too Kool-Aidy.

The Outstanding Porter was a very good porter– the name was true for this one. The nose was a bit smoky but it was nice and subtle to the more forward coffee aromas.

The second stop was Blue Lightening which was literally walking distance.  Again this was my kind of brewery, located in an industrial park and filled with unpretentious people enjoying a good beer.

This was a flight I got to select which is always preferable– this way the customer gets to taste and try the styles of beer that suit their tastes and desires.

I started this flight with the Bullseye Bourbon Barrel Double Ott Stout. It had a slightly chocolate nose and you could get a hint of bourbon there too. The bourbon flavor was not overpowering in this beer as in the case of many bourbon barrel beers. I had to get a pint of this one before I left.

The Papa Gay Gay IPA had a slight hop nose but good light hop flavors. This was another well balanced IPA.

The Scotchie Scotchie Scotch Ale had a slight smoked nose and good flavors of caramel and smoke. Although not generally a fan of Scotch Ales, I would drink this beer.

Just the Tip ISA had little nose or flavor. Overall this beer was just malty. Not really true to the style of an ISA.

Not sure I am spelling this one correctly as I took notes with my phone and I absolutely hate autocorrect.  The Pate Betrunken Oktoberfest was a good true to style beer with a malty nose. The taste was sweet up front but finished with good caramel notes.

Dark Persuasion German Chocolate Cake was a dessert in a pint glass. This brew is actually from Icicle Brewing and based on this beer I have to find this brewery. This beer was fantastic with tastes of chocolate and coconut. The name of this beer tells you exactly what you are going to get!

Last stop was the Dirty Bucket, again walking distance from all the rest. This was another preselected flight but encompassed everything available on draft that day.

It started with the Naughty Auntie ESB.  This beer had a slightly sweet nose. Overall, the beer was a bit too hoppy for a good ESB and had a bit too much of an herbal flavor. From what I understand, a good ESB is hard to make and this one, unfortunately, didn’t make the cut.

Black Lab Stout had a nice coffee nose and good coffee tastes. This was overall a very good stout.

Dirty Blonde Kolsch was very light with a very light citrus flavor. It didn’t have that typical Kolsch flavor which to me is a bit like tar. Very easy to drink this would be a good one for a hot day.

The Rusty Pail Ale was a pretty well rounded pale ale. It had a nice hop nose but the taste of hops was not heavy. It was a little sweet and a little hoppy.

The Filthy Hoppin IPA had a good balance but needed a bit more hops to make it a true IPA.

Dirty Jack Pumpkin was the best pumpkin beer I have had done locally. This beer had a nice cinnamon nose but the pumpkin spice flavors were not overwhelming in the beer. In fact, these were nicely balanced with a bit of hops.

Overall, I found this experience a bit reminiscent of Asheville, NC, where breweries are literally stacked on top of one another and the next is just a door or two away. I find this gives a more community feel and always makes it easy for everyone to find a beer that they like. These breweries all had their strengths and weaknesses, so you got a range of styles and experiences.