I have quite an odd story about this brewery. Over a year ago, someone sent me a Facebook request to like this brewery’s page. I cannot remember who and/or why– but I generally just go ahead and like any brewery that someone suggests. I never looked to see where the brewery was located or what beers they made. I mindlessly just clicked the like and,over the past year or so, I would see little posts and status updates from Postdoc without even questioning them.

A few weeks after I moved to Washington, I was at a local brewpub that boasts about only serving beers that are made in a 50 mile or so radius. On the board was Postdoc.  I recognized the name and asked the bartender where the brewery was located, as I had been following them on Facebook for over a year.  I discovered that Postdoc is located about 20 minutes away in Redmond.

I think that day I tried their Alpha Factor IPA and was quite impressed. Therefore, I had to try to make it to their brewery to give the other brews a try and to see where this mysterious brewery, of which I had been a fan for over a year, was located.

The day I visited there were 9 beers on draft and I decided to try every one. I had to know what this brewery was all about.

I started with the Pomegranate Kolsch which had a slightly wheaty and sweet nose. The beer tasted a bit like a sweet tart on first sip but then finished very malty. Not really my style of beer, this kolsch was drinkable, even with the fruit, which seemed to enhance the beer instead of overpower it (as is usually the case).

The Weizen Shine was an interesting beer, a red German wheat, which I don’t think I have ever had before. The beer didn’t have much nose but did have the traditional flavors of banana and clove. The darker malts gave it a bit of wheaty and malty finish. A very good alternative for a person who likes a hefeweizen but wants something with a bit more.

The Kilty MacPumpkin Pumpkin Scottish Ale was another interesting and creative beer. This is by far one of the best pumpkin beers I have had all season.  This beer had a nose that smelled slightly of nutmeg but not like a full on pumpkin assault. There was a lot of nutmeg and pumpkin spice up front in this beer, but it was balanced well with the malty flavors. This was a great seasonal beer.

The Pumpdoc Postkin Porter was not a good beer for me. I don’t like spicy beers and this one would have given me a massive case of heartburn. This beer had a really nice nose of coffee, again with hints of nutmeg. However, this beer is very spicy and that spice lingers. There is a nice pumpkin flavor right up front, but then it is drowned out by the spice.

The Cram Session Coffee Porter was just what it was advertised to be– a great coffee porter. This beer tasted more like fresh coffee than many and smelled like coffee that was just brewed. If you are a coffee lover, then this is the beer for you. I took a little and mixed it with the Kilty MacPumpkin and it was fantastic–like an alcoholic pumpkin spice latte.

The Seamus O’Brien Irish Stout was true to style. It didn’t have much of a nose but had a slight bitter taste and just a hint of coffee. If you like Irish stouts, give this one a try.

The Prereq Pale Ale had good hop flavors and nose for a pale ale. There were good flavors of grass and pine. For a pale ale, this was fantastic.

Transverse Wheat IPA had a light hop nose and underlying tastes of flowers. This beer was actually less hoppy than the pale ale and I didn’t get much of the wheat.

As I mentioned earlier, the Alpha Factor IPA is a must try and a great go to beer for any IPA lover. This beer is light and well balanced with underlying flower nose and flavors.

Besides the beers, the atmosphere at Postdoc is also great. The tap room is well appointed without being pretentious. The place is also dog friendly– there were about 8 dogs present by the time we left on a Sunday afternoon. We have one dog that is social enough to make the trip and we are thinking of taking her next time.

So I have actually always wanted to go to a Pyramid brewery location. The last time I tried was a few years back while in Sacramento. The downtown location closed at 7 pm on Sunday night which seemed a bit absurd and we didn’t make it. They were actually latching the door by the time a friend and I got there. Who would ever think that a brewery, no matter where it was located, would close so early?

Well, I finally got my chance to check out the Seattle location after a Sounders game. The brewery is located just a couple of blocks away from the stadium and the game ended around 7 pm, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity.

I am not sure why I have always wanted to check out a Pyramid location. I have only had a couple of their beers and haven’t been impressed. Well, I still wasn’t impressed after finally making the visit.

I did a flight and, because it was a game night, it was a set flight. As you probably know by now, I really hate set flights and it didn’t help at this brewery that I just got to try the standards. Don’t get me wrong, none of the beers were bad– it’s just that none of them were exceptional.

The flight started with the Pyramid Hefeweizen. This is one of the few Pyramid beers I had actually tried before. This beer to me isn’t much of a hefeweizen. The banana and clove flavors are very subdued and the malt is the major aroma/taste. This is a very wheaty beer. If I’m going to go with a mass produced hefeweizen, please give me a Widmer.

The next beer was a seasonal, Sno Cap. This beer was fantastic on first taste and smell. The nose was of chocolate and this beer tasted like a dessert. However, the oddest thing happened with this beer– the more I drank it the less it tasted like chocolate. I am not sure if the taste and aroma were lost by merely being exposed to air or the taste is a one time deal. Anyway, I loved this beer at first and was bored with it by the time I finished a 4 oz glass.

The Apricot Ale was true to name with taste and smell of apricots. This beer had the same problem that most fruit beers do– too much fruit and too little beer. To me, a fruit beer should be a beer that is enhanced by the flavor of the fruit. It should not be an excuse to make beer Kool-Aid.

The Thunderhead IPA didn’t have much nose and was also weak on any hop taste. The taste was more sweet than hoppy. This beer really could use more hops.

The Ale House Amber was the last in the flight. This beer didn’t have much nose but was toasty and caramel in flavor.

So, I am willing to give Pyramid another chance next time I am down by the stadium but I am really hoping for something spectacular next time.