So I just read an article today saying that Des Voigne Cellars and B Side Brewing are the first combined winery/brewery in the state of Washington. Well, I can only hope that this is just the first in a new model.  As some of you know, this blog really started out about wine. I used to be a huge wine drinker then I started travelling to states where beer was in demand as much as wine. Then I became a huge beer aficionado. Now, I drink a little of both– probably a bit more beer but who is counting.

Anyway, I was glad to see that someone else in this world appreciates both beer and wine. I think it is becoming more and more common, but it is still a rarity to find good wine and good beer in the same place. Doing so gives you so many more options and allows everyone, even those with different tastes, to enjoy an experience at a winery/brewery.

I have to mention the wines, as it would be odd not to do so, the wines were generally good. There was nothing that stood out as great to me, but I did enjoy the tasting. I even bought a bottle of the red blend to take home with me.

However, this blog is about beer, so I need to spend my time talking about the beer. I was told the brewer here was a long time home brewer and I can imagine that he did a great job on his homebrew system. The scale up to a larger system didn’t seem to hurt the quality and style of the beers served. As they have recently started brewing, there were only three beers to try: a pale ale, an IPA, and a porter.

The great thing about these beers is that they were very true to style. Nothing was spectacular but when you ordered a pale ale– you got a pale ale. The pale ale was a bit on the hoppy side but I like a pale ale with flavor. It was nice and light with well balanced flavors. The nose did reflect the hoppiness, but it still maintained the pale ale label.

The IPA also had a hoppy nose but much more so and with the scents of grass and citrus. This had a good hoppy flavor but was not overwhelming. It did have bitter flavors but they were still in check with other malty flavors in the beer.

The porter was, again, true to style. It had a nice coffee nose with a hint of sugar. The flavors here were very traditional but there was a just and underlying hint of smokiness.

I am looking forward to returning to B Side when they have more styles and tastes available. I really appreciate when brewers aren’t doing fancy but are doing right.