Beer

A lot of American craft beer aficionados turn their noses up at Pilsner style beers, which is understandable given the "pilsner" options available to us in the not so distant past (i.e. megaswill). But a well-crafted Pilsner is a beer truly to be appreciated. Light, refreshing, balanced, and with nothing to hide the flaws behind. One of the best domestic Pilsners I've had is Trumer Pils. I use the term domestic loosely because Trumer is an Austrian company, with a brewery in Salzburg, that opened a brewery in Berkeley, CA in '04. This beer definitely benefits from the shorter travel distance than Pilsner Urquell and Czechvar (both excellent Pilsners when treated right) suffer from. This is a beer that should be consumed fresh and suffers easily from light-struck skunkiness.

Trumer Pils has only been available in Washington for a short time. I've had it on tap at Collins Pub in Seattle and bought it in bottles for the first time at Bottleworks. Well, it's finally available in Kitsap County at Marina Market in Poulsbo. I had heard it was on tap and maybe in bottles at one time at Heads Up, but I never made it there to see it for myself. I bought the last of their stock at Marina Market the other day, but the owner assured me they would get more in. I encourage anyone who loves a good Pilsner (and even those who don't know yet that they do) to pick some up and check it out.

I met up with Chris, the Beer Retard, and his lady-friend Francesca (not sure if that's spelled right) in Port Townsend yesterday for a day of beer tasting at Water Street Brewing and Port Townsend Brewing Co. Chris and Francesca rode the passenger ferry from Seattle and I grabbed the bus from Poulsbo. We met at Water Street for lunch and to sample their beers.

I started out with the Burr's Frosty Ale, a winter beer that emphasizes roasty malt character. Next I went to the other end of the spectrum and tried the Schwag Lite, a well balanced Blonde Ale that would be great one after another on a hot summer day. It would also be a great gateway craft brew for the adventurous mega-swill drinker.

While we were sitting at the bar they put two beers on that weren't there when we arrived. One was the Panama Red and the other was the Sheba Coffee Stout. I had a Panama Red, which was hoppy and full bodied. Chris had a Sheba and I tried a big sip of that. It really had a dark chocolate flavor to it and a full bodied roundness on the palate. I would have liked to nurse a pint of that but we had other fish to drink.

Chris and I took the 20 minute walk in a bitter breeze down to Port Townsend Brewing Co, located in the industrial boatyard part of town. Inside the metal-sided, industrial park style building they've got a very inviting and comfortable tasting room, full of obvious regulars and plenty of seating. I have had several PT beers in bottles, but for some reason I usually pass them by when I see them in the grocery store. I was amazed that they had 10 or 11 beers on tap. It looked like they have a regular lineup of 12 beers, but a couple were out. I started with their Boatyard Bitter, a well balanced English Bitter style beer with a slightly nutty character and served at the appropriate temp and level of carbonation. Next I tried the Strait Stout, a "Dublin" style stout, served on nitro, that was crisp and dry with the typical roasted barley character and a creamy nitro head.

I could have stayed at PT Brewing all day, working my way down the list of beers, but we had to get back to Water Street to meet up with Francesca again and because my ride home was arriving soon. I wanted to try their Old Wookie Barleywine, so we skipped the sobering walk and grabbed a bus back downtown. It looked like I had time for one more beer before the barleywine, so I ordered the Strange Brew Single Hop. I couldn't identify the single hop (my palette is not that refined), but it was a refreshing and aromatic example of a west coast pale. As I started drinking the Strange Brew, I ordered an Old Wookie to give it time to warm up a little. Just as I was starting to enjoy the Wookie, my wife and kids showed up to drive me home. Luckily they were hungry, so we sat in the restaurant, ordered some food, and I got to finish my barleywine without having to gulp it down. The Wookie was good, well balanced and clean, but lacked the complexity I expect in a high gravity beer. Maybe my palette was wrecked by then, but I didn't pick up any dried fruit or other complex esters that often result from high gravity fermentations.

The biggest lesson I learned yesterday was that there aren't enough hours in a day to enjoy both breweries in Port Townsend. I could easily spend an entire day at either place, and I look forward to my next trip up there for the beer.