So what else did you do when you weren’t writing?

Well, I went to Seattle and tried a few beers there. Well, OK, a great many beers but here is what I took notes on.

Firestone Walkers Pale 31 is wonderful. Spicy, lime nose, orange creamy finish, nice toasty caramel background. I guess that isn’t a surprise considering the pedigree of the brewery but sometimes, you have to have a gimme, you know?

Alaskan Bitter Biliken is an English style bitter that is too unbalanced with grapefruit bitterness.

12 Bar Brews Wicked Riff IPA (pic) is just a mouthful of grapefruit. A little spicy touch arrives as it warms up, but by then it is too late to save this beer.

I know that IPAs are supposed to be an unbalanced style but I am confused by people who want to make them taste like grapefruit rind. It’s just…no. Don’t do that. Malt is not a bad thing! Hell, hop variance isn’t a bad thing!

I also made my annual pilgrimage to the Elysian brewpub on Capitol Hill, where I had their Woodruff maibock. It was nice and pretty mild; I do get a red wine influence in the nose-it’s just a little tart there. I had something else but I was too busy eating lunch to take notes. Writer hungry!

However one of the best surprises was Bellhaven Scottish stout. I was introduced to this by friends, and it was fantastic. It has a whiff of whiskey in the nose and is super creamy all the way to the finish. A really lovely surprise. I think I need to find some more of that as soon as possible.