Getting off the cruise ship was not the best part of our trip. I hated the thought of our vacation coming to a close, but knew there was so much more to Seattle that we needed to see. Megan met us at the terminal and picked us up early that morning. It was a rainy, overcast, albeit typical day in Seattle.
Meg took us to Pike Place Market where we tried to take in all that we could in a short amount of time. We had a lot on the schedule for the day. We shopped through the market and gawked at all the beautiful flowers and produce. The colors, shapes, textures, smells, and sounds are overwhelming, but in an incredible way. I felt like a child who is at Disneyland for the first time....mouth agape, staring at everything for a bit too long. We saw the obligatory market stuff, throwing fish, bronze pig, etc...etc.... We headed off to the original Starbucks, where we HAD to get a coffee and mugs to prove we'd been there. We passed by an amazing cheese shop, Beecher's, where we picked up some blue cheese to have with our brats for dinner. I'd never actually seen the stainless vats where they have the machines mixing the curds and whey...I felt like I was in a PBS cooking special I used to watch on Saturdays when I was 9. It was incredible to see true artisans create something so tasty! We ended our afternoon outing with a stop at Iver's Fish Bar. It came highly recommended by Megan and we were along for the ride. The interior was lined with fantastic windows that were "garage doors" that they could lift up if the weather was nice. Today was just such an occasion. We were able to have a fresh breeze from the coast and still stay warm and dry. We shared a cheese plate appetizer with a fresh blue cheese, cherry compote, and a frise salad with a sharp, but creamy vinegarette. I was at a loss for words.
Dan had some fried oysters, which were the biggest I'd ever seen and Meg had a beautiful piece of salmon on a bed of greens. Me, being a land lover, went with a great pesto chicken sandwich.
As we headed back to Meg and Dan's house, we just HAD to stop by Redhook Brewing Company. No, really, Megan MADE us! (Just kidding!!!) This is where I will hand over the writing to my husband to explain this amazing tour. He just tells it better! :)
Before proceeding, I need to make two things perfectly clear:
1) I love beer. I don't mean this in the "hey man, grab some Natty Light- let's tank up!" sense of the word "love". That smacks really more of "lust" than "love" and those days are long behind me, mostly. Nowadays, I am a connoisseur of sharp hops, roasted barely, and the sweet malty after taste of a cold pilsner or pale ale. Some days I want the citrus highlights of an unfiltered hefeweizen, others the chocolate undertones of a bold stout lager. Folks, I knew what grains of paradise were long before Jim Koch started mentioning them in his commercials! I love beer.
2) Bevin and I were still suffering from the head colds that we picked up while visiting the Tracy Arm fjord. At this point, I could stomp my foot and feel the fluid in my head slosh in response. Later, Megan was kind enough to take us by a Safeway allowing us to purchase much needed medicinal relief. But not before our stop at the brewery.
The Red Hook brewery is well worth a visit even if you're not a fan of beer. It's located in a lush, green river valley near several wineries, including Chateau Ste. Michelle (http://www.ste-michelle.com/). Thinking back, I don't remember the place being all that large. My family and I lived in Denver for five years and we visited the Coors brewery once- that place is huge! Red Hook? Not nearly so large. Try comparing Cowboys' Stadium to District Stadium (Clear Lake football rules!). Needless to say, Coors probably spills more beer in a month than Red Hook makes in a year.
Be that as it may, the product produced at Red Hook is fantastic (http://redhook.com/beers/)! We bought our tickets at the gift shop in the lobby and followed our tour guide up a flight of stairs to crowd around in a small room with a make-shift bar. The place was well lit, with a view to the brewing floor and old advertising campaigns adorning the walls.
Our guide was a nice local girl who'd worked at Red Hook for several years. Naturally, she knew all there was to know about the building and the business. Sadly, this was her starting point in the tour. I can't tell you what all she said about the company- remember, my head was full of mucus so my hearing was diminished. And let's face it: I wasn't there for a history lesson- I was promised four free samples of cold, refreshing tastiness and a glass to take home for my own! Thankfully, the tasting came after her spiel and BEFORE actually walking into the brewing room.
When the drink finally began to flow, we all started with Red Hook's staple beer, their Extra Special Bitter (ESB). It's styled after a British recipe, but isn't bitter at all! I liked the strong taste of hops and malt alike in the aftertaste. I drank my 8 oz sample, and half of Bevin's. Megan downed her's like a champ! Next up, Red Hook's India Pale Ale- wow! I won't go into the history of this particular style of brew but it is an interesting read. Their IPA is true to form and packed with a dry, hops flavor; it almost burns the eyes with each swallow. I don't normally drink IPA (I have to really be in the mood for it) but these were free samples so I drank mine, Bevin's and I think Megan's.
Next up: Copper Hook! What a nice change from the ESB and IPA. It's a smooth brew, with a sweeter malt flavor than the two previous beers. Wish I could get some of it down here! I knocked back my small glass, and Bevin's; I believe at this point she wasn't interested in beer tasting anymore and said I could have her samples. And the last beer for sampling was the Nut Brown, a beer she wouldn't have liked anyhow. This beer was darker than the others, but still had a smooth taste. I can't remember much else about this drink. I consumed my sample and Bevin's... and probably Megan's? She was our designated driver after all.
Now that we'd finished the sampling, it was time to hit the brewery floor! It was an open and clean space and looked efficient. I think. I'll be honest, at this point I was feeling fine and fancy free. The head cold? What head cold? I know we took pictures of all this... but hey! If you've seen one brewery, you've seen them all. Besides, after the walk, we got one more shot at free samples! The nice lady starting asking us trivia questions about the brewery, but I was in no state or position to answer her. Megan was though, and I got to drink her prize! When the trivia was done, the sweet girl said we could have one more sample of any flavor beer she had on tap, so I got another Copper Hook!
The thought that I might be juuuust a touch intoxicated didn't occur to me until I was at a urinal in the men's room at Safeway. I had time there to do some math: In about 40 minutes, I drank all four of my 8oz samples of beer. I drank at least three of Bevin's 8oz samples, two of Megan's plus her bonus sample for answering trivia, and my last taste of the Copper Hook. That's eleven samples of beer at 8 oz apiece for a whopping total of 88oz of beer. In 40 minutes. A six pack of beer is 72 oz. A gallon is 128 oz. In less than an hour I drank more than a six pack and just less than a gallon of beer. Not one of my finer moments in terms of self-restraint! I was honestly blaming all my disorientation on the head cold, though in retrospect, I should have know better. Thankfully, I don't think I did anything in the store to embarrass my sweet Bevin, except maybe insisting rather loudly that we buy lottery tickets from the vending machine next to customer service. I won four bucks!
After we picked up the rest of the goodies for dinner that night at the Safeway, we headed back to Meg and Dan's beautiful house. It sets atop a hill overlooking a valley and the Cascade Mountains. I hate they moved away from Texas, but for this view, I would move in a heartbeat!
We took advantage of the beautiful weather and grilled out Brats with some sauerkraut and had a great green salad with the blue cheese we picked up at Beecher's. The boys enjoyed their grilling time and decided to grace my camera's memory with a Zoolander-esque pose....you're welcome!
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