Microbrew Micro-review: Fish Brewing Co.

(Beer Connoisseur Eric Peters contributed to this post)

With Quinn being a frequent patron of the Fish Brewery when he was living in Olympia, his only regret when reviewing it was that it was done over the summer. However, our recent excursion to Bellingham (reviews are on the way!) offered us a shot at redemption – Chuckanut Brewing was featuring Winterfish as their guest tap.

That’s right, it’s time for another Microbrew Micro-review!

The Winterfish Seasonal Ale poured a golden amber color with very little head and a surprising amount of cloudiness to it. The lack of aroma belied a delightfully flavorful brew. The hop profile was robust, with multiple fruity notes and a moderate amount of bitterness. The malt background was subtle but noticeable. The most interested element of the beer though was the yeast strain, which gave it a distinctive, floral finish. The result was a bold, hoppy and unique beer that had both of us itching for more.

While our weren’t overly impressed during our initial visit, the Winterfish more than redeemed Fish Brewing. This ale was the best winter IPA that we’ve tasted, and a standout among every category. Even alone, it’s more than enough of a reason to nip out to Olympia or Everett for a pint. Or two.

Microbrew Micro-review: Twelve Bar Brews

(Beer Connoisseur Eric Peters contributed to this post)

There are a variety of reasons that we don’t do a full brewery review. Sometimes the spot is out of too many beers to do a proper evaluation. Sometimes we don’t take sufficient notes – for an unknown reason that definitely has nothing to do with the number of beers under our belts. Sometimes, though, we manage to find a new brewery before they’ve really even had a chance to get off the ground – or finish brewing all their beers.

It’s for this exact scenario that we’re launching our latest blog segment, the Microbrew Micro-review. When we only have the chance to check out one beer, but one that is particularly noteworthy, we’ll do a short review in these new segments. First up, from the latest brewery in our hometown of Woodinville, WA…

Twelve Bar Brews

We strolled into Twelve Bar and were immediately greeted by Jim, the assistant brewer/distribution manager. A friendly guy with a serious passion for beer, Jim proceeded to tell us all about Twelve Bar. He laid out how everyone came together, told us about their plans for brewing and expanding, and gave us a tour of their facility. He explained how they had enjoyed a successful soft launch two weeks ago, but were still finishing up some of their beers. All the while he was showing us around, however, he was eager for us to try the beer they did have on tap.

We both had a double sample of the Twelve Bar Dry Hopped IPA (remember, a small sample is not sufficient to accurately judge a beer). This brew had a golden hue, a light, white head and a faintly hoppy aroma to it. Sipping on it yielded mild malty notes that immediately gave way to powerful and complex hop flavors. Despite the intense hoppiness it had a surprising lack of bitterness, a testament to masterfully executed dry hopping. The different hop notes played into one another in the aftertaste and finally faded back into the light malt flavors.

The Twelve Bar IPA was a very well crafted beer, and we plan on revisiting this spot to conduct a full review once they have their hard launch in December. We’re very excited to have another brewery in Woodinville to give the ubiquitous Redhook a run for their money. We recommend that you keep an eye on Twelve Bar, they’re going places.