Last night the Naked City Brewery and Taphouse dedicated all 24 taps to the west side of Puget Sound as 12 breweries participated in the first-ever West Sound Brewers Night. Naked City deserves the lion’s share of credit for organizing and hosting the event, but we understand that the Silver City boys (Don Spencer and Kurt Larson) had a lot to do with it as well.
To ensure that we experienced as much of the west side as possible, the Washington Beer Posse (Myself, Kim and North Seattle Sarah) tag-teamed this event, ordering schooners instead of pints and sharing sips freely. Brewdad, one of our fellow bloggers, also helped us cover as much territory as possible.
We liked some beers more than others, but overall we felt that the breweries did a fantastic job of representing the west side. Below, I have listed a few of our favorites. I have also included a list of all of the breweries that participated.
A few things we learned about the west sound brewing scene:
- Since we first visited the Grove Street Brewhouse shortly after it opened in October of 2009 (read that post), Shelton’s only brewery has come a long way. Adam Orrick, the brewer at Grove Street, is making some damn fine beers. His Kolsch and his IPA were dazzling. Everyone should be excited to see Grove Street at the upcoming Washington Brewers Festival; the brewery’s first trip to the festival.
- Poulsbo, WA is suddenly Brew Town USA. It must be something in the water. All four of Poulsbo’s breweries were at Naked City last night. Yep, four breweries in Poulsbo. You have to see them in one place to believe it.
- Sound Brewery is still young. Although they opened just a few months ago, the beer tastes like they’ve been brewing it for years. Brewers Mark Hood and Brad Ginn hit the ground running and show no signs of slowing down. Excellent beer!
Breweries Representing the West Side:
7 Seas Brewing (Gig Harbor)
Battenkill Brewing (Poulsbo)
Der Blokken Brewing (Bremerton)
Fathom and League Brewing (Calrsborg/Sequim)
Grove Street Brewhouse (Shelton)
Hood Canal Brewing (Kingston)
Port Townsend Brewing (Port Townsend)
Silver City Brewing (Bremerton/Silverdale)
Slip Point Brewing (Clallam Bay)
Slippery Pig Brewery (Poulsbo)
Sound Brewery (Poulsbo)
Valholl Brewing (Poulsbo)
A Few Favorites:
Fathom and League – Raingold Pilsner
Grove Street – IPApocalypse
Grove Street – Kolsch
Silver City – Prima Donna Blonde
Slippery Pig – Dandelion Bitter
Sound Brewery – Tripel Entendre
Sound Brewery – Dubbel Entendre
Sound Brewery – Poundage Porter
Valholl – ESB