
Malty, roasty strong stout with a rich-but-not-too-sweet chocolate flavor. It's a lot to balance but I think this is lovely.
Can

Azacca for 2023. Sweet, candied orange perfume opening; does it quickly on the tongue; high bitter aftertaste.
Draft

Trivia night at North Water Brewing. There was a question involving the infamous "Hell in a Cell" wrestling match from 1998. Who doesn't remember the Undertaker slamming Mankind through the top of the steel cage!? The other graduate students who weren't born yet... that's who. This is why they bring the old man with them to trivia night.
Draft at North Water Brewing

Light, bubbly, I don’t know if The Goat wrecked my palate but this did seem a lot more funky on the finish than I remember. It’s still really nice though.
Draft

Dry, lightly tart, funky saison. A little more tart than the most interesting Brett beers in memory. But this is pretty good.
Draft

Tasted like a nice mix of apple and pear. Honestly tasted a lot more like a rose wine than cider, but without the dryness of wine. Very summery and refreshing.
Bottle at Seattle Cider Summit 2023

Easily the worst thing I had at Cider Summit. The smell was confusing, like almost metallic or… like plastic? The taste I was hoping for was an orange Julius creamsicle. What I got was regret.
Can at Seattle Cider Summit 2023

A little too dry for me. The others in my group were wild about it.
Bottle at Seattle Cider Summit 2023

I knew this was a bad idea when I got the pour and gave it a smell. Very spice-heavy taste. Ended up pouring it out after a few attempts to drink. Probably should have known by the name tbh.
Bottle at Seattle Cider Summit 2023

This was Ruzzo Sparkling Citrus’ entry in the competition. It was a very sweet fruity flavor with a hint of vanilla aftertaste. It was hard to taste the alcohol at all and reminded me a bit of Mike’s Hard Strawberry Lemonade but with a vanilla note. Very good.
Bottle at Seattle Cider Summit 2023

I don’t like apricots, but boy did it taste and smell exactly like an apricot.
Bottle at Seattle Cider Summit 2023

I’m being a little more harsh than it deserves, because it was a really good sip but too strong in sweetness for wanting a full glass. Very strong sweet raspberry lemonade taste, but a little too much for me.
Bottle at Seattle Cider Summit 2023

This didn’t stand out to me much, but it wasn’t offensive or bad. Kind of a solid, plain cider.
Bottle at Seattle Cider Summit 2023

Very strong Cherry flavor, but short of cough syrup. This was Sister Cider’s entry into the competition.
Bottle at Seattle Cider Summit 2023

12% - very strong flavor of Cherry cough syrup. I think I would have liked this more if it was diluted a bit. This was Schilling Cider’s entry into the competition.
Bottle at Seattle Cider Summit 2023

9.1% - very sweet mango cider that also was super strong. Might be hard to drink a full glass due to strength, but taste was nice!
Bottle at Seattle Cider Summit 2023

My honesty first work was "meh". It tastes flat and floral, even though I can see tons of bubbles rising continuously. It's just not very good. Like fake raspberry combined with fake blueberry.
And it's not getting better as I drink more.
Can at Home

Black Raven Rum Barrel-Aged Coco Jones Coconut Porter (unknown release)
Draft at Black Raven Brewing Company, Redmond


Sweet, caramel candy-like with a touch of cinammon. Churro? Sure, I can see it.
Bottle at Home

Like a really good ginger beer, except this is actually a beer! Slightly sweet, lots of ginger, dry lime tartness. Fair Isle continues to impress.
Draft at Flatstick Pub, Redmond

Still great but wow is it smoky. I may be misremembering but it seems a lot smokier than last time.
Draft at Métier Brewing Company, Woodinville

Lots of caramel, some cherry notes from the wood, booze. This is kind of what I would have expected a barrel aged scotch ale to taste like (but we all know that what that beer is here is something different).
Bottle at Métier Brewing Company, Woodinville

Amber, malty, with smooth hop flavors, but if this is an IPA, all the rough edges seem to have been smoothed out by the barrel. There is a lot of evident booze, though.
Draft at Métier Brewing Company, Woodinville

Doesn't really yell IPA. The gin is subtle; there's a slight white grape / brett-like dry funk and some vanilla from the wood. Reminds me of my memory of Pour les Oiseaux from Black Raven - really, really delicious.
Draft at Métier Brewing Company, Woodinville

A lot going on in this one. It's good, but I'm hard pressed to actually describe the progression of flavors here. Definitely starts pale-ish though.
Draft at Flatstick Pub, Redmond

A really interesting beer. Tropical/grapefruit aroma but it’s not a sweet or juicy beer. It is nearly immediately dry, with a good amount of cereal and absolutely no birthed. I really, really liked this.

Experiencing feelings of deep frustration. Sipping a beer that I am not enjoying and a UX that requires more from me than it should. The rate beer process can be better, it will be better. Maltlog 2.0 preview in 2024.
Can at Home


Métier Manumission (unknown release)
Draft at Métier Brewing Company, Woodinville

Fresh fruit and effervescent. Bit of a hop backbone. This is decent, not the best of the type (that being hazy IPA)
Draft at Anthem Ale House, Naperville

Not very good. Just a bit bitter or something, that catches at the back of my throat. Otherwise flavorless and weak.
Draft at Anthem Ale House, Naperville

Still mostly bitter, though not hugely. There's some flavor after you acclimate, but it's not worth it.
Draft at Anthem Ale House, Naperville

The least beer-like of the bunch, but it is drinkable. It has a kind of dilute sparkling wine crossed with light lager character about it; sweet-ish, fruit-ish, sparkly-ish.
Draft at Thirsty Hop, Kirkland

Mixed opinion on this, as it very much does not feel like a Japanese lager, but it is an interesting beer. Sweet, murky, a little light, a little yeasty. I think there’s a little rice wine, 막걸리 in the flavor profile.
Draft at Thirsty Hop, Kirkland

Brighter and clearer than the Two Hearted, more lemony and metallic in the backbone. It’s still very nice for an assertive IPA.
Draft at Thirsty Hop, Kirkland

Really quite nice; maybe I’ve matured as a beer drinker. Dry, clean finish. Starts grapefruit-pine, a hint of cereal, pithy but not highly bit.
Draft at Thirsty Hop, Kirkland