Monday 13th of July 2009 02:00:46 PM

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Let's review: What makes a good brewpub?

For wife Persimmon & I, we have several "musts." The pub/brewery/tasting room must:
- have no loud music or TV (we want to converse with ourselves & our fellow beerlers {travelers on the beer road} & do not want to compete with the typical "noise" of any so-called sports bar
- have knowledgable, FRIENDLY service-folk & bartenders. Nothing like asking a beer question answered with a smile & shrug
- have a relaxed, flexible atmosphere. If I want to substitute a salad instead of fries AND I'm willing pay for it, what's the problem?
- and of course, a wide variety of taste AND availability of beer.

I don't like being wrong. Who does? I especially don't like being wrong when Persimmon is right. Too often she "reminds" me not to be so rigid in my judgments...but once I've experienced a pub/brewery & determined it's worth (for me) I rarely, if ever, give second chances after a bad outing.

Baron Brewing is a case in point.

Without re-reviewing this small South Seattle brewery/tasting room (you can look it up here should you choose) I was, to put it mildly, not impressed. Their German lagers authentic though they might be, left me with a smile and a shrug of the shoulders. Lagers just leave me cold, pun intended. Nothing about them got beyond a "Bud" knock-off.

However, Mike Baker & Jeff Smiley decided to expand & this summer opened Pillager's Pub while at the same time establishing Three Skulls Ales. So all their beers are available in a true pub setting...

and boy, was I wrong?

Persimmon & I had a 10-sampler to pick from; everything from a pilsner (voted by NW Brewing News readers the Best in the West) to a "meat" beer! That's what I said; a beer infused with the unmistakable aroma and flavor of a bratwurst sausage or, if you're more inclined, bacon. Now, for me, this is not a beer I would indulge more than a schooners-worth but paired with some good, stinky cheese (fontina perhaps) and/or a plate of sweet potato fries, tater tots or nachos - oh my!

Then the Uberwesse, dark and subtly sweet
with hints of chocolate and banana. Or the Rat Red Rye with just enough hops to make it tart but not bitter like too many Pacific NW'er's demand (not all of us are hopheads y'know?) Or the Black Bonney Porter, thick & foamy with the beautifully combined taste of licorice behind coffee. Or the Maibock. Or Schwartzbier. Rauche.

Suffice it to say that of the 10, both Persimmon & I enjoyed every one of them and that is a rarity indeed. As good as Washington's beers are, we have experienced only 2 brewpubs where we walked out saying, not one was a stinker. In this case, the only one we wouldn't try again would be that award-winning pilsner.

They also offer up a pound of 'tots, parrot chips (buffalo wings) and other typical pub fare that all looked good but we were much too busy with the beer.

Pirate themes abound here, hence the references to Black Bonney & Rat Red...although I could not figure out the reason a floor sweeper co-mingled with skeletons, cannon & treasure chests in the corner. "HMS Bounty Sweeper" Persimmon said. I'll accept that.

The beer "garden" here faces the main street, probably the only disappointment but that's a small black mark when compared to the treasures inside.

So, I humbly ask forgiveness for my initial observations...and I am ready to walk the plank into oblivion.

But before I go, could have just one more taste of the Uberweisse...no, I mean the Rat Red...wait! Make it the Cut Throat Red. Actually, the Porter would...AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaahhh.......