This past weekend, a group of us local hop heads piled into a van and ventured across the border into Washington. With brews on the brain, tickets to the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival in hand, and a foot to the floor we headed out on our adventure. What follows is a vague account of the next sixteen or so hours.

Stop 1 – 9:30 am – Haggen Grocery Store, Ferndale WA:

Shortly after crossing the border we promptly found what many Canadians consider a hidden jewel for beer buying. Haggen, a local Washington / Oregon grocery store chain, must have some major craft beer fans working in their head office because upon walking into the store we quickly found an outstanding selection of limited release brews. Highlights include the Deschutes Hop Trip, the Stone Vertical Epic 09.09.09 (we got the last three in stock), and the Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest.

Stop 2 – 11:30 pm – 99 Bottles / Jimmy Mac’s Roadhouse, Federal Way WA:

It’s pretty much a given anytime a Vancouver hop head gets anywhere near Tacoma they will promptly make their way to 99 Bottles. We all have our theories as to why this is; I personally believe there is some sort of gravitational pull involved. No matter what one thinks, the fact of the matter is you’ll be hard pressed to find a better bottle shop in Washington. After standing around drooling for about thirty minutes, I managed to pick out about seven quality brews. Of these I must point out the Lost Abbey Carnevale, Dogfish Head Theobroma, and Hair of the Dog Blue Dot. After our trip to beer mecca, we walked across the parking lot to Jimmy Mac’s Roadhouse for a bite and a pint. Despite our server claiming she only drank Bud Light and didn’t know how good the house brew was (turns out quite good, an Amber Ale made by Hales Ales), we decided to give them a shot and were rewarded with a delicious prime rib sandwich lunch special for a grand total of nine bucks.

Stop 3 – 1:30 pm –  Tacoma Craft Beer Festival, Tacoma WA:

Ahh yes, the main event. Finally, we have arrived at the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival! After finding parking, we made our way to the event hall down by the Tacoma harbor. The first thing I noticed was the fact the event center was busy, yet not packed. It was not an event where you would spend thirty minutes waiting in line for a pour. We came to the conclusion that this had to do with the fact that the event ran from noon till nine and thus the party crowd had yet to show up. Luckily this allowed us to load up on tastings from Great American Beer Festival medal winning selections from Firestone Walker, Chuckanut, and Silver City. With all this stiff competition I must say I’m slightly surprised that my best of show came from a small brewery known as Schooner Exact. They brought with them one of the most sessionable IPA’s I’ve had in the past year, and better yet were one of the few brewers who brought their flagship brew in a cask. If that doesn’t add bonus points with me, nothing will.

Stop 4 – 7:00 pm – Smarty Pants, Seattle WA:

On our way out of the fest we heard rumors of an Oktoberfest going down in one of Seattle’s coolest neighborhoods. After much begging and pleading our designated driver, who long metabolized his last taster, agreed to take us their as long as we provided him with as many brats as he could consume. Now, I’ve never been to Smarty Pants, but when I walked through the doors I was blown away. The atmosphere was amazing, the food was excellent, they had well over ten taps being pulled outside, and excellent live bands rocking the house. The following few hours grow increasingly hazy for me, so thats about all I can manage to report. Without a doubt if you ever find yourself in Seattle’s Georgetown, make your way to Smarty Pants.

Stop 5 – 11:00 pm – Canada / US Border, Blain WA / Semiahmoo BC:

I’m not going to pretend I remember much at this point. I do recall telling the customs officer that I was hammered, how many beers I was bringing back into the country, and spending a small fortune on duty – but thats about it. Some people might ask why I would buy all those beers to bring back when I knew I’d be dinged big time at the border, to which I say, you must not be that into beer. I know spending a fortune on duty, waiting hours for the fine folks at the peace arch to even figure out what we’re bringing back, and nearly falling asleep on a wooden bench seems a little extreme – so be it.

Stop 6 – 1:30 am – truecask.com Headquarters, Vancouver BC:

Sixteen hours after climbing into the van I find myself home, drunk, and carrying a big box of bombers into my apartment. I must say I never expected the day to be quite that adventurous when I first left in the morning; however, I’m pleased that it was. I need to give a big thanks to Andy The Beer Man, Daniel Knibbs, and Chester ‘Beer School’ Carey for being excellent travel partners. Andy actually deserves a special thanks for sacrificing the later drunken parts of the evening in order to make sure we all got home safe. I’m looking forward to the second annual Tacoma Craft Beer Festival already.

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