Georgetown Brewing Company

Dec. 21st, 2009

The Georgetown Brewing Company is most famous for Manny's Pale Ale which is a local staple for bars and restaurants in the greater Seattle area. They give free tours once a month and only take 12 people at a time so it took us several months of waiting to get to go. And the first available tour just so happened to fall on my birthday! An excellent birthday gift, I must say.

When we went, the tour included two locations. The first was their original location at 5840 Airport Way South where we got to taste the beers, get free pint glasses and buy items in their gift shop. The second part of the tour was over in what will be their new and permanent location less than a mile away. In a few months, this is where everything will be located, gift shop, beer tastings, and brew tanks.

The Georgetown Brewing Company don't brew a large number of beers but their tour is a must for all local beer lovers. Obviously, free samples are always lovely but the folks at Georgetown Brewing Company are a wonderful lot of friendly beer nerds. We really enjoyed meeting them and learning about all that goes into making tasty beers. Also, on the homepage of their website, they quote Homer Simpson, "Beer. Now there's a temporary solution."

How can you not love these guys?

Manny's Pale Ale - "For beer lovers: A careful selection of Northwest hops, premium barley, and our unique yeast give this ale a rich and complex malty middle with a snappy hop finish. It's truly a micro that finishes crisp, clean, and smooth. For beer geeks: Two-row Pale, Crystal, and Cara-Pilsner Malt. Magnum and Cascade hops. IBU's: 37. Original gravity 1.052 (13 Plato). Finishing gravity 1.010 (2.5 Plato). English Ale yeast. Alcohol by Volume: 5.5%."
S: Do you know many pints of this I've had in my life? It's such a familiar beer, it's hard to describe. In my mind, it's what a pale ale should taste like. They got it down.
E: Balanced light sweetness; good amount of hop but not overwhelming. Agreed, excellent every day beer.

Roger's Pilsner - "For beer lovers: Yakima grown Czechoslovakian Saaz hops give this refreshing pilsner a spicy and earthy hop aroma. Malt character is accentuated by a German Lager Yeast that ferments dry but round and complex. For beer geeks: Two-row pale malt, Magnum and Saaz hops. IBU's 26. Original gravity 1.048 (12 Plato). Finishing gravity 1.010 (2.5 Plato). German Lager Yeast. Alcohol by volume: 4.9%."
S: Very light; almost a fruit finish on the back of the tongue.
E: Little fruity with bit of bitterness. Standard pilsner, tasty pilsners go.

Chopper's Red Ale - "For beer loveres: A hoppy Northwest style red ale. Lots of late addition Crystal hops give this malty red ale a floral and spicy aroma. Finishes with a subtle malty sweetness. For beer geeks: Two-row Pale, Crystal, Cara-Pilsner, Munich, and Dark Barley Malt. Centennial and Crystal Hops. IBU's 41. Original gravity 1.064 (15.75 Plato). Finishing gravity 1.015 (3.75 Plato). English Ale Yeast. Alcohol by volume 6.5%."
S: Strong hoppy. I like this beer.
E: Strong hop, would overwhelm the malt if not for the strong maltiness.

9 Pound Porter - "Brewed for our friends at the 9 Pound Hammer here in Georgetown, this is an exceptionally flavorful medium bodied porter. We use tons of Chocolate, Munich, and Roasted Malt, then blend it with Centennial and Northern Brewer hops to create what we'd like to call Roasted Chocolaty Goodness. Mmm.. porter. Buy it by the pint at the Nine Pound Hammer or come on in to our retail shop for growlers to go!"
S: Really good; almost reminds me of semi-sweet chocolate; subtle.
E: Smells good! Rich chocolate smell, gentle chocolate taste, little bitter, decent bit of coffee. Very good.

Lisa's Chocolate Stout - Chocolate stout pushed by nitro.
S: I can really taste the coffee and the chocolate; not something for everyday but very good for its breed.
E: Rich brown head. Creamy, little bit of banana, sweet, tiny bit of bitter in the after taste. I taste the coffee more than the chocolate.

(Funny story about the sea of kegs in the picture to the right: Georgetown Brewing Company employees kept 'warm' in this walk-in refrigerator during the ridiculously cold week in early Dec. 2009.)