This past weekend was the grand finale of the Skagit Valley’s annual tulip festival. As the day turned out, I didn’t spend a lot of time in the tulip fields. But I did have a grand time, and popped into two breweries while I was up there. As a matter of personal policy, when I…
Looking for a place to ring in the New Year with good beer and good cheer? Most places are open New Year’s Eve, with many staying open for the full enchilada while others close early so they can party down with the rest of us. Ringing in the New Year: Anacortes Rockfish, Anacortes – with…
The presents are opened, the ham is eaten and your extended family has swaddled up and waddled home again – now it’s time to get back to normal. And for many of us, that means finding a beer at the local pub or brewery. Here are a few places we’ve heard will be open with…
Hey guys, want to know a secret about women? Something that most men might not know? Not all women like to shop. Shocking, I know. But I know that to be true because I’m one of the women who would rather do anything but wake up early for 4 a.m. doorbusters, circle the parking lots, scavenge…
Last weekend, I was lucky enough to make a return visit to Chicago. It had been about 10 years, and while the city seemed familiar there was a satisfying change: the beer was better. I’ve noticed this in recent travels and talked about it with beer fans – good craft breweries are opening, and bars that focus on…
Connections to the local police community run deep in my family. Two uncles retired, one from the SPD, the other from the Renton PD. My brother-in-law and sister both work for the SPD. My brother-in-law is a less-lethal (think Taser) trainer and award-winning neighborhood officer. My sister has worked in homicide for about ten years, she talks…
The new Northwest Cider Association is quickly gaining ground with their new marketing efforts. We are seeing a greater variety of local cider in our bottle shops (like West Seattle’s The Beer Junction, where I’ve selected Blossom Nectar by Tieton Cider Works as one of my recommended picks), and it seems that every month brings a new…
This past weekend we pointed the Washington Beer Cruiser south through the torrential rain to Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, WA, where they were hosting a Celebration of Beer weekend. (Read our prior post about the event.) The planners wisely rented a large tent for the event, and it certainly wasn’t a chilly day, so the crowd enjoyed beer, food and…
Looking for a weekend beer trip in October that doesn’t involve accordions and the chicken dance? This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, October 9 and 10, Skamania Lodge is hosting an unusual event pairing beer with luxury at their Celebration of Beer Weekend. The weekend festivities include a Saturday morning nine-hole golf tournament on the Skamamia course, a…
