last week the family and i ventured into outer space, AKA outside our little town. we went to Leavenworth, WA, a quaint little tourist destination that looks like it was ripped out of the bavarian alps. every building looks like something out of the sound of music (including starbucks and mcD's, which was hilarious). the beer scene is predictable for a place that pretends to be german and is a few hours away from where most of this country's hops are grown: it's all lagers and IPAs.
best german-style beer i had was Chuckanut's pilsner. gimme a warm pretzel and i could drink gallons of the stuff. had an excellent Oktoberfest by Ayinger, and a very tasty doppelbock by a local brewery Icicle.
on the IPA side, the three breweries we dropped in on were all singing the praises of two new hops: Talus and Strata. everything that i had that was made with either of those hops was amazing. keep an eye out for these two if you haven't come across them yet.
