Today I made a trip down to Widmer to make sure I got another taste of Muscat Love before their last keg ran dry. Since I was already going down there, I decided to hop on their brewery tour.
The tour was surprisingly popular. There were at least 15 people there total, and with the brewer’s actually working, it made for a somewhat warm and crowded tour. It wasn’t bad – but not as intimate as others I’ve been on.
The facility was very nice, and Widmer seems to have planned ahead by adding ample room for combining batches and nearly a dozen lagering tanks. I was also pleased to see a hop room full of Yakima valley’s finest.
Following the tour was a complimentary tasting where we got to sample their flagship Hefeweisen (85% of their product), Blonde, Oktoberfest, IPA and a Milk Stout. I’m not a big hefe fan, and I like theirs even less than most, but their IPA, Oktoberfest and Stout are quite good. The tour guide even gave us a free pint glass, which I believe I accidentally left, as is my custom. Damn.
Following the tour I stopped by the bar to try another glass of the Muscat Love, which I had at OBF this year and was very pleased by. However, I didn’t have it until later in the evening was wasn’t pleased with my memory. It was still excellent and the combination of grapes and hops created a very stimulating sensation, like when you rub a sage brush sprig in your fingers. It was excellent.
The bartender, despite being quite busy, brought me a couple samples. I tried the Old Embalmer barleywine (decent) and KGB bourbon barrel Imperial Stout (superb).
The trip was a bit of an eye-opener for me. I’ve pretty much turned my back on Widmer because of what is available in stores (Hefe, blond, amber) don’t strike me, and because they are partially owned by big – bad AB. However, they are excellent brewers, and as the beers at the Gasthaus show – they’re quite imaginative.
I am really into their veggie reuben sandwich. I liked their Muscut, but it was really different. Did you get their ginger beer before they ran out? I guess I like all the weird tasting shit.
Yeah – Ginger Brown! I think I was the only one in the crew that liked it. Everyone else spat it out and cursed the soy sauce flavor.
I thought it tasted to much like soy sauce, but thats what I get for trying after trying a bunch of big malty beers I guess