Beer Blotter

The Sweetest of Lou's

Week 52 of 52 (We done!)

Sweet Lou’s

820 NW 85th St
(between N 8th Ave & N Dibble Ave)
Seattle, WA 98117

(206) 782-9690

Monday-Sunday: 11:00am – 2:00am

Special Nights: Wed. is trivia night; Thursday is taco night (3 tacos for $2)

Rank: 3.5/5 (bonus for wow factor)

Type of Establishment: The definition of bar. A great little neighborhood spot, complete with iffy food, lots of can beer, pool tables and arcade games.

Visit: A forced night of new bar visitation – to complete the 52 Weeks collection. It was a Wednesday, and we followed this up with visits to local icons, Crown Hill Pub, Goofy’s and the T-Bird Tavern.

Beers on Tap (at time of visit):

All I can say is “What the F&*%?!” They are pouring Deschutes The Abyss and New Belgium La Folie! Read more below:

Deschutes The Abyss (Imperial Stout)

New Belgium La Folie (Sour Flemish Red)

Rogue Dead Guy

Bud Light

Ranier

PBR

and a mess of other microbrews that I cannot remember because I was in awe of the Abyss……

Bottle List:

They have a lot of beer in cans and a few in the bottle. Think of the NW regulars: PBR, Ranier Ale, Olympia, Miller High Life and add Guiness, Strongbow, Bud Light, Bud, Stella and Pacifico. Nothing exciting.

Food Options:

Its an inviting, yet expected menu. Lou’s is sporting a number of sandwiches and BBQ options. Check out the menu by visiting this link.

We opted to explore their wings, which are reasonably priced at $4.50 per 6 (I opted for the $9 dozen, with both sauces), the reuben and the pile of nachos.

We won’t lie – none of it was great. In fact, the reuben got an incredibly bad response. The wings were too small to be considered actual chicken wings. I believe they were taken from a cornish hen. Not enough meat to soak up what was an otherwise yummy sauce. The nachos were ok, i guess. But who the hell can mess up nachos.

Luckily its cheap enough to not bother you. From 4-6 PM, they sport a $4 happy hour that features wings, quesadillas and mini-burgers. That might be the way to go.

Bar Opinion:

This article is all about random opportunity. Its the story of 3 unsuspecting men coming along to find the deal of a century.

Sweet Lou’s is a little bar on the crosshairs of Crown Hill, Greenwood and Northgate. Its the former location of the Sundowner, a frightening abyss of drunken madness that scared many a patron away. Now, its been taken over by former industry folks who turned it into a welcoming, yet still dark, bar with an inviting menu and beer selection.

Sweet Lou’s is decorated with the photos of many famous Lous of lore. Think Lou Reed, Lou Pinella, and Lou Gehrig. They offer about 10 taps and a menu of your typical pub offerings. You can eat crappy food and drink crappy beer – sounds like a dive.

But, I’m not going to be too hard on Lou’s. In fact, I loved our visit. Excluding the food, the aura and layout is great. They have billiards and a few arcades, a lot of space, sufficient bar seating and outdoor patio space. During our visit, they also had some trivia. Though a group of 12 year olds might have dominated the game (really easy), its still good entertainment for your Wednesday.

dun dun dun......dun.......The Abyss

But why were we in love? The Abyss. Its funny that I called Sundowners an “abyss.” Because today, our minds were blown by the fact that Sweet Lou’s found a way to have the Abyss on tap. Beyond that they served it in a pint glass (holy shit) and charged us $4.25! If anyone at Brouwers, Uber, Collins or Naked City is reading this – I am serious.  I would expect to never get more than a 10oz pour of this beer. For that 10oz, I would pay somewhere between $6-$8. That is not to be debated. So, I think you can all see why our minds were blown – and why we had several.

On top of the Abyss, they were also pouring New Belgium’s delicious La Folie. Same rules apply to this amazing beer – 16oz pours are available.

While you might not get any of the perks that we encountered, Sweet Lou’s is worth a visit for the shock factor. Who knows what you might find next? Sweet Lou’s has an excellent connection with beer distributors that makes the chance of finding a special beer less a risk.

Stop by and check it out. Be cautious when you order. Keep the expectations low and you will have a blast!

Two locations. Same incredible booze and food.

Week 51 of 52

Melt Bar & Grilled

East Side Spot (place of visit)

13463 Cedar Road
Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118

(216) 965-0988

Monday-Thursday: 11:00am – 11:00pm
Friday-Saturday: 11:00am – 12:00 midnight
Sunday: 10:00am – 10:00pm
Bar open till 2:00am every night.

They are also located on the West Side of Cleveland

14718 Detroit Ave

Lakewood, Ohio

(216) 226-3699

Rank: 4/5

Type of Establishment: Psychotically creative meal emporium; home of grilled cheese magic.

Visit: A homecoming for Xmas, I went to Cleveland to spend an evening with my little brother. He recently graduated college and became a man. It was time for him to finally buy his big brother a beer (he bought 1, I bought all the others).

Beers on Tap (at time of visit):

Yikes. Unfortunately, it was so dark that I couldn’t get a legible photo. This is from memory, but they have about 25 beers on tap at any time.

Bells Two Hearted Ale

Bells Winter Ale

Breckenridge Small Batch IPA

Breckenridge Christmas Ale

Troegs Mad Elf

Great Lakes Christmas Ale

Thirtsy Dog 12 Dogs of Christmas

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Left Hand Milk Stout

Southern Tier Old Man Winter

and many others…..

Bottle List:

Excellent bottle list for a place more geared towards food than beer. The full list is here, but they supplement that list seasonally, with some random others.  All in all there are about 100 bottles on hand at any time. I was really excited to see the offerings from New Holland Mad Hatter, Jolly Pumpkin selections, and Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Imperial IPA.

They also have an impressive Belgian list. This is one of the few places in Cleveland where you can find a bottle of Gueze from Cantillon, the full gamut of Trappist ales, and a tasty bottle of Boon’s Oude Gueze. Don’t forget to check that list out here, as well.

Food Options:

This should be the focus of this article, not the beer. The beer is simply a pretty cool little throw in, to the epic food options available here.

Melt was featured on Man v. Food, and several other eatery TV shows. It has the distinct pleasure of being called Cleveland’s greatest pub food venue. I cannot disagree, after partaking in their grub for two meals during my 24 hours in Cleveland.

Sorry so dark - the Godfather in the flesh

Melt’s name means something – melted cheese. The pub offers about 20 grilled cheese masterpieces, along with about 12 burgers, which might as well be grilled cheeses stuffed with burger.

The motif is this – take two giant pieces of texas toast, smother then in butter, fill them with an epic proportion of cheese, stuff it with some other artery clogging delight – grill that puppy. Check out the full list of options here. Pay attention to the one stuffed with bratwurst, the one stuffed with pierogi, the one stuffed with LASAGNA!

I will talk more specifically about the sandwiches that we ordered, below. But, Melt also offers some amazing appetizers. We had the grilled pierogis and the buffalo chicken soup, which has become a cult classic. Both of these items were incredible. I especially loved the soup, stuffed with blue cheese, celery, carrot and a delightful spicy broth.

Whether you elect to go savory or sweet, you cannot miss with these sandwiches. Get one.

Bar Opinions:

Melt is my type of place. Its dark, heavily decorated in Cleveland lore, and full of great bar seating. When you enter the Cleveland Heights venue (they also have a place in Lakewood, on the west side of Cleveland), you see a wide open space, with the bar in the center. The bar area is rectangular, providing seating all around a central “island” where the booze is stored. This provides maximum area for lounging at the bar and starting at the taps and bottles. I like it.

We grabbed some bar seating and some menus. We are clamoring for some christmas beer and some massive heart attack initiating sandwiches. Luckily, our menu obliges. We decided to start off with some pierogis and a couple of xmas ales. I start with the Breckenridge Christmas Ale, and my brother grabs the Mad Elf from Troegs.

While we sip on these beauties, I begin mulling over my stomach’s demise. The menu’s best options appear to be the Municipal Stadium Magic, stuffed with local bratwurst, vodka kraut, grilled peppers and american cheese; the Parmageddon (named for local burb, Parma), stuffed with potato & cheese pierogi, vodka kraut, grilled onions and sharp cheddar; and of course – the Godfather, 3 cheese lasagna, fresh fennel-oregano pasta sheets, spicy red sauce, provolone and garlic spiked bread. No lies, lasagna in a grilled cheese. Got to have that one.

We grab a Godfather and decide to get the Municipal Stadium for the other, as we had already had some pierogis. The sandwiches weigh in at no less than 2 lbs a piece, but to add insult to your small intestine, they dump a large serving of their delicious house-made slaw and a pile of their fresh cut fries. Someone get the stomach pump ready.

Those first two beers were very good. Breckenridge’s Christmas Ale has a nice spiciness and light body that makes it easy to drink. But, the Mad Elf is the surefire winner. Mad Elf has a sharp boozy finish and a bright euro spiciness. Some say that this beer is off this year. Sometimes when I hear that its because the beer is “too much” for the palette. While that turns off some beer drinkers – it only peaks my interest.

the Mad Elf

In preparation for our meal, we grab a second round – all Mad Elf. When our sandwiches arrive, I am famished. By the time, I box up the remainders – I can barely move. The Municipal Stadium is incredibly flavorful. I love the local bratwurst, which was juicy, spicy and wonderfully matched with the vodka kraut. But, the Godfather is clear victor. As if any lasagna stuffed in a grilled cheese wouldn’t be amazing? Guess what – this lasagna is amazing! The amount of cheese in this puppy is striking. It bursts with flavor and spice and is unmatchable. Its a no-brainer.

The pierogis, slaw and the buffalo chicken soup (which I got on a follow up visit the next day) were all amazing. Nothing that I tried failed to meet expectations. Get as much as you can. Remember that you can always take it home. No one at this place will judge you. Take a visit, eat some food, drink some good beer and take a nap.

Pic Courtesy of mybeerpix.com!

Week 50 of 52
Port Brewing Co./Lost Abbey

155 Mata Way, Suite 104
San Marcos, CA 92069
(760) 920-6121

Friday: 4pm – 9pm
Saturday: 12pm – 6pm
Sunday: 12pm – 5pm

Bottle Sales & Growler Fills Only
Hours for bottle sales and growler fills only (sorry, no tasting flights or pints):

Wednesday: 1pm – 6pm
Thursday: 12pm – 6pm

Closed
The tasting room is closed to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Rank: 4/5

Type of Establishment: Brewery/Tasting Room/Barrel Aging Facility

Visit: After a trip to Alpine Brewing Co., my hangover started to subside. As one of my favorite breweries, I was so excited to visit Port Brewing Co./Lost Abbey during our SoCal trip.

Beers on Tap (at time of visit):

Under the Port Brewing Co. label:

Santa’s Little Helper

Mongo Double IPA

Wipe Out IPA

Under the Lost Abbey label:

Red Barn Saison

Judgment Day

Devotion

Witch’s Wit

Bottle List:

Most of their regular bottles (and occasionally special releases) are available for purchase in the tasting room. Prices range from $4.99 to $12. There is a 10% discount for full case (12 bottle) purchases.

Food Options:

None. This is purely a place to drink beer.

Bar Opinions:

I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this brewery. With two labels brewed by the same man under the same roof, I wasn’t sure which label, if either, the ambiance and decor would favor.

The overall ambiance reminded me of a Southern California, laid back attitude. The place has a garage door that remains open providing lots of fresh air and sunlight. In this warehouse, you feel close to where the magic happens and you even have access to the barrel aging room.

A brief description from the brewery’s website sums up the decor and provides essential beer drinking information:

Belly up to our 42 foot bar or one of our barrel tables and enjoy 20 taps of fresh Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey beers. The tasting room offers individual tastings as well as (semi) structured flights of our beers. Tasters are $1 each per 4 ounce glass; Tasters are also available in pint-sized portions for $4 to $5 per glass based on the beer (some special releases may be more).

Yes, $1.00 tasters. A great way to try several, if not all of the beers on tap on any given day. Today we were greeted by a lively, ball busting bartender, who was very informative and even gave us a taster of the one year old Red Poppy. Red Poppy is Lost Abbey’s Kriek and is aged for two years before distribution. It is so damn good.

We each ordered a Mongo Double IPA and also got a taster of Santa’s Little Helper. All of the beers we had here were top notch. The people that work there love the beer, are passionate about the mission of the brewery and are willing to share this love with just about anyone who pulls up a barrel.

Despite my hangover symptoms, I was in heaven, sitting in the place where these beers that I cherish and enjoy so much are brewed. It is a wondrous feeling, to be so close to the origin of something that brings you such pleasure. I enjoyed the simple decor, the breeze from the open door and the beer that never, ever disappoints!

Photo cred due to Yelp.com

Week 49 of 52

Goofy’s Bar & Grill

8519 15th Ave NW
(between 85th St & 87th St)
Seattle, WA 98117

(206) 783-5164

Mon-Fri 2 pm – 2 am

Sat-Sun 11 am – 2 am

Rank: 3/5

Type of Establishment: Dive, sports bar, pre/post-strip club home of intoxicants.

Visit: On Wednesday of this week, DSR, Amateur Hour and I decided to do a quick, impromptu dive bar crawl down 15 Ave. NW.  Amateur Hour and I have lived in the neighborhood for over a year now but there were three bars practically within walking distance that we had never been to before.  We decided that it was time to get to know our local haunts a little bit better.

Beers on Tap (at time of visit):

Three Skulls Poison

Sam Adams Lager

New Belgium Fat Tire

Widmer Hefe

Georgetown Manny’s Pale Ale

Mac & Jack’s Amber

Bridgeport IPA

Sam Adams Winter Lager

Rogue Dead Guy

Lagunitas Pils

Other Macros

Bottle List:

There were a few bottles on display behind the bar but nothing to speak of in this forum.

Food Options:

We had, unfortunately, decided to eat at Sweet Lou’s just prior to arriving here.  The food was terrible there if I do say so myself.  Luckily the beer and atmosphere redeemed that joint, but we are talking about Goofy’s here, not Sweet Lou’s.  I didn’t even get a chance to glance at the menu while we were there (like I said, it was a quick bar crawl…it was a Wednesday people!) but they do have their menu on their website.  I did notice that a young lady seated at the bar had ordered and received the Wednesday special, complete chicken dinner for $4.99.  It wasn’t a very large portion but it looked just like home cookin’ and that made me comfortable.

Bar Opinions:

Prior to this visit, I had only ever known 2 people who had been to Goofy’s.  The one guy, that mind you, was only a mere acquaintance, told me that he would always go there for drinks after tossing some (many) ones at the fine ladies of Centerfolds.  Since Seattle strips clubs are 100% a joke, I didn’t really put too much weight to the complimentary words of this fellow.  The other is a friend that’s from WI and often goes to Goofy’s to watch Green Bay Packers games. Apparently, Goofy’s is a Packers bar.  Odd.  Considering that I care very little about American Football and even less about the Packers, I cared not about any complimentary words that were spoken about the place.

Fire is always a good idea.

But…despite all that, I did feel that there were three legitimate reasons to check out Goofy’s.  The first is that the place is called Goofy’s.  I just really want to be able to tell people that I’m hangin’ at Goofy’s.  I want friends to ask, “Who the hell is Goofy?  Some fat, jovial drunkard that is always getting into crazy situations?  Some ne’er-do-well high school dropout with a mild cocaine problem and a pension for the outlandish?”  I’d quickly respond, “No you silly son of a bitch, it’s a bad-ass dive bar that I just walked to from my house!”

This brings me to my second reason, it’s in my neighborhood and I had never been there before.  I was recently talking to a friend of a friend that I had just met and in describing what I had done that day I mentioned that I had gone to Lunchbox Lab for the first time ever.  I also related to him that I found it to be ridiculous that I had never been there before, not only because it’s awesome but also because it’s about three blocks from my house.  He responded, “Yeah, that always seems to happen.”  Does it?  Maybe I’m not alone on this one after all.  Obviously, we here at BeerBlotter.com are highly interested in trying new places.  That is why this column, 52 Weeks exists.  So given that, why is it that there’s many places right around the corner from me that I have never before visited?  I always seem to hop in the car and drive to some back-country destination to visit a new place when I could just walk up the block and be enlightened near instantly.

The third reason is that I needed to write one more 52 Weeks article before the end of the year and the idea of having the word “Goofy’s” in the headline really excited me.  Hmm… maybe I should talk about the actual bar.

It is really easy to be overwhelmed the first time you step into Goofy’s.  It’s kind of one of those neighborhood bars, where everyone looks at you if you aren’t a regular.  That’s always a little awkward.  Then there is the huge fire pit in the middle of the room.  This puppy is something to behold!  I immediately thought of the fire pit at Uber, but that one is small and modern and actually looks like it belongs indoors.  The pit at Goofy’s looks like it should be in the back yard of a medieval castle.  You could roast an entire pig over that beast!  Then there is the massive wall of random paraphernalia and beer signs and pull tabs behind the bar.  It’s quite busy.  I think if I was on drugs I would have needed to huddle in the corner and suck my thumb, but no…just beer in the system this night.

I was quite amazed by the size of the place.  There is another room at the rear of the establishment that houses the 2 pool tables and various arcade consoles.  There is a few tables and high tops spread about the place…it’s a pretty laid back joint, which I wasn’t expecting.  It’s quite pleasant in fact.  The fire really sets the cozy mood.  The beer list left much to be desired, but none of us had ever seen the Three Skulls Poison on tap before.  We gave it a try, as well as a few pints of the Bridgeport IPA.  We sat and chatted and had a good time.  Amidst it all, there seemed to be a DJ or musician unloading some gear in the back room.  We didn’t stay long enough to uncover the mystery, but I was intrigued.  I think I’ll be heading back to Goofy’s another day.

The Tap List at Hamiltons Tavern. Glorious.

(4 to go! We are dedicated!)

Hamiltons Tavern
1521 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92102

(619) 238-5460

Hours: M-F, 3PM-2AM and Saturday/Sunday 1PM-2AM

Rank: 4.2/5

Type of Establishment: A place to disappear from the sunny outdoors and get lost in a beer or 5.

Visit: This was stop 3 or 4 during out San Diego Beer Week trip. It was Marin Brewing Co. night with tons to offer from the Northern California brewery.

Beers on Tap (at time of visit):

There are so many, but here goes most of them.

Marin San Quentin Breakout

Marin 2009 Old Dipsea

Marin Tiburn

Marin Hoppy Holidaze

Marin St. Brendans

Marin Tripel Dipsea

Marin 2008 Chocolate Porter

Marin Star Brew

Big Sky Moose Drool

Marin IPA

Marin 21 Something Year Old with Brett

Marin 2007 Old Dipsea

Marin 2008 Old Dipea Bourbon Barrel

Green Flash Fizzy Yellow

Bottle List:

With an updated bottle list on their website, Ill let you check it out for yourself! Beers of note: Brewdog / Mikkeller Devine Rebel; Deschutes The Dissident; Firestone Walkers 13th Anniversary; Alesmith Decadence 2009 and so many more, all at reasonable prices!

Food Options:

Usually there isn’t a menu. The day we went, we were lucky enough to encounter a full spread buffet with cupcakes to top it all off. But on your average day, come full or leave hungry.

Bar Opinions:

After hitting up several amazing beer locations in San Diego, we wanted to keep the vibe and our buzz going so we headed to Hamiltons Tavern.

The sun was blazing outside, but as we stepped inside, I felt worlds away. Hamiltons Tavern is just that, a tavern. When I think of a tavern, I think of a dark, eclectic space with minimal access to the outside world (maybe a couple of windows in front). Hamiltons is lit in a way that creates a comforting ambiance, one that protects you from the mutation of impending drunkenness. Well not really, but it sure feels that way.

Today, Hamiltons was packed with beer lovers as Marin Brewing Co. was featured across the taps. We had the pleasure of trying Marin’s 21 year old (old ale) with Brett, Brass Knuckle IPA on cask and Old Dipsea Barleywine. We sipped on these amazing brews while chatting with the head brewer of Marin. A passionate, humble man who knows his beer and brews some pretty incredible recipes.

We stayed at Hamiltons for quite some time, admiring the beer while chatting up locals, brewers and bartenders. Hamiltons is spacious (although cramped today) with a long wooden bar, pool tables and high ceilings. A great place to spend a laid back Sunday afternoon or a energetic Friday night.