Welcome back to Sip Northwest’s Bar Tab, a weekly selection of what to drink in the Northwest now. This week, we are giving a partial sneak peek as to what will be poured tonight at our Best of the Northwest Tap Takeover. Taste these six award-winning beers, ciders and much more yourself starting at 4 p.m. at the Sixgill in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. Come on in, belly up to the counter and order a digital (or literal!) drink on us.
Best Modern Cider: Alter Ego Cider The Brute || A couple of lauded winemakers started this urban cidery in 2014 (as their “alter ego” in beverage), fermenting small-batch Northwest fruit. A flagship cider for the artisan maker, this cider is loaded in pure apple aromatics with golden raisin and earth notes on the palate that are struck with a bolt of crisp acidity and a rounded, off-dry finish.
Best Sparkling Cider: 2 Towns Ciderhouse Master Reserve Series #1 || A rare bottling of Northwest-grown English cider apples (Ashmead’s Kernel, Bramley’s Seedling and Chisel Jersey, plus American fav Newtown Pippin), this cider could impress even the most stringent British palate. Dry, bold and slightly tannic with its oak-aged influence of vanilla and spice aromas, pear and clean apple flavors widen and refresh on the finish.
Best Hopped: Square Mile Cider Co. Spur & Vine || Northwest-grown Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious and Jonagold apples are picked and pressed by hand, fermented with lager yeast then dry-hopped with Galaxy hops while the cider matures. Outside of the apple base, this cider is made like a beer so it thinks like a beer: citrusy, slightly herbaceous with stone fruit and honey in the apple-forward finish. Pair with football.
Best Lager: Full Sail Brewing Co. Session Premium || A familiar friend in its recognizable stubby red bottle, Full Sail’s Session has been an essential go-to beer since its debut. Full Sail packs a lot of flavor into a simple, quaffable package, with a top of noble hop character over a crisp, clear malt body
Best Porter: Wingman Brewers P-51 Coconut || This is sort of like a Goldilocks beer: Some coconut beers have too much coconut, some don’t have enough but this one is just right. Black as night with a creamy brown head that introduces a chewy chocolate aroma, it’s strong for a porter, with just a bit of boozy burn. To boot, it’s surprisingly dry for a beer of its 8 percent ABV dimension.
Best Imperial India Pale Ale: Hopworks Urban Brewery Organic Ace of Spades || Like the Meryl Streep of beers, HUB’s Ace of Spades makes the rounds during awards season and for good reason. The rich, sweet malt has almost a chewy mouthfeel. It’s a hefty backbone for the organic Magnum, Cascade, Centennial, Mosaic and Amarillo hops that were added at every stage of the brewing process, which give it a clean, refreshing bitter finish and an irresistible tropical aroma.
