The Beer Shoppe, Yakima, WA

This weekend I went to Yakima for a couple of graduations and while I was there I wound up going to what is now my favorite beer store since it opened a few years ago.  The store is “The Beer Shoppe” and it touts a large selection of beer from around the world.  The shop carries tons of bottled beer… sold by the bottle no matter what size 7oz, 12oz, 24oz, 32oz etc.  It also has 9 beers on tap at a time, all of which have been from the northwest each time I have stopped in to fill my growler.  They offer $0.25 samples of beers on tap, which can aid you in what to fill your glassware up with. 

On this trip I tried a few different beers.  The one I put in my growler was Mad River Brewing Companies Jamaica Red Ale.  This beer had a very pleasant malty caramel taste to it with a great floral hop aroma.  Weighing in at 6.5% ABV, this beer was just what I needed… a good smooth malty beer that wasn’t overpowering and could easily keep me coming back for more.

I probably would have put the Snipes Mountain Moxee Pale Ale in my growler if my brother didn’t already fill his two growlers with it.  This pale ale is definitely an American Pale Ale since its 70 IBU’s contribute to the well hopped aroma and flavor while still pushing the limits with a 7.5% ABV.  The light qualities of this beer really accentuated the hops and gave a little bit if a tangy or bitter finish.

I also thought about putting the Laughing Dog Dogfather Imperial Stout in my growler because it tasted so great.  I decided not to because I live in Coeur D’Alene and thought that the short drive to the brewery in Sandpoint would probably happen sometime in the near future this summer. Another reason I decided against it was that the growler fill for the Dogfather was $20 as opposed to the $11 growler fill for anything else The Beer Shoppe had on tap.  At The Beer Shoppe, they didn’t have any of the stats at the store, but I did pull up their website and it had this to offer for the stats:

“The Dogfather is one of the biggest brews we have made.
Weighing in at a hefty 11% percent, the Dogfather has 7 malts and 4 different hops giving it a complex flavor profile.  Over 11 months in the making some of the Dogfather is bourbon barrel aged.”

“Stats for the Dogfather
11% ABV 71 IBU’s
7 different Malts 4 hops”

One other beer that my brother and friend liked when they sampled it was Hopworks Organic IPA.  I didn’t try it until my friend brought it back to my brothers’ house in his own growler.  I didn’t like this beer when I tried it, despite my brothers and my friends thoughts of it.  Maybe my palate wasn’t working right or something, but I thought this one had a bit of a metallic taste to it that rendered it almost undrinkable to me (of course no beer I have drank thus far has been undrinkable).