Entry 10: Drinking with the Sumerians
Location: Woodinville, WA
Brewery: Sumerian Brewing Co
Reason: Tired of wine, moved on to beer
It isn't every day you get to go back to 5000BCE and drink with the ancient Sumerian people. But the next stop of our journey took us all the way back to ancient Sumer, the first civilization known to drink beer. Founded in Mesopotamian region of what is now Iraq, the Sumer people were one of the earliest civilizations to use writing and more importantly, the first civilization known to drink the magic elixir - Beer.
The Sumerians even had their own goddess of beer. You may have heard of her actually - Ninkasi. The 'Hymn of Ninkasi' is a poem about the importance of brewing and even includes brewing recipes. Check out the full translation here. But what you really know Ninkasi from is the Ninkasi Brewing Co down in Eugene, Oregon. But this isn't SNOB (Supporters of Native Oregon Beer), and this isn't a blog about the dump that is Eugene (Go Dawgs!). This is a blog about Washington beers. The finest beers in the land.
I like almost everything about this brewery. It is brand new (4 weeks old) and is in the heart of Western Washington wine country (Woodinville). They have a beautiful tap room with outdoor seating and a food truck parked outside. I'm pro food trucks. They also have a huge building so there is plenty of room for increasing their production and becoming a big time brewery.
Now the beer. The beer is superb. The biggest draw back is that they only had 5 beers on tap. A pilnser, ISA, IPA, Stout and Whiskey Stout. The Pils and ISA were refreshing and welcoming. If you like lighter beers, that is the route. Their IPA was incredibility solid and not overwhelming with hops (Slight citrus finish, which I enjoyed). What I fell in love with was their Whiskey Stout. Beautiful dark color, sweet flavor and the slightest hint of Whiskey to finish. As my brother-in-law put it - it is a beer to fall in love with.
I'm giving this brewery a 8.5/10 - The only draw back is the beer selection. But they have potential to be huge. They remind me of how Black Raven started. A few well crafted beers and a dream to be big!
Also, food trucks rock.