99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall . . .take one down. . .

This week, Ken and I were invited to join Charles and Rose Ann Finkel for lunch at their incredible Pike Pub & Brewery just above Pike Place Market in Seattle which they founded in 1989, sold, and then bought back from an interim owner just four years ago.  Neither one of us had ever been there before and it is an incredible place.  It is actually a working gravity-flow brewery and a pub and restaurant that seats 300 people!

The interior is a riot of color and beer memorabilia which Charles has collected over the years.  There is hardly an inch of wall and booth space that isn’t covered with a display of beer memorabilia.  Each individual section of the pub has a color scheme; one is red, one pale green and one yellow.  We sat in the red room at the “King’s Table” perched with a bird’s eye view of the restaurant.  In addition there is a separate space that is the “Beer Museum” which has a visual world display of the history of beer all the way from before and during the time of Christ in Mesopotamia, through Prohibition, up through today.  This room would be a great place for a ZINO Society get-together!

For lunch we ordered delicious corned beef sandwiches with a “schtickel of pickle” and though neither Ken or I like to drink at lunchtime, we were urged to at least sip and taste a “Pike Sampler” which included six two-ounce portions of the Brewery’s beers served atop a wooden paddle.  They have many additional brands besides these six, but I love the names and descriptions of the sampler choices (Charles’ creative branding brain) so share them with you here.

PIKE NAUGHTY NELLIE – Golden Organic Artisan Ale: named for the madam at the LaSalle where Pike was founded.  Light and curvey with plenty of sex appeal.

PIKE PALE ALE – Heirloom Amber: Classic full-bodied ale with copper color and nutty malt flavor.  The first Pike beer brewed in 1989.

PIKE IPA – India Pale Ale: Deep golden amber color with an awwertive hop character and a delicate floral bouquet.  One of “300 Beers to Try Before You Die”, by Roger Protz

PIKE KILT LIFTER – Scotch Ale: Ruby-amber color; medium hops; sweet malt character.  Brewed with a small amount of peated Scotch whiskey malt.

PIKE TANDEM – Double Ale: Dark brown ale brewed with barley, 10% wheat, hops, plus coriander and candy sugar and Belgian ale yeast for a complex rich flavor and a finish of baked bread and treacle.

PIKE XXXXX – Extra Stout: Sensuous and X rated with a gorgeous reddish-black color, great head, a deep dark-roasted flavor with tones of chocolate and coffee with a satisfying aftertaste.

Following lunch, Charles and Rose Ann took me on a tour of the entire space and I had a chance to taste the roasted barley and see the brewery operation along with the bottling line working.  Click here to see the working brewery.  Fascinating!