It's been a great summer for beers.

 Since our epic road trip, we have been on three more, albeit shorter, trips. We made all three in our BMW - the car that gave us so much grief earlier. The car did fine but we continue to pour money into it. Each time, Hubby declares that there isn't anything left to fix. That being said, we are heading to San Diego this weekend to get something fixed. (We are going there because it will cost $2k less than if we do it here which speaks to how much more money we plan to spend.)*

The argument seems to be this: While the repairs seem exorbitantly expensive, it's still less than a new car - versus - A new car will offer some peace of mind not to mention technological advances over the old car. 

You'll be first to know how it all gets sorted out. In the meantime, I will note that the upcoming repairs are to made at a BMW dealership. [Editor pause to dreamily look at new cars on BMW website.]

While we aren't planning any beer stops on this trip (it's a there-and-back situation), it won't be long before we hit the road again. Therefore, now is a good time to get caught up on where we've been.

Lately, we've traveled to or through four states: Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington. We stopped in eight breweries and sampled three beers at non-brewery locations:

ARIZONA

Fate Brewing (Scottsdale)

• Keller Pilsner - three of our party of four had it so I guess it was good. I had an Alesmith NA IPA which was not my favorite NA beer but I was taking it easy. We also enjoyed an order of wings and the chicken tinga tacos. The wings were quite spicy and the tinga tacos were incredible. Both were big enough to share. 

Saddle Mountain Brewing (Goodyear) - a regular stop when we go to Arizona.

• Sun-Scorched Kolsch - three of our party of four ordered this. (I'm always the odd one out.) Easy and reliable.
• 5G (American Wheat Ale) - served with an orange on the rim. I had ordered a Belgian-style ale but they were out and this is what they brought me. American Wheat Ales are less interesting to me.
• Taildragger's Clan-Destine (Scottish Ale) - this beer has won medals five times at the Great American Beer Festival and three medal at the World Beer Cup. Even when it's hot outside, this is the one to get. 🍻

CALIFORNIA

Kilowatt Brewing (Oceanside) - I've twice ordered the Peach Cobbler Imperial Sour, an award winner at the US Open Beer Championship in 2024 in the category of "experimental." The first time I was into it. The second time, I didn't enjoy it as much. If you're not into funky, take a look at their online menu before you go. They have several award winning beers but they're not listed as such on the menu at the brewery so it's worth doing a little advance planning.  (Also, stop at Sancho's next door for a burrito. Outstanding! You might also consider going around the corner to Stone Brewing's Oceanside taproom. Their beers are reliably good.)

Pizza Port Brewing (Carlsbad) - Worth a stop. It's a weird name but it started as a pizza joint that added a brewery. I don't know about their pizza but their beer is outstanding, winning multiple metals in multiple categories. The name of the brewery threw me and for a long time I never tried their beer because of it. I didn't have much faith that a pizza joint that made beer on the side could make good beer. I was wrong. Their beer is outstanding and they are a very popular spot in Carlsbad (one of their eight locations). Try the Sharkbite Red Ale.

Oscar’s Brewing Company (Temecula) - We found the beer menu was a little funky. The Kölsch was reasonably good but definitely not our favorite. The feature here seems to be the food based on what we saw coming out of the kitchen. It's a nice venue on a pond that seemed to be quite popular for large groups. We saw little league teams with parents and coaches. There also seemed to be a church crowd which seems at odds with a brewery. Even non-team affiliated groups were wearing matching or similarly styled clothes. It was a head scratcher. Interesting, but I would recommend going to a Karl Strauss instead.

Stone Brewing (Escondido) - amazing venue and outstanding food, not to mention really good beer. Stone is becoming a favorite and I'm starting to think they can do no wrong. Granted, they were bought out by Sapporo Holdings in 2022 but the beer is still good and the venues are still amazing. Hopefully, that legacy will continue far into the future. 

• Stone Pilsner🍻
• Stone Cali-Belgique IPA👣

OREGON

10 Barrel Brewing (Portland) -  Try the Validation Sequence, a Czech-style Pilsner which earned a Gold Medal at the Best of Craft Beer Awards in 2024. Hubby had the Sinister Black which was the beer I tried when we were at their Boise location. It won a medal in 2009 but I didn't dig it. Hubby liked it.

McMenamins Edgefield (Troutdale) - This place has everything: food, concerts, accommodations, distillery, winery, coffee roaster, par 3 golf, and secret passageways! Oh yeah, beer. We went to see Lake Street Dive which was sold out.  The Hammerhead Ale is reliable but if you want something really fun to do, check out their Passport Program. You'll eat a lot of tater tots along the way but you'll also see some really interesting venues. 

While we were waiting for our return flight at PDX (home of the world's most famous carpet), I enjoyed a 

RPM IPA by Boneyard Beer (Bend OR) while Hubby had a Promiscuous Blonde from Heathen Brewing (Vancouver WA). Both reliable beers and a nice way to pass the time while hanging around an airport.

WASHINGTON

On our way to the airport, we crossed the border into Washington for a quick stop at Ben's Bottle Shop. They always have a well varied selection of good beers on tap. I tried the Don't Dance by Irrelevant Beer which is a brewery in Vancouver, Washington, that is so new that as of this writing their website is "coming soon" (however you can find them on FB or IG). It's no coincidence that they are located next door to Relevant Coffee. Not only was the beer good but I was blown away that there was a new brewery in Vancouver that I knew nothing about. I will definitely seek out this brewery the next time I'm in the 'Couve. In the meantime, there's a good writeup here, in Oregon Live.

*UPDATE: The trip to San Diego is cancelled due to the fact that the "repair" was preventative in nature. New information indicates preventing this particular failure could, in fact, lead to other problems and that we should just leave it alone unless or until there are indications that failure is indicated. Keep your fingers crossed!