A little day trip today in the search of good beer took us up near the U-District to Bottleworks. The place is kept dark, presumably for a reason, but has a huge variety of local brews as well as international beers, with a focus on Belgian imports. Prices were about average. 6-packs for $9 or so, everything else varying a bit, depending on where it came from and the size and whatnot. They had one 6 liter bottle of beer for something like $250. I guess you need to really like your beer for that one. Came away with some beer…we’ll see how they are.
The second stop for the day was the Shoreline Central Market. It advertises itself as a “destination food store.” They have a good variety of food in there, with a focus on more natural and organic foods. They have a great selection of domestic and local northwest beer in six-packs as well as a lot of imports and a good singles selection (mostly 22oz, some 12oz, some 500mL). We were hoping to maybe find some grain there (looking for sorghum or millet), but no luck, though they had a lot of different legumes and other bulk foods.
The goal was accomplished at both stores, having set out to find Tusker, a good Kenyan beer. Got 2 bottles at Bottleworks and their last 8 from the Central Market. Not bad. Both places also had Ethiopian beer and pretty similar prices, maybe with a few more specials at the Central Market. The Central Market also has a knowledgable staff in their wine/beer department and puts BeerAdvocate shelf talkers next to a number of their beers. Not a bad day overall.
Tags: beer, bottleworks, shopping, shoreline central market, tusker