It was 3:45 p.m. yesterday and I was sitting in my car, waiting for Andy Geertsen to open his Rhythm and Rye club in downtown Olympia. Needing to kill 15 minutes, I searched the Internet. The Price is Right was on my smartphone. Bob Barker put his arm around a gaunt middle-aged woman while they watched a cardboard mountain climber ascend a cardboard mountain, singing:
Laaa dee doody
Laaa dee doody
Laaa dee doody dooooo...
I watched Bob Barker giving away dinette sets to sunburned retirees until I caught the door open in my rearview mirror.
"I'm one of two in the area to score Black Raven Brewing Company's Trickster IPA. Want one?" Geertsen asked.
"Laaa dee doody indeed!" I replied, which drew a blank stare.
Easy drinking on a hot Thursday afternoon, the Redmond-based brewery's American IPA had a light fruit aroma with full hop flavor.
I convinced Geertsen to be this blog's "Server of the Week" beginning Monday, which he happily accepted. We also chatted up Rhythm and Rye's burgeoning Thursday night jam hosted by The Brown Edition's guitarist Tarik Bentlemsani, potential brewer's nights at the club and the soon-to-open Three Magnets Brewing Company down the street and around the corner.
"Crap. I need to meet those folks at Farrelli's Pizza in Lacey right now."
Out the door and into Hell. ...
Google Maps warned it wasn't going to be easy, and that's without it knowing about my full bladder.
I fought maniac Seahawks fans, construction and one millisecond "turn here" instructions, with my sight's on the Three Magnets Brewing Company's Brewer's Night at Farrelli's Wood-Fired Pizza, and the added bonus of catching the season opener and chatting with brewer Jeffery Stokes about his fall releases.
"Sorry, folks! We're closed for two weeks to clean and repair America's favorite family fun park. Sorry, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh!" ... except it wasn't Marty Moose with bad news for the Griswold family but rather similar sign stating Farrelli's was closed due to remodeling setbacks, with the hopes of opening today at 2 p.m.
Brewer's Night cancelled. No option to punch a moose in the nose existed.
Like an idiot, I let two scary-looking vampire girls in red leather pants and glittery lipstick outside neighboring Mayan Mexican Restaurant shy me away from bladder relief, so I made the long, painful journey back to Tacoma.
Relieved, with joy from a Deschutes Pinedrops IPA and Seahawks talent from a barstool at Dirty Oscar's, I sent Stokes a request for his fall goods.
For being two weeks away from officially opening, Three Magnets is busy.
"Our flagship beers will continue to be produced such as the Rainy Day IPA, Brewers Best Bitter and Helsing Junction Farmhouse Saison," states Stokes. "As the season changes, we will shift our saison toward a slightly roastier malt profile to complement fall harvest ingredients and botanicals from Helsing Junction Farms that we will incorporate into the beer. Blending two unique Belgian yeast strains makes this offering unlike any other on the market creating a ‘Farmhouse meets Trappist Double' feel and flavor."
New brews will include two fresh hop beers sourcing El Dorado and Meridian hops from Oregon and Citra and Mosaic hops on the other side of the Cascades, to create unique fresh hop beers with a lighter malt base.
Three Magnets will produce double IPAs ringing in at 8.5 to 9 percent alcohol by volume.
Also in the pipeline are a series of Single Malt And Single Hop pale ales, or S.M.A.S.H., showcasing hop varietals including Mandarina Bavaria, Meridian and Ahtanum.
"For maltier offerings, we will bring forth one and possibly more of the following: a gently smoked English Brown Porter, a Scottish Ale or perhaps a Pumpernickel Porter," states Stokes. "As we get closer to the holiday season, an Imperial Stout almost seems like a must as well.
"On the more unique and experimental side of things, we will release in October our Just BEET It! Pale Ale. Incorporating beets into the boil kettle helps create a delightful pink hue and a robust earthiness in the mouthfeel. Using classic Northwest C hop varieties, this beer touches on citrus covered beets with a moderate bitterness to help offset malt sweetness."
Laaa dee doody dooooo!
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