192 in Kenmore: the taproom at trail's end

  The south end of Seattle's Burke-Gilman Trail, a 27-mile long bike & jogging trail, starts in the Ballard district, a real hotbed of craft brewing, with a half-dozen new startups keeping Hale's, Maritime Pacific, and Fremont Brewing company.  The north end, up in suburban Kenmore at the head of Lake Washington, has not bereft of such zymurgical delights--until this year.  192 Brewing, the Kenmore nanobrewery that takes its name from the 192-sq.ft. wooden building in owner Derek Wykoff's back yard which houses his brewing works, has opened a taproom at the northern end of the Burke-Gilman.

   Moi, I pedaled my bike up from the university district, about ten miles, on one of those sunny days so perfect it buys forgiveness for the last fifty rainy days. Mt. Rainier poking a hole in the sky eighty miles away, Lake Washington bluer than blue.  Mild, just warm enough to work up a bit of thirst.
    On arrival, I learned that none of 192's own brews were on tap right then.  No Shticky Blonde Ale (the most outstanding blonde ale I have ever tasted) that day.  I did learn that Derek would make another batch of Super Shticky Blonde for the Everett craft beer festival later in the summer.  That was the lavender-bitttered version I loved at the festival in Redmond last month.  So it was just guest taps, but plenty to choose from.  I had a pint of Port Townsend's Green Tea Golden (it must be summer!) and took it out to the beer garden.  This is a splendidly kitschy spot, decorated with stumps, a motley collection of chairs, even a plastic pink flamingo.

  Plans are to keep the pub open seven days a week.  There is automobile access on the back side, for those days that aren't quite so perfect.
(Visited 7/03/13)