It was nice to see some of the larger brewers intermingled with the smaller brewers here in small town Western Wa. and trying to put out something a little off centered. Ninkasi was there with their Unconventionale. This was a nice heavy stout, you could taste the lavender and chamomile with a decent hop characteristic.
Big Al's brought their Nut Warmer. This is from what I heard the second year in a row that they have brought this beer. They also brought this beer to the Winter Beer Festival at the Hale's Palladium. The beer both last year at the the Strange Brew and Winter Beer Fest was out in a rather quick fashion. Last year at the Strang Brew, I was told that this beer ran out on the first day. And at the Winter Beer Fest it was out before we made our way to the Big Al booth in the back on the first day. All in all, this beer is in high demand where ever it can be found, and for good reason. It was well balanced it was really like a peanut butter stout which I thought was really good. Lauren tried sceptically and enjoyed it as well, it was one of the stand outs of the festival. 
Naked City promised earlier in the month at their brewer's night at the Latrona Pub, that they were going to really go out on a limb at this year's Strange Brew. Well they came through with multiple candy beers. First was their Sour Patch Kids IPA. This was a really good beer. They really used the hops for a citrus sweetness and a nice compromising sour flavor well. I enjoyed this beer I would say this was my 4th favorite beer that I tried, though its hard to rate beers when you are drunk and dont remember them all. All in all a really good beer. When we made a second lap around the room we saw that Naked City had a new beer. This time around it was a Hot Tomales Red. I dont like Hot Tomales the candy, though I do love beer so it was definitely worth a try. And after the first sip, Not Good. It was more cinnamon than beer so I was not a fan. A third beer that the rumor mill spit out that I did not see was a Junior Mint beer. I really would have loved to try this beer, well I would have had to have multiple samples because everyone knows you cant have just one Junior Mint. 
Another larger brewery that made the trek to Wild West Washington was Redhook. They only brought one beer but it was a good one. It was a Shwartzbeir they name Ham on Rye. This was Rye brewed Smoke beer. No pigs were harmed while brewing this beer. But with the the smokiness that it offered up it was almost like their was a hammy flavor. MMMMM..... Ham Beer! 
The Host did not bring the most, Port Townsend Brewing has many great brews to offer, however I thought this strange brew was too much of a reach. An Orange Chocolate Stout sounds good in concept but in order to be a good beer the execution I would think would have to be flawless. This beer in particular didnt reach where it could have been. However, it wasnt the near the worst beer I tasted here.
Pike also decided to make the 2 hour drive with their Salt & Pepper Weisse Beer. This was a BAD beer. Though at the strange brew festival they came up with a beer that tasted as advertised, it was not good. The best way that I could describe it is that it was a Miller Lite with a cup of salt and a cup of pepper added. This wins for beer that taste the most as described, but not in a good way. 
Seven Seas Brewery Showed up with 2 great Strange brews. First was their Single Hopped Winter beer Ballz Deep integrated with Blueberry Puree. This was a really great beer. Using the Citra Hops to make a nice citrus flavored IPA without any Blueberry added. I know what your thinking, woohoo another Blueberry beer. But this isnt Budweiser's Wild Blue. It was a great brew. The tartness of the hops and the sweetness of the Blueberries really worked off one another. Seven Seas second offering was a spicy Bloody Mary Beer, 7 Bloody Seas. Now Ive heard of bloody marys made with a light beer. But this beer had no vodka. It was very spicy, with horse radish and syracha I needed 2 or 3 beers just to cool my mouth down from this beer. 7 Bloody Seas was a kick in the mouth in the good way, I kinda want a spicy beer now.The best beer that I tried at the Strange Brew Fest was by far and away Flyers Brewery Almond Roca Brown ale. It was more of a dessert beer but I went back for seconds and thirds. This will be a beer that I will look into getting if they ever produce it on a mass quantity or at the brewery.
In the end the small town of Port Townsend really packed a punch for its 7th annual Strange Brew Fest. This was obvious considering their were no hotel rooms in the city for the weekend. Their were some winners and some losers but it was well worth the 2 hour drive to the western peninsula.
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