8, 9, 10...

It was bound to happen sooner or later. I got lazy on Friday and decided after several Manny's Pale Ales that it would be my beer of the day. Best to get it out of the way so that I can't use it as a crutch later, I guess.

Anyway, I made up for it on beer #9. I happened to find myself at the Haggen grocery store in Arlington, WA and headed straight for the beer aisle. When I spotted a couple of beers by a brewery called Steffan's Aldergrove in Tulalip, WA, I knew we had a winner. The bottle caps even had the little dimple on top indicative of a hand-operated capping machine like those used by homebrewers. I opted for the Czecko Pilsner Style Lager over the stout. After kicking my way out onto the moonlit lake for a late night fly fishing session, I popped the top and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this relatively unknown pilsner.


Something that's always impressed me is the concept of micro-brew in a can. In Alberta, you can usually find Big Rock beers in cans, which are great for fishing trips when you don't want the extra weight and bulk of bottles. At the same Haggen store where I found the Czecko, they also had Dale's Pale Ale in all of its aluminum-contained glory, making it today's beer of choice. (Side note - Oskar Blues Brewery, the makers of Dale's Pale, make what could very well be the only beer-flavored lip balm.)