THE FISHBOWL BREWPUB

I am blessed to be in an area of the country that has so many wonderful craft breweries and brewpubs. Today, I was in Olympia for work and stopped in at Fish Tale Brewing's Fishbowl Brewpub for lunch. I am glad that I did.

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The Fishbowl Brewpub sits across the street from the small warehouse where the Fish Tale beers are brewed. The pub itself is divided into a few distinct seating areas within its quaint well-lit space. There are tables with chairs near the front window and against a nearby wall. There are tall tables with bar stools in another section. There are bar stools at a U-shaped bar. There are tables back in a small alcove room. There are tables in a somewhat separate upstairs "loft." And, then, there are two or three upholstered chairs, a couch, and a coffee table that surround a small wood stove in another "alcove" room.


The "living room" also contains modified wall-mounted bookcases that hold over 200 mugs of Fish Tale beer club members. Each mug is engraved with the name of a member and the year that he or she joined. For a one-time fee, the member has a place to store his or her mug. Use of the mug on a visit gets him or her a discount of $1 per pint. It also allows members access to special events for members only. On my lunch visit, there were about fifteen of us eating and drinking, three of whom were drinking from their member mugs. If I lived in Olympia, then I would definitely be a member, simply because it is such a great idea.

The service was impeccable. My server knew her beer and her food. At her recommendation, I tried their as-yet-unnamed beer. It was a great match to their special of the day: emu tacos. Each taco consisted of spicy emu, cabbage, tomato, onion, cilantro and the pub's own jalapeño cilantro sauce, all wrapped in double white corn tortillas. The tacos came with a generous salad of wild mixed greens in a vinaigrette dressing.

For the reasonable price of $10 for the food and $3.50 for the pint of excellent beer, I had a great pub meal.

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Name That Beer, an undetermined style of beer (by me at least) that was reminiscent of both an India Pale Ale and a Pilsener, by Fish Tale Brewing Company

On tap.

To begin, I will show my ignorance about beer. I was unable to determine what style of beer Name That Beer was. If it was an ale, then it most closely resembled an IPA. If it was a lager, then it most closely resembled a Pilsener. Since I am most familiar with ales, I am going to refer to it as such.

This was a beautiful ale. The server brought me a pint of beer that was the color of honey and sported a half-inch head of persistent frothy white foam. As I quaffed it, intricate patterns of lace were left behind.

The aroma was floral, resinous, and spicy. The flavor was likewise, although it expanded upon this base. Along with a start that was both hoppy bitter and honey sweet, there was a sustained honey sweetness and an infusion of cloves and cinnamon, followed by a piney finish. It reminded me of an IPA that somehow transforms on each drink into a winter warmer. This familiarity with more than one style, while being well-balanced and exhibiting complex flavors, is what made this one of my favorite beer experiences to date.

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In the RateBeer system, which this ale is not part of yet, I would rate it as follows:
Appearance—5 of 5
Aroma—8 of 10
Flavor—9 of 10
Mouthfeel—4 of 5
Overall—18 of 20
Which gives it a RateBeer score of 4.4 out of 5 possible points.

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I know that Fish Tale tries to name their beers after aquatic creatures, primarily fish, but I submitted two names to them that they most likely will not use. I thought that Slumbering Bee Winter Ale or Hibernating Bee Winter Ale would help to promote the floral, honey, spice, and pine essences that help to make this beer what it is.