5. Fair Isle Brewing
Seattle, Washington
My only regret about Fair Isle was not getting to spend a lot of time there, but there was just way too much ground to cover.
Lots of saison, sour type beers, but as I often do, I went for a classic beer flavored beer, a Czech Dark Lager. The "four grain saison" definitely caught my eye as well. If there weren't so many stops to make, I would have loved to try several more of the beers. One downside was no flights, so I had to be selective and get half pours, but sometimes that's how it goes.
Additionally, it appears Fair Isle made Craft Beer & Brewing's Best 20 Beers in 2025! On that note, so did the brewery I put at number four...
Beer Notes:
Alamota
Four Grain Saison
Fruity, white wine like, aromatically everything you want out of a saison. Bubblegum, slight peppery notes but well integrated
4. Corn Coast Brewing
Lincoln, Nebraska
I had never been to Lincoln, Nebraska before this past year, and the driver was two friends who planned to go to Corn Coast's anniversary party, and invited me. I decided to go for it, stopping in the Little Apple, Manhattan, Kansas on the way to and from.
Corn Coast is an apt name, as I drove by a veritable ocean of corn on the way there. They have another location in the Omaha metro, but the Lincoln location is the original, a small taproom located in an industrial park. And remember, it was their anniversary party, so it was busy.
They had a pretty staggering tap list, some selections jumped out in my mind, a Helles, a Czech Pils, then out of the corner of my eye... I see they have a Strong Bitter on hand pull beer engine! So of course, the English beer aficionado I am, I start with that, and despite the fact that it was really hot that day, that 50 degree beer really hit the spot.
"Red Lion" English Pale Ale on Cask. I got through a bit of it before I could set it down to take a picture. :)
Next order of business was staking out some real estate for when my friends arrived. I see one table open in the back near the bathrooms. Not ideal, but it's better than outside!
I tried several more of the beers, and bought a pretty boss tacker for my basement collection, giving it a primo spot basking within the glow of my Brewhouse Voyager LED sign.
"Share the Stoke" West Coast IPA (#5 on the board) was one of the Craft Beer & Brewing's Best 20 Beers in 2025
3. The Big Friendly
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Before i visited The Big Friendly the first time, a buddy told me he thought it would be my kind of place - and he could not have been more right.
The Big Friendly was the Great American Beer Festival Brewery of the Year in 2023, and I could see why with some of their mixed fermentation beers that medaled. Their offerings lined up pretty well with my tastes with some classics, IPAs, and mixed fermentation beers: I began with a Czech Pale Lager on Lukr side pull, and worked my way to their brett beers.
They had one real oddity, something I've discussed with brewers before: a saison made with sourdough starter! It was pretty good.
I got several six packs to go, and later found out that they also use one of my favorite maltsters, Sugar Creek from Indiana! No wonder I love their beers so much. I'll be back every time I'm in OKC as long as it lines up with their open hours!
"These Shadows" Czech Pale Lager with Sladek hops on Lukr Side Pull
Beer Notes:
These Shadows
Czech Pale Lager
On side pull, only 3.4%, a firmly bitter Vycepni Pivo with Saaz and Sladek hops. Sladek hops live up to description, noble with an extra fruity twist. Light on the malt character but this is a 3.4% beer after all!
The Nelson Salad
West Coast IPA
Dank, mild grapefruit, gooseberry on the nose, sulfury dry hop character in the flavor
Frequency of Expansion
Farmhouse Ale with Brett
Likely Brett C mild funk, more overripe fruit, super rocky head retention with mild hop character. Super mild on the palate overall, easy to drink! GABF Silver.
2. Machine House
Seattle, Washington
Simply put, this was the impetus for my and my friend's Seattle Beercation. I read a Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine article about an English specialty brewery in Seattle. I had been to one in Denver, Hogshead, which had collaborated with Machine House on an Ordinary Bitter. So, we decided to make the trip happen once I realized one of my favorite musical groups, Phantogram, would be playing a show in Seattle, the third time I've seen them live.
Machine House was the final brewery taproom we visited on the trip. A lot of that has to do with the location: it's in the Hillman City neighborhood, south of downtown, and it took a little while to get to. I had other potential places on the list in the area but there was just way too much ground to cover generally.
Gentlemen, start your beer engines!
It was every bit as amazing as I hoped it would be. Minutes turned into hours as I downed half pint after half pint of impeccably produced hand pulled English style beers. I started off with their Dark Mild, then moved on to their "Cashmere Bitter", which was nothing short of a revelation: served at cellar temperature, with the smooth mouthfeel of the hand pull, and the silky smoothness of Cashmere hops. I will eventually brew an homage to it at home.
"Cashmere Pale" with silky smooth Cashmere hops
Oh, but the experience gets better. There was a jazz combo playing there that night, and we found out the bassist grew up in Wichita. We ran into another Wichitan halfway across the country!
Two doors down from the brewery is an Ethiopian restaurant, so I ordered up some beef tibs, collard greens, and injera, completing the certifiably eclectic experience.
On a return trip, I would want to try to go to mostly different places, but this is the one I'll have to go back to every single time.
Beer Notes:
Dark Mild
Very easy drinking, dark fruits, low carbonation is a welcome reprieve from many beers today
Cashmere Pale
Herbal and lemon lime, silky smooth. Definitely a favorite
Hoppy Red
The definition of a nice, drinkable beer to me. Classic PNW hop character, but in a subtle package with the lower carbonation
1. Tall Trellis
Olathe, Kansas
Another brewery I've heard hyped up amongst local beer fans for a while, I had never made it out to Olathe's Tall Trellis before this year.
Owned by the same folks as the Kansas Hop Company, Tall Trellis exists as picturesque Olathe oasis along K-10, about a 30 minute drive outside of downtown Kansas City. The one negative is it's pretty far away from anything else I'm usually doing in the area, but it's worth the stop. It was the last place I went on my August trip to Kansas City, so I had a little while to hype it up in my mind, and still it met the hype head on.
I took a route from Overland Park, then Lenexa that took me through a series of roundabouts and very expensive houses. Listening to Men I Trust while driving through there was totally a vibe.
Then finally, I arrived, greeted by the sign out front in the shape of the state of Kansas. I was simply astounded by the beer garden, complete with hop plants growing on the trellises.
The taproom has decent capacity, with a clean, fairly modern aesthetic.
I had pre-selected a few beers from the menu to try, but every single beer I had there was really good, even their Milk Stout, a style I don't normally particularly care for, but I liked theirs! Didn't hurt that it was also on Lukr side pull faucet.
My favorite probably was the "all Kansas" pale ale, made like Sierra Nevada, but using Kansas-grown barley and Cascade hops from the Kansas Hop Company. Remember that they own the place!
Beer Notes:
Kansas Cut
American Pale Ale
All Kansas grown pale ale! Exactly what I’m here for. Floral and grapefruit, toasty into medium caramel malt, like it’s trying to be Sierra Nevada and very much in the ballpark. Fantastic. One of the best beers of the whole trip
Bobby Wheat Junior
American Wheat
Amazing really, so smooth, I could drink this all day, doughy, mild citrus, just fantastic! Dangit, Bobby!
Patrick Trophyhands
Double IPA
Of course, as a life long Chiefs fan, I had to order this, too. Super good, citra, cascade notes, they obviously get good hops. Mosaic always adds that complexity I love in such a beer. Velvety smooth, double IPA that hides its abv well
And some bonus vibes in case you want to imagine what the drive there was like ;)