OT: Kraken OT Lounge: No Calamari allowed

[sigma six]

Damn man, move outta the boondocks!

 

[PocketNines]

Greetings, I've been on this site 20 years (Blues fan) currently living in Ukiah CA the last 8 years and we are selling our house and moving up to the Olympia - Tacoma - Seattle area, probably more on the Olympia-Tacoma side. We both will work remotely, middle aged couple, no kids (quality of school not a factor), two decent sized dogs. We love nature & access to trails/water but want to be within an hour of SEATAC (she is an international cannabis expert who travels) and near a 24 hr vet.

Where should we be looking?

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Greetings, I've been on this site 20 years (Blues fan) currently living in Ukiah CA the last 8 years and we are selling our house and moving up to the Olympia - Tacoma - Seattle area, probably more on the Olympia-Tacoma side. We both will work remotely, middle aged couple, no kids (quality of school not a factor), two decent sized dogs. We love nature & access to trails/water but want to be within an hour of SEATAC (she is an international cannabis expert who travels) and near a 24 hr vet.

Where should we be looking?

- The budget and requirements would dictate the best area options for you. Depending on which area you pick, you could get a 5-acre parcel for what a condo/townhouse would cost in another.
- We are a very dog-friendly state, and I would think that no matter which area you choose, a 24 hour veterinarian should not be an issue.
- Nature access and trails are another thing you are unlikely to have much of an issue finding in Western WA.

I want to say that Issaquah may be good area to start at. It's closer to Bellevue than Seattle but you could make it to Seatac within half hour or so, but that is very traffic dependant.

 

[Scomerica]

- The budget and requirements would dictate the best area options for you. Depending on which area you pick, you could get a 5-acre parcel for what a condo/townhouse would cost in another.
- We are a very dog-friendly state, and I would think that no matter which area you choose, a 24 hour veterinarian should not be an issue.
- Nature access and trails are another thing you are unlikely to have much of an issue finding in Western WA.

I want to say that Issaquah may be good area to start at. It's closer to Bellevue than Seattle but you could make it to Seatac within half hour or so, but that is very traffic dependant.

East side (Bellevue-Issaquah) was what I was thinking too if you have no kids. Lots of great trails off i-90 and still close to the airport. Everywhere feels dog friendly here, lots of dog parks, vets etc.

 

[PocketNines]

University Place. There's a Kraken flag on a flagpole a few doors down. Love the new house. Just need our stuff to show up lol. The first game of the NHL season is, naturally, a game between my Blues and the Kraken at 1:30pm on a Tuesday.

 

[rypper]

I'm going to a show in your neck of the woods at the end of July right by T-mobile/Lumen etc.

Where should I go eat? Where should I go grab a pint?

 

[The Marquis]

I'm going to a show in your neck of the woods at the end of July right by T-mobile/Lumen etc.

Where should I go eat? Where should I go grab a pint?

Depends on the venue are you going to. It makes a difference, since the walk would be considerable for something north of Lumen if your venue is south of T-Mobile and vice versa. Some good places around that are though.

South of T-Mobile:

Fast Fashion Brewing
Paseo

Right in the middle:

Gantry
Hatback

North of Lumen:

Elysian Fields
Sluggers


Generally speaking if it's a place you've never heard of down there, it's probably pretty good. There might be a couple of exceptions south of T-Mobile, because I haven't been to them all. That's in that area at least. It's not the densest restaurant area of town by any definition, plenty of better areas to just show up and pick from a swath of places.

 

[rypper]

Depends on the venue are you going to. It makes a difference, since the walk would be considerable for something north of Lumen if your venue is south of T-Mobile and vice versa. Some good places around that are though.

South of T-Mobile:

Fast Fashion Brewing
Paseo

Right in the middle:

Gantry
Hatback

North of Lumen:

Elysian Fields
Sluggers


Generally speaking if it's a place you've never heard of down there, it's probably pretty good. There might be a couple of exceptions south of T-Mobile, because I haven't been to them all. That's in that area at least. It's not the densest restaurant area of town by any definition, plenty of better areas to just show up and pick from a swath of places.

Thanks for the reply. The show is at Showbox sodo, but we're staying a little closer to T-Mobile so I'll look into your recommendations.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I really hope we get some fans on the forums who live on Whidbey Island. Would absolutely love to watch a game together.

 

[Scomerica]

Lynnwood ORCA Landing Page – Just One Trip

They are giving out $25 orca cards as part of the light rail opening in Lynnwood until Monday. Just an fyi

 

[PocketNines]

I really hope we get some fans on the forums who live on Whidbey Island. Would absolutely love to watch a game together.

I was thinking similar and I remember looking up where your island is. I'm rowing now, so a scull would probably be faster than I-5. Need to get a couple more people so we can sweep row up there

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I was thinking similar and I remember looking up where your island is. I'm rowing now, so a scull would probably be faster than I-5. Need to get a couple more people so we can sweep row up there

The highway is indeed terrible. And getting worse by the day. I would also be open to coming across to somewhere close like Mukilteo, Edmonds, Lynnwood. Really don't want to deal with the traffic to Bellevue or Seattle ..

 

[PocketNines]

What we really need is someone with a big yacht who posts here to host all season. Then it becomes a thing. That's the goal toward which we should collectively strive

(ie, why even have a yacht if not for this?)

 

[LuckyDay]

Almost Live!'s Guide to Native Seattle References
forgive me if this has ever been posted before

 

[The Marquis]

It’s been taken down

 

[LuckyDay]

It’s been taken down

if you are talking about the video it's still up. the owner, for some reason, is blocking it from being viewable from anywhere but YT.

 

[The Marquis]

Any beer drinkers in this group?

I've been doing a thing all year where I will not drink the same beer twice. Only once. Started at the beginning of the year and I've tried 175 unique beers. I'm actually enjoying it and will probably continue after the year is up. Good thing I live in the PNW... otherwise I'd probably already be done with what's available. I'm definitely getting to the point where I have to check my list more often to see if I've had a beer.

I've been rating them too, out of 10. Might post of a "best of" list after the year is up. Anyway, has been fun.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Any beer drinkers in this group?

I've been doing a thing all year where I will not drink the same beer twice. Only once. Started at the beginning of the year and I've tried 175 unique beers. I'm actually enjoying it and will probably continue after the year is up. Good thing I live in the PNW... otherwise I'd probably already be done with what's available. I'm definitely getting to the point where I have to check my list more often to see if I've had a beer.

I've been rating them too, out of 10. Might post of a "best of" list after the year is up. Anyway, has been fun.

I love a good stout or porter but have really reduced my drinking to once or twice a month, outside of December when I do the whisky advent calendar my wife gets me. But once your list is up, I will definitely be interested in trying some out.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

@The Marquis I love stouts with chocolate, espresso, etc. I also had a peanut butter one a few years back which was scrumptious. If you have any suggestions for them, I will certainly keep an eye out.

 

[The Marquis]

@The Marquis I love stouts with chocolate, espresso, etc. I also had a peanut butter one a few years back which was scrumptious. If you have any suggestions for them, I will certainly keep an eye out.

I’m a big fan of stouts and Porters as well. A couple I’ve really enjoyed this year:

Backwoods King Size Stout
Backwoods S’mores Golden Stout
Walking Man Cherry Stout
Block 15 Nebula Oak Stout
Backwoods Pecan Pie Porter

If you’re ever in the Gorge, hit up Backwoods and Walking Man. Very good Stouts and Porters. Mastery of them at Backwoods.

I’ve tried 27 different Stouts and Porters this year and so far those are my top 5 and will probably make my overall Top 25 of all beers.

 

[The Marquis]

I should mention that many of the beers I’ve had were in beer flights, which I generally get when they are available, so I have not had 175 pints of beer this year. Probably 75, with 100 of these had in flights.

 

[The Marquis]

Ok, it's that moment that none of you have been waiting for... my 2024 BEER LIST!

Over the entire year I have not had the same beer twice. Many of the beers I had were enjoyed via tasting flight, so these stats should alarm you 5x less than it appears.

Now, for the stats.

I tried a total of 265 beers

I tried the following styles of beer: Helles, Lager (many varieties), Pilsner, Maibock, Festbier, Kolsch, Bock, Rauchbier, Radler, Ale (many flavors such as chocolate, coffee, pumpkin, hazelnut, "christmas", etc), Pale Ale, Amber Ale, Cream Ale, Tart Ale, Red Ale, Strong Ale, Wheat Ale, Wit, Imperial Wit, Fresh Hop Ale, Blonde Ale, Dark Wit, Brown, Stout (many flavor varieties such as cherry, espresso, oatmeal, oyster, coffee, oak, milk, tiramisu, salted maple, peanut butter, etc), Cuvee, Imperial Stout, Porter (many flavor varieties such as pecan pie, peppermint, coconut, chocolate, salted caramel, etc), Sour, Gose, Sour Berliner Weiss, Tart Lager, IPA (varieties such as West Coast, American), Hazy IPA, Imperial IPA, Cryo IPA, Black IPA, Hefeweizen, Weisser Bock, Dunkle Weisse.

I'm breaking my lists down by larger variety types as follows: Pilsner, Lager, Ale, Pale Ale, Stout, Porter, Sour, Weissbier.

My Top 3 for each beer variety with honorable mentions for beer that aren't my top 3 that got a 10 from me:

Pilsner
1. Crux Pilsner
2. Shoug Pilsner
3. Husu Psycho Pilsner

Lager
1. Klosterbrau Bamberger Rauchbier
2. Everybody's Helles
3. Recluse Entonces Vienna Lager

HM: Schnitzlbaumer Lagerbier Hell, Von Ebert Helles

Ale
1. Mother Earth Cali Creamin'
2. Backwoods Dreamsicle Golden Ale
3. Icicle Dark Persuasion German Chocolate Ale

HM: Walking Man Walk It Down Wheat, Sagres Bohemia, Praxis Winter Ale, Backwoods Comfy Womfy Brown, Pfriem WIT

Pale Ale
1. Hop Valley Shit Kicker IPA
2. Freebridge Black Hop Black IPA
3. Caldera When Doves Cryo

Stout
1. Backwoods S'mores Golden Stout
2. Walking Man Cherry Stout
3. Block 15 Nebula Oak Stout

HM: Backwoods King Size Stout, Gigantic Krampus Chocolate Stout

Porter
1. Backwoods Pecan Pie Porter
2. Amo Chocolate Porter
3. Block 15 Event Horizon Porter

Sour
1. Oregon City Lilikoi no KA oi'
2. Everybody's Cranberry Key Lime Sour
3. Brothers Cascadia Allegro Holiday Tart Ale

HM: Avery Electric Sunshine Fruited Tart Ale, Public Coast Raspberry Tart Ale, Brothers Cascadia Allegro Sour Margarita

Weissbier
1. Late Liebe Dunkle Weiss
2. Sunriver Hefeweizen
3. Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier

I've decided I'm going to do the same thing in 2025, but am willing to have something from a previous year if there is nothing new on tap. Nothing twice in 2025.

 

[Dead Coyote]

I don't think I've ever been more disgusted with an HFB update than this. Literally just made it worse? I hope at least some of it is due to the styling bugs they've mentioned but eugh. I also hate change lol.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

I don't think I've ever been more disgusted with an HFB update than this. Literally just made it worse? I hope at least some of it is due to the styling bugs they've mentioned but eugh. I also hate change lol.

We had the option to leave the system down while all style changes are made, or start things up with what was needed to operate and then make the style changes. We chose the latter.

 

[Dead Coyote]

We had the option to leave the system down while all style changes are made, or start things up with what was needed to operate and then make the style changes. We chose the latter.

I hope that the style changes are made soon! To me the site is nearly unusable anyways without some of them but I'm sure to most it doesn't matter.