Engine House No.  9 – Tacoma Washington

Engine House Number 9 recently started brewing sours to add to their other lineup of house beers.  I visited them during a trip out to Olympic National Park because we decided to start our trip in Tacoma.  I had a flight of a few of their house beers and then simply ordered a full pour of the one sour they had on tap. 

Their lager was fruity and delicious with a crisp biscuit malt finish.  Their two IPAs were both lovely.  The house IPA was juicy and soft with notes of mango and melon.  It has a light bitterness and nice creamy mouthfeel.  The Donna IPA was good but a bit more acidic with notes of grass and herb hops and light caramel on the finish.  The Berry Manilow sour was jammy and had tons of berry notes with a light tart finish.  It was super drinkable and not particularly acidic, making it approachable to even someone who isn’t into sours. 

I left with a bottle of their rhubarb sour, Flanders style red and brett saison.  The rhubarb was tart and funky and quite delicious.  The Flanders style is bright and fruity with a tart finish that balances nicely with biscuit malts and notes of oak.  If you see Engine House Number 9 sours around they are worth picking up in bottles if you would rather not make it down to Tacoma.  They are a brewpub so expect it to get quite noisy inside. 

You could order food to go with your beers here as well.  I got a hummus appetizer the second time I visited when I was preparing to leave the area.  If you like IPAs or sours, you will find quite a bit to enjoy at Engine House No.  9 though I did not see any house brewed stouts on tap when I visited.