Winterhop

A cold, clear day. An historic city center. A line around the block. It’s Winterhop in Ellensburg, Washington. Now you might not think of sampling tasty cold beer in the middle of winter, especially in blustery, cold, January in this windy Washington town. But microbrewers from around the Northwest gather here the third weekend of January, and so do avid beer afficianados from said region, eager to sample brews and keep warm by walking briskly through town, from venue to venue.

My favorite stop is the local furniture store, where you can sit in comfy chairs in the big display windows and watch people walk by. I also loved the brick-walled shop around the corner from the newspaper office.  That's where we found Boundary Bay, a favorite brewery from Bellingham. I bought a hoodie sweatshirt that will come in very handy for chilly evenings on the deck at the cabin.

Our last stop was the echoing expanse of the former newspaper office and press room. just around the corner on the main drag through town. It’s a loud, echoing cavern of a room, and it still smells a bit like printer’s ink. Being a former newspaper reporter, I like that. The town still has a newspaper, but it’s printed in the larger town of Yakima, over the Umtanum Range to the south.

AfterHop has become as much a tradition as the beer festival itself. Bernie & Linda provided a big pan of lasagne plus a green salad. Andy & Dave both ordered pizza from Papa Murphy's, which we picked up on the way back to the house. Tonight was a blur of food and beer and music and a lot of talking, and we had a great time. Late in the evening I came upstairs for ice water, and heard someone playing the piano. I stood in the dark dining room and listened to James play. I think this is the first time I've ever heard anyone play Linda's piano. He plays beautifully; would love to hear him tackle George Winston… what he played was in that style, but I didn't recognize it.

Eventually I had to call it quits, and headed downstairs to the guest room. It was very quiet in the basement… except for the door opening and hastily closing in the wee hours, with a whispered "sorry." Someone got lost on the way to the bathroom!