Monday 14th May 2012
Bob Thompson
This pub was the furthest from the Downtown area that I visited in this sprawling metropolis. It might have been as much as ten miles out so I was very grateful to my two drinking friends from the Nexus and Chama River breweries who very kindly gave me a lift to this pub on their way home. The fact that they diverted from their normal route to do this makes me even more thankful.
Bad Ass (also known as BAB) is located in a small shopping centre court and can best be described as a bar with a small brewery. It advertises 22 beers on the front window, but there were nine available inside. No criticism here, nine is enough, but I suspect many more are available at other times.
This was what I was offered: Fallen Fruit Apricot Ale (4.2%); In the Bush Raspberry Ale (4.2%); Pumpkin Spice Ale (4.5%); Yellow Brick Road Pilsner (4.5%): C-Squared Kölsch (5.0%); Bitter Black Porter (5.7%); Triple Chocolate Stout (6.0%); Mad Cow IPA (6.4%) and Hop Zombie IPA (7.2%).
There was "a choose your own" sampler tray so it was an easy decision. Forget the first three, I'm not a great devotee of fruit beers unless they are the real deal, like a traditional Kriek. Here, I went for the last six which are all styles I like.
The Pils was reasonable without being exceptional, the Stout had a severe chocolate taste, but was good. The Kölsch was a good example of this type and the Black Porter was great, having a lot of bitterness.
Both of the IPAs were well over the top, causing severe mouth crinkle, yet both were superb. The IBUs (International Bittering Units) were 96 and 140 respectively. The latter, I think, is the highest I've ever tasted.
I had a quick look at the brewery and it is quite compact, see photos. This is a true bar and the only food are subs and hot pretzels. There is real darts (not electronic) and bands play at weekends. It's a great place to visit.
Important Information:
Bad Ass Brewing, 9800, Montgomery Boulevard NE, Suite 7
Open: Mon to Thurs 16.00 to 22.30; Fri to Sat 15.00 to 24.00; Sun 12.00 to 20.00
The no 5 bus to Downtown stops right outside and takes about 45 minutes.
