Beacon Rock. Time to Roll!

Pacific Northwest September Travelog #16
Beacon Rock State Park - Mon, 5 Sep 2022, 2pm

I've written two blogs already about hiking at Beacon Rock State Park without mentioning Beacon Rock. Yes, the park does have a namesake! It's a volcanic spire hundreds of feet high that stands near the edge of the Columbia River. We weren't sure we'd have energy to climb it and also visit places like Pool of the Winds (previous blog). We visited the falls first and figured "wait and see" for the rock. Unfortunately Hawk suffered a small slip on the trial that wrenched her back a little. That meant doing steep, extra hike was out. But fortunately there was an easier option to at least see Beacon Rock.



From our trail there was a short spur trail to Little Beacon Rock. Little Beacon is the volcanic rock pile you see in the photo above. The trail comes around to it from the back side, where it's mostly atop solid rock. If we were to climb up those volcanic boulders... well, that would be pretty treacherous.



From the top of Little Beacon Rock we could see out across the Columbia River Valley. There's Beacon Rock in the middle. Yes, here atop Little Beacon Rock we're actually higher that the top of not-little Beacon Rock. I figure the diminutive name is not because of elevation but because of prominence. Beacon Rock really does stand alone at the edge of the river valley, and from the bottom it looks like it rises almost straight up.

* * *

As I write this we're done with hiking for the day. We got back to the car at the trailhead then drove to one of the park's picnic area... where there are bathrooms with running water. We washed up a bit, changed into street clothes, and packed our suitcases for the airport. The suitcases were already two-thirds packed; it was just a matter of breaking down our hiking equipment and packing it. Now it's time to get some lunch (late lunch) and head to the airport.

Beer Tasting Best-Of: Fat Tire vs. Estrella 1906

Which round of my beer tasting 2022 competition am I on? I dunno, I kinda stopped counting a few rounds ago. And the last one I posted was almost 8 weeks ago now. Oh, I've been drinking beer since then, I just haven't spent time writing about it. Let's catch up, starting with two beers I compared this weekend.

Neither of the beers in this round are new to me. In fact they're the opposite. Each has participated in multiple rounds. Each has won every time. It's time for two top-rated beers to go head to head.



Estrella Galicia Reserva Especial 1906— that's a mouthful, especially if you say the whole thing in Spanish, including the date— is a German style hellerbock made in Spain. It has bested every beer I've paired it against, including a few respected German beers. I like its rich but not overpowering malty flavor that finishes with a swish of hops bitterness at the end to clean the palate.

Fat Tire is an American amber ale. It's a different style than hellerbock but I like it for the same flavor characteristics. It has a medium-rich flavor, not overpowering, with a bit of sourness on the finish that cleans the palate so to enhance the taste of the next bite of food. Fat Tire has also defeated all comers so far.

Obviously these two undefeated beers can't both continue their winning ways when put head to head. So which will it be?

In the past I've had several matchups that were much closer than I expected. This was the opposite: a comparison I thought would be close but wasn't. The 1906 won, hands-down.

Compared to the 1906 the Fat Tire tasted like it should be called Flat Tire. I was so surprised by the immediate difference that I tasted the beers multiple times to be sure: forward and back, with and without food. No matter how I arranged it, the 1906 was clearly better.

I'd consider making Estrella Galicia Reserva 1906 my house beer... if only a) it were easier to find and b) it were a bit cheaper. Those are merely the consequences of the 6,000 mile distance from the brewery to my table.