Breweries and Games!

Of all the food you can enjoy with a strong pint, nothing compares to a good slice of pizza and this week I got just that.   Resonate is a winning combination of beer, pizza, and music! Flagship: Atomic Punk (IPA) Dogs: no Kids: yes Do they brew there: yes Food: Pizza! Has guest taps: yes Events: yes Outside seating: no Wifi: yes Located in the South Bellevue/ Newcastle area the brewery seems unassuming from the outside with a simple metal sign and storefront. Sitting in a strip mall connected to a largely empty parking lot I wasn't sure what to expect when I arrived. Stepping inside though, I couldn't keep the smile from my face. The space isn't overly large, but there's plenty of room and though I'm there on a Friday afternoon, there's quite a few people here, many of them families and all enjoying themselves. The theme is heavy on metal and wood, Certainly not the most unique choice for a brewery but they pull it off with great style. The ...

These days video games are not just one thing. We live in an era when video games are not a single thing but a genre.  Video games can tell horror stories  and love stories. Sci-fi epics and rough westerns. In an era of unsurpassed storytelling what could be more fitting than the simplicity of the 90's shooter?  Wait what? That's right last year there was a new DOOM game and when it was announced I had flashbacks to Duke Nukem Forever. Was this yet another old franchise here one try next gen consoles to be milked for profit with no resemblance to the original?  Well, no apparently. Full disclosure here I never played any of the other DOOM games but I know the series by reputation and like I've said hundreds of hours playing Duke 3-D so I know my 90's shooters and feel I can make a bit of a comparison. The plot is a corporation on Mars in the future has been using Hell itself as an energy source and something went wrong and now demons are everywhere oh my go...

Bighorn sheep or Rams are pretty awesome creatures. And just like their namesake, the RAM Restaurant & Brewery is pretty awesome too. Flagship: multiple Dogs: no Kids: yes Do they brew there: yes Food: full menu Has guest taps: no Events: yes Outside seating: yes There are multiple RAM locations but this week we got to visit the one in University Village, Seattle. Sitting on the North end of the shopping plaza this brewery is everything it's name claims it to be and more. Stepping inside I am greeted to a spacious room filled with tables, booths and several families enjoying an early dinner.  To the right of the seats I get a peak into the kitchen where a half dozen people are cooking, working, and moving about.  Above it all is a full size racing boat and oars.  Banners from various PAC-12 teams  hang from the oars and soft lighting completes the room.  This is the restaurant portion of the place and it's actually pretty impressive both in si...

I...am not a computer gamer. Though the first video games I can remember playing were on my dad's Windows 95, it didn't take long for for me to get confused by different system requirements and jump over to the console world. I say this because this weeks game is of a type that has historically only had a home on PC. Overwatch is an exciting blend of shooter and MOBA and I really like it. The game is an online multiplayer only experience consisting of roughly 20 minute 6v6 matches in one of a few kinds of game modes. Overwatch games are primarily objective based, and though kills are tracked for personal points, victory comes down to objectives.  This means that players really need to work as a team in order to succeed in Overwatch. To do this players take control of one of several different heroes. These characters are all vastly different from each other and each has a number of special abilities in the MOBA/MMO style complete with cool downs.  Your skill with yo...

Ok language quiz time! What is the Czech word for community? It's Obec!  That alone should tell you all you need to know about this brewery. Flagship: Czech Pils Dogs: yes Kids: no Do they brew there: yes Food: no Has guest taps: yes Events: yes Wi-fi: yes Outside seating: yes Obec Brewing is one of the newest breweries in Seattle at the time of this review. New is good though. New means that when I visited I got to talk to the founder and head brewer. Over the course of a few beers I hear from the founder about the breweries name and, surprisingly, about the welcome they received from the other breweries in the area. I first noticed the Obec sandwich sign a block away in the median while driving through Ballard.  And just like those campaign signs that plagued any open bit of grass near a road until recently there was another brewery sign next to it. Competition as fierce as in city politics?  It seemed like it. Imagine my delight when I found out the o...

The first time I heard of the Mad Max series was a joke in the web series Red vs. Blue. From there a young James walked down the the video rental store and paid 99¢ to rent The Road Warrior. Instantly I was in love with the series. In the years before post-apocalyptic genre was mainstream, I was obsessed with Mad Max. I tell you this to preface todays review. I knew I would like the Mad Max game before I played it because I like the series that much. So there's a bit of bias here, but I'm going to focus on the features and be as impartial as I can. The Mad Max series is back in everyone's minds again after the blockbuster film Fury Road. Winning numerous awards and boasting over the top action a video game tie-in seemed natural. The game that came out, simply titled Mad Max, is kind of a tie in, and kind of not. Some names from the latest movie appear and at times the plot does seem to suggest this is a prequel, but there are things to suggest the opposite as well...

Hey guys and gals, with the big forest fires raging all around Washington it seems appropriate to  review a brewery from that area. I got to visit the Roslyn Brewing Company a few weeks ago, and once the nearby fire is out you can too! Flagship: Roslyn Dark Lager Dogs: in beer garden Kids: no Do they brew there: yes Food: can bring in outside food Has guest taps: no Events : no Wi-fi: yes Outside seating: yes Roslyn is a charming mountain town located on the east side of the Cascades just North of I-90. The town itself has several attractions and a long history, but on my last visit I only had eyes for good beer. To my delight the Roslyn Brewing company was there to provide. The brewery is located centrally in the town near just down the street from  other famous Roslyn attractions. The outside is all dark wood playing to the feeling of a Northwest Mountain town. Inside is a gorgeous bar and a friendly feeling. The brewery wasn't crowded when I was there,...

The original Deus Ex has become the equivalent of a cult film in the video game world.  A winning combination of difficult gameplay, freedom to choose your own paths, and character progression make it stand out even today. And just like other cult properties a modern remake/reimagining/prequel/new one was inevitable. Human Revolution filled this role some years ago and I remember really liking it. A strong visual style, solid gameplay, and a good story. Mankind Divided takes the approach that I wish more sequels would. Keep what was good about the last game, improve or remove what wasn't, add more features.  For this game that translates to new locations and augments. These are the biggest and most obvious changes but there are other more subtle ones as well. The visual style I mentioned earlier is still there but there's been obvious attempts to change it up. For example the first hub city is explored during daylight hours and in a way it's really cool to see this n...