There are first flights that quietly happen over anonymous airfields, and then there are first flights that crack open the future like a well-struck pint glass.
On this day in 1954, the Boeing Dash 80 lifted from Renton Field with all the confidence of a silver comet that had already seen tomorrow. Airlines mostly shrugged. Too fast. Too expensive. Too much impossible wrapped in polished aluminum. Boeing, meanwhile, wore that peculiar grin reserved for visionaries and mildly unhinged optimists, quietly betting the company that humanity would eventually tire of propellers and embrace velocity itself.
Then came Boeing test pilot Alvin “Tex” Johnson, who responded to corporate caution by barrel-rolling the Dash 80 over the 1955 Seafair hydroplane races, because apparently subtlety had called in sick. The impossible suddenly looked graceful. Pan Am and American Airlines promptly reached for their checkbooks. A few years later, the Boeing 707 would fling passengers across oceans at twice the speed they’d known, shrinking continents, stretching weekends, and making the entire planet feel delightfully, beautifully smaller.
The jet age wasn’t born with a committee meeting. It arrived wearing swept wings and just a hint of swagger.
Naturally, Peaks & Pints once saluted that glorious leap into the blue with our July 15, 2017 Craft Beer Crosscut flight, A Flight Celebrating Flight—a toast to machines audacious enough to convince gravity it had become optional.
Lagunitas Dark Swan
8.5% ABV, 22 IBU
Universally, a swan is the archetype of grace and beauty. A creature in myth and fairytale, the ugly duckling transforms into a beautiful swan just as we too can change our feathers. Wherever and whenever a dark swan appears harmony and a touch of perfection will inevitably grace your presence. Wherever and whenever a Lagunitas Brewing Co. Dark Swan sour ale appears cherry and red grapes will inevitably grace your presence. Experimentally hopped sour ale fermented with dark red wine grapes, Dark Swan swims up with an uniquely deep and rich purple hue and continues swimming for a long tart finish. A signature Lagunitas healthy dose of experimental dry hops keeps faint hops on the nose.
Wingman P-51 Porter
8% ABV, 31 IBU
The P-51 Porter was Wingman Brewers‘ first real beer recipe. “It goes back to 2008 when Derrick (Moyer) and I were home brewing,” explains Wingman co-founder and head brewer Ken Thoburn. “At the time, Lazy Boy Porter from Everett was my favorite beer around, so we tried to emulate that. The beer was initially made for a friend’s birthday and called Nalty’s Tall Order Porter since he’s a tall dude and asked us to make a Porter for his birthday party. The beer went over so well with our friends that it remains the only recipe we’ve never changed since Wingman started … with Washington-grown barley and Moxie valley hops.” The P-51 Porter is a robust and clean-finishing porter that offers rich, malty flavors that highlight hints of chocolate, coffee, nuts and smoke.
Black Raven Second Sight Scotch Ale
6.9% ABV, 34 IBU
According to Redmond brewery Black Raven, “Ravens in the Scottish Highlands were once thought to possess the gift of second sight, the ability to see future events before they occur. Second Sight is built around malted barley with hops playing a balancing role. This beer is ruby in color with large malt aromatics, delicious malt flavors and a full bodied finish.” Indeed, this creamy Scotch ale hits with massive fruity sweetness of raisin, date and toffee notes then flies forever with a woody finish and a slight alcoholic aftertaste, warming if you will.
Pelican Dirty Bird IPA
7% ABV, 65 IBU
But sometimes wonderful, delicious things come as a result of mistakes. The Pelican Brewing brewers accidentally dumped a darker colored bag of malt into their Pelican IPA and out flew Dirty Bird IPA, which just grabbed a bronze medal at the 2017 Australian International Beer Awards. Dirty Bird nests a rich copper color with hoppy, piney and lightly citrusy, with caramel and roasted malts in the back nose. It’s full bodied, nicely carbonated and semi sweet, with a delicious, assertive bitterness from the extensive use of Pacific Northwest hops for notes of pinecones and citrus zest to balance the caramel malts. Dirty Bird reminds of an old school Northwest IPA.
Evil Twin Falco
7% ABV, 70 IBU
You may have noticed Evil Twin’s products gracing our shelves, most likely because the packaging is gorgeously eye-catching and impossible to ignore. The blocky, geometric bird design of the label isn’t just a ruse to trick you into buying it — this beer is delicious. The Falco IPA is crisp, floral, and refreshingly hoppy, everything you want from an IPA. A first whiff brings a mild grapefruit and freshly squeezed citrus fruit aroma. Mild toasted and grainy malts blend rather well with the citrus fruits and a hint of pine needle. The finish is moderately bitter.
