I wrote a story on Stanwood’s Ale Spike taproom for Friday’s A&E section. It was a fun story to write and research. I visited the taproom/bottleshop last Friday night, shared a beer with Scott Wetzel, of Fresh Bread Design, which does graphic design work for a number of breweries, and had a great time. Lyna Pepper, who owns Ale Spike with her husband, Chris, was tending bar and Scott and I talked beer with her.

They have a number of great beers on tap. I had the Elysian Punkucinno (I’d been waiting to try it on tap all fall) and was convinced by Lyna to try the Stillwater/Westbrook Big Tastes Back Door saison. Both beers were great. The Stillwater/Westbrook collab was spicy and refreshing. The Punkucinno was dark and complex, the perfect cap on my 2014 pumpkin beer tasting window.

Lyna came off as very knowledgeable about beer. She had an opinion on pretty much every beer they had on tap or in their coolers. She brought out Against the Grain’s Bo &Luke, an imperial smoked stout and raved about it.

Later I talked with Chris and Lyna on the phone and chatted beer. I asked both of them if they could grab five beers off their shelves right now what would they drink. Here’s their answers:

1. Angel’s Share, Lost Abbey

“One of our all-time favorites.”

2. Anything from Rueben’s Brews

“All of their beers are phenomenal.”

3. Seizoen Brett, Logsdon Brewery

“Simply amazing.”

4. Imperial Biscotti Break, Evil Twin

“We love Evil Twin.”

5. Imperial Flanders, Anacortes Brewing

“Kevin (Pierce) can brew some sours like nobody’s business.”

Find Ale Spike’s taplist at seattle.taphunter.com/location/Ale-Spike.

Follow Hops and Sips on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hopsandsips. Have a comment, an upcoming event that we can’t miss or an idea of a drink we must try? Email Aaron Swaney at aswaney@heraldnet.com or Jessi Loerch at jloerch@heraldnet.com.