Photo Credit: Friends of the Cedar River Watershed

Amy educating about the watershed. Photo Credit: Friends of the Cedar River Watershed

Salal Flower

The group at the shoreline in Seward Park Photo Credit: Friends of the Cedar River Watershed

The group that joined the Discovery Park Hike. Photo Credit: Friends of the Cedar River Watershed

Looking at Native plants in the garden. Photo Credit: Friends of the Cedar River Watershed

Nootka Rose. Photo Credit: Friends of the Cedar River Watershed

Berries were a major highlight of the walk. We were able to see and taste Salmonberry, Thimble Berry, Native Blackberry, Salal, and invasive Himalayan Blackberry. Ean informed us that he is planning to make a lighter brew that is heavily inspired by the native berries he saw on the trail, he is considering using Salal. He wants to return to Seward Park to review the plants he learned about before he nails down an exact recipe. If he uses Salal, he will be the first brewer in our program to use that plant. After the hike, Ean said that he learned a lot and now can point out multiple edible plants to his son.We were also accompanied by Megan Hill, a writer for Seattle Weekly. Check out her recap of the adventure, she had some great insights into our program.We were joined by Fremont Brewing and Naked City Brewery for our hike on July 22nd through Discovery Park. The park is huge, and is located in the heart of Seattle, not too far from the downtown, not too far from Ballard. James McDermet, Fremont's Lead Brewer and Donald Averill, Bryan Miller, and Head Brewer Don Webb, from Naked City, joined a group of fifteen other people on the Wolf Tree Nature Trail. The area is forested and includes a wetland, restoration area, and a native plant garden.The garden was an especially rich place for learning about native plants and inspiring the brewers. There were many native Northwest berries on this hike as well, including huckleberry and elderberry. Nootka Rose was a major plant of interest to the group, as many of the brewers were excited about the many potential uses of the plant. Rose pedals and rose hips have been used in beer before, but neither are a common ingredient by any means. When breweries do use it, you'll tend to see it in light saisons because of the delicate flavor characteristic.We're really looking forward to seeing what the four breweries decide to brew up. The four beers that come out of this program, along with at least two additional beers (well, actually, one will be a cider!) will be on tap in October. There may be additional beers available from our program in Oregon too. We are in the middle of working out the details of the tapping event but we'll be sure to keep you posted.If you would like additional details regarding the final Seattle hike (with Big Al Brewing and Schilling Cider ), or the upcoming BMBW tapping event in Seattle, you can join our email newsletter , the FB event page , and follow us on Facebook Cheers!