#2046 - Family Inn, Manchester, WA - 2/16/2013

The "Family Inn at Manchester," AKA the "Manchester Inn," is bifurcated into a roadside cafe and cozy lounge with a stone fireplace, collections of shot glasses, and other bric a brac on the walls. There was a medium-sized crowd and a performer playing guitar when we arrived, and at the bar we met Vicki and her friend (whose name I have lost). Vicki once found a book describing the best dive bars in Montana, and she and a friend decided to visit every one of them; so you can see how we had an interesting conversation comparing notes.

The Family Inn and Manchester Pub next door make a nice, complementary set of casual drinking options.

2386 Colchester Dr E Manchester, WA 98353 - (360) 871-8199
Est. 1988
Web site: familyinn.org
Reviews: nancysphotocorner -  tripadvisor - yelp - judysbook

#2045 - Manchester Pub, Manchester, WA - 2/16/2013

The unincorporated community of Manchester, Washington sits on the east edge of the Kitsap peninsula, across a Puget Sound bay from West Seattle. The community was established as Brooklyn in the 1860s and changed to Manchester in 1902. It is the home of about 5,000 people, and of the Manchester Family Inn and the Manchester Pub beside it. The pub is said to be "bike-friendly" and "biker-owned," but it's a genteel, middle-aged crowd in a nautically themed and non-divey setting.

The pub was established in the current space in 1981. When I asked about its history before that, the bartender directed me to another customer at the bar, whose name I forget, but whom she described as "the town know-it-all." The town know-it-all was friendly and couldn't tell us all the historical details, but told us that the pub used to be next door in a hotel built in 1903.

It's a pretty basic, mid-sized pub, with pull tabs, standard liquor and beer options, and a stage and dance area with rock bands on weekend nights.

2350 Colchester Dr E, Manchester, WA 98366 - (360) 871-2205
Est. 1981
Web site: www.manchesterpub.co - facebook 
Reviews: yelp

#2044 - Blue Goose Tavern, Port Orchard, WA - 2/16/2013

The Blue Goose was established in 1948, apparently by a marine and based on one of several military aircraft that have been known by that name (perhaps the B-24 bomber that disappeared in 1942). It had a fun, lively crowd, and we talked to Mike, and MBA who came back to the neighborhood to care for his parents, and now trims trees and bartends. Mike greets everybody enthusiastically and seems like an ambassador for the area, waxing poetic about the lifestyle and his five acres.

1931 Bay St Port Orchard, WA 98366 - (360) 895-8171
Est. 1948
Reviews:  yelp 

#2043 - Hi Tide Tavern, Port Orchard, WA - 2/16/2013

Despite its location in a sort of strip mall, the "Hi Tide Tavern" exterior has a lot of personality, with hand-painted signage and murals of widely varying skill, and an excellent view of Sinclair Inlet from its patio. So it's a little puzzling that inside it looks like a restaurant that should have "Pantry" in the name. The pastel colors, patterned wallpaper borders, and paintings of waves seem like they belong more in a waiting room or senior center than a tavern.

But the folks there are nice, and we had a pleasant discussion with old friends Ernie and Rollie, who spent much of their lives driving delivery trucks for Wonder Bread and Twinkies, respectively.

The menu claims that the Hi Tide has been here since 1926, although it would not have been a tavern since then, and the current building appears to date back to the 1990s. I would have very much liked to have seen the previous version(s).

1371 Bay St Port Orchard, WA 98366 - (360) 876-2248
Reviews: yelp 

#2042 - Pour House Pub, Bremerton, WA - 2/16/2013

An interesting mixture of punks and navy guys, with some fairly good pizza and beer.

(Note: Original Bremerton Pour House was 3 blocks from this one.)

312 Naval Ave Bremerton, WA 98337 - (360) 377-6250
Web site: facebook
Previous bars at this address: Red Rooster, Blue Jacket
Reviews: yelp - urbanspoon 

#2041 - Fuzzy Naval, Bremerton, WA - 2/16/2013

A classic dive bar that appears to have been around since the 30s or 40s (although I found no bar listed at this address until Jesse's Tavern in 1960). It was remodeled in the 70s, and which hoists a fairly boisterous crowd of regulars.

416 Naval Ave, Bremerton, WA 98337 - (360) 782-5487
Previous bars at this location: Jesse's Tavern (1960s)
Reviews: urbanspoon - yelp

#2040 - Wig Wam Pub, Gorst, WA - 2/16/2013

"Gorst, located on the shores of Puget Sound, is primarily a town consisting of stores, auto dealerships, topless espresso stands, and the county's only strip club." -- Wikipedia

The community of Gorst, sitting in the middle of the Kitsap peninsula where the highway forks around Sinclair inlet, is not a major destination for visitors. But just off the current highway, and easy to miss, is a nifty little tavern with character and history -- and a lot of fine northwest beers.  The Wig Wam was built in 1933, right in time for then end of prohibition, and burned down in 1961. A new concrete version was constructed in 1952. It was closed down for several years recently, and only opened again in 2012 because locals kept dropping by asking the new owners about it. It now features a very nice beer selection and good barbecue.  A bit more historical detail from the Kitsap Sun:

'The tavern was operated by Cliff Whitney and later a second generation, the Chamberlain family. The building burned in 1951 and was resurrected in concrete in 1952....  Lila Goakey ran the Wig Wam with husband Loren from 1973 through 1996.... The Goakeys sold out before Loren's death in 2001. Buying the tavern was a woman who changed the name and got rid of the iconic tepee on the sign. The place did not thrive, and closed in late 2009. There was a foreclosure. The Wig Wam sat empty and disheveled.' 

'Business partners Erik Sweet and George Wood bought the 1.44-acre property late in 2011 with no intention of operating a tavern. They wanted to start a brewery for George's craft beers and may still do so out back where the cabins used to be. As they started cleaning it up, people kept stopping by and saying, "Are you going to open up the old Wig Wam?" said Mike Sweet, Erik's dad, who moved up from Texas to manage the tavern.'

'The new sign, modeled after the old yellow and red one, bears a tepee like those used by Plains Indians, not a wigwam, the traditional housing of tribes from the Great Lakes eastward. The Great Plains motif is picked up on new wood-carved restroom signs, with a chief in feather war bonnet. There's a "liars corner" — a vestige of the old Wig Wam — and a quilters' corner. Yes, the Wig Wam has a nicely appointed area, where ladies ply their craft. Rumor has it the old Wig Wam had ladies who plied another craft in the second story, now gone. "That was something everyone laughed about," Goakey said, dismissing the colorful story as hearsay.'

3548 W Belfair Valley Rd, Gorst, WA 98312 - (360) 813-3548
Est. 1933 - Building constructed: 1952
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: pubwigwam.com - facebook - blog
Articles: kitsapsun - portorchardindependent - yelp - taphunter