Tap Handle #229: Northwest/Trade Route - Joker Amber Ale

This is an incredibly rare tap. It's incredibly detailed and visually creepy - but in an awesome way.

Click through to read more about Northwest Brewing/Trade Route Brewing and their Joker Amber Ale...


Trade Route brewing was originally founded as Laughing Buddha Brewing in Seattle, Washington in 2007, by Chris Castillo, Joe Valvo, James Baker, Derrick Focht, and Jeff Boulet. They formed a partnership as Bellevue Community College classmates who experimented and brewed micros for friends and parties. Laughing Buddha experimented with Asian-inspired flavors such as a brown ale with pandan leaves, a hefeweizen with mangoes, a purple yam porter, and a pale ale with ginger. However, Lucky Drink Company of Australia sent a letter to the Seattle microbrewery in 2008 objecting the use of Laughing Buddha’s name, citing US trademark registrations for their Buddha-bottle design and the name “Lucky Buddha.” To avoid litigation, the company changed their name to Trade Route. In 2009, Trade Route moved to the town of Pacific, and opened a pub/tap room in addition to the brewery. In 2012, Trade Route changed their name again to Northwest Brewing, and acquired the Three Skulls brand from Baron Brewing.

Joker Amber Ale is hoppy and unfiltered and pairs well with most foods. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 3.13 out of 5.

Northwest Brewing Official Website