Anacortes Brewery Releases for May 2019

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Check out the releases for May over at Anacortes Brewery!

Experimental Series – English Mild (ABV 4.5% / 25 IBU) A malt focused British Session Ale readily suited to drinking in quantity, this beer is refreshing yet flavorful with a light toasty character that finishes clean, crisp and dry.

Original IPA (ABV 6% / IBU 80) – Our classic northwest style IPA has a building hop character balanced with a sturdy backbone to support it. Columbus, Cascade & Simcoe are dry-hopped in the fermenter  producing a moderate citrus and stone fruit aroma that yields to a bold, prolonged hop flavor and bitterness.

Beers From the Wood Series – Day of the Dead Red Ale (ABV 4.9% / IBU 20) is aged in a Woodinville Distillery rye whiskey barrel providing extreme drinkability with a balanced whiskey flavor.

Events for May (WA State):

Waterfront Festival Art Release, Thurs 5/2, Trident, Anacortes

Anacortes Boat Show, Thurs-Sun 5/16-19, Cap Sante Marina

Mayfest, Sat 5/25, Clinton Community Center

Chuckanut Brewery Spring Beers

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Now that spring has finally sprung we’re happy to announce some great Chuckanut Beers that will be available. We’ve got a new Single Hop Lager, New World Hop Ale, Mexican Style Lager, and don’t forget the Maibock (the last in the big lager series). Along with the new beers we have some other one offs that are only available every now and then. And don’t forget our standard award winning beers for some very morish (you want to drink more and more of them) European Ales and Lagers.

First up is the new Single Hop Lager: Vic Secret is the single hop that’s used in this reoccurring lager exploring hops from around the world! Have you tried it yet. The last Single Hop was with Citra, now’s your chance to see what Vic Secret from Australia is like in a clean lager beer. When Brewmaster Will Kemper was in Australia they went to the hop farm that created Vic Secret. That hop farm is located in the state of Victoria and wanted to call the hop they created Victoria Secret. But they double thought that and instead called it Vic Secret!! It’s a very aromatic, fruit forward hop with great flavors of pineapple and citrus. Clean and bright with fruit aromas and notes in the taste alot of beer drinkers will love this for spring. It’s only in limited quantities and available at the Chuckanut locations and select accounts around the Sound.

The New World Hop Ale is out and it has lots of fruity aromas and tastes from new style German hops with a nice bitterness at the end. If you haven’t tried this seasonal ale it’s time to get a taste. Only German hops are used including Hull Melon and Hallertau Blanc for the fruity notes of melon and berries while Polaris gives it that nice bitter finish. This is the Seasonal Ale and will only be available til mid May.

Mexican Style Lager is on it’s way, just in time for Cinco de Mayo! This Chuckanut Seasonal Lager is ready early this year so you can enjoy it for your Cinco de Mayo celebrations. A true style Mexican lager like Bohemia, there’s just enough malt to give it body but light enough to drink for multiple toasts. This is sunshine in a glass!

Skagit Harvest Ale is a bit different this year. Made in honor of Skagit Valley it uses a selection of Skagit Valley malts including Francin Pilsner Malt, inspired by malts made in the Czech Republic. Spicy noble Czech Saaz hops amplify the spicy character of the skagit rye malt used as well. Golden and full of flavor this is an intriguing Czech American Hybrid Pale Ale!

And don’t forget the last of the big beer series Maibock heads to accounts and Chuckanut locations next week. This fuller bodied deep golden lager has been aged more than 3 months in fermentation tanks. Maibock (May Beer) is lighter in color then the other bocks, has a moderate bitterness balancing rich, bready flavors that are malt forward and strong. Watch out because this bock is dangerously drinkable.

For those that like dark beers you can find Dunkel Lager (the most awarded beer in WA state at the GABF!), Schwarz bier (black lager that even though it’s dark finishes really clean with espresso like notes) and Sticke Alt (high alcohol Alt made with more ingredients and aged longer, a bit pricey but well worth it!) around the Sound. Ethan’s Table Saison and a few Helles Lager can be found around the Sound too. These are light, sessionable, amazingly delicious beers. Ethan’shas a low ABV 2.7% but has alot of traditional farmhouse flavors while the Helles is a sparkling rendition of the Munich’s favorite beer drunk in liter mugs.

If you are looking for amber beers look no further than Alt (German style ale, dark amber in color with a spicy hop finish), Vienna Lager (the perfect malty yet light lager) and for a bit longer Chuckanut’s Marzen Lager (this is the traditional style of the Oktoberfest beers, malty and tantalizing).Whatever Chuckanut beer you drink it’s sure to be awesome and delicious!

 

Skagit Farm to Pint FEST 2019 Menu Has Arrived!

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The best of the Valley is here!  Local craft beer made with Skagit Valley Malts paired with local bounty!

skagit farm to pint fest menu 2019

Farmstrong Brewing Now Using 100% Skagit Valley Malt

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farmstrong_brewing_local_malt

News Release

Three years ago, Farmstrong Brewing opened its doors in Mount Vernon, WA. Within that time we’ve seen amazing growth, both in the industry we love and the place we call home. The Skagit Valley is home to not only some of the country’s most fertile farmland but also to an incredible community. Our focus has always remained on showcasing our county’s bounty and using as many local ingredients as possible. For years we’ve strived to create “truly local” beer, and while most of our creations could hold that title, we were unable to bring our two flagships under that banner…until now.

As of March 1st, 2019, all our beer is now made from local grain. We’ve spent the last year working hand-in-hand with local farmers and maltsters to transfer the entirety of our recipes to 100% Skagit Valley Malt. Every glass of Farmstrong beer now comes from grain that was grown, malted and brewed within a 10-mile radius. This “estate brewing” aspect allows us to do something incredibly unique in the beer industry: showcase the terroir of our land. Crafting award-winning beer while remaining agriculturally-independent is no longer a dream, but a reality.

Head brewer Thane Tupper has spent months reworking our recipes over to Skagit Valley Malting. Using expertise gained from years brewing at Mac & Jack’s, Elysian, and most recently, Pfriem, Thane has made sure to keep our classics tasting identical to what our fans have come to expect.

“It’s been a lot of work but it was worth it,” says Thane. “As a brewer, I’m excited for new challenges and this one was very important to me and the rest of the team.”

When Thane joined the team back in 2017, Farmstrong already had a growing reputation in the industry with two Washington staples under their belt: Cold Beer Pilsner and La Raza Ambar. These two beers were their best-selling by a large margin but were also the only ones not utilizing local malts. When we canned and released Valley Gold it was Farmstrong’s first canned beer to brandish the “Grown Here. Malted Here. Brewed Here” slogan, and at that time a decision was made to ensure that that mantra encapsulated all of our beer.

So, the next time you taste a Farmstrong beer, know that it’s the freshest, most “truly local” beer we can brew. We’re proud of that, and we hope you are, too.

farmstrong_brewing_taps

Skagit Farm to Pint Run Includes Over $600 in Prizes and Swag!

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Are you ready to run for beer (and a good cause) and win over $600 in prizes!

Parking
We have great neighbors at the Port of Skagit! Please feel free to park in area neighboring business lots. If you park on the street (Higgins Airport Way or Peterson Road) be sure your entire vehicle is outside the white line.

Registration Swag
At registration pick up a cooler bag provided by Port of Skagit! Inside you will find King Arthur Flour baking mix, coasters and pens. MORE? Select your swag item from Washington Brewery Running Series! It is a great day already 😊

Course

 

Finish Line
Enjoy a delicious cookie from WSU Bread Lab!
For the first male and female finisher: Growler with Fill Certificate from Cardinal Craft Brewery and a free pizza from Moon Rocket
Pick up your 4 tokens! Each token is redeemable for a 4 ounce pour from each of our participating breweries until 2.
And now you are hungry! Bring $ to purchase a made to order wood-fired pizza from Moon Rocket pizza right at the finish line from 11-2.

Raffles
Raffle prizes include:
$100 gift certificate to King Arthur Flour Baking School
2 Tickets to 2019 Skagit Farm to Pint Fest on March 30th- value $100
$25 gift certificate to Flyers Restaurant and Brewhouse
Lincoln Theater Prize Pack including T-shirt, mug, concessions and tickets to March 30th screening of “Strange Brew”!
T-shirts and hats from Skagit Valley Malting
T-shirts from Skagit Farm to Pint
Oktoberfest mug, patch and sticker from Chuckanut Brewery
T-shirt and glass from Garden Path Fermentation
T-shirts, can cozies and frisbees from Cardinal Craft Brewery

More Beer Fun! This part is awesome!
Free tour of Chuckanut Brewery at 12:30 plus $4 pints all day with race bib
Free tour of Garden Path Fermentation at 1:30 plus $1 off pints all day with race bib
Happy Hour Pints of Flyers Beer at Flyers Restaurant and Brewhouse all day with race bib
$5 pints at Cardinal Craft Brewery until 2pm
$1 off all Moon Rocket wood-fired pizzas with race bib until 2pm

skagit-farm-pint-run-prizes

CHUCKANUT BREWERY CELEBRATES SKAGIT BEER WEEK

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News Release

It’s that time of year once again and Chuckanut is jumping on board with a calendar of events for Skagit Farm to Pint Beer Week March 23 through 30. This is the second year of events that bring beer lovers into Skagit Valley to get excited about craft beer. Events at Chuckanut South Nut Tap Room, 11937 Higgins Airport Way, Burlington cover a multitude of activities from a fundraising Beer Dinner inside the brewery to Women in Beer Bingo and more. Chuckanut has once again made a Skagit Harvest Ale to celebrate made with Skagit Valley Malt. The new Skagit Harvest Ale will be tapped on Friday March 22.

On Saturday March 23 the South Nut Taproom will open early at 11:30 am for the runners with the Run for Beer event at Cardinal Brewing at the Port of Skagit. All those out early on the run at the Port are welcome to stop in South Nut for beers and snacks. A free brewery tour will take place at 12:30 pm. If the weather is nice the beer garden will be open too!

On Tuesday March 26 Women in Skagit Beer Bingo will take place. Last year’s event was a huge success! Women reps from Skagit breweries and related industries will talk about what they do at their respective places and offer schwag for winners of the bingo rounds! Men are also welcome but so are women he want to know more about craft beer women in Skagit beer related businesses.

Chuckanut will be part of the Skagit Brewery Tap Takeovers on March 26 at Growler Guys, Lake City; March 27 at Special Brews in Lynwood; March 28 at Beer Star in White Center Seattle; and March 29 at Elizabeth Station in Bellingham. Drink Skagit beers including Chuckanut, and meet the brewery reps. It’s your chance to ask questions about your favorite Skagit brews and find out more about them.

Saturday, March 30 is the close of the beer week and a major celebration at the Aviation Museum at the Port of Skagit. Chuckanut and other Skagit breweries will team up with different restaurants and food suppliers for a big Farm to Pint Festival. Chuckanut’s partner Paellaworks will prepare a beer boil to be paired with Chuckanut Harvest Ale made with Skagit Valley Malt. This culmination of beer week is a super popular event and we encourage you to buy tickets in advance as they sell out quickly .

Make sure to attend any of the Farm to Pint Chuckanut activities and show your support of craft beer in the Skagit Valley!

Brewery & Kitchen located at 601 West Holly St, Bellingham was awarded the National Small Brewpub/Brewer of the Year 2009 and National Small Brewery/Brewer of the Year 2011 at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). The full service “Kitchen” serves from 11:00am every day to guests of all ages with an eclectic fresh local menu. South Nut’s Tap Room is in the heart of Skagit Valley, 11937 Higgins Airport Way, Burlington and welcomes guests of all ages Monday to Friday starting at 3 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 12 pm.

Chuckanut Brewery Tulip Festival

2019 Skagit Farm to Pint Home Brew Competition Winners Announced

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Update April, 2019: The Skagit Farm to Pint FEST 2019 was a great success!  Ben titled the winning home brew “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner”.  We hope you had a chance to enjoy this winner at the FEST!

Three home brewers will have some heavy medal to show off after the Skagit Farm to Pint home brew competition awards at Skagit Farm to Pint FEST on March 30th.

farm-to-pint-home-brew-competitionThe 2019 identicALE Pale home brew competition sold out with 50 home brewers participating.  All the home brewers picked up the same bundle of ingredients to create a five-gallon, all-grain Pale Ale recipe.  Three different types of grain were donated by Skagit Valley Malting along with three different types of hops donated by North Sound Brewery and yeast donated by Northwest Brewers Supply.

The home brewers had six weeks to create their Pale Ale.  They had to use all the Skagit Valley grains provided, any amount of the hops provided with no other additions and ferment the beer with the yeast provided. Winner of the competition, Ben Holm, said “I wanted to create a well-balanced beer with the available ingredients. I think the Pale Ale category was an excellent showcase for Skagit Valley Malting’s products and that gave me a great starting position to try to keep the hop bitterness and flavors balanced with the subtle malt flavors from Skagit Valley Malting.”

The judging took place at the Cardinal Craft Brewing with 13 judges including experienced judges, instructors, brewers, brewery owners, and industry leaders.  Tony Savoy, Cardinal Craft instructor, formatted the judging which included notes and scales on appearance, aroma, flavor, mouthfeel and style.   The judging took place in two rounds – the first round the four tables of judges pushed forward three of their top beers to the final round.  The final round consisted of all the judges and included an elimination process in where the round director asked each judge which beers they recommend removing.  If there were no objections to the removal, the beer was eliminated until the top three were left.  Ben Holm took first place (for the second time!) with second place going to Darin Hamm and third place to Glen Grisham.

“Winning last year felt amazing.  The reaction from the crowd at the Skagit Farm to Pint FEST was excellent.  I still get comments from the brewing community a year later.  I am still in a little shock to find out I won again.  I know many of the brewers in this year’s lineup and they are amazing brewers with trophies and medals of their own”, said Holm.

Holm’s winning beer is being brewed by Cardinal Craft Brewing and served at the Skagit Farm to Pint FEST on March 30t along with more than 26 other beers from all 13 of the Skagit Valley breweries.  Proceeds from the festival go to the non-profit Viva Farms. “If the crowd has a good reaction to the beer again this year, then I am going to be thrilled. I really enjoy the food pairing with local restaurants.  Ultimately, I thought the festival had it all, great beer, food and live music. I’ll take a double helping of that please”, said Holm.

Anacortes Releases the Official Beer of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

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New Releases

Valley Brown Ale (ABV 4.5% / IBU 20)   The official beer of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, this easy drinking, medium-bodied seasonal is brown with an apricot hue and a light, roasty aroma. Grains grown in the same fields as Skagit Valley’s tulips provide a blossoming malt flavor with roasted caramel notes. Perle, Cascade and Mt Hood yield a delicate hop character and a light, velvety finish.

Czech Pilsner (ABV 5% / IBU 35) Bohemian style lager with light golden color from Pale & Munich malts, distinct hop character from Saaz hops and lagered for several weeks providing smoothness and subtle malt flavor.

Whistle Lake Weizen (ABV 4.6% / IBU 18) Our award-winning Hefeweizen has a cloudy golden color and a full, fruity aroma. Bavarian yeast produces striking banana & clove flavors and a sneaky bubblegum note. This favorite is light-bodied with a flavorful snap and mild tartness finishing relatively dry – the perfect thirst quencher!

Herbert’s Ale (ABV 7% / IBU 86) This hoppy, Northwest-style Amber Ale is made with Skagit Valley malt and balanced with generous amounts of Centennial, Chinook, Cascade and Mandarina Bavaria hop varieties. Brewed to honor industry pioneer, Bert Grant, who opened the first craft brewery in the state of Washington.

Events for March (WA State):

Washington Beer Open House – 12-5PM Sat 3/2, Anacortes Brewery

Pink Boots Society Brew – Fri 3/8, Anacortes Brewery

Fidalgo Dance Works Black and White Gala – 7PM Sat 3/9, Port Event Center, Anacortes

Brewer’s Night – 6PM Wed 3/13, Elephant and Castle, Seattle

Sysco Food Show – Tues 3/19, Port Event Center, Anacortes

 

Skagit Beer Week:

Brewer’s Night – 6PM Fri 3/22, Empire Ale House, Mount Vernon

Cask Festival – 12PM Sat 3/23, Seattle Center

Gertrude’s Hearse – 7:30PM Sat 3/23, Rockfish Grill

Manieri Jazz Foundation Concert – 7PM Sat 3/23, Depot Arts Center, Anacortes

Brewer’s Night – 6PM Tues 3/26, Growler Guys, Seattle

Brewer’s Night – 6PM Wed 3/27, Special Brews, Lynnwood

Brewer’s Night – 6PM Thurs 3/28, Beer Star, Seattle

Brewer’s Night – 6PM Fri 3/29, Elizabeth Station, Bellingham

Farm to Pint Fest – 12PM Sat 3/30, Flight Heritage Museum, Burlington

 

Anacortes Brewery / Rockfish Grill

320 Commercial Ave

Anacortes WA 98221

360-588-1720

Heritage Flight Museum – Sponsor and Venue for Skagit Farm to Pint FEST 2019!

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Established in 1996 by Apollo 8 astronaut Major General William Anders, the Heritage Flight Museum was created as an organization dedicated to honoring and preserving the contributions made by military aircraft and the crews that operated them. Today the museum is run by Anders with two of his sons and operated by a dedicated and passionate team of staff and volunteers.

The museum gives guests the opportunity to get an up-close look at vintage aircraft and historic artifacts. Unlike most aviation museums, most of the Historic Flight Museum’s aircraft are fully maintained and frequently flown for demonstration flights by Anders (who still logs over 300+ flight hours a year on top of his 8,000+ hours in the military) and two of his sons. These are aircraft that played pivotal roles in the training and operation of aviation crews throughout multiple wars, including an A-1 Skyraider used to assist rescue efforts in Vietnam and a P-51 Mustang, a fighter that was frequently used in WWII and the Korean War. Perhaps one of the more unassuming aircraft in the collection, the Interstate Cadet, holds a fascinating history of being airborne and shot at during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

It takes a lot of hard work to keep these historic aircraft in proper flying condition, and our active maintenance staff operates on the planes all within the museum; allowing guests the rare chance to see what makes these warbirds tick.

In participation with the Skagit Farm to Pint FEST, the Heritage Flight Museum is offering a FREE Heritage Flight Museum pint glass in celebration of Skagit Beer Week. To score your new glass all you need to do is come by the museum with your Skagit Farm to Pint passport. That’s it, really! Then be sure to come back to the museum on Saturday March 30 for Skagit Beer Week’s “Farm to Pint FEST” celebration, benefiting Viva Farms. The event will be happening at the Heritage Flight Museum and will feature beers and bites from multiple local breweries and restaurants. The museum is located at an active airport, so you never know what interesting aircraft you’ll get to see with each visit!

Museum hours are Wednesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Admission is $12 per adult, $10 for seniors, $5 for children (age 5-17) and $5 for military.

15053 Crosswind Drive, Burlington, WA 98233
(360)424-5151

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Ben Holm Wins Again! Skagit Farm to Pint Home Brew Competition 2019

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After almost three hours, with 11 judges (professional judges, brewers, brewery owners, instructors, port commissioner, and a handful of beer lovers), the winner has been selected. And what is crazy, is that the winner won last year as well – and this was a legit completely blind judging. Congratulations to the winner – Ben Holm! Close second place to Darin Hamm and third place to Glen Grisham. We tasted 45 entries and you all did a great job! Thank you for participating! Cheers to Beers!