Here in the Northwest, if your brewery doesn’t boast a hop-forward IPA, well, you’re going to hear about it from customers. IPAs are big here. But what about the other hundreds of styles of beers? Where’s the love? I decided to take a look at six local non-IPA beers that every good Snohomish County beer drinker should be familiar with:
Jalapeno Tripel 7
Scuttlebutt Brewing
According to Scuttlebutt owner Phil Bannan Sr., the story goes that a fan in Maine really wanted some Jalapeno Tripel 7 for his girlfriend. The guy hired someone to fill four growlers with it and bring it across the country to him. That’s love. This specialty beer, which is based off of Scuttlebutt’s popular Tripel 7 Belgian-style Ale, is big at nearly 9 percent. The jalapeno is spicy and marries well with the delicate, tart tripel.
Find it: 22-ounce bottles in most bottleshops and some stores; on tap at Scuttlebutt.
Aaron Swaney: 425-339-3430; aswaney@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @swaney_aaron79. Follow the Hops and Sips blog at www.heraldnet.com/hopsandsips.
Big Bad Plaid Scotch
American Brewing Company
Before Skip Madsen left American Brewing, he concocted one of his famous scotch ales for the Edmonds brewery. The former Pike Brewing and Boundary Bay head brewer has written recipes for two of the Northwest’s most iconic scotch ales in Pike’s Kilt Lifter ale and Boundary Bay’s Scotch Ale. It’s no surprise Big Bad Plaid Scotch is a good beer. It pours a deep, mahogany brown, and has that nice malty bite and hop finish that American scotch ales usually have. It’s got notes of molasses and caramel, but nothing overpowering.
Find it: 22-ounce bottles in most bottleshops and on tap at American Brewing.
Hefeweizen
Diamond Knot Brewing
It’s hard to discuss this Mukilteo brewery without talking about its Industrial IPA, but don’t ignore this original beer. DK’s Hefeweizen is a true Bavarian-style unfiltered wheat beer that is unique. The aroma is refreshing banana and clove and the flavor is beautifully balanced between citrus and yeast. The yeast strain DK uses originated in the 1,000-year-old Bavarian brewery, Weihenstephan, and stays in suspension in the beer, giving it a cloudy yellow color. Unlike some hefeweizens, DK’s is refreshing and not too bready.
Find it: On tap at all Diamond Knot locations.
White &Nerdy
Justice Brewing
Nate McLaughlin’s flagship is not an IPA — sacrilege in the Northwest — but rather a Northwest-style Belgian wit. “The market is saturated with IPAs,” McLaughlin says. Brewed with pilsner malt, wheat, sweet orange peel, citra hops and traditional belgian yeast, this wit is hoppier than traditional Belgian wheat beers. Light in body, White &Nerdy has an aroma of lemon, coriander and wheat. In 2012, White &Nerdy won Best in Show at the Evergreen State Fair.
Find it: 22-ounce bottles at Sno-Isle Coop, Brews Almighty and on tap at AFK Tavern and The Retro.
Amber’s Hot Friend
Skookum Brewing
It’s a bit surprising that Skookum’s best selling beer isn’t Olde Tom, Brown &Hairy or Mammoth Jack, but this beer. It’s not surprising once you taste it, however. This West Coast-style ale is a great balance of malt and hop and is the perfect wingman … er, woman.
Find it: On tap at Skookum Brewery. It will soon be available in four-packs of 12-ounce bottles in specialty bottleshops around Snohomish County.
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