SAAL Brewing, Stanwood, WA.

On tap a SAAL: Kulshan Bastad Kat IPA...

Restraint is not a quality that I'd say is my forte, it's one of the interesting qualities of adult ADD. I was going to wait a few more months for this article, but I just can't help myself! This is my local watering hole, and I like where they're going!

I moved to Stanwood only a few short months ago. Straight up... "I like beer" as Tom T. Hall's song professes. So what does a beer lover seek out when entering a community? More specifically, what does a craft beer snob seek out? Not just any watering hole... at first there was only a cool little spot on Camano Island (more about that in another article), but nothing yet in Stanwood. Only a short month later SAAL brewing opened up.

Matt and Christine are the purveyors who are set on engineering their business into a popular local destination. The food is unlike any menu I've ever seen at a taphouse/brewery with daily and seasonal specials; this ain't no typical bar menu! Their focus is to procure as much as they can locally.  For now, their beer selection is a fine rotating selection of Northwest beers ranging from pilsners to stouts to IPAs, to sours. Soon they will have their full-on brewery in full swing... so more to come.

Whenever I stop by for a pint (well usually two) I ordinarily have my little Corgi Bodhi and sometimes my lovely wife as a date. Bodhi is well known to the staff who patiently puts up with her noisy excitement and is all so willing to accept the treats the staff always offers.   

Mat loves to talk beer! As a novice homebrewer, I love to seek out the owner or brewmaster of local breweries. Matt is an experienced brewmaster and is chomping on the bit to get the brew operation going! He's a total beer geek, so doesn't mind talking about frosty malt beverage production to a hobby beer crafter like me.

From an old firehouse comes this emerging and hyper-local friendly family-friendly and "service" dog-friendly gathering place. Soon I think will be the founder of another great Northwest beer town. Please swing in and say hi to Chris, Randi, Posey, Matt, Christine and the cast of characters that make up their amazing and friendly staff!! Certainly, the firehouse theme provided a SAAL plays well to me as I am a career firefighter as well. Check out their patch collection representing Fire and EMS agencies from across the nation!

As I said, more to come as they travel down the road of brewing their own!

Crash

Farmstrong Brewing, Mt. Vernon, Wa.

Crash's Brew Blog Installment #1 

Farmstrong Brewing, Mt. Vernon, Wa.

 

I was in Mt. Vernon to run an errand for my mother who was visiting for the week, after a couple days being a little housebound by snow. Leaving the Costco parking lot, I noticed a problem with one of my tires. Damn if a bolt hadn't punctured my tire! If you've ever seen a tire shop during the snow, its a madhouse... so I fretted as we limped the car to the tire guy. As I predicted, the guy at the counter told us that we'd have to wait about 3 hours. Arrggghhh. The tire was holding air, so mom and I set out to find a place to kill time. 

 

My default for killing time on a snowy afternoon, of course, is to find a new place to drink beer. My Google search revealed that the Farmstrong brewhouse was nearby. Being relatively new to the area, I had searched for and time again saw Farmstrong pop up on the map. I believe that I had sampled their wares at a brew fest or two, so alas: I was obligated by fate to give it a try.  

 

I tend to wander in these places mid-afternoon when its slow and quiet. After all I just want to chill and pass some time. Mom had to suck on a cancer stick so I went in to reserve a barstool for her. As I entered there were 5 folks at the bar and a quiet couple in a dark corner of the warm and inviting taproom. The beertender, Kelsey a lovely young lady approached and asked the so common, "how ya doin' today?" I drew a big breath (picture Ace Ventura prepping for a monologue)… I had said nothing at all but someone commented, "Oh! That looks like a loaded question." So I explained he epic "bolt in the tire in the snow massacree", gained the sympathies of the fellow beer seekers aaaand proceeded to look at the beer menu.

 

So about craft brewhouse beer menus: When I'm in a craft brewery, I am shamelessly there to steal all the ideas I can for my home hobby brewing habit. A good craft beer menu should appeal to the total beer-nerd with explanations of the beer's style, origin, ABV, IBU, color, hop profile, and at least some reference to the grain-bill. Oh! And craft beers with a cool name really get a strong thumbs up.

Armstrong's menu descriptions were really great, in fact rather than just give up the goods the description of the hop profile challenges idea thieves like me while offering a true description that the hop profile may provide. That's better for the average craft consumer and creates a more colorful picture that sells the beer. Kudos for that.

Mom had La Raza Ambar. She was looking for a clean sip not too hoppy (after an explanation that nothing here will taste like Coors-Light water). Like great pilsners and lagers, it was served in a tall conical glass that showed off the light amber-gold color and the bubbles rolling up the inside of the glass. I borrowed a sip and it really popped. Being typically an IPA guy this clean sip was nice to clear my taste buds. At 4% IBU, you could drink 2-3 pints in the sun and still not crash your Jeep.

As I mentioned, I'm addicted to very hoppy beers. I'm so bad that I actually carry around a bottle of "hops drops" in the event I'm stranded in a non-IPA universe. Such was the case when I visited Lebanon (Middle East) last spring... so I'm hooked on hops. 

 

So as an IPA guy, I perused the menu and asked for a few samples before my selection. As an aside, most taprooms are happy to give as many samples as you like provided you make a decision on something. I actually went for the Stackin' Hay IPA. I suppose my choice was in homage to my hay-buckin' days. The picture of working in the hayfields and the thirst we worked up made this sound like the snowy-day quencher I needed. 

 

The first sip was a clean amber almost honey braggot feel to it. The piney bitter hit the back of my tongue like a Simcoe or Mosaic, and the flavor finish was sweet and smelled of stone fruit. It was served in a very simple glass designed to hold the head and provide a great surface to smell. The graphic on the glass was of a fir or pine forest silhouette. I think I'll return to purchase a set of those. I always pay attention to the serving glass. Ordinarily, I would chase this with a cleaner citrusy IPA but the cold snowy day feel left me wanting a second pint of it. 

 

Kelsey and the other patrons were so friendly and conversive I had little opportunity to take the whole place in though. I guess that the point isn't it?... to create a tap house environment that is warmly friendly and creates a feeling of hanging out in a homey and cozy place. Farmstrong fits the bill 100%.

I loved the viewing window to the brewery. I plan to visit for an intimate tour of the huge mash tuns and fermenters I could see through that window. It looked pretty sexy if I may say so.

On my way out, I took in the outdoor seating area which I'd have liked to try but I suppose the winter environment precluded its opening. I'll be back this summer with my dog to give that corner of the venue a shot!

Oh, the tire? Discount tire fixed it for free! But hey, this wasn't about the tire or the beer really. At 53 years old this is the first time in my life I have ever sat on a barstool with mom... it doesn't get better than that!

 

-Crash