Long-time environmentalist, community organizer and homebrewer Matt Lincecum brought his bank statement to a well-known real estate developer to lease space to his startup craft brewery in the middle of a recession in the “center of the universe” aka Seattle’s funky Fremont neighborhood. Apparently $10,000 and awesome homebrewed beers CAN get you somewhere. In August 2009, Lincecum kegged his first Fremont Brewing craft beer. Today, Fremont is regarded as one of the best craft breweries in Seattle with distribution throughout the state, as well as Oregon and Idaho. In addition to its reputation for consistent quality and innovation, Fremont Brewing is a recognized leader in sustainable brewing operations and community engagement. Peaks and Pints presents a flight of Fremont craft beer that we call Craft Beer Crosscut 10.3.18: A Flight of Fremont Brewing.

Fremont Summer Ale

5.2% ABV, 45 IBU

If it were socially acceptable to drink beer in the morning, one with Amarillo hops would be the perfect way to start the day. Amarillo provides a super-citrusy aroma verging on oranges, lively tangerine flavor and a medium-high bitterness, that is sure to wake the taste buds. A staple at the brewery since 2010, Fremont Brewing’s Summer Ale has just four ingredients: water, grain, yeast, and Amarillo hops. It tastes like tangerine flowers in a glass — refreshing, crisp, full of flavor that won’t weigh you down on a warm day.

Fremont Cowiche Canyon Fresh Hop Ale

6% ABV, 50 IBU

This wildly popular small-batch fresh hop pale ale blends organic Citra and Simcoe hops grown exclusively for Fremont on a single farm at the mouth of the Cowiche Canyon Conservation area in Yakima. Cowiche Canyon Fresh Hop Ale, pronounced cow-itchy, is Washington state’s first Salmon-Safe certified beer. It’s a near perfect fresh hop pale that pours a nice amber orange with most notable flavors of orange and pine, with a fresh bitterness that makes it super refreshing. Bonus: A portion of all sales fund the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy.

Fremont Field to Ferment Fresh Hop Pale Ale: Citra

6% ABV, 50 IBU

Fremont Brewing Co.’s “Field to Ferment” beer series and its fresh-hop brew from Cowiche Canyon are a big draw again this fall. It’s easier to find this year, since the brewery increased production from 1,200 barrels to 1,921 barrels for its “Field to Ferment” fresh-hop beers. Fremont is brewing this single fresh hop ale with three hop varietals sequentially as they are harvested throughout the entire hop harvest in Yakima. The Citra hop is the third release with floral on the nose and bright, fresh citrus on the tongue. It’s so creamy.

Fremont 2017 B-Bomb

14% ABV, 65 IBU

Originally known officially as Bourbon Abominable, Fremont Brewing changed the name of the base beer from Abominable Winter Ale to the shortened and universally accepted Fremont B-Bomb Imperial Winter Ale. This name change was brought on by Portland based Hopworks Urban Brewery that had been brewing its winter seasonal with the same name, Abominable. Last year’s release of B-Bomb is aged in 12-year-old American oak bourbon barrels and is a blend of 9, 12, and 24-month old barrel strength Winter Ale. B-Bomb achieves distinct bourbon, oak, cacao, leather, and dark coffee notes from its extended barrel aging and barrel blending. Each barrel contributes a different note, and combining each barrel to create a winter ale with dark roasted chocolate malt and rich notes of bourbon, wood and vanilla.

Fremont Interurban IPA

6.2% ABV, 80 IBU

Peaks and Pints has sipped hundreds of Fremont Brewing Co.’s Interurban IPA. Not so much that it’s been around for close to seven years but rather it’s the craft beer we drank almost everyday at 5 p.m. while building our little lodge in Tacoma’s Proctor District, thanks to gentleman/handyman Bob Hill who not only helped us construct Peaks and Pints but would buy a half-case of Interurban IPA from neighboring Safeway every time he worked, which was ample. Named after Fremont’s most famous outdoor sculpture, “Waiting for the Interurban”, Interurban IPA offers the adventurous beer lover a warm embrace of roasted pale malt swirled with a hand-selected blend of flavor malts and filled with the rich spice of Chinook, Centennial and Amarillo hops. It’s perfect after a long day swinging a hammer and paintbrush.