There are more than 5,300 breweries operating in the US. It’s bad enough trying to come up with a catchy beer name to make your product stand out but with that many breweries in America, you also have to think long and hard about what to name your ale factory. You could go with the tried and true method and just name your brewery after local geography (Russian River, Puyallup River, Fox Island). Or you could name the brewery after yourself (Hale’s, McMenamins). But those names don’t always “pop.” Many brewers don’t pick beer names. They sculpt them. They don’t use dictionaries. They sculpt beer names from love, from hatred, from the reality of this hellhole of a world that we’re forcing an innocent beer to endure. It all goes into the name. Thy listen. Thy watch. They test drive names with intoxicated drinkers to know how pronunciations are impaired by alcohol. Today, Peaks and Pints’ beer flight is all about unusual names — brewery and/or beer. Drop by our Tacoma bottle shop, taproom and restaurant and enjoy Craft Beer Crosscut 12.19.17: A Flight of Original Names.
Atwood Ales No Whey, Bro
4.2% ABV
Located just 18 miles north of the burgeoning Bellingham brewery scene, on the outskirts of a scenic seaside town, is Blaine, Washington’s first, and oldest, brewery — Atwood Ales. The unique setting provided by a 100 year old farmhouse and barn and the surrounding acreage is not only visually compelling, but also provides countless opportunities to directly incorporate estate and locally grown agricultural and natural ingredients into Atwood’s small batch beers. It’s a family-operated farm and brewery. Josh brews the beer. Monica takes care of sales, marketing, and distribution. Josh’s parents, Stephen and Leslee Smith, co-own the brewery, and Monica’s parents (Steve and Nancy) are involved as well. Son Xavier assists with naming beers and is responsible for “No Whey, Bro.” Way. No Whey, Bro is a blonde ale fermented with Lactobacillus bacteria cultured from yogurt. Dry hops (Citra, Ekuanot and Mosaic) add tropical and citrus fruit to the tangy aroma. No Whey, Bro’s flavors and acidity are all balanced components of what is the lemonade of craft beer — a light, refreshing, easy drinking, sour blonde ale.
Reuben’s Brews Haze Maze
9% ABV, 50 IBU
As Grains of Wrath in Camas, Washington continues its build out, it continues to brew collaboration beers with its friends in the brewing industry. For the brewer’s latest collaboration it partnered with award winning Reuben’s Brews from Seattle to craft Haze Maze IPA. When Adam and Grace Robbings founded their craft brewery in August 2012, they agreed to name it after their son, Reuben. That’s how Reuben’s Brews was born. Mike Hunsaker, award-winning brewer out of Fat Head’s Brewing in Portland, is spearheading Grains of Wrath, a punk and metal themed brewery that also happens to be a Bad Religion song. Haze Maze is a super juicy, super fruity, New England style imperial IPA with a grain bill that gives it a nice sweetness.
Three Magnets #EBFG Juice
8% ABV, 50 IBU
Clint Dempsey isn’t your typical soccer player who hits the tanning salon in between games. Once he’s off the pitch Dempsey transforms into rapper “Deuce” and goes back to the hood and spits fire flame bars in the streets, yo. Three Magnets Brewing Co. isn’t your typical brewery. The award-winning Olympia brewery drops everything when a soccer game hits its big screen. It makes complete sense; Three Mags brewed a beer to honor the reigning superstar of soccer, Deuce. Three Magnets recently brewed Deuce Juice 2 in an all-out attempt to get Dempsey’s attention. Its fruity-and-piney hop profile pays tribute to the places Dempsey has played (Seattle, Texas, UK), and an 8 percent ABV for his international jersey number. It’s a five-hop blend — Amarillo, Mosaic, Horizon, Cascade and Chinook — that captures an endless amount of tropical fruit and pine wrapped up in silky-smooth haze. Then, Three Magnets was contacted by Major League Soccer and asked to change the branding. Three Magnets opted to name the beer #EBFG Juice — Eternal Blue, Forever Green — anthem of the independent supporters group for Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC.
Drew Curtis/Wil Wheaton/Greg Koch Stone Farking Wheaton wOOtstout
13% ABV, 65 IBU
The w00t is back. This year marks the fifth year Stone Brewing’s collaborative imperial stout hits the street. Stone Farking Wheaton W00tstout 2017, a 13 percent ABV imperial stout brewed with rye, wheat malt and pecans before being partially aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels, is a collaboration between actor Wil Wheaton, Fark.com creator Drew Curtis and Stone CEO Greg Koch. It’s named after Wheaton’s annual festival celebrating cross-genre geekdom w00tstock. Expect raisins, coffee and roasted malt flavors with a spicy finish. The booze is evident but for the ABV it goes down easy. Woot! Woot!
No-Li Wrecking Ball
9.5% ABV, 100 IBU
In 1993, Brewmaster Mark Irvin launched Northern Lights Brewery in Airway Heights, Washington, delivering his kegs to restaurants. Beer industry executive John Bryant cam on board in 2011, and after Starr Hill Brewery wouldn’t negotiate around its Northern Lights IPA, Northern Lights Brewery became No-Li Brewhouse, which was moved to Spokane. In 2012, No-Li introduced the Wrecking Ball Imperial Stout, named not to mean that the beer is an assault on your taste buds, but rather an indication of how No-Li — after its rebranding — is breaking down your perception of the brewery as it continues to expand. That said, Wrecking Ball does make a statement. Ignoring the 9.5% ABV, the statement is balance. Inky black with five types of dark, roasted malt for complex flavors of coffee, chocolate and brown sugar is balanced with two large hop additions to prevent the dark malt from totally dominating this monster of a beer. It’s sweet enough to accompany a rich dessert and packs enough punch to help you wind down.
