There are many metrics by which we can measure the brewing explosion that has taken place in the Eastern Washington over the past half-decade. We can talk about the number of new breweries, or the emergence of growler stations and beer bars. If we want to get really technical, we can tally the amount of barrels brewed and even track how many of those are traveling to other markets, serving as liquid evangelists for a craft beer scene that’s turning heads in the Northwest. But perhaps an easier, more visible metric would be to taste the delicious craft beer coming out of the other side of the Cascades. We present Craft Beer Crosscut 2.16.17: A Flight of Eastern Washington.
Iron Horse Quilter’s Irish Death
7.8% ABV, 12 IBU
Created by the Iron Horse Brewery founder Jim Quilter, this craft beer has been called a sweet stout, strong ale and Scotch Ale. We call it delicious with a massive amount of malt that goes down easy. On the nose, caramel malt was definite and distinct. On the tongue, is over-the-top malty with sweetness and caramel flavor.
Paradise Creek MooJoe Coffee Milk Stout
5% ABV, 30 IBU
The milk stout, also known as an English sweet stout, emphasizes a malty sweetness with hints of chocolate and caramel. Some versions, like Paradise Creek Brewing’s MooJoe, add lactose for more body and softness. The Pullman, Washington, brewery takes its beer one step further by cold conditioning it with fresh ground coffee from Bucer’s Coffee House across the border in Moscow, Idaho. The result is a smooth, light stout with coffee and chocolate notes and slightly bitter on the end.
No-Li Red White & No-Li
6.1% ABV, 35 IBU
No-Li Brewhouse head brewer Ryan Brookhart and lead brewer Brandon Nelson developed this recipe in honor of the men and women of Fairchild Air Force Base, which shares the same hometown of Spokane, Washington. Brookhart and Nelson nicknamed the craft beer “Fruity Pebbles” due to the enormous fruity aromatics and flavors in this pale ale, thanks to Citra hops in the kettle and dry-hopping. Flavor is grassy, grapefruit, resin and bitterness.
Bale Breaker Dormancy
7.7% ABV, 55 IBU
Substitute your cup of Joe for this breakfast stout. This beer packs a breakfast punch with its intense roasted coffee flavor and rich chocolate notes. Bale Breaker achieved the freshly-brewed espresso taste by conditioning this imperial stout on locally-roasted coffee beans from Yakima’s Lincoln Avenue Coffee Co. If you love coffee you will love this beer. It’s filling and complex but will leave you wanting more.
Backwoods Logyard IPA
6.7% ABV, 78 IBU
Backwoods Brewing Co.’s flagship IPA Logyard is solid as its name. Four different aromatic hops provide a cornucopia of resinous pine, citrus and tropical fruit with pineapple and guava bringing up the rear. The tongue mimics the nose — grapefruit, pineapple, pine — with respectable bitterness and light caramel malt.
