Peaks and Pints Second Anniversary Party

In 2011, Tacoma musician and homebrewer turned professional brewer Matt Coughlin and four friends pointed their compass toward the Olympic National Park. They made their way through rugged terrain, past thick rainforest and across melting snow along the Bailey Range Traverse. Trekking between Mt. Ferry and Pulitzer Peak the hikers came across the most enchanting spot to pitch a tent. They called it “Cool Camp.” Coughlin recounted his magical backpacking adventure as he and his fellow Double Mountain Brewery brewers guided Peaks and Pints through the brewing process of our new house IPA. As he recounted glorious mountain peaks and green valleys while we stirred hops inside the Hood River brewery we knew our IPA had a name: Cool Camp IPA.

Peaks and Pints celebrates its two-year anniversary at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, with the release of Cool Camp IPA. While it would be a near impossible task to duplicate the success and deliciousness of our first anniversary house IPA, Two Beers Brewing’s Proctor Peaks IPA, we knew Double Mountain Brewery had the chops, and the hops, to pull it off. Besides, both Coughlin and owner Matt Swihart adore music and the Great Outdoors, which is also Peaks and Pints’ jam.

“As a nod to our mutual love of the outdoors and of beer, we collaborated with an IPA that would go well with a gathering of friends, sitting around a fire and chatting about adventures,” says Coughlin. “Simcoe and Centennial — one of my favorite hop combinations — take the lead, with substantial additions throughout the boil — 2, 5, and 3 pounds to be exact, Tacoma’s area code — with more in the hop back and dry hop. Kolsch yeast provides a lightly fruited character, supporting the hops and letting them shine. There’s enough weight in the malt bill to let some biscuit and cereal through but it’s light enough to carry along the adventure. Fermentation went well, drying out to 1.5 degree Plato, making for a clean, easy-drinking IPA with a wonderfully dank evergreen and citrus aroma. Mellow on the bitterness, high on aroma, and easy to have more than one.”

Thursday, Nov. 1, when we tap the Double Mountain Cool Camp IPA at our second anniversary party, you will witness the 6.6-percent, 55 IBU autumn sunset orange beauty. You’ll breathe in its juicy evergreen, ripe tangerine, ruby red grapefruit and resin aroma. Your eyes will grow big as you sip Cool Camp’s ripe red citrus, temperate forest that eases in to some melon and biscuit. By the second sip, you’ll nod with approval of its clean pine, bright fruit, melon and mellow bitterness.

Peaks and Pints will tap a few other Double Mountain delights, and pump up the jams, beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov.1. It would be cool if you joined us.

LINK: The story behind Peaks and Pints Cool Camp IPA