It was 2007 when Ron and Jackie Walcher opened Skookum Brewery down a dirt road near Arlington. Today, Skookum head brewer Hollis Wood and his small team churn out “big bold strong” craft beers in a giant facility with a popular taproom down the street from the Arlington Airport — managed by an angel, a big, bearded lovable man named “Angel.” Skookum Brewery brews beers that are locally sourced, with more than 90 percent of their barley grown and malted in state, on equipment predominately purchased locally including several pieces made in Washington state. Today, Peaks and Pints presents a to-go, five-beer flight of the Arlington brewery’s craft beers that we call Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Skookum On The Fly.
Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Skookum On The Fly
Skookum Amber’s Hot Friend
5.1% ABV, 28 IBU, bottle
So, your best friend and his girlfriend have a friend in town, and she doesn’t want to be the third wheel. As blind dates tend to go, this could turn out to be a match made in heaven or a stage in hookup hell. Let’s hope the date’s as good as Amber’s Hot Friend, an amber ale with a voluptuous malt body, smells like a little chocolate, a little pine, and loads of brown sugar and nuts and tastes of caramel and mild citrus plus enough hops to keep her feisty.
Skookum Can It
5.5% ABV, can
Grain becomes malt, which becomes beer. To expound, malt is grain that has been converted into sugar. That sugar is consumed by yeast to create alcohol; a process called fermentation. Base malts make up the majority of the grist in all-grain beer, and the variety is, frankly, astounding. Skookum brews Can It with golden promise, oats and rye. Golden Promise imparts a unique nutty sweetness and, along with the oats and rye, offers a silky mouthfeel. Rye imparts a nice spicy zest. Add Simcoe, Citra, Chinook, and Cascade hops, and you have a semi-soft, heavy citrusy pale with a solid malt base.
Skookum (Fire Emoji) IPA
6.4% ABV, can
On Snapchat, the fire emoji next to a contact indicates a snapstreak: a number of consecutive days of snapping back and forth to this person. After sipping Skookum’s (Fire Emoji) IPA you’ll be drinking it back and forth. Skookum dumps an insane amount of Mosaic, Idaho 7 and Amarillo hops for flavors and aromas of tropical and stone fruits with a subtle pine kick in the back.
Skookum Fossil Record IPA
6.8% ABV, Campfire Crowler
Used at proportions approaching 50 percent of the grist, spelt malt gives mild, nutty flavors backed by tangy acidic notes. Skookum added spelt to wheat to balance Mosaic, Cascade, and Columbus cryo hops in the hazy double IPA. Expect notes of melon, green herbs, and pillowy citrus, specifically grapefruit, with the right amount of bitterness.
Skookum Billowing Waves IIPA
8% ABV, 80 IBU
Brewed with Pale Pilsner malt, flaked oats and malted wheat, plus a tidal waves of Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy hops, this Billowing Waves hazy double IPA offers citrus, tropical fruit hoppy aromatics followed by dank and juiciness.
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