Looking for an idea to support veterans, Sound to Summit Brewing’s head brewer Grady Warnock asked his friend and fellow homebrewer Brad Brown if he had any ideas.
Turns out Brown, a disabled veteran, had the perfect idea: Beer and fishing.
Brown suggested brewing some of his Freedom’s American Pale Ale and giving some of the money to Salmon for Soldiers, a non-profit that supports disabled veterans by taking them fishing. Started in 2013 by Randy Shelton and Rob Endsley, Salmon for Soldiers took more than 280 soldiers fishing this past August out of the Everett marina.
“What better way to support a veteran than to drink a beer,” Brown said.
Warnock and Brown brewed seven barrels of the pale ale and will be selling pints of it starting noon Saturday at Sound to Summit Brewing in Snohomish. A portion of each sale of Freedom’s American Pale Ale will go to support Salmon for Soldiers.
The charity is personal for Brown, who did two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan more than 10 years ago. Brown’s military career ended in July 2003, when a transport truck he was riding in was hit by an IED, blowing shrapnel into his face and arm. He still suffers from hearing and vision loss.
Last year, Brown, who grew up in Everett, was able to reconnect with friends from his unit during the Salmon for Soldiers fishing event. It was first time he’d taken part and he said he was surprised at how much the event affected him.
“What Randy (Shelton) and those guys are doing is important,” Brown said of Salmon for Soldiers. “I hadn’t seen any guys from my unit since I was in combat 11 years ago. It was a big healing experience for me.”
The first batch of Freedom’s American Pale Ale that Brown brewed was three years ago. Wanting to do something for his wife’s cousin, Joe Henderson, on his return from basic training, Brown brewed the patriotic beer.
After some slight modifications to the recipe, Brown said he’s happy with where the beer is at now. Last year he bottled 10 gallons and donated it to the Wounded Warriors in Action’s annual salmon barbecue in Concrete.
Brown, who got into homebrewing four years ago, met Warnock at Homebrew Heaven, the Everett homebrew supply store, in 2013. Later they reconnected after both joined the Greater Everett Brewers League and have been friends since. Warnock said that Brown occasionally volunteers in the brewery.
Besides donating money from the sale of the beer, Sound to Summit Brewing, which opened this past December, donated the use of its brewing equipment for Warnock and Brown to brew Freedom’s American Pale Ale. For Brown, who said this is his 15th time brewing the beer, brewing in a professional brewhouse was a big step up.
“Everything was so much larger,” Brown said. “I’m not used to using pumps and all that.”
As for the beer, Warnock describes it as a balanced pale ale with a bready backbone.
“It sits at 6-percent (alcohol by volume), so it’s not too strong to drink a few,” Warnock said.
For more information on Salmon for Soldiers, visit www.salmonforsoldiers.com.
Aaron Swaney: 425-339-3430; aswaney@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @swaney_aaron79. Follow the Hops and Sips blog at www.heraldnet.com/hopsandsips.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
