Beer of the Week: This IPA is your new best friend

Best Friends IPA

Scrappy Punk Brewing, Snohomish

Style: IPA

Stats: 6.5 percent ABV

Available: On tap at the brewery

My thoughts: Mount Hood hops have a special place in Greg Krsak’s heart. For one thing, the spicy, herbal hop was bred in Oregon, Krsak’s home state. It also was used to make one of his first IPAs, Best Friends IPA, which he has decided to make one of the flagship beers for his new brewery, Scrappy Punk Brewing in Snohomish.

Krsak opened Scrappy Punk Brewing this past December out of a 700-square-foot wooden building off of 92nd Street. It’s a snug fit, but homey, with the brewhouse in full view of visitors.

Krsak, who has been brewing since 2008, and a partner decided to dive in and open their own brewery two years ago. They bought a three-barrel brewing system soon after, but didn’t have a structure to set it up in until April of this past year when Krsak found the small building on Craigslist.

Krsak said the space had everything he wanted, including the opportunity to have outdoor seating. Being in Snohomish was important for Krsak because of the proximity to his home and family. Krsak and his wife, Christell, and 13-month-old daughter Ada have lived in the city for a little over a year.

There have been a lot of ups and downs since securing the building 10 months ago. Krsak did much of the work on the building with some help from friends and family, including pouring the concrete countertops and installing a bathroom. He’s had to ramp up production in anticipation of a winter opening. One significant down was the departure of his partner.

Back to the beer. Krsak said he first brewed Best Friends IPA in his apartment eight years ago. He remembers carboys, or large glass or plastic barrels, full of the beer sitting and fermenting in his bathtub. It’s such a special beer to the Krsaks that they served the beer at their wedding reception.

The beer itself is mild and drinkable. Krsak uses 11 pounds of dry hops to give the beer a nice dry bitterness that lingers the appropriate amount of time.

Along with Best Friends IPA, Scrappy Punk also has a Coconut Blonde, Northwest Hefeweizen and Belgian Dark Strong regularly on tap. When I was in visiting the Coconut Blonde, sadly, wasn’t on tap. Krsak said that it blew just days after putting it on tap and he was working hard to get another batch brewed.

Krsak’s job experience is in computer technology, having worked in the IT department at Intel and as a video-game developer for Disney. He moved to Bellevue in 2010 to work for Disney, but no longer works there. With Christell teaching at Juanita High School, Krsak brews — and plays Mr. Mom — full-time.

Scrappy Punk is located at 9029A 112th Drive SE in Snohomish and is open 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 2 to 10 p.m. on the weekend. Krsak is planning to host an official grand opening sometime this spring.

Scrappy Punk is working on a collaboration beer with fellow Snohomish breweries, Haywire Brewery and SnoTown Brewery. The three brewers will brew the same base pale ale and then dry hopped with three different hop varietals. Krsak is using Denali. All three beers will be released at the respective breweries on Feb. 25 during the Washington Beer Open House.

From the brewery: Hoppy, slightly fruity and moderately bitter.

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