Booze notebook: Scrappy Punk marks first year in Snohomish
Published 1:30 am Friday, December 15, 2017
It’s not easy opening a start-up brewery. There were times when Greg Krsak felt like throwing in the towel.
“A lot of days I’d show up to the brewery and, honestly, just want to give up and go live a normal life,” said Krsak, who owns Snohomish’s Scrappy Punk Brewing. “But the support I’ve received from customers, friends and my family — especially my wife — really kept me going.”
Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of Krsak opening Scrappy Punk Brewing. To celebrate, he’s holding a party at the brewery from noon to 10 p.m. Dec. 16. There will be a food truck and one-off beers, including a Russian Imperial Stout Krsak brewed specifically for the anniversary.
Scrappy Punk is a nano brewery, having produced about 70 barrels in its first year. With 10 seats in his taproom, Krsak said he’s happy with the ratio of seven barrels per seat for the year, but hopes to increase production in 2018 with the addition of more cold storage and kegs. He also hopes to hire his first employee — a hybrid position of part bartender, brewer and brand ambassador — and have a regularly scheduled food truck on premise.
Along with flagship beers like Scrappy Punk’s Coconut Blonde and Best Friends IPA, Krsak said he’ll also have on tap a New England-style IPA, watermelon wheat, a session IPA, a SMASH beer made with Munich malt and traditional Hallertau hops, and the Russian Imperial Stout, which clocks in at 11 percent ABV. Also a Belgian saison and a pale ale made with Vic’s Secret hops are in the bullpen waiting to rotate on when other beers blow.
GoFundMe created for Justice Brewing: Friends of Nate McLaughlin surprised the Everett brewer by starting a GoFundMe campaign attempting to save his brewery, Justice Brewing, at the anniversary/hiatus party at Crucible Brewery last weekend.
Just days from opening a taproom/brewery in downtown Everett, McLaughlin’s Justice Brewing was forced to move out of the building it had planned to occupy after it was condemned. The money from the fund will go to a legal defense fund for McLaughlin and relocation expenses.
To check out the GoFundMe page, visit www.gofundme.com/justice-for-justice-brewing.
Temple cracks Top 100 Spirits list: Lynnwood’s Temple Distilling’s Woodcut Barrel Rested Gin was recently named to Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s Top 100 Spirits of 2017.
Temple’s Woodcut Barrel Rested Gin is made from a base of the distillery’s Navy Strength Gin and is rested in bourbon barrels for at least six months. Wine Enthusiast wrote that the gin has a “light straw tint and aromatics that suggest a classic dry gin: mild juniper and citrus, plus a hint of almond nods to the oak influence.”
Quilceda Creek named best in state: Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate magazine recently named Snohomish’s Quilceda Creek the Best Washington State Winery of 2017.
The family owned winery was awarded six 100-point ratings in the past 13 vintages by Wine Advocate, most recently in June for the 2014 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley and the 2014 Quilceda Creek Galitzine Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain.
The Extraordinary Winery Awards for the Americas competition recognized one winery in seven distinct wine growing regions: Washington State, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, California Central Coast, Oregon, Chile and Argentina. No more than three nominees in each category were considered.
5 Rights to donate beer proceeds: Marysville’s 5 Rights Brewing brewed a special variation of its Juice Groove IPA called BH Groove NE-style IPA to help others this Christmas season. Proceeds from the hazy BH Groove will go to a number of charities around Lake Stevens, 5 Rights’ future home. The beer was brewed with Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy and Experimental 431 hops and loads of oats and wheat to give it a soft mouthfeel and juicy hop character.
The beer will be on tap at The Independent Beer Bar and Toggle’s Bottleshop, both in Everett, and The Hop and Hound in Bothell.
