Here are 7 locally made beers to try for this St. Patrick’s Day

Published 1:30 am Friday, March 16, 2018

SNOHOMISH — Step into Grady Warnock’s office, and the pride in his heritage becomes fairly clear. Right behind him, taking up most of the wall, hangs a giant Irish flag.

So when folks from Everett restaurant Shawn O’Donnell’s reached out wanting a beer to pour on St. Patrick’s Day, the Sound to Summit head brewer knew he had to do something special.

But his love for hoppy beers trumped his Irish heritage when it came to picking the beer. Warnock brewed O’Grady’s IPA, an “Irish” IPA that will be pouring at the brewery and all three Shawn O’Donnell’s locations starting today.

“I tried to use malts that would make it look a little redder, but …” said Warnock, trailing off as he looked at the fairly golden IPA. “I wanted to make a light, sessionable IPA so people could have a couple on St. Patrick’s Day and not be falling all over the place.”

At just 35 IBUs, the beer has a light hoppiness to go with its more citrusy flavor profile. The aroma is more sweet, with Warnock comparing it to Pez candies.

Warnock, who said his go-to Irish beers are Harp and Smithwick’s lagers, grew up in an Irish Catholic household. He attended St. Mary Magdalene growing up and a recent DNA test pegged him as 61 percent Irish.

“St. Patrick’s Day has always meant a lot to my dad and I,” Warnock said. “We typically don our kilts and hit up a bunch of Irish pubs. He’ll always make corned beef and taters. It’s a big deal.”

Oh, and there’s one more place O’Grady’s IPA will be on tap: his house.

Here’s a look at some other local beers to try this St. Patrick’s Day:

Sassie Lassie, Whitewall Brewing: Made with a bit of roasted barley, this Irish red ale won a silver medal at the 2015 Washington Beer Awards.

McCready Irish Ale, Lake Stevens Brewing: Made with roasted barley, chocolate and honey malts and Willamette hops.

Gracefully Facedown, Crucible Brewing: At less than 4 percent ABV, this Irish dry stout will beg for refills.

Knock Out Red, Lost Canoe Brewing: Built with a strong malt backbone and dry hopped with Cascade hops.

Soft as Snow, Skookum Brewery: What’s better on St. Patrick’s Day than a hazy IPA? Brewed with Amarillo, Mandarina Bavaria, Vic’s Secret and Mosaic hops, this IPA creation has big citrus and tropical notes.

‘Ello Gov’na, Middleton Brewing: It may be more British than Irish, but this imperial brown ale brewed with Cap’n Crunch cereal is definitely from across the pond.

Super Duck, Foggy Noggin Brewing: British invert sugar was added to the boil to add an interesting flair to the brewery’s Christmas Duck robust porter.

DRINK THIS

O’Grady’s IPA

Sound to Summit Brewing, Snohomish

Style: IPA

Stats: 5.5 percent ABV, 35 IBU

Available: On draft at the brewery and at all three Shawn O’Donnell’s locations.

From the brewery: This is a smooth drinking IPA, coming in around 5.5 percent ABV, and dry hopped with Simcoe and Eukanot hop varietals.