Drink this: Crucible Brewing throws 3rd birthday party
Published 1:30 am Friday, October 19, 2018
As the father of two children younger than 6, Crucible Brewing co-owner and head brewer Dick Mergens always wondered what it’d be like to throw a huge kids party if money was no object.
Saturday he’ll get his wish. Sort of.
Mergens and Crucible co-owner Shawn Dowling will celebrate the Everett brewery’s third anniversary with a birthday bash fit for a 3-year-old. There will be bouncy castles, balloon animals, a petting zoo, live music, food trucks, and, this might not be suitable for the wee-ones, plenty of beer.
“What’s better than a 3-year-old’s birthday?” Mergens asked, rhetorically.
The Crucible guys third year has been a roller-coaster ride. They purchased a second location in Woodinville that came with a 15-barrel brewing system. That system has allowed them to brew much more beer and extend their distribution network, while the location has introduced them to a new audience in King County.
But the move hasn’t been all unicorns and fluffy clouds. The glycol chilling system broke three months into owning the new location and cost $12,000 to fix, depleting their cash reserves. The purchase also stretched their time and patience. Mergens, who averages working 70 to 80 hours per week, is often running between the two locations to brew, while Dowling must be sure they’re staffed up at both locations.
“We may have jumped in a bit early,” Mergens said. “We weren’t fully settled here yet, but we knew we needed to grow long-term, and it was a great opportunity. That said, we’ve had a lot of growing pains.”
The two don’t regret the move. While many of their contemporaries’ sales remain stuck in neutral or, for some, declining, Crucible has more than doubled its production from a year ago. They’re brewing 75 barrels per month at the Woodinville location, focusing on their flagship beers like their IPAs, and 30 barrels at the Everett brewhouse, which brews seasonal and rotational styles.
The extra beer has allowed them to reach a wider audience in Snohomish and King counties — and even out of the country. Crucible worked with Blue Cats Distributing to send 40 kegs of beer over to Japan, where it sold out in two weeks. They plan to send over 80 more kegs in a few weeks.
“A lot of breweries tend to capsize around this time, and three years is a big milestone in a lot of ways,” Dowling said.
Of course, Mergens and Dowling are never ones to stand still. Minutes after admitting they may have rushed into the second location, they brought up the possibility of knocking out a wall at their Everett location, building a kitchen and creating a giant barrel program.
“We always want to go further and keep things fresh,” Mergens said.
The lineup for the 3-year bash is stellar. As we chatted, Mergens gave me a taste of Molten Cherries, the latest in the brewery’s Molten Sour Series. Made with more than 160 pounds of cherries, including 80 pounds of Rainier cherries, Molten Cherries is a beautifully understated sour beer. There’s no medicinal flavor you get with many cherry drinks, with a nice tart pucker at the end.
Here’s a few other beers to try on tap Saturday:
Okily Dokily is a Flanders-style brown made with 100 percent barrel-fermented yeast harvested from Cantillon bottles.
The Todd is a smoked Scotch ale made with peated malt and aged 11 months in JP Trodden barrels.
The final kegs of Molten Peaches, a peach sour, and Grand Cru, a Damascus dubbel. Both beers were brewed before the brewery was even open.
Booze news
Scratch, Temple honored: Edmonds’ Scratch Distilling and Lynnwood’s Temple Distilling both won double golds awards in SIP Magazine’s 2018 Best of the Northwest. Scratch’s Edmonds’ Own won for double gold in the whiskey category and Temple’s Woodcut Barrel Rested Gin won double gold in the barrel-aged gin category.
Taster tray
Golden Unicorn, Lake Stevens Brewing: Made with oats, malted barley and 4 pounds of organic coffee, this golden milk stout looks like a golden ale but tastes like a stout. Available on nitro at the brewery.
Mosaic Double Dry Hopped IPA, Scuttlebutt Brewing: The fourth release in Scuttlebutt’s seasonal can release, this IPA is double dry hopped with loads of Mosaic hops. Available on tap and in 12-ounce cans at the brewery and restaurant.
GazerBeams, Skookum Brewery: Brewed with oats and a large portion of spelt, this pillowy IPA is hopped with Nelson Sauvin and Citra. Available on tap at the brewery.
If you go
What: Crucible Brewing’s 3-Year Birthday Party
When: 10 a.m. to midnight Oct. 20
Where: Crecible Brewing, 909 SE Everett Mall Way, Everett
More: 425-374-7293 or www.cruciblebrewing.com
Drink this
Molten Cherries
Crucible Brewing, Everett
Style: Tart cherry sour
Stats: 6.8 percent ABV, 14 IBU
Available: On tap at Crucible’s three-year anniversary party Oct. 20
From the brewery: Part of Crucible’s Molten Sour Series, this cabernet barrel-aged saison is made with heaps of Rainier and tart pie cherries. Barrels by DeLille Cellars.
If you go
What: Crucible Brewing’s 3-Year Birthday Party
When: 10 a.m. to midnight Oct. 20
Where: Crucible Brewing, 909 SE Everett Mall Way, Everett
More: 425-374-7293 or www.cruciblebrewing.com
