Drink this: Chocolate Jesus wins Washington Beer Awards gold

Dreadnought Brewing continues to prove that it’s making some of the best beers not only in Snohomish County, but the state. For the second time in three years, the Monroe brewery took home a pair of medals from the Washington Beer Awards. It’s the third year in a row it has won at least one medal.

“I think we’ve proven that we can make good beer,” said Dreadnought co-owner and lead brewer Steve Huskey. “Our goal is to continue to improve. I love when someone comes in here and gets a flight and likes every one of the beers.”

One beer Dreadnought seems to have perfected is its Chocolate Jesus oatmeal stout. After winning bronze in 2017, the stout won a gold medal at this year’s festival. Huskey said the key is making it with just the right amount of chocolate malts to give it the hint of coffee and chocolate.

Dreadnought also won a bronze medal this year for its Old Man pilsner in the American-style Pilsener category.

Both medal-winning beers will be on tap as Dreadnought celebrates its fourth anniversary on Saturday. Along with Chocolate Jesus, Wooden Jesus, Dreadnought’s version of its oatmeal stout aged a year in Skip Rock rye-whiskey barrels, will be on tap as well. Dreadnought’s other medal winner, Red Elvis Rye Amber, will also be on tap.

Dreadnought’s Chocolate Jesus, which won a gold medal at the Washington Beer Awards. (Dreadnought Brewing)

Along with a number of special beer releases (see below), there will be live music courtesy Huskey and his band, 3 Fs, Shameless Hussy and Frontierz, food by Lloyd’s BBQ and Tijuanas, and giveaways.

Here’s a look at the special beer releases:

Wheet Caroline Wheat Ale: Grainy American hefe with a sweet honey flavor balanced out by crisp, spicy Fuggle hops.

English Best Bitter: Flavorful, yet refreshing sessionable English-style ale with a bready, biscuity and lightly toasted malt character and a hint of caramel.

Loki the Trickster God Norwegian Pale Ale: Fermented with a traditional Norwegian Voss Kveik yeast strain and added spruce tips give this ale a “juicy and sprucey” flavor, according to the brewery.

Green Manalishi Lime Milkshake IPA: Made with real lime and whole vanilla beans, tropical Citra and dank Simcoe makes this a rich milkshake IPA with great hop character that balances the lime and vanilla flavors.

Other festival winners

Haywire Brewing continues to rack up medals at the Washington Beer Awards.

After winning medals in each of the past two years, the Snohomish brewery took home a silver and bronze medal this year. Haywire won a silver for its Ryed Into The Dark rye ale and a bronze for its Foxtrail in the Irish Red Ale category. The Irish Red is available on tap at the brewery.

Mukilteo’s Diamond Knot Brewing also won two medals for its Binnacle Ale (Belgian category) and Northwest Blonde (Golden/Blonde). Both beers, which are available at the brewery, won medals in 2017.

In the American Strong Ale category, Double Bluff Brewing’s Anthesian India Red Ale took home a gold medal and Snohomish Three Bull Brewing won a silver. Anthesian IRA is currently on tap at Coupeville’s Captain Whidbey Inn and is scheduled to be on tap again soon at the brewery.

Everett’s Scuttlebutt Brewing’s Ein Malz Und Hopfen, a German-style altbier, won a silver medal. Available on tap at the brewery.

For more on the medal winners, visit wabeerawards.com/2019winners.

Another way breweries measure success at the Washington Brewer’s Festival is token count. Snohomish’s Scrappy Punk Brewing unseated fellow Snohomish County brewery Skookum Brewery, which was No. 1 the past two years, as the brewery with the top token count. Scrappy Punk collected 3,994 tokens over the three days.

Other Snohomish County breweries that showed well in the token count included: At Large Brewing (5th, 3,390), Three Bull Brewing (9th, 3,155), Skookum (11th, 3,035) and Lake Stevens Brewing (21st, 2,618).

Brigid’s opens new space

Brigid’s Bottleshop is back open in its new space. Located in the same complex as its former spot, the Edmonds’ bottleshop and taproom is now in a much larger space compared to its former taproom. There’s also a large deck to enjoy a beer or cider in the sun.

Along with beer, hard cider and kombucha on tap, Brigid’s will also stock and pour wine. The coolers full of bottled beer and cider are still there. New is a small food menu and an event room for parties and other events. It is also now family-friendly.