Atwood Ales Farm Brewery in Blaine, WA, which produces a variety of ales inspired by old-world French and Belgian farmhouse brewing traditions. is set to release two fresh hops ales produced using hops harvested from their own hopyard, just hundreds of feet away from their brewhouse. In early September, several groups of volunteers assisted the Smith family with the hand-harvesting and processing of nearly 60 hops plants.
The new batch of Atwood's continually rotating saison, Mo's Saison, is made with estate-grown fresh Tettnang hops this time around. “Tettnang aren't exactly the first hops that come to mind when you think of fresh hops beers,” said Josh Smith, “but they're a fitting choice for use in a saison, where the spicy and herbal notes play well with the yeast character of the beer.” While this beer does incorporate some European character malts and Yakima Valley hops, over 90% of the ingredients in Mo's “Freshies” Saison were sourced within 50 miles of the brewery, including Skagit Valley Malt and Atwood's own estate-grown hops. Mo's Saison was selected as a finalist for “Best Saison in Washington” by Seattle Magazine in July 2017.
While the bulk of the harvest was dried and packaged in order to supply a large portion of the brewery's hops needs for the coming year, dozens of pounds of freshly picked Tettnang and Centennial hops made their ways into two different ales that will be released on Saturday, October 7th at the Bellingham Farmers Market and subsequently to bottle shops, tap houses, markets, and restaurants in the Puget Sound region.
Atwood Ales Farm Brewery, Blaine’s first and oldest brewery, is located in a 100-year-old barn on a family-owned and operated farm, just 18 miles north of Bellingham. Opened in Spring of 2016, the farm grows a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs that the Smith family uses in their farmhouse ales. The Smiths also forage for other ingredients, such as nettles, flowers and berries. What they can't grow on their property, they try to source locally when possible, including using Skagit Valley Malt as the base for all of their beer
While the brewery is closed to the general public, Atwood Ales' bottle-conditioned beers are available every Saturday at the Bellingham Farmers Market, and in bottles and on draft at select locations around Puget Sound, from Vancouver, BC to Tacoma, WA. Learn more at atwoodales.com.
