Doing what it does best, Atwood Farm Brewery has once again used almost entirely local ingredients to craft and release its latest beer. More importantly, the resulting beer, Flood Siren, will benefit local flood relief efforts in Whatcom County, after historic flooding of the Nooksack River last November displaced over 500 people, and damaged or destroyed millions of dollars worth of property and infrastructure. 90% of the brewery’s gross sales from Flood Siren will be donated to the Whatcom Community Foundation’s Resilience Fund for flood relief.
Atwood has chosen to donate to the Whatcom Community Foundation because local funding is the fastest and most flexible way to get resources to the organizations that need it most. Thus far, the Resilience Fund has provided over $1M in direct support to the people and communities most affected by the floods in Whatcom County. If you would like to contribute further to flood relief efforts in Whatcom County, please consider making your own direct donation.
“In the face of disaster and tragedy,ʽWhat can I do to help?’ is a question many of us ask. Everyone has a different answer, based on their own capabilities, physically, financially or otherwise. Within our own capabilities, this beer is our very small contribution to helping folks in the parts of Whatcom County most affected by the flooding,” said Josh Smith, brewer and co-owner of Atwood. As a very small brewery, Atwood’s ability to donate 90% of this beer’s proceeds is made possible in no small part by the help and generosity of several other local businesses. Skagit Valley Malting (Burlington), Clark’s Berry Farm (Lynden) and AMS Print & Mail (Blaine) contributed malt, raspberry puree and can labels, respectively, for Flood Siren.
While the general purpose of Flood Siren is to raise money for flood relief, it might help in more ways than one. Buying a four pack might be a small financial contribution you can make towards flood relief. Drinking a can of Flood Siren might ease your flooded mind for a few minutes. Or, perhaps you are, or will be, a recipient of flood relief funds and the proceeds from this beer help you in that very small way.
Brewed in early December, and finally ready for release, Atwood is calling Flood Siren a “Belgianstyle stout brewed with raspberries.” Built on the classic roast character you are familiar with from every stout you have ever consumed in your life, Atwood’s “Belgian” interpretation is a bit smoother and more restrained in its bite. Flood Siren utilizes local base and specialty malts from Skagit Valley Malting to layer notes of dark rye bread and molasses cookies in between the coffee and dark chocolate character of roasted barley sourced from a larger maltster in the midwest. Raspberry puree from Clark’s Berry Farm, just twelve miles east of the brewery, adds the distinctive and recognizable raspberry component. Smith says, “We knew we wanted to use local raspberries for this beer, even before deciding it would be a stout. There are aren’t many local agricultural products that say ‘Whatcom County’ more than our berries.” There is a hint of raspberry and blackberry on the nose, but the flavor and acidity of the berries grows through the middle of the sip and into what is a fairly dry finish. The use of a Belgian yeast strain adds subtle fruit and spice notes that complement the other components of the beer. At 6%ABV, Flood Siren is both easy drinking and warming.
Flood Siren is available exclusively in 16oz cans directly from the brewery, or from Atwood’s retail partners in northwest Washington. “Obviously, buying this beer directly from us puts the most amount of dollars into the Resilience Fund for flood relief,” Smith said, adding, “but, regardless of where you purchase it, you’re still helping a good cause and enjoying a beer at the same time.” Visit Atwood’s website to pre-order Flood Siren for “barnside pick up” at the brewery, near Blaine, or to find your closest retailer.
FLOOD SIREN
Brewed with Skagit Valley barley malts; US roasted malts; local Centennial and Fuggles hops from Bredenhof Hop Farms in Chilliwack, BC; local raspberries from Clark’s Berry Farm in Lynden, WA; and Belgian abbey yeast.
About Atwood Farm Brewery: Established in 2016 in rural, northwest Washington State, our small, family farm grows ingredients for
the on-site brewery where we produce unique ales inspired by French and Belgian farmhouse brewing
traditions.
We start with local ingredients: water from our local aquifer; malt from less than 50 miles away in the Skagit Valley; hops from less than 40 miles away in the Fraser Valley and also estate-grown hops from less than 100 yards away on our own farm. Then, we add other ingredients sourced from our own farm; gathered and foraged from the peripheries of our property; or purchased from local organic farmers, producers and processors. Finally, we often ferment at, or near, ambient temperatures, using a variety of vessels (open, closed, stainless and wood), with expressive yeast strains, before packaging and bottle or can conditioning the vast majority of our beers. Our beers are often meant to represent some aspect of time and place, with the ingredients, seasons, weather, microbes and our brewer all having both intentional and spontaneous influences on the flavors of our beers.
Our unique, bottle conditioned, can conditioned and draft ales are available for pre-order and “barnside
pick up” through our web store and retail “to go” sales at the brewery on Saturdays and at select retail
locations throughout northwest Washington.
