Located just 18 miles north of the burgeoning Bellingham brewery scene, on the outskirts of a scenic seaside town, is Blaine, Washington’s first, and oldest, brewery — Atwood Ales. The unique setting provided by a 100 year old farmhouse and barn and the surrounding acreage is not only visually compelling, but also provides countless opportunities to directly incorporate estate and locally grown agricultural and natural ingredients into Atwood’s small batch beers. It’s a family-operated farm and brewery. Josh Smith brews the beer. Monica Smith takes care of sales, marketing and distribution. Josh’s parents, Stephen and Leslee Smith, co-own the brewery, and Monica’s parents (Steve and Nancy) are involved as well. Tonight, Peaks and Pints hosts Atwood Ales and four of their saison. In celebration, we present the all day beer flight Craft Beer Crosscut 8.16.18: A Flight of Atwood Ales.

Atwood Ales Mo’s Saison (Honeysuckle)

4.2% ABV

Josh brewed Mo’s Saison “for my beauty wife, who likes to keep light and refreshing saisons with mild spice and fruit character stocked in our fridge. This seasonally influenced saison features rotating ingredients grown hereon the farm.” Today’s version features farm-grown 2-row barley, honeysuckle flowers and Cascade hops. Be prepared for an amazing balance between malt, saison spiciness and floral sweetness.

Atwood 1918 Dubbel Centennial

7.1% ABV

As stated above, Atwood Ales is a family-operated farm and brewery in Blaine, Washington. The family’s farmhouse was built in 1918. This beer marks their 100th batch, brewed in March of 2018. To celebrate the “hundreds” of accomplishments of both their farmhouse and their brewhouse, the Smiths brewed this dubbel abbey-style ale with Belgian and Skagit Valley malts, their estate-grown Centennial hops and a fresh pitch of Trappist ale yeast. It’s is a malt-forward beer with dark fruit and caramel notes, light fruity esters and phenols, and a light, dry finish.

Atwood Ales Triticale Brett Saison

7.5% ABV

This past February, Atwood Ales’ Triticale Brett Saison grabbed a bronze medal at the 7th Annual New York International Beer Competition. Triticale was one of more than 600 submissions from 14 different countries to be judged at the event. Triticale is not only the name of Atwood’s award-winning beer, but also the name of a wheat-rye hybrid grain used in the recipe for the beer. Originally bred in Scotland and Germany in the 19th century, triticale combines the spicy flavor, durability and disease resistance of rye with the nutty flavor, yield and quality of wheat. The use of a large portion of malted triticale adds some earthy spice and nuttiness to the beer’s flavor profile that complements the spicy, fruity character obtained from the mixed primary fermentation of Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces yeasts. Triticale has thus far been bottle conditioning for eight months and has mild funky, barnyard character and notes of tropical and stone fruits.

Atwood Ales Dark Harbor

5% ABV

Beer and oyster shells have been hanging out together for hundreds of years, with oyster shells providing a source of calcium carbonate for adjusting brewing water chemistry. Somewhere along the way, the entire oyster — shell, meat and brine — ended up in the kettle, and thus “oyster stout” was born. In the fall and winter, major low tides occur at night, leaving Blaine local oyster farmers to brave the “Dark Harbor” to work the tide flats and harvest their bounty. Atwood’s “black ale with bivalves” is a collaboration with Drayton Harbor Oyster Company, whose oyster beds lie just 2 miles directly west of the farm. A subtle, underlying, caramel wave carries a slight brininess all the way to the roasty shores of barley town.

Atwood Ales Brownton Morning

7% ABV

Smartly opting for more a pliable brown ale over a potent stout, Atwood Ales Brownton Morning uses malts roasted with cold brewed “Bellingham Bay Blend” from Bellingham Coffee Roasters. The result is a cold brew-like offering that bypasses the acridity that sometimes plagues beers that rely on poorly extracted coffee. Expect a big, balanced, brown ale with roast, toast and caramel flavors from coffee and malts with light, fruity notes.