Skagit River Brewing

Skagit River Brewing 30Sep2016

Skagit River Brewing (http://www.skagitbrew.com/) is not in Seattle; in fact it’s in Mount Vernon, an hour drive away from Ballard. We made the trip to La Conner to the Fiber Festival and finished the day at Skagit River for Lunch-Dinner. Skagit River is a few blocks from I-5 right next to an active railroad line.

 

The brewery as seen from the side. Note the helpful civic pointer that, indeed, food can be found nearby.

The inviting entrance

 

The entrance takes you right past the restrooms (good for orientation) and kitchen toward the bar. The greeting is a standard restaurant hello-let-me-show-you-to-your-table.

Bar to the right and dining to the left

The cozy dining area. Note the brewery equipment in the back window

The dining area is a cozy, warm space featuring wood and brick with a view through glass of the brewing area. I didn’t get a picture of the beer board, but nothing exotic was on offer. So, I ordered a porter then an IPA.

Muddy Highwater Porter

Skullers IPA and the remains of Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake

Tasting Notes:

Highwater Porter (6.5%, 45IBU): Muddy, opaque brown with a light tan head. Beery and ester aroma. Rich, roasty, bitter, and sweet with a bitter finish. The muddy appearance didn’t seem to affect the taste.

Skuller’s IPA (6.9%, >100 IBU): Clear copper with a white head. Low aroma. Bitter, rich beer with some malt sweetness. This is an old school IPA where the Chinook hops add some citrus but not the heightened citrus of more recent examples of the style. As the beer warmed a nice perfumed hop aroma emerged.

Skagit River is worth a visit if you are in the Mount Vernon area. I thought the food was decent, but, again, I am not much of a food enthusiast except that I like to eat. On the other hand I have always found their beers to be well executed and served in top notch condition.