Adapting to the realities of operating a non-ipa brewery, Atwood Farm Brewery announces the Five Stages of Grief Series. A rotating series of inspired india pale ales.
An example of celebrating the roller coaster experienced by the brewery business owner, Atwood Farm Brewery, has announced a series of beers inspired by the “five stages of grief”. Although the brewery isn’t emotionally grieving, the brewery has admitted they are changing their philosophy of a brewery that avoids brewing india pale ales to one that, well, is. As owner, Josh Smith puts it.
When Atwood first opened in 2016, they boldly stated on their website, in interviews and to their customers, that they had no plans to EVER brew IPA at their farm brewery, near Blaine.
Except for a handful of collaborative IPAs, the brewery has largely avoided the question of why. But after years spent maturing his body, his mind, his emotions, and yeah, those beers in barrels and fermentation tanks, Josh has elected to make a change. In fact,
… everything at Atwood has been up for reexamination, including things like putting beer in cans, being open to the public and brewing IPA. Change and adaptation is a part of being alive, and part of running a business. If you are not regularly changing or adapting to the circumstances around you, you are probably dead. Or, you are at least maybe out of business.
Honest words from someone who has seen returns rise and fall within the always-competitive landscape of breweries and businesses, both before and during the pandemic. Josh is even quick to point out this decision isn’t just about a life-changing pivot but one also borne maintaining financial independence.
My livelihood is derived primarily from selling beer, and IPAs are the most popular styles of craft beer. It’s a sensible business move to brew and sell IPAs and I am probably the only person on Earth that will ever lose sleep about renegotiating on the promise to never brew them.
Focusing on those familiar words Denial, Anger, Depression, Bargaining and Acceptance, Atwood Farms Brewery will name a unique beer, released throughout this year, featuring one of these stages of grief. Starting with Denial, you should already be able to experience the first in the series, released this past Thursday, May 5th.
Described as a “Farmhouse Session IPA”, Denial is made with 100% local barley and wheat from Skagit Valley Malting, hops from Bredenhof Hop Farms in British Columbia, save for some German hop varieties. Aged using an open-fermentation process, the beer and its yeast strain will inspire thoughts of a “modern hazy, juicy IPA, thought a bit drier in the finish and only 5.5% ABV”.
Obviously, to some of those who have remained loyal to the brewery, this change is welcome or bittersweet. Mostly because, besides producing saisons, sours, stouts, and other inspired farmhouse beers, will have to share space with india pale ales. But beyond the occasional india pale ale, not much should change. Again, with a wry smile, Josh opines.
We’re literally a farmhouse brewery, brewing in an old barn on a farm, so we will never stop brewing saisons and farmhouse ales. As a farmhouse brewery, it also makes sense that even our IPAs should be brewed ‘our way’ with local ingredients and some seasonal and farmhouse influences on the flavors and processes. That is our new plan, anyway… subject to change.
Look for Denial wherever you currently find Atwood Farm Brewery’s other releases. In addition, look for the remaining inspired IPAs; Anger, Depression, Bargaining and Acceptance, each with a hidden message in their ingredients and approach to style, in the coming months.
For more information on Denial and the rest of the Stages of Grief series, visit https://www.atwoodales.com.
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 conditioning or canning 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, canned and draft ales are available for retail “to go” sales at the brewery most Saturdays and at select locations throughout northwest Washington.
