Skagit County: western Washington's weakest beer link?

I've been to the breweries in Anacortes and LaConner, and agree with you assessment. Although, I'd like to add that the counties on the peninsula (Clallam, Jefferson, etc) are also lacking relative to the rest of western WA. I assume that it has to do with the resident population being more agricultural and less urban.

 

I'ma disagree with ya. What Skagit (and by extension, Island) county lacks in quantity is generally made for in quality.

Bluntly, Birdsview isn't very good. I've had some OKish brews there, and have enjoyed a burger while sitting outside at their brewery, but generally their beer leans towards the bad side.

Skagit River has the occasional clunker, but is generally solid. Scullers IPA is good, The Gospel ImpIPA is great, Trumpeter Stout is very good, and the Barrel-aged Trumpeter fantastic. In addition, Mike Armstrong is opening a farmhouse brewery, Farmstrong, ETA TBD.

North Sound is across the board solid, with the occasional home run, and few tasty surprises now and then.

LaConner. Le sigh. What was once the go-to brewery for Fourth Corner brewers on their days off, fell pretty far once Arlen Harris left. The last time I was there, 3ish years ago, they were making small steps back, but are still not back to being a must visit. Worth a stop if you're in town looking at art though.

Anacortes: I am long on record on this site about being a huge fan of this brewery. 35ish styles produced yearly, plus some interesting barrel, sours, and one-offs.

Flyers is technically in Island County, but it's just a few miles south of Anacortes, past Deception Pass, so I'ma count it. Great beers, great food, airplane motif. Enough said. And, they'll soon be opening a second location at the Skagit Airport.

Whiskey Ridge recently moved to Marysville, near Whitewall and Skookum. I've not tried their beers, but the folks at Whitewall seemed to think highly of it when I was there a few months ago. And that brings us into Snohomish anyway.

Also on the table, IMHO, is the new malter in Skagit county, and I'm spacing on the name. Pike recently released a beer using their malt, and Chuckanut has as well. the rest of the Bham breweries will be over time.

As an overview, Skagit County does get a fair bit of tourist traffic: La Conner for art, Anacortes for the ferries to the islands, tulips and berries. Plenty of folks going out Hwy 20 to the mountains and Winthrop. Mt. Vernon is a very tiny urban oasis in a very rural area. They've got a great Food Coop, several good beer bars & restaurants, and a cool used bookstore. I take little daytrips down on the bus, $2 each way from Bham. Plenty of farming and logging still goes on. There are several distilleries in the county now as well, and Edison is a popular foodie destination. Perhaps one of the reasons there aren't more breweries is water. And, being just that much closer to Seattle, means that maybe folks are a bit more inclined to head down for dinner?

Next time some one is looking for a fun day trip, I strongly suggest visiting MV and Anacortes.

 

The drive up through Bow/Edison for brunch, up Chuckanut Drive and into Bellingham for coffee (Onyx, obviously), beer, farmers market etc., and then back down Chuckanut Drive for oysters at Taylor Shellfish with growlers filled in Bellingham is easily my favorite way to kill a Saturday that doesn't involve being on a mountain. Doesn't answer your question though.

I typically enjoy stops at North Sound. Birdsview is a strange place, but it'll do in a pinch when leaving a trail in the area. I like Anacortes beer for the most part, but I really dislike the vibe at their brewery.

 

Actually, the area I've always been a bit surprised doesn't have a brewery is Stanwood/Camano Island. I know Diamond Knot has a location on Camano Island, but I don't think they brew there. Lots of Boeing folks live in that area, lots of second homes, a state park, seems like a nice little brewpub would do well there.

 

Coupville needs a brewery.

 

There are folks who commute from Skagit to Bham, Everett, and Seattle every day. They can get their beer needs met nicely in any of those places. Didja see that item about Bham being the "worst" city in America in which to get a "light" beer? That does not apply to Skagit. Plenty of Inbev/SAB/Coors product being poured down in the flats, and upriver. Maybe the supply in that area is nicely balanced by the demand? There's not, to my knowledge at least, a bottle shop. Nearest one is Whidbey Beer Works in Oak Harbor. But, there's plenty of good beer destinations in the area.

And actually, perhaps, maybe, possibly, Snohomish fits your criteria better? Lots of folks, yet (off the top of my head) only Diamond Knot, Lazy Boy, Scuttlebutt, Justice, Whitewall, Skookum, Whiskey Ridge, and (I think), another Nano whose name I'm spacing on. That's a pretty similar count to Skagit, with about 4x the population. And, only us superior Whatcomites are allowed to pick on the poor upriver folk from Skagit. Just protecting our lil brother from the big city bullies.

 

I think water would, again, be an issue. But, maybe if the neighbors get the practice field by the ferry shut down of flight ops, there'd be room for one there.

 

Vital is the one I couldn't think of. IIRC, DK only brews at the original location, and the production facility up the hill. Fish in Everett is closed. I thought Lynnwood was in King, my bad. Even I have never heard of In The Shadow, Charging Hippo, Middleton, Beta, Twin Rivers, and maybe Sound to Summit, that name vaguely rings a bell. But again, almost 4x the population as Skagit. The Port of Skagit County is really easy to work with, and they've got a huge industrial area by the airport. It's where PACCAR has their test track for big rigs. It would be a great spot for brewery looking to build a ground-up production facilty.

At the rate Skagit farmland is being paved over and built upon, it won't be long before there's a larger population to attract more breweries. But then, that earthquake borne tsunami will wipe out all of the Skagit flats, and it'll be a moot point.

 

Bow/Edison needs a farmhouse brewery.

The hands down the worst part of the state beer wise is out on the Olympic peninsula. It's a wasteland.

 

Pack your beers and go camping on the beach. I'd prefer that over a brewery any day.

 

I don't disagree on the scenery or things to do. Sequim and beyond is still pretty barren if you're looking for good beer.

 

I've long thought a small brewery that also serves as a diner would work out in Forks. The loggers and farmers could come in for breakfast and lunch, then stop in for after work.

 

You are right that breweries are sparse in NE WA, but so are people, so if one were to work it out proportionally, Skagit County might still be more of a slacker in terms of brewery quantity vs. people.

Skagit Valley has a population of 120,365, with the 6 breweries you mentioned.
Lincoln County - pop of 10,570 and one brewery (Rocky Coulee).
Pend Oreille County: pop 13,001, one brewery (Top Frog)
Ferry County: pop 7,551, one brewery (Republic)
Stevens County: pop 43,650, two breweries (Northern Ales, Lost Falls)

Someone else can feel free to crunch the numbers.

 

Is Rocky Coulee still open? I thought I had read that they shut down.

 

I'm disagreeing with your view of it as a "weak link". To use neighboring Snohomish as a comparison again, the top Snoho breweries are probably Skookum, Diamond Knot, and perhaps Scuttlebutt. In Skagit, Skagit River and Anacortes (Flyers too, if we're including them) are equal. North Sound is equal to the Lazy Boy-type breweries. La Conner=Ellersick? And, I don't know if there's a comparison for Birdsview. Be hard to do.

So, with half the number of breweries, and a quarter the population, I just don't see Skagit as "weak", in terms of breweries. Whatever county Elk's Head is in though, they need to up their game.

 

I haven't heard they are closed, and I still see their blonde ale on shelves here, but I suppose it could just not be moving (I'm not a fan).