Brewery: Cole Street Brewery
Location: 2551 Cole Street Suite R, Enumclaw, WA 98022
Services: Bring your own food, look at Mt Rainier (when it is not the middle of a thunderstorm).
The Beer: Well, a brewery opens up in the dinky town I grew up in, what am I supposed to do? Truth told, with a lot of breweries, it’s a crapshoot walking in. Maybe it’s brilliant? Maybe it’s crappy homebrew? It’s enough of a chore, in the Northwest, to stand out, much less stick around. I am curious to see, in five years, what has come of the proliferation of craft breweries that we’re currently seeing. This presents an even greater challenge for a brewery like Cole Street, situated in the aforementioned dinky town on the way to Mount Rainier. But, hey, make it and they well come, right?
Their offering is solid, if standard- Amber, Brown, Porter, Blonde, IPA, Hefe. Since I’m halfway through my second pint of their Cascadian Rye, though, that’s the one we’ll talk about. I talked before about my love of rye beer– the addition of rye, like oatmeal in even darker beers makes for a smoother, more drinkable beer. They really nailed the hops, though- for a world filled with over-bitter beers, the blend of cascade, Willamette and Chinook hops, it provides just the right amount of bitterness, particularly in the finish. The use of all northwest hops is a nice nod to the location as well.
So, if you’re making your way to Paradise in the summer, or Crystal Mountain in the winter (or also summer), I would certainly recommend stopping in for a pint (or two).
–DESR