Skookum Brewing

BowlingJoe with owner/brewer Ron Walcher

Back in the day, BowlingJoe was a fairly active homebrewer. It was a lot of fun messing around with different recipes of malt, hops, yeast and even such off the wall things as molasses and coffee. Pale ales, brown ales, porters, stouts. I took a crack at all of them and have to admit that some of them turned out pretty darned good. And then there were others that had more than a hint of "something sour" in them.

I gradually retired from the scene as Muffinheadedboy was getting older and brewing needed to take a back seat to coaching and supporting whatever he happened to be doing.

I can't really say I miss homebrewing very much, in large part because there are so many small breweries around who have refined and perfected their processes to a degree that I can't even come close to. They're producing world class beer. One of those places is right up the road from us between Smokey Point and Arlington. Whenever we get a chance, as we did yesterday afternoon, Bowlingwidow and I like to go to Skookum Brewing, established in January of 2007. The term "skookum" is of Chinook jargon origin and in general means good, strong, or first rate.

To get to the brewery and taproom, you turn left down the dirt road (10 mph speed limit), go past the house with the bulldozer, continue beyond the horses grazing in the field off to the left. When you see the cows on the right, you're getting close. Park underneath the shade tree in the yard across from the barn. No, really, it's like that. And it's a lot of fun being in that beautiful country setting with owner/brewer Ron Walcher and co-owner Jackie Jenkins. There's no friendlier crowd than the dozen or so customers that are there at any given time to enjoy a pint or to pick up a keg or a growler. And with seating mostly outdoors, a nice day is always a bonus.

But you have to time your visit well, as their modest but mighty tap room is only open a precious few hours a week. Fridays from 4-7 pm and Saturdays from 2-5 pm. Ron and Jackie do have other "real jobs" after all. Being big fans of the hop bitterness of India Pale Ale (IPA) we usually opt for Skookum's Jackass IPA. It begins with a malty and somewhat sweet flavor but then sneaks up on you with a full dose of hops. Other offerings include Skookum Pale Ale, Woody's Oak (with light caramel and wood tones), Amber's Hot Friend (a west coast style malty amber ale), and Mule (kicks like one with heavy usage of both malt and hops).

Ron and BowlingJoe in the taproom
In addition to going straight to the source, Skookum beers are available at several pubs and restaurants in the area including G.A. Maxwell's in Marysville, Ivar's Mukilteo Landing, Fred's Rivertown Alehouse in Snohomish, Conway Pub and Eatery, and Olympic Tavern in Arlington. A complete listing along with directions, photos and other information can be found on their website.

Skookum Brewing is located at 19529 17th Dr. NE in Arlington. If anyone ever wants to join us on a fact finding expedition to Skookum Brewing, be sure to let Bowlingwidow or me know.