Fish Brewing Company - Full Blast Summer Ale

This Session IPA is Fish Brewing's summer seasonal, and we think they might want to consider it for their year-round line-up. Full Blast presents a bright golden-copper color in the glass, capped by a sticky head of foam. But we could smell this brew even before the pour, as it offered up a complex array of hoppy aromas. Look for bold, exotic spices melded into an equally bold set of fruity notes including mango, pineapple, and other tropical fruits, an amalgam of citrus tones including grapefruit, and wisps of berry, plus leafy and fresh-pine-like herbal notes, some earthiness... it's got it all. But that complexity isn't surprising considering Fish brought 8(!) different hop varieties to this party. On the palate, we found Full Blast very flavorful; though this is a fairly light-bodied and low-gravity summer brew, the malts nevertheless do a fine job of providing a supportive backbone for the firm bitterness, and we think the use of rye was a good call, with it contributing some of its unique spiciness. Mandarin oranges, lemon zest, hints of mango, bold spiciness... the hop profile is like a hall of mirrors, reflecting most of the hoppy descriptors we could pull out of our brain pans, as if to say,Yep, that's here too! This is a session beer that, flavorwise, punches above its 4.5% ABV, and we recommend drinking them while they're super fresh, as our brewed-to-order batches always are. Cheers!

When one thinks of the epicenters of the craft beer renaissance in America, the Pacific Northwest undoubtedly springs to mind immediately. The region is the source for the vast majority of hops produced in our country and has long been home to innovative brewers at the forefront of the push to expand our palates beyond the "macrobrews" that dominated America's beer culture for so long. Fish Brewing Company in Olympia, WA is one of those brewers. Founded in 1993 by Crayne & Mary Horton and a group of local investors, Fish Brewing Company began as a brewpub on Jefferson Street with a 15-barrel brewing system. Just three short years later, demand had reached the point where it was time to grow. The brewpub was expanded and they acquired the historic Skoog Building across the street, a much larger facility able to accommodate a bottling line and allowing Fish to become a legitimate package brewery. With their brewing system relocated into the new building, their first 6-packs hit store shelves in 1997.

The succeeding years have seen a series of new business expansions. In 2001, Fish merged with Leavenworth Biers, a brewery specializing in German styles. Around 2004, they acquired Spire Mountain Cider, the oldest commercial craft cider producer in the country. And, in 2006, Fish upgraded their 15-bbl system to a new 40-bbl system, allowing much greater production capacity for their Fish Tale Ales and other brands. More recently, just last year, Fish jumped into the distilling industry with the acquisition of Grapeworks Distilling and their Vitis Spirits brand which specializes in grape-derived vodka and a line of very unique 80+ proof varietal grape spirits from Pinot Gris, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling. For more info about the brewery and related brands, their Jefferson Street brewpub, or their Taproom in Woodinville, call 360-943-6480 or visit www.fishbrewing.com.