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BREW
NEWS
This section is about
the great microbrews of the Pacific Northwest.
| The Pacific Northwest has
become noted for the excellent microbrews produced throughout the
area. The Brews News section is about the great microbrews, breweries,
and brewmasters of the Pacific Northwest. |
The
Origins and History of Beer
Historians speculate that prehistoric nomads
may have made beer from grain and water before learning to make
bread. They believe that beer may have been the cause of
civilization, because it appears to have been the beginning of
farming between 13,000 and 8,000 B. C. About that time, humans
stopped being nomadic hunters and gatherers and began to settle into
organized communities.
It is thought that wild grapes and grain had
probably been turned into drinks before their purposeful
cultivation. In 1986, Professor Solomon Kratz of the University of
Pennsylvania found what he described as the worlds oldest recipe on
a number of tablets made by the early Sumerians, who settled in
Mesopotamia.
(Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning 'between the
rivers', which are the Tigris and Euphrates flowing through modern
Iraq. The Euphrates also flows through much of Syria.)These tablets
include pictograms, or drawings, of what appears to be barley, and show
bread being baked. The bread is mixed into water to make a mash, which
is then made into a drink. The drink is recorded as having made people
feel exhilarated, wonderful and blissful.
As civilization expanded around the world, the
cultivation of barley grew with it, as did the technique for brewing
beer. Currently, beer falls into two classifications, ale and lager.
Ales are the older, traditional brews of the world, predating lagers by
thousands of years. Lagers are a relatively modern invention, dating
from the mid‑nineteenth century.
There is an account of beer making in America. It
is said to have begun at the Roanoke Island colony, settled in 1585
under the leadership of Sir Walter Raleigh. Beer was being made in what
is now New York before the arrival of the Mayflower in 1620. A brewery
was set up there in 1612. |
West Sound Area
Microbreweries
If you=re
wondering what beer is, the simple explanation is that beer is a
fermented drink made from grain (usually barley, but also wheat,
oats, corn, rice or rye) water, yeast and hops. A more detailed
explanation of what it is, how it is made and how it changed from
its beginning to the present time can be found on the world wide web
(www), or in numerous books on the subject, available in your local
bookstore; for example, Michael Jackson=s
Beer Companion.
The micro‑brewery boom surfaced in the 1980s,
preceded by the sales of imported beer in the 1970s taking off.
Washington=s
Craft‑Brewing Industry began in 1982 when two breweries opened
almost simultaneously. Veteran beer maker Bert Grant began producing
the assertively hopped Grant's Scottish Ale at his Yakima Brewing &
Malting Company, and the new Redhook Brewery began production in
Seattle.
The West Sound area has a number of
microbreweries, a brewing supplies store and a Home Brewers Club.
Silver City Brewery and Restaurant is owned by
Steve & Scott Houmas, and is located at 2799 NW Myhre Rd.
Silverdale, Washington. Phone Number (360)698‑5879;
www.silvercitybrewery.com. Brewmaster: Don Spencer
Hood Canal Brewery Owner/Brewmaster, Mr. Don Wyatt
named all his brews after locations around Hood Canal: Agate Pass Amber,
Dabob Bay IPA, Dosewallips Special Ale, Southpoint Porter, Big Beef
Oatmeal Stout, and Briedablik Barley Wine. My favorite is Southpoint
Porter. There=s
no food on site, but Wyatt invites visitors to bring their favorite food
to enjoy with his beers.
Contact information: Mr. Don Wyatt
Owner/Brewmaster, 26499 Bond Road NE Kingston, WA. 98346; 360‑297‑8316.
Web site: www.hoodcanalbrewery.com. Hours of Operation: 12 p.m. to 8
p.m. seven days a week.
Olympic Brewing Supplies is a popular retail store
catering to Home Brewers, Winemakers, Soda Making, Liqueurs (Cordials &
Brandy), Keg Systems for homebrew and commercial beer, and more. They
have been in business since 1994 constantly expanding their inventory
and services.
Contact information: Owner Bill Sproules, 2817
Wheaton Way, Bremerton, WA. 98310; 360‑373‑1094. www.olybrew.com,
e‑mail: olybrew@olybrew.com. Hours of Operation: Tuesday thru Saturday
10 a. m. to 6 p. m., closed Sunday.
West Sound Brewers Club is home brewing and beer
appreciation club based in Kitsap County, Washington, with members from
Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Kingston, Bainbridge Island, Port
Orchard, Olalla and as far away as Tacoma. Activities include monthly
meetings and beer tastings, brewery tours, special tasting events and
more.
Contact information: www.westsoundbrewers.org;
e‑mail: info@westsoundbrewers.org. Go the top of the page |
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Olympic Brewing Supplies
The microbrew
phenomena in the Pacific Northwest have generated an increased awareness
of, and participation in, home brewing. This in turn changed the course
of Bill Sproule's life. Bill is the founder and owner of Olympic Brewing
Supplies, at 2817 Wheaton Way, Bremerton, WA.
Born in Chicago
and raised in Boston, the Navy took him to Todd Shipyard in Seattle
about the time his enlistment was up. He opted to stay in the Pacific
Northwest, married and moved to Kitsap County to raise a family, now
numbering one wife and three girls. He liked the idea of having more
input in the school system, and the family living arrangements in Kitsap
County verses Seattle.
An energetic
redhead with an easy smile and outgoing personality, he started home
brewing and home winemaking as a hobby getting his supplies from Seattle
because there was no place to get them in this area. He soon realized
there was a need for such a place.
At the time,
Sproules was working in Seattle for Burlington Resources. His background
is in computer networking and telephone systems, anything having to do
with administration and managing information systems. The company
decided to move the Seattle offices to Houston, Texas. He was going to
be the last person in Seattle for the company as an administrator and
would be the one to shut off the lights.
He had the
opportunity to move with the company to Houston or take the severance
check and start the business. He decided it was a good opportunity, and
the timing was right, so he chose to start the business.
He started at the
present site in July, 1994, a one person operation, and now has one
employee, Ken Pettie. The home brewing and winemaking phenomenon has
allowed his business to grow. Word-of-mouth and hobbyists influencing
other hobbyists continue to grow the business.
He believes
word-of-mouth advertising is better than anything else, so he developed
a newsletter, distributed every few months, that is available to
customers and anyone who drops in and asks to be placed on the mailing
list. You can visit his web site www.olybrew.com where he announces
specials, recipes, new products, etc, keeping people up-to-date on the
news of home brewing and winemaking.
Naming the
business Olympic Brewing was a conscious decision born out of the
observation that some businesses are named for the owner of the
business. He said, "My father taught me that when you open a business
it's better to name it something that would allow it to be easy to
sell." Sproules made the choice between Olympic, Evergreen, and
Cascades, generic and recognizable names, but 'Brewing Supplies' is what
he wanted people to see more than anything.
A self-taught
Brewmaster, he learns from customers who have been home brewing for a
long time. He often records the information from customers in his
newsletters, to pass on, so the information isn't lost.
Olympic Brewing
Supplies is a retail store catering to Home Brewers, Winemakers, Soda
Making, Liqueurs (Cordials & Brandy), Keg Systems for homebrew and
commercial beer, and more. Sproules provides free classes at Olympic
Brewing Supplies to learn the processes, and has the equipment and
supplies available for making beer, wine, country wines, cider, vinegar
and oil.
Contact information:
Mr.
Bill Sproules
2817
Wheaton Way # 102
Bremerton, WA 98310
(360) 373-1094
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