In looking through past posts in The Pour Fool, I was astonished to find that the last time I did a post about Echoes Brewing, of tiny Poulsbo, Washington, was 2021. December 27th or 2021, in fact. At the time, Echoes was pretty much brand new and brand new breweries, as a rule, take some time to get cranked up. But around here – here being the greater Seattle area – that crank-up period has been sharply abbreviated by the fact of brewers with a TON of experience being the owners of brand new breweries. Adam Robbings, a wonky and gifted home-brewer, opened Reuben’s Brews in 2012 and it took off like a scared antelope into a level of brewing skill rarely seen, well, anywhere. Colin Lenfesty, a veteran brewer at several places around the area, opened Holy Mountain Brewing and spawned jaw-dropping ales from Day One.
It happens…but not very often.
But when J Mark Hood, brewmaster at the now-defunct Sound Brewery, Washington’s first and best specialists in Belgian-style ales, lost Sound after a client placed a mammoth order of an Imperial Stout and then stiffed him, he found new owners among his own client base and moved just across the street, into an old auto shop building. Nobody who had ever tried Sound beers was surprised when Echoes just, basically, kept right on producing at the same level. Washington’s truly iconic Belgian Abbey-style ale, Monk’s Indiscretion, was born at Sound and adopted by Echoes…but it grew up a bit in transition. The reason: Mark finally had back all the time he used to put into being Sound’s administrator and got back to brewing. His ideas evolved. His skills had already evolved when Echoes first opened. And in the years since, I contend and will continue to say, Echoes Brewing – right now, not someday down the road – is one of the best and most significant breweries in the Pacific Northwest.
Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!