Mt Maude (rightt; 9082') and Seven fingered Jack (left; 9077') from Spider Meadows.

The name. The mountain. Mt Maude is one of the tall peaks that comprise the cirque where the Entiat river starts its seaward journey. Most backpackers and climbers will be more familiar with the views of Mt Maude from Spider Meadows, a beautiful hiking/backpacking destination in itself. As the 13th tallest mountain in the state, Mt Maude is no mild beast; the route up is arduous even if technically mild. It’s a nice scramble up 6,000 feet or so from the spider meadow trail via a well-maintained climbers trail and some easy talus.

The Beer. Maude’s mild is our interpretation of a winter session beer. Milds are, by definition, a lower strength beer and Maude doesn’t venture from that.  However we used malts that would add complexity to the beer, which manifested in dark fruit characters in the beer – notes of prunes and raisins. This dark fruit character is the defining feature of this lower alcohol, easy drinking winter session beer.

Esmeralda from the opposite side of the basin.

The name. The mountain. Esmeralda is located in the Teanaway River drainage just S of Ingalls peak and SW of Mt Stuart – one of our favorite areas. It’s on the other side of the Teanaway River from its beastly neighbors and is a much easier approach/climb than that of it’s neighbors.  The “class 2″ trek to the summit offers some great views of the massive Mt Stuart and the Stuart range and is part of a great loop for a day hike.

A tale of two experiences. While the mountain is great, this beer’s namesake comes from our tale of two experiences that parallel the brewery.  This was one of the first mountains that I climbed in Washington. It was with some good friends looking for a break from the monotony of work life, but rain and conditions made it “less than a great climb,” earning it the nickname of “miseralda.”  A couple years later we tried it again in ideal weather and it had the charm of an emerald.  This is one of the first beers brewed on our new system and suffice to say that the brewing experience with the system follow our experience on the mountain. It was great to use the new equipment even if conditions weren’t ideal and the experience will lead to many more great brews. 

The Beer.  Esmeralda is a complementary beer to it’s mountainBeer partner Maude’s mild; similar qualities but slightly different vital statistics.  It has a similar base to the mild, but it was brewed to a higher alcohol level.  Also, instead of dark fruits, we brewed this with some dark sugars allowing notes of molasses and dark sugar to complement the extra alcohol.  Esmeralda was fermented with an English yeast adding a smooth fruity flavor on top of the alcohol and molasses tones.