Picket Porter

Southern Pickets as seen from the slopes of Mt Triumph

The name. The mountain (range). The rugged Picket Range is located in the North Cascades National Park and so named for its resemblance to a picket fence. Few trails can be found in this wild land but any excursion would be rewarded with inspiring mountain views of the North Cascades. We enjoyed the North Picket Range back in 2007 when we completed a traverse from Hannegan Pass to Ross Lake, a great and rugged excursion.  Regardless of whether you get into the range, they are a spectacle from afar.

The style. We chose to name our porter after the Picket range because just as the range is made up of numerous enchanting peaks, the “porter” was initially made up of numerous tasty beers. The porter “style” is originally derived from what one might call a beer “suicide”, reminiscent of the middle school pass time of mixing different types of soft drinks from the soda fountain to find the perfect level of disgusting. The unique (and delicious) flavor profile of the porter’s predecessor, the “Entire” was created by mixing brown and mild ales commonly found behind the bar at British pubs. Rumor has it the London porters were particularly fond of this mixed drink, so when it was launched as its own style of beer by English breweries the name Porter stuck.

The Beer. We attempted to make picket porter a perfect partner to the Snowfield winter: A very flavorful beer but yet easy drinking with a lower alcohol content.  It is very drinkable and has a lower alcohol content that would be similar to the historical versions of the entires, mentioned above.  Also we stayed true to the porter’s origins and used all english style hops for flavor and aroma (fuggles) and an English yeast, which resulted in a very mildly pleasant fruity and grassy flavor.  However, the flavor that dominates (but definitely does not overpower) the beer is the chocolaty and mild roast character, more reminiscent of “bigger” porters of the US. The combination produces a flavorful and easy drinking beer, perfect for dark winter Seattle days and nights.