Beer Guide 2015: Backwoods Brewing

By Jordan Green

Backwoods Brewing

1162B Wind River Highway, Carson, Wash., 509-427-3412, backwoodsbrewingcompany.com. 3-9 pm Thursday-Monday.

[WAY BACK] Backwoods doesn't receive as much attention of its flashier and more widely trafficked Gorge compatriots, but that's more a result of location than anything else. Tucked high above the north banks of a widened Columbia on the southern edge of the sprawling Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the brewery itself is set in one of those squat, blank, rural new builds, and ringed in chain link. Still, there are solid views of the surrounding hills when weather permits. The 10 proprietary taps offer a solid gamut of standards and hefty taster pours. The most interesting offerings are at the edges of the spectrum: a subtle Blueberry Wheat, whatever's been barrel-aged, and the Spruce Springsteen, a workingman's hero which clocks in at 9.5 percent ABV without hammering on hops.

DRINK THIS: Sometimes they age the Bumbler Imperial IPA in ancient whiskey barrels. Sometimes the Ridge Run Stout. Either way, it's worth a taste.

WWeek 2015

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