Welcome back to Sip Northwest’s Beer Hall of Fame: a twice-monthly induction into a list of essential Northwest beers that have made their mark on the field and region.
Double Mountain Brewery’s IRA – or India red ale – was born on St. Patrick’s Day, 10 years ago. And the rest, they say, is history. “People liked the beer, so we just kept making it,” says Matt Swihart, Double Mountain’s owner and brewmaster.
The IRA came with the inception of the brewery. It’s a blend of styles – taking some of the hoppy backbone of an IPA and adding that to the crisp malt quality known traditionally in red ales – and perhaps even the first of its kind says Swihart.
“We came up with the concept for that brew and for that idea,” he adds. “It proved highly popular in the Northwest. It’s often been imitated but we feel we were the first to bring that beer into the Northwest and into the world.”
The brew is an amalgamation of Belgian yeast strains, German malts and Northwest hops. “Grabbing, what I call, the best from all worlds,” Swihart says. “Rather than be true to a specific style or guidelines, we thought it best to hybrid our way into the beer world.”
And it worked. Swihart, who has been brewing beer for nearly 30 years, says the IRA has now become the flagship beer for the brewery. Sampling the suds, you may detect fruity, cherry-type esters, a touch of pear from the Belgian yeast strains and even a light caramel sweetness. But those flavors complement the citrus, orange-y backbone that comes from the Simcoe and Brewer’s Gold hops.
“The idea is to blend these things together so it’s a whiff, a presence, nothing overwhelming,” Swihart says. “We try to go for a balanced place on everything we do.”
