Our friends and neighbors at Terramar Brewstillery have been supporting us since they opened their doors. Trying to showcase the best that the valley offers, especially seasonal and fresh items, they lean into terror and express it through food, beer, and spirits. We asked them a few questions to help folks get to know them a bit better. Enjoy!
Who are you? Name/Brewery/Location?
Greg Spore - Terramar Brewstillery – Edison, WA
What is your brewery known for?
Terramar is a combination of the words “terra” meaning land and “mar” meaning sea and we strive to highlight the bounty of the natural resources and farmland around us in the Skagit Valley. We are a destination brewery where people can enjoy a wide variety of creative beers, ciders, spirits and cocktails as well as artisanal pizzas in a beautiful location on Samish bay. Our food and drinks highlight the diversity and quality of the farmlands around us as we work closely with local farmers and producers to keep creativity and innovation high while focusing high quality food and drink.
Why did you start to use Skagit Valley Malts?
Utilizing Skagit valley malting as our sole malt provider for all beers and spirits has been in the plans since day one as means to meet our core business model of sourcing and supporting locally grown and malted grains. Skagit Valley Malting produces the high quality base malts and unique and innovative grains that are integral to our creativity and core business values.
What has been your favorite malt from us?
Triticale and Triticale Caramel are favorites of mine as I only discovered the unique triticale grain once I began brewing at Terramar and was introduced to Skagit Valley Malting. Triticale caramel is a very unique malt which adds a depth of flavor that I really enjoy and have used it in place of other caramel malts in some of our west coast styled pales and IPAs. I have enjoyed utilizing triticale in our Saisons and our collaboration bread beer with the Breadfarm bakery, the Breadfarm Bouza.
Desert Island beer/brewery?
I know it’s a bit cliché but probably Cantillon – I love Lambic and Gueuze beers but I still have yet to make it to Belgium as the November 2015 Paris attacks thwarted my wife and I’s plans while we were in Europe as Belgium had completely shut down. It did make for a spontaneous trip to Bamberg, Germany instead where we fell in love with Schlenkerla’s rauchbiers.
What do you listen to on brewday?
Usually some high energy obscure rock music – I have a really diverse musical taste but I’ve been playing a lot of the new Idles album (Ultra Mono) and a lot of the new Metz album (Atlas Vending) lately.
What is your favorite brewery smell?
You can’t beat the aroma of mashing in the grain first thing in the morning, there is nothing quite like it.
Thanks to Greg, Jen, and Chris at Terramar for being up for this feature! Head over to https://www.terramarcraft.com/ or visit their tasting room in Edison, WA.