Terramar Brewstillery is located in Edison, WA, 15 minutes from our malthouse. Since they opened, they have been producing beer, spirits, and cider on site using as many local ingredients as possible. They’ve recently won a series of medals for both beers and spirits, so we figured it would be a great time to revisit our customer profile and ask some deeper questions. To get an intro into Terramar and hear who they were 2 years ago, head over to our initial profile!

Why put a brewery in Edison? Why not Bellingham or Seattle?

Edison is an ideal location to showcase the best of Skagit County. Terramar is a portmanteau of Terra (earth) and Mar (sea). Edison is a unique town located where land meets sea, and at that intersection lies this fertile earth full of biodiversity, and inspiring stewards of the land and sea. With the help of our community of farmers and foragers, we capture the terroir that makes Skagit Valley so special. We wanted to showcase the magic of this valley in our beer, cider, spirits, and pizza to share with our community and guests who visit this special place.

As a small brewery/distillery in a small community, why is it important to you to use local ingredients as much as possible?

A sustainable and local agriculture community is becoming more important than ever as supply chain issues, inflation and transportation costs are creating issues. Supporting the research and development that goes into breeding and selecting grains for local planting, the farmers who grow those grains, and the maltster who turns those grains into a variety of malts is very important to us to help build a more sustainable future in craft beverage production. Not to mention the quality of what is grown and produced in the Skagit Valley is world class.

How does your local community inspire the products you make?

We often have local farmers (large and small) show up at our door with products they grew and we most always purchase them and then experiment with them to find the right home in a beer, cider or spirit. Sometimes we have never worked with the ingredient before and it pushes us to innovate and sometimes it’s a new varietal of a well-established ingredient that elevates what we are trying to do. Over the few years we have been around we have worked directly with farmers large and small to grow unique crops and products specifically for us. There is such a bounty and diversity of what that Skagit Valley has to offer.

Where do you see your ingredients driving your process and/or recipe choices?

It’s exciting to utilize local ingredients to replicate or create a spin on classic styles. For example we don’t bring in German malts for our hefeweizen but utilize all local grains combined with German brewing techniques to create a local spin on a historical classic. When new varietals of grain are introduced or new kilning techniques are presented we are excited to bring them in and develop recipes around their unique qualities.

In talking about your award winning recipes, what impact do you think your malt has? 

Our Amber On has been directly impacted by the innovations in malting and kilning at Skagit Valley Malting. As that beer has evolved we have brought in the experimental Extra Dark Munich malt as well as the Triticale Caramel 75 which added a depth of toasted caramel, date, fig, and raisin notes that are very unique to the grain varietal and malting/killing process. In our Apricity Saison the Triticale base, Obsidian malt, and Raw Wheat lent significant unique flavors as well as body, mouthfeel and complex sugars for Brettanomyces to work on in bottle conditioning. Our Shuksan Sour and Gose both feature Skagit White Wheat prominently which lends a distinct grainy bready character that compliments the dry tart sour ales quite well.

What does the future look like for Terramar Brewstillery?

We have seen growth in all areas of our brands as we move into the post-pandemic landscape and are increasing our production slowly and steadily. We are taking a few of these award winning recipes and moving to offer them on a year round basis as part of our core brands. These beers have generated market interest, been recognized as top beers in our region, and all are 100% Skagit Valley Malts. At the start of the new year we will have our Amber On, Old Number Six Blonde, and Hefeweizen available year round along with our 3 flagship spirits Single Malt Whiskey, Vodka, and Gin. We look forward to welcoming more and more guests each year into our taprooms to enjoy the beautiful setting around us and the bounty of the Skagit Valley.

Thanks again to our friends at Terramar for their time and continued support!