Stillwater

Client Brewer in Grand Mound, Washington, United States 🇺🇸
Associated Venue: Of Love & Regret - Pub and Provisions

Established in 2010

Contact
19770 Sargent Rd SW, Grand Mound, WA, 98579, United States
001
Description
Founded in 2010, Stillwater is an original nomadic beer project that utilizes the traditional brewery as if it were a studio - a place where beer becomes a canvas for creation, collaboration, and experimentation. For it’s founder Brian Strumke, nomadic brewing isn’t simply a job title. It’s a way to tell stories, engage with the world at large, and move through it on his terms.

In 2011, Strumke woke one morning to find himself anointed as one of the top new brewers in the world by Ratebeer.com - a proclamation that would change the trajectory of his life forever. Over the last 10 years, he built and scaled Stillwater® into an international business, capturing broad attention with it’s multidisciplinary approach and award-winning products crafted worldwide.

Formerly known as Stillwater Artisanal. Brian is from Baltimore, MD but has relocated to Seattle. Stillwater was tied to the Brooklyn, NY scene and importer / brewery Twelve Percent. Beers have been brewed at various breweries, but with many coming out of Twelve Percent's North Haven, CT brewery. Now Brian has brought Stillwater to the state of Washington and set down roots. Stillwater beers are brewed at Talking Cedar as of late 2023/early 2024.

A dozen years after pioneering the “nomadic brewing” model, Stillwater® has planted roots in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time, all production of its inventive and style-bending beers is concentrated at one location under founder Brian Strumke’s oversight and control: Grand Mound, Washington’s Talking Cedar. Opened by the Chehalis Tribal Enterprises in 2020, Talking Cedar is a 35,000-square-foot complex that houses a state-of-the-art brewery with a 60-barrel brew house, rows of 120-barrel fermenters, and multiple oak foedres.

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7.4/10 Appearance 4 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Super hazy golden and straw coloured body with almost no head at all even after a vigorous pour. Aroma of sour grapes, tangerines, fructose, cream and honey with a lot of funky bretty and even some spontaneous fermentation notes here, with a light dose of oak in the nose, too. Light to barely Medium-bodied; Crisp, slightly grassy and very citrusey flavours show at first with a lot of tangerine and soured fruit qualities - some of them tropical, with a good kick of malt and very easy-going wheat at the end. Aftertaste is pretty straight-forward with the tart fruit, even with a light touch of guava and passionfruit here, working well with the wheat malt to make this go down very easily. Overall, this is a crisp and clean beer that has some very nice tropical fruit and soured components, but also some sugars and a touch of dryness. Great to sample and a good option that is balanced across the board, with a nice profile and some good complex flavours. I sampled this sixteen ounce, pint-sized can, purchased from Glen Ro Spirit Shoppe in Monroe, Connecticut on 05-September-2022 for US$4,49, canned on 04-August-2021 and sampled at my house here in Washington on 16-November-2022.
Tried from Can on 10 Feb 2024 at 06:48

8.1/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8.5
Canned, 355 ml, at Brouwer's Cafe. Black with tan head. Sweet chocolate, caramel, dried fruit, bit sugary and syrupy. Medium bodied.
Tried from Can at Brouwer's Cafe on 24 Jan 2024 at 23:00

7.1/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Draught@CBC2016. Hazy golden colour with a small white head. Aroma has some sour notes, lemon, farmhousy elementsas well as some toasted and herbal tones. Flavour is earthy, some tart tones along with funk and yeast.
Tried on 28 Dec 2023 at 18:04

6.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Draught@CBC2016. Hazy yellow colour with a small white head. Aroma is some salty tones, fruits, some wood and a bit floral tones. Flavour is zesty, some tartness, mild salty tones with some slight wooden and spicy elements.
Tried on 28 Dec 2023 at 18:03

7.6/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Can. Poured a nearly pitch black color with a small tan head. Aroma was light peppers, got big peppercorn in this. Spicy ginger is a bit subdued. Flavor was light peppery chilies. Tasty. At the December DC Ratebeer tasting.
Tried from Can on 22 Dec 2023 at 07:46

7.6/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
From a pint can at a RB tasting. Pours black with a tan head. Aromas are peppermint and chocolate. Flavors are sweet with some spicy peppermint.
Tried from Can on 11 Dec 2023 at 01:51

7.1/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Lots ginger and lots of Chilli pepper. Black pour with decent head. Some roast. Bittersweet finish with some tang. Ok but not really drinkable on some larger level. Can.
Tried from Can on 11 Dec 2023 at 01:40

7.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
16 oz. can, pours a hazy yellowish blonde with a medium white head. Aroma is bright, with lots of spicy yeast, bright citrus hops, and crackery malt. Flavour is nicely bitter, with tons of bitter citrus hops, lots of spiciness, rustic saison notes, and champagne-like effervescence. Bright, carbonated highly, spicy and bitter finish. Very good.
Tried from Can on 02 Dec 2023 at 03:50

7.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Draft, taster. @Mash Beer Festival 2023, Barcelona (Spain) 28/10/2023 [#6.879 Global - #1.209 United States of America - #16 Stillwater Artisanal] Pours clear blonde with a small and lacing white head. Aroma: wild yeast, rustic, oak barrels and leather. Taste: wild yeast and oak barrels. Sharp. Next one please!
Tried from Draft on 23 Nov 2023 at 09:30

8.2/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 6 Overall 9
On tap at Churchkey. Pours a clear deep amber brown with a brown head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has a nice bourbon and caramel combination with some sweet grains and a bit of Sherry coming through. Flavor has bourbon, toffee and caramel with sweet grains and a slight bite of Sherry.
Tried from Draft on 18 Nov 2023 at 00:29