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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7.1
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Tap @ Fairbar. Medium head with medium duration. Color is hazy brown. Aroma and taste are rich fruits, caramel, alcohol and hops. Sweet finish.

Tried from Draft on 26 Mar 2011 at 06:30


6.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Tap @ Fairbar. Nice head with medium duration. Color is hazy dark brown. Aroma and taste are roast malt, nuts, fruits, yeadt, hops and caramel.

Tried from Draft on 26 Mar 2011 at 06:27


8.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

From bottle at ACBF 2011. Dark brown in the glass, small head. Aroma of malt and chocolate. Starts mild-malty, nice caramel notes, modest sweet. Alcohol is well hidden. Finish well balanced, still light notes of chocolate. Very good beer!

Tried from Bottle on 25 Mar 2011 at 04:31


6.9
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Pours black with dark brown highlights. The head is a tight tan cap. Some lacing. The aroma is dark bread, caramel, coffee, citrus hops, pears and some background saison yeastiness. It’s dominated by fruity/bready dark malt flavors. The hops and yeast are only present in supporting roles. The beer tastes rather sweet. It starts with some full sugary sweetness and transitions to a slightly less sweet coffee/dark fruit flavor. The finish is mildly bitter with roast and hops. The mouthfeel is smooth with oddly low carbonation for Stillwater. There’s some discoloration on the lip of this bottle, so this could be the result of a cap problem. It kinda works for the beer, but it does make things a bit thin and mildly cloying.

Tried from Bottle on 22 Mar 2011 at 23:04


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Pours hazy gold into a tulip. Bright white head with good retention recedes to coat surface leaving spot lacing. Fruity yeast and biscuit aromas. Crisp with earthy bread, cookie and spice. Dry, lasting citrus funky finish.

Tried on 22 Mar 2011 at 18:01


6.8
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Bottle from Dranken Geers, Oostakker, Gent, Belgie, 18-03-11 consumed 21.03.11 Pours a very murky brown. Nose is quite fresh some yeast and fruit skins. Soft in the mouth, touch of nuttiness with some chocolate and warmth coming through from the alcohol. A7 A2 T7 P4 Ov14 3.4

Tried from Bottle on 21 Mar 2011 at 22:44


8.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9.5

Funky wild and sour apple and currant aroma. Hazy ochre, thick billowy yellow head. Sour cherry, candi sugar, flavor. Fig and vanilla finish. A little hot in the finish, but welcome. Well rounded, multi-dimensional, and exceptionally well made. This brewery is on fire right now!

Tried from Can on 20 Mar 2011 at 18:29


6.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

Funky bark and leather aroma. Cloudy brown, medium yellow head. Very leathery currant with musty bark toward the end. Faint chocolate notes. Disappointing when compared to Stillwater’s saisons. Not awful and not infected, but very average.

Tried on 19 Mar 2011 at 12:12


5.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Draught @ Th. 4th. Alvinne Craft Beer Festival (ACBF) 2011, De Kasteelhoeve, Doorniksesteenweg 314, Outrijve (Avelgem), Belgium.Unclear - hazy medium orange color with a small average, frothy, good lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, toasted, wheat, spicy, moderate yeasty, medicine, spicy, cinnamon - ginger, clove. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and light moderate bitter with a average to long duration, spicy, yeasty, clove. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20110304] 5-3-6-3-12 Draught @ ZBF 2011 (zythos beer festival), Stadsfeestzaal St.-Niklaas, St.-Niklaas, Belgium.Light unclear medium orange color with a large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, toasted - caramel, spices, ginger - clove, light to moderate hoppy. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a average to long duration, spices, ginger - clove, soapy. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20110305] 6-3-6-3-11

Tried on 17 Mar 2011 at 11:52


6.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle 750ml. @ Th. 4th. Alvinne Craft Beer Festival (ACBF) 2011, De Kasteelhoeve, Doorniksesteenweg 314, Outrijve (Avelgem), Belgium.Unclear medium amber color with a small to average, frothy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, fruity, wood. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a average to long duration, yeasty, wood, fruity. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20110304]

Tried from Bottle on 17 Mar 2011 at 11:52