GETTING OUT

Cody Morris, head brewer and founder of Potlatch Brewing Co. in Hoodsport, credited Kelli Kohout, co-founder of the Hoodstock Music and Arts Festival on the Hood Canal, with inspiring him to brew custom ales for community events.

It started with a recipe for last year's Hoodstock, and expanded for this year's Hoodstock and Fjordin Crossin events.

Morris debuted his farmhouse ale, which employs a largely traditional Scandinavian recipe and kviek yeast, May 19 at Potlatch Brewing to lead into the Fjordin Crossin festivities started by his parents, Hardware Distillery co-founders Jan and Chuck Morris. The event is Saturday.

Prior to Hoodstock's run from Aug. 19-20, Potlatch Brewing will have a release party June 30 for Morris' custom brew to celebrate this year's Hoodstock.

Morris said that although his brewery's relatively small size makes it more likely that certain specialties of his beer might sell out, the brewery's compactness allows Morris to experiment with more niche varieties in custom batches because he's not producing any one recipe in as high a volume as larger breweries.

"On the one hand, it's kind of like baking cookies," Morris said. "Whether they're oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip, there's a limited number of variables you can play with to create a new recipe. On the other hand, those variations can allow you to put your own unique mark on its flavor."

Morris has seen the first batches of his Hoodstock ale last year and his Fjordin Crossin ale this year risk running short, but he's already made preparations to produce a second batch of Hoodstock ale, if necessary, to sustain its supply through the event.

Morris credited Kohout for insisting last year's Hoodstock brew had a relatively low alcohol content, allowing festivalgoers to drink through the weekend without getting too intoxicated.

To fit the experimental flavor of the music festival, Morris also used Zappa-brand neomexicanus hops, named after musician Frank Zappa.

For this year's Hoodstock ale, Morris switched out last year's tropical fruit notes with an undertone of wild berries, which he deemed more appropriate to the Northwest.

"It tastes more local, but it still feels wild, like Hoodstock should feel wild," Morris said, before he laughingly acknowledged that his conceptual reasons for selecting such ingredients might not even be perceived by those who taste the beer.

By contrast, Morris' farmhouse ale is intended to stay true to the cultural roots of Fjordin Crossin, by cleaving "as close as you can get" to such a recipe, "without getting stranded in the hinterlands of Norway."

Morris described the rediscovered kviek yeast as "very strange," from having been grown "in an environment so different from any other yeast."

Morris also lent the farmhouse ale a touch of the exotic, while retaining its rustic character, by adding a New Zealand hop varietal.

"Like Fjordin Crossin, it combines cultural influences from opposite sides of the world," Morris said.

For further details, go to http://www.potlatchbrewing.com or the "Potlatch Brewing Co." page on Facebook.

Author Bio

Kirk Boxleitner, Reporter

Shelton-Mason County Journal & Belfair Herald
[email protected]