Tuesday 18th of August 2009 06:42:59 PM

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Just made it back to Iron Horse for the first time in well over 2yrs. A lot has changed since then, one being the change in ownership. The brewery was founded by Jim Quilter; a pioneer, and legend in the Northwest brewing scene. I had the pleasure of meeting this jovial, and amazingly friendly man on my first visit, and would call meeting him a highlight in all my brewery visits ever. I was recently saddened to find out he just passed away. He had been brewing at the Ram in U-Village, and I had been excited to get over to try his own personal taps there. Sadly I'll never get the chance to try them. So this 5-star review is in his honor. Though the owners who have been running Iron Horse since he sold it are doing the place justice for sure.

If you're going to try one beer here, Quilter's Irish Death is my highest recommendation. They don't really have a style to label it, but I'd call it a dark Irish Red, or even a Scotch style ale. It's dark, malty-sweet, robust, and incredibly well balanced. Weighing in at 7%ABV, it's dangerously drinkable, so be careful!

All of the other offerings are excellent. We got a couple sample trays, and really couldn't find fault in what we were poured. I'm glad the beers have been showing up in the Seattle area more often. They're a welcome addition to our vast local selection.

The taproom is very cozy. We barely got seats at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. I like the charm of the new taproom, and I'm glad it was added on. Major bonus: Very reasonably priced on site beers. Only $3.50 a pint when I was there, and $7 growler fills. You can't beat that for a product of this quality.

I'll definitely be stopping by as often as I can. Luckily I pass through E-berg several times a year.

Tuesday 16th of September 2008 07:18:13 PM

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The family and I are headed home so with the wife and kid sleeping in the car and dad getting tired I needed to stretch my legs. Wouldn’t you know we where in Ellensburg WA area. According to my sources there was a brewery in this town and I had yet to see it. So a quick stop would be in order. Wow what a place. This is a cool place. Small but they party. They had huge posters telling abut special nights, Mustache night, Beer pong night. This place must party on down almost every night. They had a great line up of beers and the brewery was small but had lots of charm. I am going to take a tour next time and get the low down for sure.

Friday 15th of August 2008 10:13:26 PM

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The tasting room for Iron Horse is a small room in front of the brewery. It’s located on one side of a row of generic warehouses in a business park and isn’t easy to find. However, it’s worth the effort. The tasting room itself is quite small but has a polished wood topped bar with stools on one side and several tall tables along the opposite side of the room. Locals seem to come here regularly at lunchtime and after work. Some bring their own food, since there is no food available for purchase here.

Pints or samples (or growler fills) are available for sale as well as pint glasses, t-shirts, and growlers. We tried the IPA (quite good) and the Quilter’s Irish Death (an interesting but too sweet for us stout). Altogether, there were six beers available on tap.

The brewery itself is quite small. We were given a brief tour by the working brewer because it was a quiet moment when we arrived. It’s a 15 bbl system and there are four 15 bbl fermenters. They brew about 500 bbls in a year right now. Interestingly, there is a combined mashtun/brew kettle, quite reminiscent of home brewing, and the brewer only has a short window to clean it out between when the mash is done and the wort is ready to boil.

Monday 12th of May 2008 05:12:33 PM

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Ellensburg, Washington is home to Central Washington University.

An agricultural community that sits at the Eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains, it also is home to the Iron Horse Brewery, the brain-child of three young men who, like most brewery owners, got their start in the kitchen using pots and pans and experimenting.

Their experiments yielded some very different beers including a Brown that uses 3 varieties of malt and hops; a Cyrano Chili Pepper beer that just begs to be paired with a chimichanga or a burrito - or two since it boasts enough pepper taste to satisfy but not burn: and a delicious and different stout they call Quilter's Irish Death with just enough vanilla to make it special.
How special? Each year around Father's Day, Washington offers up a Brew Festival when most of the local breweries (and by that I mean, most of the Pacific NW) man a booth & pour samples for 3 days.
Last year, Iron Horse brought 3 kegs of Irish Death and sold out by Saturday @ 11:00 A.M.

A year later, they've managed to acquire a distributor and their beers are now showing up in several local grocery and specialty stores so a trip won't be necessary and I've already crossed it off my calendar.

Even though the brewery sits on a side street making it a bit difficult to find - and their industrial park location offers no view or pub to speak of - people gather 'round the mash tuns and fermenting tanks but don't venture far from the wall of spigots - these guys say they're always cooking up something fun ("The Way Ales Ought To Be") so who knows what's fermenting now.

I think perhaps I need to re-do my calendar.