I’ve had some of the brews from Golden Hills before, but I had never really paid much attention to what I was drinking in those days. For shame…
A while back, the Cider Wench and I went to an event called “Begin” at the MAC, the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. There was live music, some tasty tidbits, and some Golden Hills brews.
On tap at the museum were two brews from Golden Hills, Ben’s Brown and Clem’s Gold. CW and I both had one of each, and both were absolutely delicious. Ben’s Brown was very dark, very smooth and CW’s new favorite beer. Clem’s Gold wasn’t as dark but very tasty. Unfortunately we were unprepared for any formal reviews, but we definitely remember that we enjoyed them both.
A little history about Golden Hills Brewing Company …
The president is Bernie Duenwald. Bernie grew up in Eastern Washington and even graduated from Reardan High School. Bernie worked for a company selling malt to different beer companies. He was sent to the Seibel Institute to learn about making beer as to better serve his customers. In 2006 Golden Hills Brewing Company had its first beer on draft.
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| Golden Hills Brewery |
I met Bernie at the brewery in Airway Heights. The garage doors were open and I could see the copper clad brewing setup as I pulled up. Bernie was sitting at a long table reading a newspaper and a half-full glass of beer close at hand. After some introductions, I explained a little more about our blog and why I was interested in speaking with him. As the self-dubbed NW Bearded Brewer, I am interested in different styles and types of beer, but especially those of the Pacific Northwest and more over the local beers I can get right here in Spokane.
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| Golden Hills Brewing Equipment |
Bernie and I talked for a while and he showed me the brewing setup. He explained the brewing process a little more to me and the differences between each part of the brewing equipment. Besides the equipment used to brew the beer, there were also two large fermenters, one 30 Barrel and one 60 Barrel. A Barrel, I learned, is around 31 gallons. That’s a whole lot of beer! I was fortunate to see Bernie’s test batch setup. I hope to make my own multi-level brewing system someday and so I was very eager to see what he used.
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| Large Fermentors |
Bernie told me that the mission of the Golden Hills Brewing Company was to fill a niche in the craft brewing industry. As he explained it most large breweries produce lagers exclusively, and that craft brewers make ales specifically to distance themselves from the “big guys”. While ales are generally known for their big flavors, lagers have great taste and are incredibly smooth which makes them more drinkable. Bernie’s thoughts that a craft brewery that produces lagers would be a refreshing option for beer drinkers that some find some craft beers are too strongly flavored. The hard part is convincing diehard fans of the large breweries to try a “craft beer”, and to convince people who enjoy craft beer to try a lager.
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| Bernie's Setup for Test Batches of Beer |
Bernie has an established clientele here is Spokane, and he’s trying to make a push over in the Seattle area. He said he’s taking kegs every week to the Puget Sound area, and hopes to find a distributor over there to work with in the future.
Golden Hills has three main beers that they produce, Clem’s Gold, Ben’s Brown, and Lizzy’s Lager. Recently they unveiled a batch of new beer in Reardan, WA, called Em’s Easy. Bernie described it as Golden Hill’s answer for the light beer drinker. The keg ran dry at Em’s premiere, but fortunately Bernie said that there was some leftover in a keg from another location.
Found: Golden Hills Brewing Company (Airway Heights, WA)
Brewery: Same
Style: Lager
ABV: 4.5%
Price: Check these Eastern, WA restaurants, or if you are in the Seattle area, check these out.
Pour gave a small amount of white foam with medium and small bubbles. Color is bright and golden, and a little hazy. Bernie explained that this batch of Em’s was unfiltered, but if they go into full production Em’s Easy will be as clear as the other beers brewed at Golden Hills. Bernie also said that once filtered the color should become darker, almost an amber color. Aroma didn’t really give me much. I could smell the beer, but there were no powerhouse hop notes. Again, this is a lager and not an ale. There was plenty of flavor of grains like the barley used at Golden Hills. Mouth feel gave the feeling you could drink this beer all day long at a picnic or at the beach. Extremely refreshing, crisp and clean.
NW Bearded Brewer’s Grade:
I had a wonderful time at Golden Hills, and Bernie was a terrific host. If I see the Golden Hills label on a tap in the future, I’ll make sure I get a pint.
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