Happy Hour

Heathen Brewing Vancouver, Washington

Up and down the West Coast, craft breweries are brewing beers with their own special twist on IPAs, stouts, and sours. Each brewery has its specialties and the most successful establishments are constantly pushing the envelope to create new flavors for their customers.

Heathen Brewing, located in Vancouver, Washington, has taken things a step further by allowing customers to brew a large batch of their favorite beer. Each year, the brewery holds a competition for their loyalty club members with the winner receiving the opportunity to brew the beer of their choice.

The 2018 contest ended in a tie, leaving the co-champions to collaborate on a beer and spend a day at the brewery to get hands-on with the process.

The final product - Heathen Sudden Death Imperial IPA - is a wonderfully smooth beer that combines the unique properties of three hop varieties and a local barley sourced from Redmond, Oregon. The alcohol by volume is high at 7.1 percent, but it’s not as bitter as many of the beers in its weight class.

For the Sudden Death recipe we took sort of a hybrid approach between a New England IPA and the classic Northwest IPA we see in our region,” said Head Brewer Nate Froehlich. “It was made with locally sourced barley (Pilsner) and wheat (50% raw and 50% malted white wheat) from Mecca Grade Estate Malt in Madras, Oregon and hops (Mosaic, Citra, Centennial) from the Yakima Valley region.”

The result is a juicy, hoppy brew that has been popular at the brewery’s restaurant.

Vancouver’s biggest craft brewery

Heathen Brewing started, literally, in Sunny Parsons’ backyard. All of the beers are brewed ten barrels at a time in a state-of-the-art facility that’s open to the public. Heathen’s Feral Public House, located in downtown Vancouver, has become one of the most popular spots in town for a bite to eat and a cold beer.

Since its inception, Heathen has branched out from the core beers that made it so popular. Now, customers can try a variety of sour beers, experimental brews, collaborations with other Pacific Northwest breweries, wines made by Heathen Estates, and a select number of special cocktails. Heathen recently converted its Feral Public House to a casual dining establishment, making it easier for customers to quickly get a beer or find a seat and order food. We highly recommend a trip there for brunch!