Take a Walk on The Wildside: Goldendale tasting room reopens after 3-year hiatus

Not all wild beers are sour, but all sour beers are wild.

By Rodger Nichols

Justin Leigh and an enticement. Notice that thumb is on the counter. I remember that game far too well, or kind of. - Tom Peterson

There’s good news coming from Goldendale. Hop - Fully good news.

Dwinell Country Ales is reopening its tasting room and expanding into new products.  Justin and Jocelyn Leigh originally opened their business in August 2017 but closed during the pandemic. 

“Since that time, we've actually shifted our business towards a distribution-based model,” Leigh said. “And we've also added different products, such as wild-fermented cider. And with the opening of our tasting room, we're going to be launching a winery brand as well. As we reboot, we're trying to reconceptualize it as a tasting room in general. That is, featuring beer, cider and wine.”

Dwinell has based its success on a unique niche in the beer market -  farmhouse, wild, and sour beers. 

Writing for the VinePair podcast, Nick Hines describes farmhouse ales this way: “ In general, a beer that falls under the farmhouse ale designation will have a bit of a funky flavor, kind of like wet hay or earth. It will also be tart, like an unripened strawberry, and leave your mouth crisp and dry. “

Such ales are traditional summer beers in France and Belgium. They were served to the seasonal farm workers (“saisonniers” in French) and are also referred to as “saisons.” They were made with natural yeast and leftover crops.

Wild beers are defined as beers that are brewed with something in addition to — or in place of — traditional brewer’s yeast.  The most common one is called brettanomyces, usually shortened to “brett” among brewers. 

And sour beers are just as the name suggests. Not all wild beers are sour, but all sour beers are wild.

“Some people would write off our beers as being sour,” Leigh said, “because there is a degree of acidity in them, but we've really designed the beers to be very drinkable and approachable. And they're also pretty low-alcohol compared to most of the beers you see on the market.”

He said the couple moved from the Chicago area specifically to Goldendale, due to the large number of crops and grains grown in the region. “We source everything locally,” he said.

Part of the farmhouse brewer’s skill set is patience, as the style is much slower to ferment than beers made with traditional brewer’s yeast.

Sometimes a little laughter and steam on the glasses brings a little magic to the brew.

Another part is blending.

Most of Dwinell’s beers are blends of several batches to get the right balance.

“We'll age beers, usually in a barrel, sometimes with fruit,” he said. “Then we'll blend that back with a younger beer and that's how we’re able to tame the acid profile and balance it out,”

In the six years since Dwinell opened its doors, Leigh says they’ve gained a lot of experience. Noting that much of their stone fruit comes from Gunkel Orchards next to Maryhill State Park, he said in the past they would just grab whatever peaches were ripe at the time.

Since then, they’ve discovered that certain of the more than a dozen varieties available are better for brewing. Leigh says the Sweet Sue variety is particularly well-suited.

Leigh also reports a recent court victory in Oregon for Washington brewers. Oregon did not allow Washington brewers to ship directly to Oregon residents. Instead, they would have to contract with a distributor, reducing the breweries’ profits and raising prices to consumers.

After a judge blocked an attempt by Oregon to dismiss the case, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission — recently shaken by revelations that rare and expensive whiskies were being diverted from the retail market to insiders — negotiated a settlement that will allow Washington brewers to sell directly to Oregon buyers.

In a world where most of the news is bad, it’s refreshing to report on increased refreshments - Rodger Nichols