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Brewery & Distillery
that he can taste the malt. “If I’m lucky enough, I
can drink the beer followed by the whiskey being
made from this beer,” he states. In particular,
Parker loves beer cocktails such as those made at
the Seattle based Pike Brewing Company’s seafood
restaurant Tankard & Tun which features cocktails
made with Pike Brewing’s beer and Copperworks
spirits. Beer can provide the sparkling effervescence
in cocktails normally obtained via Prosecco or car-
bonated water along with some sweetness and
spice (hops). Parker notes that these cocktails aren’t
often on most cocktail menus as this isn’t a skill set
practiced by most bartenders. “The challenge is to
use a small enough amount of beer to turn it into
an effervescent cocktail without having it become a
boozy beer,” he opines.
Saxon is always inclined to start with pale ales
and IPAs for their whiskies. “Many of our products
have a creamy character thanks to American oak
maturation and this mellows the hoppy bite of the
beer. Equally, the citrus and tropical flavors of these
brews can pull out the subtle fruit notes concealed
within the whiskies we use.” Among their favor-
ite pairings included The Spice Tree with a brown
ale from the Kernel Brewery, based – like us – in
London that was malty, toffee-sweet and richly
nutty all at once. So flavorsome and just delicious-
ly pleasurable. “Definitely a boilermaker for the
autumn,” Saxon mused.
Wanderback (Hood River, OR) chief whiskey maker,
Phil Downer prefer their malt forward whiskey
paired with a brown ale, porter, or stout. “The malt-
ed barley we use for our whiskey are similar to the
malts used to make these beers, so they are an easy
pairing. I should generally pair a lighter beer like a
pilsner or lager with a lighter whiskey, like a Crown
Royal Rye or lighter bourbon.” A purist Downer pre-
fers to sample beer and whiskey separately. “I like
them usually on their own to appreciate all the fun
things going on in each.”
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