Icicle Brewing Company
- by Kendall Jones, Washington Beer Blog -
Of all the towns in Washington, the Bavarian theme park known as Leavenworth seems perhaps the most appropriate place for a brewery. It has been 11 years since Leavenworth Brewery merged with Fish Brewing Company and consolidated operations in Olympia, leaving the town without a brewery. Thankfully, Oliver and Pam Brulotte recognized that Leavenworth without a brewery is like Disneyland without Mickey Mouse. In the spring of 2011 they opened Icicle Brewing in downtown Leavenworth.
About the same time that the Leavenworth Brewery was moving out of town, Oliver and Pam Brulotte arrived in Leavenworth and built the München Haus-a marvelous beer garden with great bratwurst. Operating München Haus opened the Brulotte’s eyes to Leavenworth’s glaring lack of a brewery. That’s when they first started to dream of building a brewery. It took ten years for the Brulotte’s dream to come to fruition.
The Icicle Brewing Company stands across the street from the Leavenworth Festhalle in a building specifically designed and constructed for its purpose. Inside and out, the building is beautiful and fits seamlessly into the Bavarian-themed surroundings. The brewery offers a lovely tasting room (and tasting patio) but does not offer food beyond some small bites. For bigger food, consider a trip down the street to München Haus, which offers a great selection of beers from Icicle Brewing.
Out front a large patio features heavy wooden tables and benches. While the space inside might seem a bit cramped when the doors are shut, the intention is to have the entire front of the taproom open to the patio. They designed the space to be cozy during the cold winter months and wide open for the rest of the year. Inside, the taproom overlooks the entire brewery. It is a big and beautiful brewery, designed to brew enough beer to satisfy Leavenworth’s enormous appetite for beer, which peaks each year when the town celebrates Oktoberfest.
Oliver Brulotte is not exactly new to the world of beer. His family is part of Washington’s hop farming history with roots going back four generations. Beautiful old photos from the Brulotte family collection adorn the walls of the taproon at Icicle Brewing: timeless photos of barns, hop kilns, women harvesting hops the old-fashioned way, and even one of Oliver’s grandfather.
Icicle Brewing produces traditional German-style beers such as the Kaos Kolsch and the Freund Festbier; however, do not miss the Northwest-style offerings like Bootjack IPA and Priebe Porter. Icicle Brewing’s beers rarely make it west of the mountains. You’ll have better luck finding it locally. The best place to drink it is definitely at the brewery or at the München Haus.
Contact
Icicle Brewing Company
935 Front Street
Leavenworth, WA 98826
(509) 548-2739
Web
Hours
Monday-Thursday: Noon until Close
Friday-Sunday: Noon until 11:00 p.m.
All ages welcome until 10:00 p.m.
Filed under: Brewery Profiles