Crane’s Castle Brewing came under new ownership last year. After settling into the east bremerton brewery, last month, the new owners debuted the first in what they say will be a sister line up of beers alongside the Crane’s Castle staples.
They’re calling the new line Mordhau. It’s a medieval thing, the brewer said while we drank a pint of the first Mordhau release, Archmage IPA. It’s built as a straight forward, heavily hopped west coast IPA that leans into a citrus fruit finish. The haze will settle out and clear up, he says. The ultra hoppy west coast style, he adds, is something that hadn’t been on the menu but is all but required of a northwest brewery. He’s also looking at maybe digging into the medieval meaning behind the name for forthcoming beers in the new line.
Mordhau is a term in the german school of swordsmanship where one holds the sword by the blade with both hands and bludgeons the opponent with the handle. ‘Archmage’ means powerful magician. Maybe a rauchbier, the brewer thinks out loud. They’ve got 18 taps. Might be a half and half scenario?
Lucky for me, they say they’ve got the old recipes and they’re planning to hang on to the dark lager-y goodness of the Crane’s Castle schwarzbier. // BILL MAN
Crane’s Castle, 1550 NE Riddell Rd #180, Bremerton.
@cranescastlebrewing
