Anniversary Post: Remember When Breakaway Had Not Yet Broken?

Last month, on October 10th to be exact, the Washington Beer Blog very quietly celebrated it’s fifth anniversary. That’s right, we are now five years old. That’s 35 in blog years. We are celebrating this milestone by sharing some old blog posts that we think have historic significance, or that we just think are fun blasts from the past. I considered sharing our very first blog post, but it’s not very interesting (click here). Instead, I’m scouring the archives and finding stories that are noteworthy. Like the one I share below.

Allow me to remind you… Back in July of 2009, Skip Madsen was a brewer without a brewery. Skip had left Water Street Brewing, which would soon thereafter close entirely, and American Brewing Company was still just a dream, but Skip simply had to make beer. So, Skip teamed up with his friend Jeff Smiley at Baron Brewing (now closed) where he brewed the first batch of Breakaway IPA. Not too long after that, Skip became the brewmaster at American Brewing Company, where you’ll still find him today. Breakaway IPA has since become American Brewing’s flagship beer.

Remember this one?

Breakaway IPA – a Big Hit

Jul 31st, 2009


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Oh Mamma! Skip knocked this one out of the park!

Last night we attended the release party for Skip Madsen’s Breakaway IPA. The event was held at Pillagers Pub in Greenwood. Many of Skip’s fellow brewers were in attendance. People like Drew Cluley (Pike), Bill Jenkins (Big Time), Janelle Pritchard (Snoqualmie Falls), and of course Jeff Smiley (Baron/3 Skulls) who just so happens to be the publican at Pillagers.

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It should come as no surprise that Skip made an amazing IPA. Afterall, he is/was the genius who concocted Boundary Bay IPA (the “people’s IPA”) back when he brewed in Bellingham. Not to mention Queen Nina IPA while he was brewing for Water Street. The fella knows what to do with a bag of hops, that’s a proven fact.

They were serving two different versions of Breakaway IPA: a dry-hopped cask and a regular draft. The two beers were surprisingly different, but both were absolutely delicious. The cask went quickly.

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There are 40-something kegs of Breakaway IPA in existence. We understand that 15 of them have been spoken for. Likely, they’ll find their way to the Seattle-area’s better beer bars.

Talk to your publican. Tell ‘em to get hold of Skip and get a keg of Breakaway IPA. If they don’t know how to get hold of Skip, they can contact Jeff Smiley at Baron/3 Skulls or they can contact us here at the beer blog and we’ll get them hooked up.

This is good stuff and is very much worth your effort, especially if you’re an IPA lover (and I know how many of you are).

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