Back in the dark ages, before the proliferation of craft beer, discerning beer drinkers reached for Rainier Beer. Our favorite way to drink it was from pounders: big, beautiful, 16-ounce bottles of icy-cold mountain freshness. There was something that just seemed so right about those big, heavy bottles. But that was a long time ago and Rainier pounders are nothing but a fading memory in a ripened mind.
Today I received word that Double Mountain Brewing of Hood River, Oregon has begun distributing pounders in Western Washington. Actually, Double Mountain’s pounders are 16.9-ounce, half-liter bottles imported from Germany, but that’s close enough for me. The bottles are constructed of heavy, thick glass and can actually be refilled. Double Mountain has a plan in place to help you return the bottles (no deposit) to the brewery to be reused. Here’s the word from the brewery.
Double Mountain Bottles Rolling to Western WA
− Reusable Half-Liter Bottles Hit Shelves Today −
− Tasting Parties this Week at Bottleworks, Chuck’s 85th –
The wait is over! Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom, Hood River, Oregon, is pleased to announce the arrival of their bottled beer to retail outlets throughout Western Washington. The brewery’s core brands – Kölsch, Vaporizer Dry-Hopped Pale Ale, India Red Ale (IRA) and Hop Lava Northwest IPA – will be on shelves and available for purchase at outlets starting May 1, with seasonals and other specialties to follow. Distribution will be handled by Alpha Distributing of Kent, WA, Double Mountain’s wholesaler of record since 2011.
A partial list of initial retailers includes:
99 Bottles (blog sponsor)
Beer @ a Time
Beer Junction (blog sponsor)
Bottleworks
By The Bottle
Chuck’s 85th St. Market
Downtown Spirits
…with more to come online soon.
The beers come in unique half-liter (16.9 oz) bottles made in Germany with thick-walled glass, allowing them to be cleaned and reused dozens of times. Double Mountain will be soliciting finer retailers to serve as drop-off stations for the empties, which will be returned to the brewery for reuse. There will be no deposit charged or returned. Visit www.DMReturns.com to learn more about this green program and to find participating retailers as they are secured.
To celebrate the new bottles, the brewery will be meeting fans tonight, May 1 at Bottleworks and tomorrow night, May 2, at Chuck’s 85th St. Market, both of whom will be pouring some special DM draft beers as well. Come on down and check them out!
For any more information, please contact Charlie Devereux at the brewery charlie@doublemountainbrewery.com; or Jeff Bert at Alpha Distributing.
Gravity Beer Market
Ken’s Market Queen Anne
Last Drop Bottleshop
Met Market Sandpoint
Met Market Uptown
NW Liquid Gold
Pear Deli
Pint Defiance
Tacoma Boys
Tacoma Co-op
Whole Foods Westlake
World Beers