Co-Owners Piper Corbett & Robert Horner

Our History

Propolis was established in June of 2012 with the sole intent to produce high-quality handcrafted herbal ales inspired by Old World tradition, local resources and the rhythms of nature. Our ales are brewed with various wild-crafted herbs and are seasonally based. Many of our Ales blend several styles and are hard to classify by traditional beer guidelines. We are primarily inspired by the farmhouse tradition of France and Belgium, as well as Old World Ales that no longer exist. We are artists and scientists at heart and we aspire to challenge the norm.

Pro - Polis

“Before” - “City”

The term “propolis” comes from two Greek words: “pro,” which means “before,” and “polis,” which means “city.” This ancient term came into being centuries ago when some early Greek student of Nature established the fact that honeybees use propolis to narrow the opening into their “cities,” or hives, to keep out unwelcome intruders. Propolis is a sticky resin that seeps from the buds of some trees and oozes from the bark of other trees, chiefly conifers. The bees gather propolis, sometimes called bee glue, and carry it home in their pollen baskets. The term “Propolis” is a metaphor...a reference to a time long past. Propolis encourages us to look to our surroundings for inspiration and health.

Just as the bees look to the local plants for the ingredients that make up their Propolis, we also look to our environment for the seasonal ingredients that make up our herbal ales. Similar to the antiseptic properties of bee-propolis, many of the herbs historically utilized in brewing were incorporated for anti-bacterial and medicinal properties. For thousands of years beer served as food and medicine; it had anti-septic, anti- bacterial and anti-viral properties. Old world ales were referred to as “gruits” and were created from various malted grains and bittering herbs. Proprietary herbal blends were passed down from generation to generation as was the knowledge of how each herb served to promote health throughout the year. We carefully selected local herbs and botanical that bitter and flavor our ales. Our herbal blends are developed to harmonize with the spectrum of malt that shifts from light to dark with the sun and the harvest.

Ingredients

Propolis Ales are brewed using 100% Certfied Organic Pacific Northwest Malted Barley and Wheat, as well as Organically sourced un-malted wheat, spelt, oats and rye. We utilize locally grown organic herbs, wild-craft herbs fruits and flowers from the forest and the fields that surround Port Townsend. The sustainable approach to our ales extends beyond the walls of our brewery as we partner with local farms and wild-crafters from the collection of fruits and flowers to the composting and reclaiming of spent grain. Many of our ales are brewed in batches under 50 cases with each vintage unique to the “Flavors of the Season”.

Mixed Culture

Propolis Ales are fermented with a blend of yeasts and microbes. Our Ales are blends of French & Belgian Yeast cultures, as well as local indigenous yeast and micorobe cultures. We isolate and cultivate many wild Brettanomyces strains specfic to the Olympic Peninsula. These cultures take residence in our barrels residing for many years while they slowly consume the very regimented and controlled diet we have provided for our microbial partners during this aging process.

We utilize locally sourced varieties of ancient land- race grains that serve as food caches during the barrel aging phases of our ales. Our barrels our sources from local wineries, and are selected specifically for existing cultures, past varietals and quality.

Bottles

Historically Belgian-Style ales are bottle-conditioned for superior aging and stability. We Cork and cap our bottles for the most reliable and stable closure. As our ales are capable our aging in the cellar for multiple years we utilize thick-walled Champagne- style bottles for durability and quality of glass. As cellars can sometimes be dark and dank, we cap over our corks to protect the cork and prevent the cork from escaping the bottle.

We package our farmhouse-sytle ales in both 750ml and 375 ml format. Large format bottles are ideal for cellar aging and sharing with friends or enjoying with food. Small format bottles are more approachable for single servings, and also allow consumers to purchase multiple samples of the same ales for aging. This allows consumers the option to appreciate the manner in which the ales increases in complexity and balance as they are aged.