Washington beer community loses a true icon, Dick Young

[Tim Nichols]

Over the weekend, Dick Young, one of the true icons of Washington brewing passed away from an aneurysm at his lodge in Lewis County, Washington. While the eponymously named Dick's Brewing Company may not be even close to one of the biggest breweries in the state, you cannot consider yourself a lover of great beer if you have never had a Dick's. Their flagship Dick Danger (Dick's favorite) is the perfect beer after day of skiing/snowboarding. A cross between a pale ale and a porter, it is not too heavy, not too hoppy, but dark, complex and satisfying. At present the brewery is producing about 2500 barrels a year, yet still manages to bottle just about everything they make. Dick's variety 12 packs (all twelve beers are different) are the perfect thing to bring to any party. There is a beer in there to please every discerning beer drinker from Belgian styles, to stout, the obligatory big hoppy Northwest IPA, a Hefeweizen, a sublime ESB, and probably one of the most underrated beers, the Rye. While not shying away from high gravity beers when called for, most of their beers hover around the 4-6% ABV range. These are beers that go great with food, and do not weigh you down. Double IPAs certainly have their place, but sometimes a beer with body that you can have a few of hits the spot.
Dick Young founded the Northwest Sausage and Deli, in Centralia, Washington in 1982. An avid hunter, Dick made his own house smoked sausages and jerky from game meats from traditional recipes. An avid hunter himself, Dick also made custom sausages for hunters bringing in their own game (cleaned and deboned of course!). The business expanded to selling brewing supplies in 1984 while Dick was home brewing in the back. Eventually in the early nineties Dick's Brewing Company became official. Bolstered by the success of the Dick's Danger (which still accounts for 40% of their brewing capacity), Dick and his crew continued the quest to make a beer for every palate. For a brewery of Dick's size to make sixteen plus varieties of beer, and bottle them is truly remarkable.
There are too many stories about Dick's lust for life to be included in this article, but although he was taken too early, he lived every day to the fullest. Ask anyone in the Washington beer community for a story about Dick Young. I guarantee it will be entertaining and more personal than anything I could write here. Raise your glass and venison jerky to one of the great characters and brewers in Washington, Dick Young. You will be sorely missed.