Camp Colvos Brewing - Meat Pie Magic (and they have beer, too)!
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Whenever I hear people talk about Camp Colvos Brewing all I hear about is the beer. Makes sense, I suppose -- it is a brewery, after all. But when I think of Camp Colvos on beautiful Vashon Island, I think mostly about meat pies. That’s because, for me, there are few things better on a cold day outdoors than a savory pastry fresh from the oven. Oh yeah, and those meat pies wash down well with beer, so…
Just a twenty minute ferry ride from West Seattle, Vashon Island feels far away. The two main roads leading from one end of the small island to the other pass forests, farmland, orchards and, of course, water. At the farthest end is Maury Island, with its driftwood beach and Point Robinson Lighthouse under the shadow of Mt. Rainier. Enjoying a day on Vashon requires little pain for maximum gain. And when you are ready to head home Camp Colvos Brewing is right on the way to the ferry.
I’ve heard people say that Camp Colvos feels like a proper pub, with cozy tables in a relaxed, indoor environment. But given the pandemic, I’ve only sat outdoors beneath their large tents at wine barrel tables. Sometimes it’s been raining; once it was hailing like mad, but mostly it was just cold. Which brings me back to those warm meat pies that always hit the spot on a chilly afternoon.
The menu is limited to a handful of items that is basically bar food to go along with CCB’s more than a dozen ever-changing selections of ales, lagers, IPA’s and stouts made right there. Their brewing quality is outstanding and the beers I’ve had prove it. Like the cherry and dark chocolate smokiness of the Uptown Porter that brought a warm glow to our bodies as we got situated and waited for our food.
Although the meat pies at Camp Colvos look like Latin American empanadas due to their half-moon shape, they are more of the larger, English pie persuasion. Handmade on site, the pastry is light and thin without being fall-apart flaky. The pinching of the crust edges reflects the telltale minor imperfections of beautiful food made by hand. The filling is plump from crust to crust like any self-respecting hand pie should be. Take the popular Braised Beef Pie: beef slow cooked in CCB’s coppery Munich Dunkel lager is mixed with potatoes, onions, peas and carrots and folded together in a rich gravy. It is savory and satisfying and washes down beautifully with the bright hop and malt finish of a Helles Lager. Isabelle’s Chicken & Mushroom Pie delivered a lighter taste with the delicate poultry essence elevated by onions, mushrooms and carrots. The caramel toastiness of a Vienna Lager was a perfect compliment.
The addition of baskets of golden tater tots with sriracha sauce and pretzel bites with smoked sausage and stone ground mustard added that got-to-have-it crunch and meatiness to our snack, which quickly became a meal.
So I suppose when one talks about Camp Colvos it is hard to ignore the beer. Like their Mon Frère, with its citrus and sorrel vibe and white pepper ending. Or their boozy Belgian Strong Ale, with it’s blond-gold color and kick-in-the-teeth tartness and dry minerality from aging in chardonnay barrels. Each were great with the tots and sausage. Indeed, ignoring such excellent brew would, one might argue, miss the whole point of the place. But excellent brew is not the only draw to the bright orange gas-station-turned-beer-garden, because at Camp Colvos Brewing the meat pies seem to have a symbiotic relationship with the beer, such that each enhances the other to maximize their flavors on the little island of Vashon.
Camp Colvos Brewing
17636 Vashon Hwy SW, Vashon, WA
