Tag Archives: breweries

Western Red Brewing approved in Poulsbo

13692467_492195667657390_684730540229642233_nA craft brewery planned for downtown Poulsbo received approval Tuesday from the city.

Western Red Brewing will open sometime next year at 19168 Jensen Way NE, near the post office.

It’s set to become the city’s fifth brewery, joining Rainy Daze, Slippery Pig, Sound and Valhöll.

Plans for Western Red include a 4,702-square-foot brewery and 1,552-square-foot tasting room, with room for about 97 occupants, according to a city notice.

In a recent interview, co-owner Marianna Smyth said Western Red will launch with a 15-barrel brewing system, which would place it among West Sound’s largest breweries in terms of production capacity.

I wrote more about the Smyths’ plans in this October story.

Travelocity names Kitsap a top 10 destination for beer tourism

brew2_21667175_ver1-0_640_480Kitsap County ranks among of the best destinations in the country for a “beercation,” according to one major travel website.

Travelocity recently released a beer tourism index to assess what areas of the nation are best suited for beer-centric travel.

The index ranks metro areas based on the number of breweries in the area, the availability of rideshare services, air accessibility and the cost of lodging.

Kitsap County (listed as Bremerton-Silverdale) landed at No. 10 on Travelocity’s list of top beer destinations in the small metro area category:

beerdestinations

It’s not a big surprise Kitsap would make this list, considering more than a dozen craft breweries are in business across the county.

Groups like Visit Kitsap Peninsula are already marketing West Sound as a “hops-lover’s heaven.”

New owner, new name for Bremerton’s Wobbly Hopps Brewery

bremertonbreweries01_27506929_ver1.0_640_480One of Kitsap County’s newest breweries is set for a relaunch.

Wobbly Hopps Brewery, which opened on Fourth Street in Bremerton last fall, will change hands at the end of August and be rebranded as Dog Days Brewing sometime in the next few months.

Wobbly Hopps owners Jon and Sheree Jankowski are selling the business to fellow brewing enthusiast Jeffery Scott of Port Orchard. Scott takes the helm Sept. 1, just in time for Blackberry Festival.

The Jankowskis originally planned to hire a professional brewer to oversee operations at Wobbly Hopps, but that never came to pass. Jon said the couple has too many other interests and obligations, including full-time jobs, to carry on running the brewery.

“I haven’t mowed my lawn in a year,” he said.

Jon believes Scott will preserve the friendly atmosphere and unorthodox brews customers enjoy at Wobbly Hopps.

“I waited until someone came along who I could trust to take it over,” Jon said.

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Jeff Scott brewing at Wobbly Hopps

Scott said he’s been homebrewing for five years and worked an apprenticeship at Sound Brewery in Poulsbo.

He was considering opening another brewery in downtown Bremerton before striking a deal with the Jankowskis.

Scott will take over a five-barrel brewing system and a lively taproom with an outdoor seating area. He’ll continue serving Wobbly Hopps’ beers at first, while gradually adding his own recipes to the mix.

Scott’s first beer, a “Dog With No Name IPA” is already brewing for the Sept. 1 opening.

“I can’t wait to serve some beer to the neighborhood,” Scott said.

Check the Wobbly Hopps and Dog Days Brewing Facebook pages for updates. And keep an eye on this blog for more Bremerton brewery news coming soon.

Poulsbo has a lot of breweries, but it’s not quite ‘Brew City USA’

blog.valhollPoulsbo is about to get a fourth brewery.

As we reported last week, Silverdale’s Rainy Daze Brewing will move north late this summer to take over Sound Brewery‘s original tasting room on Bovela Lane. (Sound is moving its tasting room to the current Campana’s Italian Restaurant building on Viking Avenue.)

B0013216035--291405Rainy Daze will join Sound, Slippery Pig Brewery and Valholl Brewing in Little Norway.

With four breweries in a city of less than 10,000 residents, Poulsbo will certainly have an embarrassment of malty riches. So it’s fun to wonder where Poulsbo rates among craft beer crazy towns.

There are all kinds of ways to rank cities and states based on beer. Which has the most breweries? The most breweries relative to population? What city produces the most barrels or consumes the most beer? And which has the “best” breweries?

When it comes to breweries per capita at least, Poulsbo isn’t ready to claim the title of “Brew City USA,” as it was recently dubbed in the North Kitsap Herald.

There are a number of cities here in Washington with higher ratios of breweries to people. After all, we live in a state with more than 300 licensed breweries and a lot of very small cities.

Using a database of licensed breweries from 2015 provided by the Liquor and Cannabis Board, and the state’s official population estimates, I put together a quick list of Washington cities blessed with high brewery-to-population ratios. I ignored breweries that didn’t report any production in 2015 and stuck with incorporated cities.

Poulsbo
Population: 9,950
Breweries: 4 (once Rainy Daze opens)
Ratio: 1 brewery per 2,488 residents

Westport
Population: 2,110
Breweries: 3
Ratio: 1 brewery per 703 residents

Stevenson
Population: 1,530
Breweries: 2
Ratio: 1 brewery per 765 residents

Roslyn
Population: 890
Breweries: 1
Ratio: 1 brewery per 890 residents

La Conner
Population: 895
Breweries: 1
Ratio: 1 brewery per 895 residents

White Salmon
Population: 2,420
Breweries: 1
Ratio: 1 brewery per 2,420 residents.

Based on a quick scan, it does appear Poulsbo could become the smallest city in the state with four or more breweries. That by itself would be an accolade worth toasting.

Hale’s Ales bringing tasting room to Bremerton

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Hale’s Ales left the Kitsap Mall but it’s not leaving Kitsap.

The Seattle-based brewery hopes to open a tasting room in West Bremerton, across the street from Hi-Lo’s 15th Street Cafe. Hale’s applied for a state liquor license Monday at 1509 Wycoff Ave.

hales.logoMike Hale said the brewery already had plans for a satellite distribution and storage warehouse in Bremerton. While setting up the warehouse, Hale and his partners decided they might as well open a “simple tasting room” on the corner.

The taproom could open as early as September.

“It’s a pretty fun building, a pretty fun spot,” Hale said Tuesday.

Hale’s will join Hi-Lo’s at the corner of Wycoff Avenue and 15th Street. An Irish restaurant called Bualadh Bos could also open soon near the intersection.

Hale said the mix of businesses should make for a busy, “beer-centric” hub.

Hale’s Ales closed its Silverdale alehouse in September, after failing to draw enough customers at the mall. Mike and Kathleen Hale, who’ve lived in Kitsap County since 1986, said they wouldn’t rule out another Hale’s location on the peninsula.

Now Silverdale’s loss will be Bremerton’s gain.

Tommy C’s may reopen as Silverdale brewery

TommyCsBuilding01_12691335_ver1.0_640_480Facing eviction in Port Orchard, the owner of popular sports grill Tommy C’s is close to inking a lease in Silverdale.

Owner Tommy Cash confirmed he hopes to relocate his restaurant to the former Old Town Bistro building on Byron Street. The Bistro shut down last summer.

If all goes to plan, Tommy C’s will reopen as Cash Brewing Company. Cash bought brewing equipment and planned to open a microbrewery in Port Orchard shortly before receiving an eviction notice at Bethel Centre.

Cash has been scrambling to find a location where he can open both a restaurant and brewery. He expects to sign a lease on the Old Town Bistro building early this week and has already applied for a microbrewery license at that address.

Tommy C’s is raising money via a GoFundMe.com campaign to help pay for relocation. Cash said renovating the Bistro building could cost about $75,000.

Cash plans to keep the restaurant open at its current location for as long as possible, but he needs to vacate by the end of February.

About 300 people watched the Super Bowl at the Tommy C’s Sunday.

“Everybody just had a blast,” Cash said.

Sk8Town, which shared the Bethel Centre building with Tommy C’s, plans to close Feb. 8. The roller derby league that used Sk8Town as its home rink is also searching for a new home.

Kitsap On Tap: Valhöll Brewing

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Founded: 2010

Location: 18970 3rd Ave., Poulsbo

Online: Website, @valhollbrew, Facebook

Beer sold in: Taproom, kegs

Signature beers: Brew Bitch IPA, Golden Warrior Ale

What’s brewing: Valhöll grew out of Heads Up Brewing, a Silverdale hub for beer makers. Heads Up closed in 2008 and former employee Jeff Holcomb laid the groundwork for his own brewery in a Poulsbo with partner Jordan Rogers.

They opened the 3rd Avenue taproom in 2012 and brought on Pike brewer Adam Orrick oversee production. The brewery found a successful niche, offering bold beer, an inviting barroom, and popular, Viking-themed apparel (Valhöll is the original word for Valhalla).

While most growing breweries push aggressively into wholesale, Valhöll is more focused on building its taproom business. Holcomb has plans for a larger production facility on the Kitsap Peninsula, and envisions a string of Valhöll taprooms spread across several craft beer-starved states.

Viewpoint:

“My whole goal has been to create a gathering place. People forget how to talk, everyone wants to be on their phone, we want a place where beer lovers can come together and hang out.” — Jeff Holcomb

blog.tinyKitsap On Tap is an exploration of West Sound’s rising craft beer industry. Find the print story, more beer features and ongoing coverage at kitsapsun.com/beer.

 Brewery Profiles: Silver City Brewery | Hood Canal Brewery | Der Blokken Brewery | Slippery Pig Brewery | Valhöll Brewing | Sound Brewery | Bainbridge Island Brewing | Rainy Daze Brewing | Slaughter County Brewing | Unicycle Ale|

Kitsap brewers make splash at WA Beer Awards

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The Washington Beer Awards were announced Monday and Kitsap County was well represented.

blog.rainydazeRainy Daze Brewing (Silverdale), Valholl Brewing (Poulsbo), Silver City Brewery (Bremerton), Der Blokken (Bremerton), Sound Brewery (Poulsbo), and Bainbridge Island Brewing (um… Bainbridge Island?) combined for 16 medals.

Sound Brewery made a clean sweep of the Abbey-Inspired Ales category.

West Sound beer stood out among 460 entries from 75 Washington breweries. Here are the Kitsap winners (full results are embedded at the bottom):

Wheat and Rye Beers:
Silver: Rainy Daze Brewing – Rainy Rye IPA

American Light Ales:
Bronze: Valholl Brewing – Golden Warrior Continue reading →