Tag Archives: brewing

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.

New brewery planned in West Bremerton

badbulldogsThe former Grainger building across from Safeway could soon be home to Bremerton’s fifth brewery.

Silverdale residents Dave and Dawn Dodge (pictured) bought the Callow Avenue building last year and have applied for licenses to begin brewing in a portion of the 11,000-square-foot space. They hope to launch their Bad Bulldog’s Brewery as early as December.

Dave is a retired Arizona police officer who home brews beer and now works at Sound Brewery in Poulsbo.

“It was a blessing,” Dave said of landing his job at Sound, which has familiarized him with brewing on a commercial scale. “They’ve been really inviting to me.”

14034912_1412432445437392_2110010914126635088_nThe Dodges plan to build out their Bremerton brewery in stages. They’ll start by installing a 3.5-barrel brewing system in the lower level of the building and open a simple tasting room with a patio for outdoor seating.

Later the couple will add a full-scale tasting room one of the building’s street-level storefronts. A bar built around an opening in the floor will allow patrons to sip beers while watching brewers at work below.

Eventually the Dodges hope to transform the entire building into a beer-centric hub. The structure encompasses four separate commercial spaces with individual addresses, giving them plenty of room to experiment. They envision hosting a home brewers collective and perhaps a bottle shop.

It’s an ambitious vision, but Dawn is confident they can pull it off.

“When Dave decides to do something, he does it right,” she said.

Marijuana, not beer, was the Dodges’ initial plan for the building. They owned Emerald Coast Collective on Wheaton Way before it shut down at the end of June along with other medical marijuana dispensaries.

The couple applied for a license to place a recreational marijuana shop in the Grainger building, but were never approved. They joined a class action lawsuit against the Liquor and Cannabis Board with the hope of still landing a license.

If they prevail, Bad Bulldog’s Brewery could share the building with a marijuana store.

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.

Kitsap brewers medal at Washington Beer Awards

wba_007_bwPoulsbo’s Sound Brewery and Silverdale’s Rainy Daze Brewing claimed gold at the Washington Beer Awards this month.

Overall, four Kitsap-based breweries — Sound, Rainy Daze, Silver City Brewery and Bainbridge Brewing —  combined for 13 medals. 

Kitsap breweries made an especially strong showing in Belgian- and Abbey-inspired categories, where Sound picked up three golds.

Rainy Daze won the American-style pale ale category with its Stash Box III.

Here’s the full list of Kitsap medalists:

Other Wheat and Rye Beers

Bronze: Rainy Daze Brewing Co. – Rainy Rye IPA

English Ales

Bronze: Rainy Daze Brewing Co. – English Pale Continue reading →

Cidery gives fresh spin to Kitsap craft brew scene

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In a county bursting with microbreweries and distilleries, a cidery was only a matter of time.

Homebrewers Joel Atteberry and Melissa Kittrell have stepped up to fill that fresh niche in the local craft beverage market. They recently founded the Bushel & Barrel Ciderhouse, a small cider making operation just north of Poulsbo.

logo with no backgroundWhile still in its “infancy,” Bushel & Barrel’s hard cider is starting to pop up in stores and drinking establishments around the county.

Kittrell said starting the cidery was a way of becoming more involved in the community. Sales of specialty ciders will benefit local charities.

Their business motto is “Micro cidery… macro cause.”

“I have always wanted to find a way to give back to the community that I love so much,” Kittrell said in an email. “The ciderhouse seemed to be a fun way that also added to the growing craft brewing culture that Poulsbo is embracing.”

Bushel & Barrel is making cider in a traditional style.

IMG_20141218_171639“I am striving to create a cider that is similar to and English style cider in craft, but exhibits an off dry and tart flavor from an abundance of granny smith apples,” Kittrell said.

Farmhouse Apple Cider is the cidery’s flagship variety. Kittrell is also producing limited specialty batches, including a hopped cider, and an oak and ginger cider.

Bushel & Barrel doesn’t have a tasting room yet, but you can find the cider on tap at Hare and Hounds Public House and Slippery Pig Brewery in Poulsbo; the Wig Wam Pub in Gorst; and Slaughter County Brewing and the Central Docks in Port in Port Orchard.

Marina Market in Poulsbo carries 22 oz. bottles.

Check the cidery’s page on Facebook for information and updates.

Courtesy images.

Bremerton native raising money for downtown brewery

lovecraft

Bremerton craft beer drinkers have long craved a brewery in downtown. An Olympic College grad wants to satisfy their thirst.

Jesse Wilson and wife Tasha recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for LoveCraft Brewing Company, a small-batch brewery they plan to locate in the midst of downtown. Their goal is to raise $30,000 by the end of October. As of Wednesday evening, 76 backers had already kicked in close to $9,000.

bruthulhuThe crowdsourced money won’t cover all the costs of launching a brewery, but Jesse said it will give them critical boost.

“It’s enough we can go to a bank with a solid business plan and collateral,” he said.

Jesse, a 2004 Olympic High graduate and 2006 OC graduate, is currently an assistant brewer at Port Townsend Brewing and has previous experience at Hale’s Ales in Seattle. He and Tasha met while working in the craft beer industry.

They like brewing “farmhouse” beers – traditional Belgian and French styles. But Jesse said he also has a lineup of Northwest favorites like IPAs.

When it came to picking a location, the couple saw untapped opportunity in downtown Bremerton. They’re looking for space near Sixth Street and Pacific Avenue.

“We see a lot of potential there,” Jesse said. “It seems like a great place to open a brewery to us.”

LoveCraft would join Kitsap staple Silver City Brewery and Manette’s Der Blokken Brewery in the Bremerton area. An additional eight breweries are scattered across the county, with another set to open in Kingston soon.

If all goes to plan, Jesse believes LoveCraft could be brewing by mid-2015.

“I’m excited to join the ranks of Kitsap brewers,” he said. “I think there’s plenty of room.”

Courtesy images. Inset art by Eric JS Wahlquist.

Check out my Kitsap On Tap coverage from earlier this year and the Sun’s beer page to read more about the county’s brewing scene. You can also find beer news and profiles of every Kitsap brewery here.

Poulsbo brewer finishes Seattle row: ‘Everything kind of hurts’

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When I last saw Dave Lambert Sunday morning he was rowing vigorously off into Puget Sound.

The Poulsbo brewer was about two hours into his mission to deliver a keg of beer to Seattle “the old-fashioned way.”

blog.beerrowI chased Lambert and his rowboat through Agate Passage in my kayak and snapped some photos before pulling out in Suquamish. Lambert, it turned out, had another five hours to go.

He covered the 14 miles across Puget Sound and through the Ballard Locks in about 6 hours and 45 minutes, according to an email he sent Monday.

“Everything kind of hurts,” Lambert reported, “but not nearly as bad as I thought it would.”

The Slippery Pig Brewery owner was inspired to deliver the keg of beer by rowboat after learning about early residents of the county and the long distances they rowed on a regular basis. Lambert’s journey to Seattle reinforced his admiration for those sturdy souls.

“I have gained an entirely new respect for Poulsbo’ s forefathers and the tough women who settled Kitsap,” Lambert wrote. “That was so much water to cross. So much water.”

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 →