Tag Archives: slippery pig brewery

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

blog.valholl Poulsbo 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--291405 Rainy 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.

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

Tad Sooter

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.”

I 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.”

Slippery Pig Brewery is sliding into downtown Poulsbo

Tad Sooter

Slippery Pig Brewery, known for such eccentric offerings as the Dandelion Bitter, is planning a move to downtown Poulsbo.

The brewery applied for a conditional use permit from the city to allow it to relocate to 18801 Front Street. A liquor license application was also submitted for the location.

The building is currently home to the Delhi Palace restaurant. A Delhi Palace manager confirmed the restaurant is looking for a new space.

Slippery Pig has been housed at a farm on Finn Hill since its founding in 2011. Owner Dave Lambert said he expected to have keys to Front Street building on Tuesday. He plans to triple beer production at the downtown location. Along with brewing, Slippery Pig will offer beer tasting and live music, and may sell farm products.

The brewery organized a Founders Club to raise money for the move. See the Slippery Pig page on Facebook or the website for more information.

The city is taking comments on the conditional use permit application through May 15.