Of course, Kitsap breweries represent just a tiny portion of Washington’s ballooning craft beer industry.
Here’s an interactive map showing licensed breweries and production across the state:
Graphic: Beer production soars in Kitsap
Category Archives: Brewing & Distilling
How a Bremerton Safeway got its liquor license suspended
Customers who stopped to grab a six-pack last weekend at the Callow Avenue Safeway left empty handed.
Shoppers found the
alcohol aisle shrouded in black plastic. An orange sign
warned the store’s liquor license had been suspended from Aug. 13
through Aug. 18.
How did one of Bremerton’s busiest grocery stores get its liquor license temporarily pulled?
Through a series of missteps, according to a spokesman for the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Board.
It began in June, when the Safeway was cited for selling alcohol to a minor during a routine compliance check.
Because it was the store’s first citation in the past two years, management was given the choice of a $500 fine or five-day suspension (repeat offenders are automatically suspended).
Naturally, the store chose to pay the fine.
The problem, according to the Liquor and Cannabis spokesman, was Safeway failed to deliver a check to the board within the 20 days allotted for payment. Missing the deadline triggered a five-day suspension and the orange signs went up.
How unusual is it for a store to get its liquor license suspended? Pretty unusual, it turns out.
In the past 12 months the Callow Safeway was the only store in Kitsap County to have a suspension handed down.
Valhöll Brewing celebrates 5 years
Poulsbo’s Valhöll Brewing has come a
long way in five years.
Founder and head brewer Jeff Holcomb started the microbrewery in 2010. Since then, Valhöll has expanded, garnered awards, built a loyal following at its tap room and become a staple at local bars.
The Norse-themed brewery is throwing is throwing itself a birthday bash starting at noon Saturday.
The party will include BBQ and a special beer release. Musical guests Mike Hererra and Branden Daniel & The Chics will perform at 2 p.m.
Valhöll isn’t the only Kitsap brewery marking five years in 2015. Poulbo’s Slippery Pig Brewery and Bremerton’s Der Blokken were also born in 2010.
See the brewery’s Facebook page for details.
Kitsap brewers medal at Washington Beer Awards
Poulsbo’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
Hale’s Ales bringing tasting room to Bremerton
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.
Mike 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.
Kitsap brewer takes action to defend brand
With hundreds of Washington
microbreweries producing countless varieties of beer, some
trademark conflicts are inevitable.
Kendall Jones of the informative Washington Beer Blog posted this week about one such brand kerfuffle involving a popular Kitsap brewery.
According to Jones, Three Magnets Brewing Co. of Olympia renamed its Rainy Day IPA after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Rainy Daze Brewing Co. of Silverdale.
Rainy Daze owner Mike Montoney told Jones he didn’t want to take legal action against another brewery, but felt it necessary to protect the brand he’s worked to build.
For its part, Three Magnets said the IPA in question was named in honor of Rainy Day Record Co., an iconic store in Olympia. The beer has been renamed 3Mag Rain IPA.
Read the full story on the Washington Beer Blog.
In happier beer news, Rainy Daze just won the Favorite Brew Award at the Gig Harbor Beer Festival for the second year in a row.
Manchester could be getting a microbrewery
Two entrepreneurs hope
to open a microbrewery and restaurant in Manchester by the
summer of 2016.
Cody Morgan and Ludomir Wanot are co-founders of the aptly-named Manchester Brewing Co. Morgan, an avid homebrewer, is developing the beer lineup.
The partners have begun
applying for the necessary licenses. They’ve also picked a
location, a vacant two-story building on Colchester Avenue.
Wanot said codes in Manchester require them to open a restaurant before they begin selling beer. They plan to install the brewery on the ground floor of the building and open the restaurant upstairs.
The duo have an investor lined up for the project and plan to launch a Kickstarter campaign soon.
Wanot said Manchester is a growing hub that seems primed for more business development.
“I think it will be a really nice crowd,” he said. “It’s a great area.”
See the Manchester Brewing Co. page on Facebook for updates.
Kitsap’s brewery scene is buzzing this year. Silver City, Slaughter County and Sound are all in the midst of major expansions. Two breweries are under construction in Bremerton, and another is planned in Silverdale.
Contributed photos.
Cidery gives fresh spin to Kitsap craft brew scene
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.
While 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.
“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.
Silver City announces major expansion
Silver City Brewery,
already the county’s largest beer maker, is tripling the size
of its brewing system, according to a Wednesday news
release.
The Bremerton brewery plans to add a new 35-barrel brew house in May to replace the 10-barrel system it’s used since 1996. AAA Metal Fabrication of The Dalles, Oregon, is manufacturing the hardware.
“They do quality work and we can’t wait to employ the new system and continue making great beer for our fans,” Silver City owner Scott Houmes said in the release.
Silver City already installed larger fermentation tanks and bright beer tanks (tanks where beer matures after fermentation) to keep pace with increased output.
The brewery produced about 8,600 barrels (267,000 gallons) last year. The new system could allow Silver City to eventually brew 20,000 barrels annually, said Kurt Larson, director of sales and marketing.
While Silver City has grown, Larson said the brewery is still focused on serving the same Western Washington market.
“The number one goal isn’t to sell more beer,” he said. “The number one goal is to sell beer fresh.”
Silver City is
rolling out new branding and packaging this
year. Larson said the new logos are intended to give the
brewery’s offering a “clean and crisp look” that’s easier
for customers to find on busy supermarket shelves.
Four Silver City beers — Ridgetop Red Ale, Cold One Pilsner, Ziggy Zoggy Summer Lager and a Sieben Braü, set for release next month — will be offered in 12-ounce cans.
The Sieben Braü is being brewed specially for Seattle Beer Week. Silver City is the first brewery outside Seattle to be invited to brew the official beer for the event, which runs May 7-17.
Graphic: Another big year for Kitsap beer
This is a graphic that ran with my Monday story about planned Bremerton breweries. It highlights the continued growth of Kitsap’s craft beer industry:
