Tag Archives: rainy daze brewing

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.

Kitsap brewers medal at Washington Beer Awards

Tad Sooter

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 →

Kitsap brewer takes action to defend brand

Tad Sooter

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.

Kitsap on Tap: Rainy Daze Brewing

Tad Sooter

Founded: 2012

Location: 14974 Olympic View Loop Road, Silverdale

Online: Facebook, @RainyDaze Beer

Beer sold in: Kegs

Signature beers: Rainy Rye IPA, Belgian Bastard (NW IPA with Belgian yeast)

What’s brewing: Partners Mike Montoney and Mike Painter started Rainy Daze in 2012, but zoning issues forced them to close their taproom after two months. That didn’t keep their hoppy beer from creating a buzz in brewing circles.

The Rainy Daze partners are searching for a new location while picking up as many wholesale accounts as they can handle. Montoney recently closed his auto repair business to focus on brewing full-time.

Viewpoint:

“I’m a hophead anyway. I figured I could bring that style out here, make it not too unapproachable, but give them a lot of flavor.” — Mike Montoney

Create Infographics

Kitsap 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.