I have been hearing about quite a bit of new brewery activity and brewery expansions happening in Tacoma, Washington and figured I ought to check it out. I drove to Sluggo Brewing near the Tacoma Dome and found no parking. Then continued toward Wingman Brewing a couple blocks away and found no parking outside of … Continue reading Black Fleet Brewing

Occasionally, I miss a place in my backyard, whether due to hours, distribution, product skew, or location. Sidetrack fits 2/4 of those criterium, but I fixed that this last weekend. I was planning on checking out 4 Horseman Brewery, but it was either closed or gone, but I remembered that Sidetrack was near there and … Continue reading Sidetrack Distillery

I have heard from quite a few distillers about choosing a proper location for a distillery. I was expecting community support, access to distributors, desirable rents, or proximity to their homes. The most common answer was none of those, it was the quality of the water. Recently, I have heard from 3 distilleries that they … Continue reading Sea Bishop Spirits

I heard that a small brewery was taking over for a recently closed brewery in Redmond, WA.  I heard next that they were keeping their existing taproom in the Issaquah area, a good sign. Only a few breweries have opened new locations in the last couple years in Seattle and all have been somewhere between … Continue reading Big Block Brewing

After Acorn Brewing and some dinner I could again try and seek out Nightside Distilling. I could not seem to find them anywhere at bars or restaurants, but did see them at total wine and saw they attended a festival I meant to go to a few weekends ago. I made it my express mission … Continue reading Nightside Distilling

Lately, I seem to be wandering into a fair amount of new breweries on accident, while I wait for other events. In this case, I was headed to Nightside Distilling to check out the so called smallest distillery in the country. I expected it to take about an hour and would arrive about 30 minutes … Continue reading Acorn Brewing

The brewery that I was looking for when I accidentally found Dubtown Brewing was Four Generals Brewing. The brewery was only a couple blocks from Dubtown, but was clearly in a more local business community and should have the environment and prices to match. The taproom was small, but open to the street due to … Continue reading Four Generals Brewing

Traditionally I wait to give new breweries 6 months to figure out their recipes, taps, lines, service, etc before stopping in. Beer may only be made of 4 primary ingredients, but making the transition from home brewing or nano brewing to consistent commercial product takes time and skill. Occasionally, I stop in before that 6 … Continue reading Dubtown Brewing

I have written a couple of times about my partnership with Kombucha Town in Bellingham, Washington. I like their flavors, love their community feel, and appreciate their understanding of sustainability for choosing aluminum cans over glass. After discussing with Kombucha Town owner/operator Chris McCoy about the lack of credit opportunities for Kombucha compared to Beer, … Continue reading Is organic growth an option for Kombucha?