Big news for Washington’s beer lovers. pFriem Family Brewers is now shipping direct, making its exclusive beer clubs accessible to a wider audience. In Washington, it’s not uncommon to see pFriem Family Brewers beers on shelves at better beer retailers. Beers like pFriem Pilsner and pFriem IPA, but fewer people are familiar with the Oregon brewery’s really creative and innovative stuff: barrel-aged beers, mixed fermentation beers, fruited sours, and so on. Those beers are stunning and really showcase the brewery’s prowess. And those are the kinds of beers that club members get to enjoy. Folks ..read more

On Saturday, April 27th, Ilk Beer opened its new taproom in downtown Olympia. The plan is to start regular service on Thursday, May 2nd (according to a post on Instagram). The location of Ilk Lodge will seem familiar to many local beer fans. It’s at the corner of Legion and Jefferson in downtown Olympia, the former home of the Fish Tail Brewpub, which shut down some years ago. Just like Fish Brewing, Ilk Beer is creating its product in the building across the street. (Photos from Instagram.) There hasn’t been a lot of noise about this one away from a couple of posts on Instagram, which is wher ..read more

At least 20 local breweries will serve up delicious, refreshing lagers at Lagerhead Beer Fest. Mark your calendar for this event coming up in July. Join No Boat Brewing Company and Washington Wild for the inaugural Lagerhead Beer Fest on Saturday, July 20th. Along with the incredible selection of fine lagers and crisp wines, Lagerhead Beer Fest will feature music, food trucks, raffle prizes, a Washington Wild action booth, and more. A portion of all proceeds from Lagerhead 2024 will be donated to Washington Wild in support of the Brewshed® Alliance’s work to protect watershed health from peak ..read more

District Brewing Company opens its third location on Wednesday, May 1st near the town of Lynden in Washington’s Whatcom County. District Brewing is headquartered in Mount Vernon where it operates a taproom and produces its beer. The company’s second location is in Ferndale. The new taproom will offer 24 draft taps, appetizers, pizza, wings, and salads, as well as cider, seltzers, kombucha, and non-alcoholic beverage options. The new location is at Hinotes Corner–the intersection of Hannegan Road and East Pole Road –just 4 miles south of Lynden and 6 miles west of Everson (6912 Hannegan Rd, Lyn ..read more

Spokane’s No-Li Brewhouse must defend a registered trademark against a very large opponent: Tilray Brands, the owner of Redhook. Earlier this month, Redhook introduced the latest addition to its Big Ballard family of IPAs: Big Juicy Ballard. It took some time, but eventually, something clicked in my mind. No-Li Brewhouse in Spokane, Washington already makes a beer called Big Juicy. No-Li introduced its Big Juicy IPA back in 2016, maybe earlier. I wondered if the brewery had a trademark for the term Big Juicy. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) makes it easy to discover the a ..read more

For the 15th year, Seattle Beer Week will celebrate and promote the fantastic beer culture in and around Seattle. Events of all types are already scheduled at bars, restaurants, brewery taprooms, and anywhere people enjoy beer. (It’s not too late to plan your own event, BTW. See below.) The fun starts on Friday, May 17th, and runs through the 25th. For consumers, keep an eye on the SBW website where you’ll find the complete calendar of events. Events like the Beveridge Place Pub’s Cask-O-Rama featuring ten beers poured directly from casks lined up on the bar top, a Pilsner Party at Full Thrott ..read more

Congratulations are in order. An important member of the local beer industry, Rodney Hines, is now in a key leadership position at PCC Community Markets. With over 114,000 members, PCC Community Markets is the largest consumer-owned food cooperative in the United States. Membership is not required to shop at one PCC’s 15 stores scattered around the Greater Seattle Area, from Burien to Bothell, Edmonds to Issaquah. Because it’s a co-op, a board elected by the Active Membership directs PCC. The board is comprised of up to 13 trustees. PCC members just elected Rodney Hines to serve as one of thos ..read more

This year the World Beer Cup, one of the largest and most respected beer competitions on earth, honored the best beers in 110 categories covering 172 different beer styles (including all subcategories). Winners were announced last night at the Craft Brewers Conference in Las Vegas. The judging is hosted by the Brewers Association—the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American craft brewers. Breweries from around the world submit beer for judging. The list of Washington and Oregon breweries that earned medals this year. Key stats from this ..read more

It is not the nation’s first, as they originally stated, but it is still a cool development on the Seattle beer scene. An esteemed local chef and restaurateur, Renee Erickson, is jumping headfirst into the craft beer biz and is already making waves. The intention is to create one of the nation’s first brewery tank bars. (The initial announcement on social media said “first,” but the language has been softened.) The James Beard Award-winning chef is teaming up with RailSpur to introduce a new business, Lowlander Brewing, in an iconic and historic Seattle location, the former home of FX McRory’s ..read more

Lucky Envelope Brewing celebrates its 9th anniversary on May 4th at the brewery and taproom in Seattle. The brewery will mark the occasion with the release of three beers: a West Coast IPA, a rice lager, and a lychee lemonade sour. Details about the big day and the beers can be found below. Also, an additional beer release and event to tell you about (May 18th). 9th Anniversary Party Saturday, May 4, 2024 All Day (Noon-10:00PM) Food Truck On-Site 4:00-8:00PM: Carver Kitchen Shawarma Lucky Envelope Brewing Anniversary Beer Releases: 9th Anniversary West Coast IPA (6.5% ABV ..read more