What is GRAINMAKER? 

Brewers already know it, and they participate in this event to celebrate it. But if you’ve ever wondered about the importance of the relationship between a field of golden grain and the beer in your pint glass, here’s your chance to find out firsthand. Brick West Brewing Company is hosting the 5th GRAINMAKER Festival from 4-8 pm on Friday, August 7, and it promises to be one of the more genuinely cool beer events of the year. Enjoy 26 collaboration beers brewed by breweries from across the Western U.S. Visit grainmakerbeerfest.com for all the details.

Exclusive beers from near and far

Here’s the deal: 26 beers, each one brewed specifically for this event as a collaboration between breweries that traveled to Spokane just to be part of the harvest. We share the list of participating breweries below, and it includes some highly esteemed beer makers. We’re talking brewers coming in from across the Western United States: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Colorado, and Arizona — all of them converging on the Inland Northwest to experience the grain harvest up close. Best of all, the experience translates straight into the beer.

It’s not a small ask for a brewery. They’re willing to go the extra mile because this is so cool. How about you? Flying or driving in from six different states to brew a one-off collaboration beer means these folks actually care about what’s happening here. If beer were a rock band, hops would be the lead singer. Grain would be the drummer. One gets all the attention, but the other is the foundation upon which the music is built. And so it is that every brewer worth their salt understands the importance of grain. You, dear beer consumer, should learn to recognize it too. 

Grown specifically for craft beer

You very likely don’t know it, but the Inland Northwest has quietly become a premier source of grain specifically grown for craft brewing. The brewers invited to participate in GRAINMAKER were chosen for their excellence in the glass and for their role in helping grow that reputation. The festival is co-sponsored by Cold Stream Malt & Grain of Latah, WA, and LINC Malt of Spokane Valley — the two outfits doing a lot of that grain-growing heavy lifting in the first place.

Event info

Tickets are $40, available online at grainmakerbeerfest.com or at the gate on the day of the event. The ticket gets you unlimited taster pours plus a commemorative glass to add to your collection. The location is Brick West Brewing (1318 W 1st Ave, Spokane, WA 99201) Fair warning: with 26 one-off beers pouring, this is very much a first-come, first-served situation — once a keg’s gone, it’s gone, so I wouldn’t show up at 7:45 expecting the full lineup still available.

Remember, score a 20% discount on your tickets by using the promo code WABEERBLOG26.

Proceeds benefit the barley fund of the WA Association of Wheat Growers, so you’re not just drinking well — you’re actively supporting the people growing the grain that makes all of this possible in the first place.

Twenty-six unique collaboration beers, brewers who flew in just for this, and a good cause behind every pour. Mark the calendar. This one’s worth the trip.

What the brewers say

Seattle brewer Colin Lenfesty, owner of Holy Mountain Brewing Company, had this to say about GRAINMAKER: “Events like GRAINMAKER remind people that truly local beer begins long before it reaches the brewhouse. LINC and Cold Stream have helped strengthen the connection between brewers and the agricultural community while giving us access to distinctive, regionally grown malt that creates a real sense of place in the finished beer. GRAINMAKER is a chance to celebrate those relationships, while drinking some fantastic beer.”

“GRAINMAKER is a one of a kind beer event that does not exist anywhere else in the world. The event spotlights local grains being grown and malted in the PNW through collaboration beers brewed by some of the best breweries in the country,” said Matt Hanson, brewer and co-owner of Whistle Punk Brewing of Spokane. “If you care about craft beer and supporting local farmers, maltsters and breweries, this event should not be missed.”

“GRAINMAKER really is a celebration of what makes this region special,” said Leslie Shore, of Cold Stream Malt & Grain. “By pairing up some of the best breweries in the Western U.S. to make a beer for the festival, we are able to share that bounty of our Inland Northwest grown malt.” Shore continued, “Every pint poured here showcases breweries that push their craft and the farms that make it possible, benefitting the Barley Fund’s outreach and educational services. We are proud to present this festival with folks coming out to celebrate alongside farmers, maltsters and brewers.”

LINC and Cold Stream partner to supply craft malted grains to brewers across the western US and beyond. GRAINMAKER highlights many of the places their malted grains are being used in beer. 

GRAINMAKER Festival is supported in part by a City of Spokane Tourism and Cultural Investment (TACI) Grant, as well as by a number of in-kind community sponsors. A variety of agricultural industry and community organizations also contribute to the WAWG Barley Fund in support of the event. 

Participating breweries

• Holy Mountain (WA)
• Sockeye (ID)
• Single Hill (WA)
• Urban Family (WA)
• Trap Door (WA)
• Fast Fashion (WA)
• Formula (WA)
• Stoup (WA)
• Uprise (WA)
• Obelisk (OR)
• Ravenna (WA)
• Georgetown (WA)
• Pizza Port (CA)
• Mother Earth (ID)
• Terramar (WA)
• Lumberbeard (WA)
• Varietal (WA)
• Cloudburst (WA)
• Fair Isle (WA)
• Woodland Empire (ID)
• Human People (WA)
• Irrelevant (WA)
• Project 9 (WA)
• Lost Grove (ID)
• No Boat (WA)
• Ladd & Lass (WA)
• Bizarre (WA)
• Watts (WA)
• Whistle Punk (WA)
• Solaris (CA)
• Bottle Logic (CA)
• Roses by the Stairs (AZ)
• Taproom (CA)
• Seek (CA)
• 8 Bit (CA)
• Little Letters (WA)
• Breakside (OR)
• Bale Breaker (WA)
• Sunriver (OR)
• El Sueñito (WA)
• Fort George (OR)
• Our Mutual Friend (CO)
• Halcyon (WA)
• Brick West (WA)
• Burgeon (CA)
• Mirage (WA)
• San Juan Island (WA)
• Icicle (WA)
• Slow Body (AZ)
• Grain Shed (WA)
• Threshold (OR)
• Parliament (CA)
• Ilk (WA)

Visit our events page and calendar to learn about all sorts of other upcoming beer events. To submit an event for inclusion on our events calendar, use our event submission form. Got more details to share, reach out to us.

Summer in Seattle is Reason Enough

Join Rooftop Brewing at the Jolly Roger taproom in Ballard for an all-day block party on Saturday, August 8th (noon until midnight). It’s been a crazy couple of years for Rooftop, so it’s time to kick back and have a little fun.

It was almost two years ago that a fire upended business at Rooftop Brewing. Thankfully, nobody was hurt, but the building suffered irreparable damage. Rooftop found itself unhoused. At about the same time, the founders/owners of Maritime Pacific Brewing were looking for an exit strategy. Voila! Rooftop found its new home, taking over the former brewery and taproom long occupied by Maritime Pacific. The taproom is still called the Jolly Roger because why would you change that? It’s an institution! Some of the Maritime staff stuck around, too.

Not an anniversary

Both Maritime Pacific and Rooftop traditionally hosted big summer soirees, whether to celebrate an anniversary or just for the hell of it. “Between Maritime, the Jolly Roger, and Rooftop, there are too many anniversaries to call it an anniversary party,” said Craig Christianson, owner of Rooftop Brewing.  

Summer in Seattle is a good enough reason to have a big, blowout party, IMHO. The tradition lives on. 

“If you have not been in the past, Block Party is a combination of traditions. Both Rooftop and Maritime Pacific have traditionally thrown an all-out summer bash, whether it was for an anniversary, to celebrate a new beer release, or just an excuse to throw a big bash while the weather is good.”

Block Party features:

• Amazing, local live music starting at noon and going all day (band list below) out in Rooftop Brewing’s own version of a mural amphitheater.
• Two beer releases. Beer descriptions below.   
• Food.  Lots of Food.  A yummy outdoor BBQ – Including legit veggie options.  Bring your appetite!
• Great bar games – Cornhole, Connect 4, Jenga, start a game of charades.  Your imagination is the only limitation.
• All your neighbors & friends, our friendly staff and many more folks from the community.  It is a PARTY!
• Rooftop Brewing and the Jolly Roger Taproom are located at 1111 NW Ballard Way in Seattle.

Music lineup:

• Raising Slane
• School of Rock
• Ballard Social Club
• Red Heart Alarm
• Sky Landing
• Recless Knewts 

The beer descriptions:

• Palouse Helles (4.2% ABV) – “Talk about local, the Palouse Helles Lager is a classic German-style Munich-Helles brewed with Baronesse Pilsner malt from Joseph’s Grainery in Colfax, Washington. Our first beer with 100% WA grown ingredients. Hell, even the water is local!”  
• Shearwater Modern Pale Ale (5% ABV) – “What is a modern pale? Good question. This is what our brewers say: Pale Ale brewed with Riwaka and Mandarina Bavaria. We also added some Rakau SubZero hop Kief to the brite tank for added southern-hemisphere punch. Named for the Shearwater birds that migrate between New Zealand and Washington State. Much like the hops used in this pale!”

Visit our events page and calendar to learn about all sorts of other upcoming beer events. To submit an event for inclusion on our events calendar, use our event submission form. Got more details to share, reach out to us.

Sometimes collaboration brews create friendships. Sometimes two brewers become friends first and collaborators second. Consider the case of Rob Horn of Triceratops Brewing and Chris Knudson and Paul Pearson of Well 80 Artesian Brewing. Their friendship existed. Eventually, it evolved into something you can drink. 

Introducing Leotucky Lager, a 5% ABV collab lager that blends Triceratop’s beloved Pennsyltucky Lager with a recipe pulled straight from the annals of Washington’s brewing history: Leopold’s Original Lager, the beer that put Olympia Brewing Company on the map.

Let’s keep all the beers in the backstory straight. Pennsyltucky Lager is an award-winning amber lager from Triceratops. Leopold’s Original is the historic, gone-but-not-forgotten original Olympia beer. Leopold’s Original 1896 Lager (Leo’s lager) is Well 80’s recreation of that historic brew. Leotucky Lager is the new beer and, ultimately, the topic of this story.

A Pliny of its Day

Let’s hop in the Wayback Machine for a second, because beer history is cool. When German immigrant Leopold Schmidt founded what would become Olympia Brewing Company in 1896, he introduced an American Lager built on quality over gimmicks — moderate in alcohol, modest in hops, and crafted with the region’s soon-to-be-famous artesian spring water. The very original Olympia Beer: Leopold’s Original.

Paul Knight, who served as Olympia’s brewmaster from 1961 to 1997, had some thoughts about Leopold’s Original: “It should be considered a craft beer of its time,” Knight said, noting that the beer made the brewery and Leopold Schmidt himself famous nationwide. A Pliny of its day.

Anyway, let’s talk about this new beer. Leotucky Lager is built on two things: Leopold’s pre-Prohibition, malt-forward foundation and Triceratops’ crisp, award-winning amber lager. It’s described as full-flavored without losing any of its approachability. A beer that manages to honor the past while earning a place on today’s tap list.

Chris Knudson, who founded Well 80, has clearly done his homework on this one. “I’m fascinated by local history and the rise of the Olympia Brewery,” he said. “Olympia Beer in the late 1800s and early 1900s parallels the growth and development of our region. The original release [of Leopold’s first lager] was in the fall of 1896, only seven years after Washington became a state.” And then, because apparently even historians know what’s really important: “To boot, the beer is fantastic!”

Rob Horn’s version of the story is a little more personal and a little more fun. “I was a fan of great lagers before I even started homebrewing years and years ago,” he said. “And every once in a while, Paul and I will blend [Pennsytucky] with Leo’s Lager just for fun.” 

Thirteen Presidents, 130 Years, Two Breweries, One Beer

Blending two beers on the fly, pint-by-pint, turning that inside joke into an actual release, doing it alongside two of his friends, using a recipe old enough to have outlived over a dozen U.S. presidents? Why not? This is craft beer where creativity and, often, fun rule the roost.

Oh — and they canned it. Which means somewhere out there right now, there’s a beer can featuring a 19th-century brewery baron riding a three-horned dinosaur. That makes me smile.

Leotucky Lager hits the Triceratops tasting room in Tumwater and Well 80’s brewpub in Olympia starting this Friday, July 31st, with select retailers across western Washington picking it up on shelves and tap lists in the weeks that follow. Keep an eye on Triceratops’ and Well 80’s social media channels in case more details emerge.

To learn about other recent beer releases, visit our New Beer Releases page. To let us know about your brewery’s new releases, here’s how to reach out to us.

There’s also a handful of Ales for ALS events happening around the country, including one right here in the Seattle area: the Ales for ALS Festival at The Lodge on October 3, 2026. (Details below.) Same idea as the beers themselves, just bigger — a chance to support a genuinely great cause by doing the easiest thing in the world: showing up and drinking some good beer. Enjoy local brewers, food trucks, and a vibrant festival atmosphere under a tent. This event is for adult humans only. No pets or kids (21+ only).

But wait! There’s More! In addition to a regular old beer festival, there’s a VIP opportunity. All this, and more, is discussed below.

Event Details:

The first annual Ales for ALS Festival at The Lodge

Date and Time:
Saturday, October 3rd, 2026
12:00-5:00 pm
General admission entry at 1:00
VIP entry at Noon 

Location:
The Lodge at St. Edward Park
14477 Juanita Drive Northeast 
Kenmore, WA 98028

Tickets:
Early bird prices available through August 31st.
General admission tickets are $60 (early bird).

• Access to the festival under the tent 1-5pm
• Unlimited pours from all the local breweries (List of breweries to come)
• A commemorative glass from the event
• Access to food trucks
• Parking for a fee at the Lodge or State Park
• Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your ticket early.

VIP Tickets:
Upgrade to an exclusive VIP Experience (inside the Lodge, at the Remington Ballroom) for a Food and Beer Pairing menu along with a chat with Chef Luke Kolpin. Also, a chat with Shawna Cormier, a local Advanced Cicerone (certified, high-level beer expert).

• VIP package is available for $130 ($125 early-bird)
• Early entry to the Festival at 12 pm
• Admission to the VIP Room
• Access to the Food & Beer Pairing menu
• Access to the conversations with Chef Luke Kolpin and Shawn Cormier, a local Advanced Cicerone
• Valet parking included
• Access to private bathrooms
• Seating available within the building.
• Tickets here.

Visit our events page and calendar to learn about all sorts of other upcoming beer events. To submit an event for inclusion on our events calendar, use our event submission form. Got more details to share, reach out to us.

Emily Ritchie has served as Executive Director of the Northwest Cider Association (NWCA) for over a decade. This week, the NWCA announced that Emily has decided to step down, citing a desire to spend more time with her family. Starting August 1st, Jana Daisy-Ensign will serve as Interim Director. See the press release below for more information.

For more than 15 years, the Northwest Cider Association (NWCA) has brought cideries and cider lovers together to learn, experience, and enjoy the Northwest cider culture.  The NWCA represents over 300 cider industry professionals throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho,  Montana, and British Columbia. The group is dedicated to supporting, promoting, and growing the Northwest’s thriving cider industry. For more information, visit the NWCA website or follow @nwcider on social media.  

Northwest Cider Association Celebrates Executive Director Emily  Ritchie’s Legacy and Announces Leadership Transition 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
PORTLAND, OR (July 23, 2026) 

After nearly 12 years of leadership, Emily Ritchie has decided to step down as  Executive Director of the Northwest Cider Association (NWCA), a decision driven by her desire to spend more time with her young family. 

Since joining NWCA in 2015, Ritchie has helped guide the organization from formative beginnings to where it stands today, as one of the most well-funded and respected regional beverage associations in the country. During her tenure, the association expanded its membership and impact, secured more than $4.5 million in grants and sponsorships,  strengthened advocacy efforts and developed signature programs including Northwest Cider  Symposium and the Northwest Cider Cup, recognized as one of the industry’s most rigorous and prestigious cider competitions in the Pacific Northwest. Grant funding supported research,  orchard and fermentation education, quality initiatives, market development and exploration of international trade opportunities, helping elevate the reputation of Northwest cider and extend its influence far beyond the region.  

Over the past 16 years, NWCA has grown alongside the cider industry into a leading regional trade association serving cideries, orchardists, allied supplier partners and cider fans across  Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia. Today, the organization is recognized as a trusted voice for cider, a valuable resource for cider education and marketing  and a model for regional collaboration.  

“Emily’s leadership has had a lasting impact on both our organization and the Northwest cider community,” said Andrew Byers, President of the NWCA Board of Directors. “She leaves NWCA  strong, resilient and well-positioned for the future. On behalf of the Board, we are deeply grateful  for her vision, dedication and more than a decade of service.”  

In 2024, Ritchie received the American Cider Association’s Significant Impact Award, one of the  industry’s highest honors, recognizing her lasting contributions to the cider community. She was also honored with two SIP Magazine awards, reflecting excellence in communications and leadership.  

The Board emphasized that NWCA enters this transition from a position of strength with a highly qualified and dedicated staff, more than a year of operating reserves, multiple active grant-funded initiatives, a clear strategic plan, established organizational systems, and strong relationships with members, partners and funders. 

The Board has appointed Jana Daisy-Ensign as Interim Director starting the transition Aug 1.  Daisy-Ensign has been with NWCA for nearly seven years, including serving as Deputy Director.  She brings more than 20 years of experience in the craft beverage industry, including 12 years in the Pacific Northwest cider industry and nearly a decade of nonprofit leadership expertise.  One of the world’s first Certified Pommeiliers, she serves as Competition Co-Director of the  Northwest Cider Cup and received NWCA’s sole Northwest Cider Leadership Award in 2019.  

Ritchie reflects on the value of the relationships and connections made as she prepares for her  next chapter. “Serving the Northwest Cider Association has been the honor of my professional career,” Ritchie said. “I am incredibly proud of what this community has accomplished together and grateful to the members, partners, volunteers, staff, and Board who made it possible. I  leave knowing the organization is strong and well-positioned for continued success.” 

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Like most savvy beer fans around the Pacific Northwest, when someone mentions Chuckanut Brewery, my mind goes straight to crisp, clean lagers that sparkle like diamonds in the sun. Sure, the same brewing chops that earned that lager-focused reputation are more than capable of handling other styles — but around here, Chuckanut’s name is basically synonymous with world-class lagers. Full stop.

But wait! Chuckanut just introduced a West Coast IPA. Brewed with To Thee Pils malt from Rahr Malting Company, a new malt variety introduced here. (And yes, “To Thee” is really the name of the malt.) The hop bill included Citra and El Dorado from right here in the Pacific Northwest. It was dry-hopped with Mosaic. Read that recipe again. That’s about as new-world as an IPA gets.

This isn’t the first time Chuckanut has colored outside the lines. Remember their New World IPA, which they later renamed Bavarian IPA? An IPA, yes, but an IPA that leaned in a slightly different direction: it was brewed with German malt and German hops. If memory serves, there was at least one other short-lived IPA in their history, too — Chuckanut apparently likes to test the IPA waters every so often, then quietly go back to what they do best. Hmmm. Come to think of it, the brewery just released a new pale ale, too.

None of that changes the fact that this is not business as usual for the lager-focused brewery. But I’ve got full confidence in this beer regardless. It’s hard to imagine Chuckanut putting its name on anything less than excellent — lager or otherwise.

The brewery says, “This vibrant, refreshing IPA is golden, hoppy, tropical, and crisp. This beer was lovingly brewed for hop and IPA lovers all over.”

“West Coast IPA is great paired with fresh grilled fish tacos topped with a vibrant mango salsa, yum! Available around the Northwest in cans and on draft, and now on tap and available to go at Chuckanut Brewery’s South Nut Tap Room in Skagit Valley.”

To learn about other recent beer releases, visit our New Beer Releases page. To let us know about your brewery’s new releases, here’s how to reach out to us.

Across the Pacific Northwest, harvest season means one thing to most beer-loving people: fresh hop beer. In recent years, the beer-drinking public has gone certifiably mad for anything brewed with hops still wet off the bine — and since we grow the vast majority of the nation’s hop crop right here in the PNW, maybe that obsession is just baked into our regional DNA. Can’t really blame us.

But here’s the thing about grain — and I promise that’s not a typo, stick with me — hops aren’t the only harvest-time crop worth bragging about around here. Washington grows plenty of the other stuff brewers need too: barley, wheat, specialty grains, the whole supporting cast. A good chunk of the barley in your pint still comes from big farms in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Canada, and in some cases even Germany; however, the barley actually grown here in Washington often comes from smaller growers cultivating less common, more interesting varieties. It’s nerdy, albeit delicious, stuff.

Anyway, I actually do have a point buried under all that grain talk: when PNW beer lovers think “harvest,” they go straight to hops. Fair enough — hops earned that reputation. But there’s a whole second half of the harvest story that rarely gets its moment, and this new festival is finally giving it one. Along with hops, of course. Can’t forget about those yummy cones of lupulin goodness. 

Harvest Fest in Seattle on September 26th

Join the Washington Brewers Guild for the first-ever Harvest Fest on Saturday, September 26th. The event takes place at Stoup Brewing’s Capitol Hill location from 1-5 pm. 

“This celebration of the bounty of Washington agriculture will feature fresh hop beers, seasonal lagers, curated paired food items from Project Feast, and sensory education activities from our friends at CLS Hop Farm, LINC Malt, and Cold Stream Malt & Grain.”

But yeah, the beer is important too, so here’s the list of participating breweries:

• 7 Seas Brewing Co
• Aslan Brewing Co
• Bizarre Brewing
• Chuckanut Brewery
• Dru Bru
• Fremont Brewing
• Garden Path Fermentation
• Georgetown Brewing
• Human People Beer
• Icicle Brewing Company
• ilk beer
• Kulshan Brewing Co.
• Ladd & Lass Brewing
• Logan Brewing Company
• Single Hill Brewing
• Stoup Brewing
• Trap Door Brewing
• Valholl Brewing
• Yonder Cider

Set an alarm! The tickets go on sale August 6th. Only 250 tickets. They will go fast. Follow the Washington Brewers Guild on social media as more details are unveiled. 

Visit our events page and calendar to learn about all sorts of other upcoming beer events. To submit an event for inclusion on our events calendar, use our event submission form. Got more details to share, reach out to us.

Sometimes timing just works out the way it works out. With fresh hop season bearing down on us, you’d think this would be a strange moment for one of the world’s most prolific fresh hop beer producers to roll out a new year-round brew. But that’s the schedule Single Hill Brewing was handed. Now batting for Single Hill, Greenway Pale Ale.

Single Hill doesn’t do subtle when it comes to hops. Expect Greenway to knock your hop-loving butt clean off the bench. The beer is stepping in for Lateral A IPA in the starting lineup — a six-year veteran now heading to the showers, and one that should be fielding a call from the Hall of Fame sometime soon. Greenway’s got some big cleats to fill. Don’t panic, though: Lateral A isn’t retiring outright. It’s just moving to a part-time role, coming back each year in fresh hop form.

There’s only room for so many players on a roster, after all. As the craft beer audience leans harder into lower-ABV options, the front office made the obvious move — option the IPA down, designate Lateral A for assignment, bring up a pale ale, and keep the hop volume cranked to eleven the whole time. 

Look for Greenway Pale Ale in early August, hitting retail shelves across the greater Seattle area and pouring at both Single Hill locations, Yakima and Seattle. It’ll be available on draft and in 16-ounce cans, so however you like to watch the game, you’re covered.

Greenway is a modern, West Coast–style pale ale built on Riwaka, Mosaic, and Centennial hops over a pilsner malt base — pine and lime zest on the nose, a crackery malt backbone underneath. At 5.2% ABV and 35 IBU, it’s the utility player of the lineup: lighter on its feet than the IPAs surrounding it, but still plenty of pop when it needs it.

“We’ve been working on these lighter, hop-forward beers as rotators for years, and decided it was finally time to put our signature on a pale ale that will be available every day, all year round,” said Andrew Pytel, Director of Sales and Marketing at Single Hill Brewing. “Lateral A is a great beer, but it overlapped too much with our other core IPAs and rotating IPAs. We think it will have more time to shine as a rotating option.”

Call it a trade that makes sense for both sides. Lateral A gets a lighter workload and a seasonal showcase role. Greenway gets the starting job. And Single Hill’s core lineup stays exactly what it’s always been — stacked and jacked.

To learn about other recent beer releases, visit our New Beer Releases page. To let us know about your brewery’s new releases, here’s how to reach out to us.

The Headline Numbers. The Not-So-Good News.

Craft volume was down 4% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same stretch last year. That’s not nothing, and it’s certainly not something to celebrate — but it’s roughly in line with where we’ve been living for a while now. It is not a nose-dive, so we can step off the ledge. The BA pulled this estimate from more than 600 breweries representing about a fifth of total industry volume, then adjusted for the fact that their survey sample has historically outperformed the wider industry. 

Meanwhile, the number of operating breweries kept shrinking, too. There were 9,344 breweries running in June 2026, down 1.8% from 9,515 a year earlier — and that rate of decline actually ticked up slightly from where it sat in the first half of 2025. Breweries categorized as regional breweries and microbreweries took the biggest hits, down 3% each. Breweries categorized as taprooms and brewpubs endured more modest declines. Small percentages, sure, but when you’re talking about thousands of breweries, “small percentage” still means a lot of real doors closing in real towns. Real jobs lost.

The Bright Spot Hiding in the Numbers

The story gets more interesting. Taprooms were the best-performing brewery model by volume change in the first half of the year, and distributed draught actually gained market share — up half a percentage point — while packaged product and onsite sales both slipped. Translation: people are still going out, sidling up to the bar, and ordering a freshly poured pint, even as the to-go six-pack business struggles. If you needed a reason to feel good about supporting your local taproom, there it is, published in an industry report.

Here on the Beer Blog of Record, I’ve noted this stuff before. Brewery taprooms are the industry’s bright spot these days. Consider the number of stroller-pushing day-drinkers wandering the streets of Seattle’s bustling Ballard Brewery District on a Sunday afternoon. Observe the beer line at your local brewery’s weekly trivia night. Whatever else is happening with beer these days, brewery taprooms and brewpubs are still considered cool. Maybe cooler than ever. 

Beer is Not Alone

Regarding things that go “beep” at the checkout counter, retail scan data actually painted a darker picture than the BA’s own numbers — NielsenIQ had craft down 5.2% off-premise, and total beer plus non-alc beer down 4%. But craft beer isn’t suffering in a vacuum. Spirits was down 5.3%. Wine really took in the shorts: wine was down a brutal 9.2% for the year ending in May, according to Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America. Misery loves company, I suppose, and right now the entire beverage alcohol industry is huddled under the same umbrella, praying for the sun to come out again.

Growth is Never a Bad Thing

The report referenced a recent consumer poll – the annual Harris Poll Consumer Survey. Buried in the survey responses is a number you might find surprising: 54% of breweries reported growth in the first half of the year, compared to 43% reporting declines. Every single brewery type — taprooms, brewpubs, micros, regionals — had more operators growing than shrinking. Bigger breweries fared even better: 59% of the breweries that produced over 10,000 barrels reported growth. That’s up substantially from 49% reporting growth in last year’s survey.

Check this out. Another bright spot: craft drinkers are drinking more craft. Monthly consumption among craft beer fans hit 85% in this year’s BA/Harris Poll survey — up 10 points year-over-year and the highest mark since before the pandemic. Those same drinkers visited breweries 5.5 times on average over the past year, up from 5.1 the year before. To those of us living in craft beer hotbeds, like Seattle and Portland, visiting a brewery taproom just 5.5 times per year is bizarrely low, but not everyone enjoys the jolly abundance of breweries that we do. 

In summary, however you slice it, the people who love this stuff are showing up more often, not less.

The Bottom Line

Nobody’s declaring that we’ve reached the bottom of this valley just yet, and the BA itself isn’t blowing sunshine — the big-picture conditions for brewers haven’t gotten any friendlier in 2026. But after a few years of every arrow pointing straight down, “the decline slowed down a little, and the people who stick around keep showing up” counts as genuinely good news in this business.

The breweries that have made it through the last few years of this grind have earned something out of it: a leaner, a more loyal footing upon which they can build a future. It’s not a comeback story yet. But it might be the first page of one. Chin up. Shoulders back. Carry on.

Scuttlebutt Brewing was not started by a guy with a business plan. It was started by a guy who got tired of running out of beer. That’s how I remember Phil Bannan Sr.’s origin story. He and his wife, Cynthia, opened Scuttlebutt on the Everett waterfront in 1996, brewing on a scrappy little system that they set up in an old fish processing plant. A brewery and restaurant that made beer and served it alongside fish-n-chips on a city’s working waterfront. Very Northwest. Very Everett. I love that. I also love that Cynthia’s lifelong nickname is Scuttle. Another cool part of the origin story.

To boldly go where no one has gone before 

Here’s what’s easy to forget 30 years later — back then, depending on how you drew the lines, there were maybe three craft breweries outside Seattle in the entire metro region. Everett’s microbrew fanatics had to drive to the big city just to get a decent pint. Scuttlebutt gave them a reason to stay home, and a couple of years in, they doubled down with an IPA that I remember as recklessly and irresponsibly hoppy. I love that. Outrageous then, mainstream now. Isn’t that a synopsis of American craft beer history in general? 

The brewery outgrew its waterfront shack almost immediately. They eventually built a Cedar Street production facility and, for the brewery’s 20th anniversary in 2016, opened a speakeasy-style taproom.

At the 25-year mark, the Everett Herald called Scuttlebutt the “grandad of local craft brewing,” which is both endearing and a bit misleading. Scuttlebutt is not some old fuddy-duddy and is now driven by the next generation. If Phil Sr. is James T. Kirk, Phil Jr. is Jean-Luc Picard. Scuttlebutt is now 30 years old. Just entering the prime of its life!   

Scuttlebutt Brewing is now managed by Phil Bannon Jr., which explains why I referred to his dad as Phil Bannon Sr. In fact, at last report, there were three generations of Bannons working at Scuttlebutt. Family-owned and operated. Understatement. Once partnered with KEXP and, more recently, with Cal Raleigh, Scuttlebutt is still boldly going where no one has gone before.

30th Anniversary Celebration

30th Anniversary Party at the Taproom! We’re turning 30—and you’re invited to celebrate with us in style!

Join us for an unforgettable night packed with:

• A delicious food truck serving up your favorites
• Live music from Mystery Date
• Flash tattoos (because why not make it permanent?)
• A 360° photo booth to capture every angle of the fun
• A special anniversary beer brewed just for the occasion

Come raise a glass with us, dance a little (or a lot), and help us celebrate 30 amazing years. This is one party you won’t want to miss!

3310 Cedar St, in Everett, WA
July 25th, 2-9 PM

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