The brewery is one of three culinary concepts by Sea Creatures in Pioneer Square’s RailSpur micro-district. Renowned chef Renee Erickson was instrumental in bringing this venture together. The concept involves three connected restaurants: a NY-style pizza joint, an intimate and formal restaurant, and a beer hall with house-brewed beers served from large stainless steel tanks mounted above the bar.

Erickson, a James Beard Award-winning chef, teamed up with RailSpur to bring all of this to life at an iconic and historic Seattle location, the former home of FX McRory’s in Pioneer Square. She also teamed up with head brewer Josh Waldman, a well-known and respected veteran of the Seattle brewing scene.  

This event marks a milestone: the first time guests can experience a full range of Lowlander Brewing’s offerings, featuring house favorites like the 1979 Lager and The Bird West Coast IPA alongside limited seasonal fresh-hop releases made with freshly harvested Washington-grown hops. The lineup also showcases a range of brewing styles, from hop-forward IPAs and crisp lagers to traditional German-style beers, including The Perfect Game, a Helles lager that has been conditioning for more than 10 weeks.

Event Details:

• What: Lowlander Brewing Launch Party
• When: Wednesday, October 21 | 5–9 p.m.
• Where: Lowlander Brewing | 419 Occidental Ave S at RailSpur in Pioneer Square
• Tickets: $20, including guaranteed entry, a branded Lowlander Brewing glass, and the first beer. Walk-ins are welcome but will not receive the branded glass.
• Ticket Link: 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.

The terms light beer and IPA rarely, if ever, find their way into the same sentence. At least not without raising some eyebrows. But Pelican Brewing is giving it a go with the release of Pelican Lite IPA, the brewery’s first low-calorie, low-carb beer. Here are the happy totals: 3 grams of carbs and 122 calories per 12-ounce serving. Pelican points out that’s a fraction of the carbs and roughly half the calories of a traditional IPA.

The ABV is where it gets interesting. At 5.4%, Pelican Lite IPA sits a bit above other beers in the light beer category. (Is there now a “light craft beer” category? Seems so.) The brewery says that’s what gives the beer its body and helps it stand on its own as an IPA and not some stereotypical lite beer. As for flavor, Pelican says you can expect crisp citrusy, piney, vibrant hop character and a clean, dry finish.

Pelican is also celebrating 30 years in business this year; it’s good to know that the brewery is still trying new things. IPA is a style Northwest beer drinkers know well, and they’re not shy about letting you know when a beer misses the mark, so it’s a good thing Pelican experimented with several variations before landing on the final recipe.

“We set out to craft a light beer that would hit all the marks of a traditional IPA, from the first sip to the last,” said Darron Welch, Pelican’s Founding Brewmaster. “Cutting carbs and calories didn’t mean we had to scale back on the flavor experience, and as a result, beer lovers now have a wider choice in how to cap off their latest Pacific Northwest adventure.”

Pelican Lite IPA is brewed and packaged at Pelican’s Tillamook production brewery. It’s available in six-packs of 12-ounce cans, 50-liter kegs and 1/6 barrels. You can find it at all Pelican Brewing locations and select retailers in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Northern California. It’s already hitting shelves. Find it at a retailer near you with Pelican’s beer finder.

If this one catches on, there’s more to come. Pelican says light versions of other brewery favorites will join the lineup in 2027. The light craft beer category is growing. Watch this space. 

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.

Time flies. It seems like only yesterday that Stoup Brewing swung open the doors at its Ballard brewery and taproom. In those days, Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood had not yet earned the distinction of the name Ballard Brewery District, but that was all about to change. Not only in the neighborhood, which is now replete with breweries, but for Stroup Brewing, which would go on to open two additional locations.

Suddenly, here we are 13 years in the future. “We’re celebrating this milestone the only way we know how: with beer, community, a little chaos—and a dunk tank,” said the announcement from Stoup Brewing. “Thirteen years ago, Stoup was built around the idea that beer brings people together.”

Dunk for Democracy

“This year, we’re celebrating our anniversary by bringing our community together again—We want Seattle to Dunk Us for Democracy and celebrate a our Lucky 13 STOUPiversary  featuring members of our brew crew, taproom crew, and Stoup owners taking turns in the dunk tank to raise funds for Seattle Indivisible.”

“Everyone is invited to take their best shot, cheer on their favorite Stoup humans, and celebrate 13 years of beer and community with us.”

“We’ll also be drinking Time to Vote IPA, Nightmare on Eldo Street IPA, the last of our Fresh Hop Fiend Beers ciders and wine spritz cocktails. Seattle Indivisible will be onsite tabling throughout the event with information and resources on how to get out the vote.”

All proceeds from the sale of dunk tank balls will support Indivisible.org and their vision of a democracy that delivers for everyone.

Event Info

Lucky 13th STOUPiversary + a Dunk Tank for Democracy!
Saturday, October 24⋅12:00 – 4:00 pm
Stoup Brewing – Ballard
1108 NW 52nd St
Seattle, WA 98107, USA

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.

It wouldn’t be winter in Seattle without it. Winter Beer Fest is back for 2026. There are lots of details forthcoming, but I share the basics below. And if you’re one of the many people who looks forward to this one each year, the basics are all you need to know. For now, at least. Most important, tickets go on sale Thursday, October 22nd. This year, with just one session, it will be a more intimate affair, with just 850 tickets available, you probably should act fast. If you want VIP tix, even faster.

Saturday, December 19
Normal Access, General Admission: 5-8 pm
Early Access: 4-5pm
Location: Victory Hall at The Boxyard, across from T-Mobile Park in Seattle

The event is presented by the Washington Brewers Guild. They put it this way: “Sip your way through a beer wonderland! Washington’s best breweries pouring winter warmers, spiced seasonals, barrel-aged beauties, some crispy lagers, and a few “how-did-they-even-make-this?” surprises. This festival will have all the fa-la-las, merry greetings, and warm happy feelings that you’ve come to expect from our annual Winter Beer Fest!”

Tickets
tickets go on sale Thursday, October 22nd
VIP Tickets: $249, only 10 available
Presale Tickets: $60 GA; $90 GA + Early Access (limited 1-hr exclusive early entry)
General Admission: $65; $95 GA + Early Access (limited 1-hr exclusive early entry)

Admission grants the opportunity to enjoy tastes from 30 breweries/cideries. Souvenir tasting glass included. Food is available for purchase. Age 21+ event.

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.

MCM is a family-owned craft maltster based in Butte, Montana, in one of North America’s premier barley-growing regions. It works closely with local farmers to produce distinctive malts. CMG, which is part of Soufflet Malt, the world’s largest malting company, says the addition supports its emphasis on domestic malt options and local agriculture “from grain to glass.”

Montana Craft Malt products are available now. Customers can contact their local CMG sales representative or visit countrymalt.com for availability and details.

PRESS RELEASE

Country Malt Group to Become Exclusive U.S. Distributor of Montana Craft Malt

Partnership expands access to Montana-grown craft malt while strengthening Country Malt Group’s commitment to domestic malt and local agriculture.

Vancouver, WA — October 15, 2026 — Country Malt Group (CMG), a leading supplier to the North American craft beverage industry, is excited to announce a new partnership with Montana Craft Malt (MCM), becoming the exclusive U.S. distributor of Montana Craft Malt products.

Part of Soufflet Malt, the world’s largest malting company, CMG is more than just malt, bringing together an extensive distribution network and a broad portfolio of essential ingredients for craft brewers and distillers. Through the partnership, CMG will offer Montana Craft Malt’s full portfolio across its U.S. warehouses, making the Montana-grown and malted products more accessible to craft producers across the country.

Based in Butte, Montana, MCM is rooted in one of North America’s premier barley-growing regions. Its close connection to local agriculture and focus on quality, consistency and reliability make them a natural fit within CMG’s growing portfolio of domestic and global malt brands.

“We’re incredibly excited to welcome Montana Craft Malt to the Country Malt Group family,” said Dana Lukens, VP of CMG. “As part of Soufflet Malt, we have the global strength and resources of the world’s largest malting company behind us, but we remain deeply invested in the local communities and agricultural regions that make our industry possible. Montana Craft Malt shares that commitment, from supporting local growers to producing high-quality malt that brewers and distillers can depend on.”

The partnership reflects CMG’s continued emphasis on providing customers with strong domestic malt options while supporting local agriculture from grain to glass. Montana Craft Malt will complement CMG’s extensive selection of malt brands, giving customers even more choice in finding products and suppliers that align with their brewing or distilling style, production needs and values.

“Montana Craft Malt was built on a simple idea: make exceptional malt close to where the barley is grown and build real relationships with the people who grow it and the people who use it,” said Jen O’Brien, Co-Founder of Montana Craft Malt. “As we look to the future, Country Malt Group gives us the opportunity to bring that story to more brewers and distillers across the country while staying true to our roots.”

Montana Craft Malt products are now available through Country Malt Group warehouses across the United States. Customers can contact their local CMG sales representative or visit countrymalt.com for product availability and additional information.

About Montana Craft Malt
Montana Craft Malt is a family-owned craft maltster based in Butte, Montana, founded on a simple idea: produce exceptional malt close to where the barley is grown. With deep roots in Montana agriculture, the company works closely with local farmers to create high-quality, distinctive malts for craft brewers and distillers. Built on a commitment to quality, community, and meaningful relationships, Montana Craft Malt connects the people who grow the barley with those who turn it into exceptional beer and spirits. For more information: montanacraftmalt.com.

About Country Malt Group
Country Malt Group is proud to be part of the Soufflet Malt family, the world’s largest malting company. Supplying essential ingredients from malt and hops to yeast and sanitation, Country Malt Group is more than just malt. We combine decades-long supplier relationships, global resources and deep industry expertise with local teams who understand their markets. We use that strength to secure reliable supply, advocate for our customers and deliver solutions beyond ingredients, helping craft beverage businesses and the communities around them thrive. For more information: countrymalt.com.

About Soufflet Malt
Soufflet Malt is the world’s leading maltster, with 35 malting plants across 20 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and America. Employing more than 2,300 employees, Soufflet Malt has a production capacity of 3.6 million tons of malt annually to meet the demands of its customers: large, global breweries and artisan craft brewers, distillers and other food and beverage manufacturers around the world. Building on its local farming roots and global reach, including distribution through Country Malt Group in North America and Cryer Malt in Asia, Soufflet Malt acts as a trusted supplier of quality malt, serving customers through brands such as Canada Malting, Great Western Malting, Durst Malz, Bairds Malt, Castle Malting, Tchecomalt and Barrett Burston. With a commitment to pioneer sustainable malt solutions, Soufflet Malt remains steadily focused on innovation across its entire value chain. Our vision: Unleash the power of malt. For more information: souffletmalt.com

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Fresh hop judging is just one part of the Washington Beer Awards, which evaluates Washington-brewed beers across dozens of style categories. The judges recently concluded their work for 2026, and they will announce the results on November 2nd at the Washington Beer Awards Ceremony and Dinner Party. (See last year’s results.) The awards ceremony is an add-on to and an extension of the Washington Craft Beer Summit. To be clear, the fresh hop winners are announced earlier than the rest of the results.

Washington Beer Awards 2026 Fresh Hop Winners

Fresh Hop Pale Ales:

• Gold: Old Stove Brewing – Mosaic
• Silver: Ladd & Lass Brewing – Fresh Hop Pale Ale – Roy Chinook
• Bronze: Old Stove Brewing – Citra Pale

Fresh Hop American-Style Strong Pale Ales:

• Gold: Stoup Brewing – Simcoe Fresh Hop Fiend-Loza Farms
• Silver: Fremont Brewing – Cowiche Canyon
• Bronze: Trap Door Brewing – Ashes Of Summer

Fresh Hop Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ales:

• Gold: Trap Door Brewing – Fresh Glowed Up
• Silver: Fremont Brewing – Hazy Cowiche
• Bronze: Lumberbeard Brewing – Hip Hap Hop

Fresh Hop American-Style India Pale Ales:

• Gold: Brothers Cascadia Brewing – Amarillo Slim
• Silver: Perry Street Brewing – Wetflix And Chill
• Bronze: Fremont Brewing – Fresh Hop Lush

Fresh Hop West Coast-Style India Pale Ales:

• Gold: Formula Brewing – Formula 35
• Silver: Holy Mountain Brewing – Hex Me!
• Bronze: Holy Mountain Brewing – Cone + Cone

Fresh Hop Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ales:

• Gold: Uprise Brewing – Dolcita Fresh Hop
• Silver: Ladd & Lass Brewing – Fresh Hop Hazy IPA – Perrault Krush
• Bronze: Single Hill Brewing – Skyfinder

Fresh Hop Imperial or Double India Pale Ales:

• Gold: Vice Beer – Lupulin Overdrive
• Silver: Logan Brewing Company – Reach
• Bronze: Holy Mountain Brewing – Dream Flower

Other Fresh Hop Beers:

• Gold: Stoup Brewing – Simcoe Fresh Hop Fiend Italian Pils-Perrault Farms
• Silver: MIRAGE – SLASHER
• Bronze: Halcyon Brewing – Msg In A Bottle (W/ Little Letters Lager)

Multi-Medal Winners

Congratulations to Stoup Brewing, which walked away as the grand champion. I just made that title up, admittedly, but if you rank by medal quality, giving gold the most weight, Stoup comes out on top with two golds. That’s true, but Fremont Brewing and Holy Mountain brewing each earned three, but no gold. Evaluate as you will. Here are all of the multi-medal winners.

Holy Mountain Brewing: 3 medals

• Silver: Hex Me! (West Coast IPA)
• Bronze: Cone + Cone (West Coast IPA)
• Bronze: Dream Flower (Imperial/Double IPA)

Fremont Brewing: 3 medals

• Silver: Cowiche Canyon (Strong Pale Ale)
• Silver: Hazy Cowiche (Juicy/Hazy Strong Pale Ale)
• Bronze: Fresh Hop Lush (American-Style IPA)

Old Stove Brewing: 2 medals

• Gold: Mosaic (Pale Ale)
• Bronze: Citra Pale (Pale Ale)

Stoup Brewing: 2 medals

• Gold: Simcoe Fresh Hop Fiend-Loza Farms (Strong Pale Ale)
• Gold: Simcoe Fresh Hop Fiend Italian Pils-Perrault Farms (Other Fresh Hop Beers)

Trap Door Brewing: 2 medals

• Gold: Fresh Glowed Up (Juicy/Hazy Strong Pale Ale)
• Bronze: Ashes Of Summer (Strong Pale Ale)

Ladd & Lass Brewing: 2 medals

• Silver: Fresh Hop Pale Ale – Roy Chinook (Pale Ale)
• Silver: Fresh Hop Hazy IPA – Perrault Krush (Juicy/Hazy IPA)

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Talking Cedar Brewery, owned and operated by the Chehalis Tribe in Rochester, Washington, is about to release a beer with a purpose well beyond wetting your whistle. MMIW Tribal Pale Ale is a limited-edition release created to raise awareness of the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Look for the beer at retail outlets starting in October.

You’ll find MMIW Tribal Pale Ale in 4-packs of 16-ounce cans labeled “Brewed for Justice, Brewed for Our Sisters.” A portion of proceeds from every can will go to the Urban Indian Health Institute and other Washington-based organizations the brewery selected for their work on research, advocacy, and support for families affected by the MMIW crisis.

You Need to Know This

The numbers are stark. According to the CDC, Indigenous women experience violence at rates up to ten times the national average. The available data suggests that over 5,500 indigenous women went missing last year; however, accurate numbers are hard to pin down because of systemic underreporting, poor record-keeping, and racial misclassification by law enforcement. Also, while the national homicide clearance rate sits between 50 and 60 percent, cases involving Indigenous women are resolved at a significantly lower rate.

“More people should know about this crisis, and more people should be upset by it,” said Jackie Dodd-Mallory, Talking Cedar’s Director of Marketing. “Beer is our craft. It’s what we make, it’s how we connect with people, and in this case, it gives us a way to bring this issue in front of an audience that may not otherwise hear about it. If we can use what we do to get more people paying attention, asking questions, and caring about what’s happening to Indigenous women, then that matters.”

Each can features original artwork by Ryan Burnett, a Chehalis Tribe member whose work has been recognized by the Washington State History Museum and the Washington State In the Spirit competition. His design incorporates the red hand, a symbol widely associated with the MMIW movement.

On the brewing side, MMIW Tribal Pale Ale is described as hoppy and bright, with pine and citrus notes — brewed with water drawn from the Chehalis Tribe’s own aquifer. Ryan Myhre, Talking Cedar’s Director of Brewing and Distilling Operations, said the beer was designed around the classic PNW pale ale profile, but that its real identity comes from its ties to tribal land, tribal water, and the story the brewery is using it to tell.

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.

Want us to share your news here on the Washington Beer Blog? Click here to learn how to reach us.

The Great American Beer Festival just concluded in Denver. Beyond a beer fest, it is one of the largest and most-prestigious beer judging competitions in the world. Winners were announced on October 10th. Consistently, between 1,500 and 2,300 breweries submit as many as 8,000 beers for evaluation by the panel of expert, certified beer judges. Earning recognition here is a big deal. (Above: Breakside Brewery accepts its Brewery of the Year award.)

Below, I share the Washington and Oregon winners at the 2026 Great American Beer Festival Awards. No Idaho breweries earned medals. You can see the complete list of all of the winners here.

Highlights

• Seattle’s Human People Beer won a gold medal in the most hotly contested category: West Coast IPA. They earned top honors in a category that saw 277 entries.
• Breakside Brewery and Grains of Wrath Brewing brought home two of the three medals in the American IPA category, further solidifying their status as two of the best IPA breweries in the nation. Seriously, I’m talking about awards, not just my opinion. Objectively, two of the best IPA breweries in the nation.
• All three of the medals in the Fresh Hop Beer category were awarded to Pacific Northwest Breweries. Not surprising; this is where the hops are grown and our brewers have an advantage, and they use it well. Deschutes Brewery, Sunriver Brewing, and Vice Beer.
• PNW still rocks the hops. Look at the results below and you’ll notice that our PNW breweries scored well in many of the hop-forward categories.
• On the strength of its medal haul (six medals), Breakside earned Brewery of the Year honors for breweries of its size: 15,000 – 100,000 barrels per year.
• On the strength of its medal haul (four medals), Upp Liquids of Bend earned Brewery of the Year honors for breweries of its size: 250 – 500 barrels per year.
• Oregon’s Breweries brought home 34 medals and Washington’s brought home 17. In years past, those numbers were closer together.

2026 GABF Stats and Info

GABF Competition Statistics

• 7,267 entries (beer, cider, hop water) judged
• 1,300 breweries & cideries in the competition from 49 states, plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico
• 225 judges
• 200+ volunteers
• Average number of beers entered in each category: 67
• Category with the highest number of entries: Category: West Coast-Style India Pale Ale (277 entries)
• 125 first-time GABF competition entrants
• 12 first-time GABF competition winners

TOP 5 MOST-ENTERED BEER STYLE CATEGORY WINNERS

* Both categories tie for the fifth most-entered category, each with 161 entries.

Catgory 102: West Coast-Style India Pale Ale (277 entries)
GOLD: Before & After Science | Human People Beer | Seattle, WA
SILVER: Born Hoppy | TapRoom Beer Co. | San Diego, CA
BRONZE: Mosaic + Krush Cryo West Coast IPA | pFriem Family Brewers | Hood River, OR

Category 101: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (260 entries)
GOLD: Because Science | Bend Brewing Co. | Bend, OR
SILVER: Icy Fog | McMenamins Breweries | Portland, OR
BRONZE: The Goat |New York Beer Project – Beer Lodge | Orchard Park, NY

Category 56: German-Style Maerzen (184 entries)
GOLD: Altstadt Oktoberfest | Altstadt Brewery | Fredericksburg, TX
SILVER: Oktoberfest | Bingo Beer Co. | Richmond, VA
BRONZE: Oktoberfestfest | MainStage Brewing Co. | Boulder, CO

Category 100: American India Pale Ale (165 entries)
GOLD: Breakside IPA | Breakside Brewery & Taproom | Milwaukie, OR
SILVER: Built for Speed | Grains of Wrath Brewing | Camas, WA
BRONZE: Green Battles | Pinthouse Pizza – North | Austin, TX

Category 50*: German-Style Pilsener (161 entries)
GOLD: Altstadt Pils | Altstadt Brewery | Fredericksburg, TX
SILVER: Templin Family Fass Bier | Templin Family Brewing | Salt Lake City, UT
BRONZE: Pazifik Coast Highway | Beachwood Brewing | Huntington Beach, CA

Category 54*: Dortmunder or German-Style Festbier (161 entries)
GOLD: Festbier | Wren House Brewing Co. | Phoenix, AZ
SILVER: 8th Anniversary Lager | Fat Head’s Brewery | Middleburg Heights, OH
BRONZE: Counter Weight Fest Bier | Counter Weight Brewing Co. | Cheshire, CT

PNW Multi-Medal Categories

PNW breweries (Washington and Oregon) won more than one medal in 11 categories. I counted only WA and OR, since no Idaho breweries appear in the results.

Medal sweeps and near sweeps

• Fresh Hop Beer: Gold went to Deschutes (OR), silver to Vice Beer (WA), and bronze to Sunriver (OR), so PNW breweries took all three medals.
• The most-entered category was West Coast-Style IPA with 277 entries. PNW breweries won the Gold (Human People Beer) and the Bronze (pFriem Family Brewers).
• The third-most entered category was American India Pale Ale with 165 entries. Breakside Brewery won Gold and Grains of Wrath won Silver.

Washington and Oregon both medaled

• Hoppy Lager: Grains of Wrath (WA) took gold and Breakside (OR) took bronze.
• American-Style Strong Pale Ale: Trap Door (WA) took silver and Bend Brewing (OR) took bronze.
• American IPA: Breakside (OR) took gold and Grains of Wrath (WA) took silver.
• West Coast-Style IPA: Human People (WA) took gold and pFriem (OR) took bronze.

Oregon only (two medals)

• Mixed Culture Brett Beer: ColdFire (silver) and Alesong (bronze).
• American Amber Lager: Falling Sky (gold) and Grand Fir (bronze).
• Berliner-Style Weisse: Oregon City (gold) and UPP Liquids (silver).
• International-Style Pale Ale: Breakside won gold and silver.
• Juicy or Hazy IPA: Bend Brewing (gold) and McMenamins (silver).
• Fruited Cider: 2 Towns Ciderhouse won silver and bronze.

Washington and Oregon Winners

Washington 2026 GABF Medal Winners

Oregon 2026 GABF Medal Winners

Congrats to all the PNW winners and to all of the winners from sea to shining sea!

Want us to share your news here on the Washington Beer Blog? Click here to learn how to reach us.

Mark the calendar: October 15th through 17th, join us in West Seattle for a fresh hop beer festival – the freshest wet hop beer festival, or the wettest fresh hop festival. You decide. Whatever you call it, get ready for a biblical flood of fresh hop beers. Check out the list of participating breweries below. It’s damned impressive, if I do say so myself.

The Freshest Fresh Hop Fest in the West. West Seattle, That Is

The Washington Beer Blog is once again teaming up with Beveridge Place Pub to provide beer lovers with an opportunity to sample a variety of fresh hop beers side by side and experience a broad range of fresh hop flavors. The wettest fresh hop festival, or the freshest wet hop fest. You decide, but whatever you call it, it’s gonna be fabulous. Gary the Publican and I got together to brainstorm and create a wish list. A dream team. Call it an invitational fresh hop fest. The lineup includes select breweries that we believe either have or will excel at making beers of this style.

Thursday and Friday will offer hop lovers a selection of something like 24 fresh-hop beers (or more), available in full pours or on self-designed taster trays. Saturday is the main event, with something like 40 beers available festival-style: commemorative taster glass, taster-sized pours, you know the drill.

• A three-day celebration of fresh hop beer crescendos with a full-on fresh hop beer festival on Saturday
• Thursday, October 15th, 3-11 p.m. (taster trays, full pours, something like 24 freshies on tap)
• Friday, October 16th, 3-11 p.m. (ditto)
• Saturday, October 17th, 1-7 p.m. (fest-style, something like 40 freshies on tap)
• Saturday: Tunes spun by DJ ABV, 2-5 p.m.
• Beveridge Place Pub, 6413 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98136
• 21+ only  

List of Breweries (there will be more by kickoff)

• Bale Breaker/Cloudburst (collaboration)
• Beach Cat Brewing
• Bizarre Brewing
• Double Mountain Brewery
• El Suenito Brewing
• Elliott Bay Brewing
• Fast Fashion Brewing
• Flying Lion Brewing
• Formula Brewing
• Fort George Brewing
• Gigantic Brewing
• Good Society Brewery
• Grains of Wrath Brewing
• Halycon Brewing
• Hellbent Brewing
• Holy Mountain Brewing
• Human People Brewing
• Ilk Beer
• Ladd & Lass Brewing
• Larrabee Lager Co
• Little Beast Brewing
• Lucky Envelope Brewing
• Lumberbeard Brewing
• Matchless Brewing
• Metier Brewing
• Mirage
• No Boat Brewing
• Old Stove Brewing
• Project 9 Brewing
• Ravenna Brewing
• Reuben’s Brews
• Rooftop Brewing
• Sig Brewing
• Single Hill Brewing
• Snapshot Brewing
• Steeplejack Brewing
• Stoup Brewing
• Structures Brewing
• Threshold Brewing
• Volition Brewing
• White Bluffs Brewing

Here is a taste of what to expect. 

• Enjoy beers from fresh-hop rockstars like Bale Breaker Brewing, Cloudburst Brewing, Single Hill Brewing, and Stoup Brewing. 
• Beers from breweries recognized for their exceptional hop prowess, like Breakside Brewing and Grains of Wrath Brewing, two of the most highly decorated producers of IPA in the nation. 
• Many other breweries on our all-star roster. 

By its nature, fresh hop beer is an ephemeral, time-bound style of beer. We will share more details as they reveal themselves. Hell, they haven’t even started harvesting in the Yakima Valley yet. But that doesn’t mean you cannot write this one in on your calendar.

Check out the Washington Beer Blog’s events page for more beer-related events around Washington.

What’s Actually in Your Hop Water?

Walk into a brewery taproom these days, and you might find something different on the menu alongside IPAs and pilsners: hop water. Alcohol-free and practically calorie-free, it still promises to fix your hop jones. Many folks, especially those who are not beer-savvy, might ask, “What exactly is it?”

It’s not beer. It’s something else entirely. Hop water skips the core processes that define beer—no malted grain and, in most cases, no fermentation. At the same time, it leans heavily on the hop knowledge and production methods breweries have spent years perfecting. Here’s how hop water actually comes together and what else you should know.

What Hop Water Actually Is

• In simple terms, hop water is carbonated water infused with hop compounds that provide the hop flavor and aroma beer lovers crave, without all the other characteristics that come along with, say, a tasty IPA. Floral, herbal, fruity, citrusy, dank, resinous, piney, and so on. Any one of those adjectives, or any combination, might describe a particular hop water. 
• It is gluten-free.
• Most versions land at 0 to 10 calories.
• Hop water is 0.0% ABV, though a few live in the sub-0.5% “non-alcoholic” range due to trace fermentation or hop oil content. 
• Beyond that, the category is fairly loosely defined, which is part of why hop waters from two different breweries can taste nothing alike. Just like beer, it’s an opportunity for the brewery to express its unique identity. 
• In most cases, breweries don’t share many details about their methods. That’s kind of cool. A little mystery keeps the romance alive.

The Starting Point: Water Quality

Any good brewery monitors and adjusts its water chemistry as a matter of routine, but with hop water, it matters even more. In a standard brew, malt sweetness and the boil itself can mask minor off-flavors in the water. Hop water doesn’t have that luxury — there’s nothing to hide behind. The filtration and mineral adjustments breweries already do for their beer matter even more. Water pH is critical, too, but good breweries have ways to control that.

Getting Hop Flavor Without Brewing Beer

Breweries generally land on one of a few approaches:

Dry-hopping style infusion. This is the most common method among Pacific Northwest producers, and it borrows directly from a technique brewers already know very well. Whole-cone or pelletized hops are steeped in water, the same way they’d be dry-hopped into a finished beer. This extracts aroma and flavor without pulling in bitterness. It’s akin to making tea with a tea bag. 

Bellingham’s Aslan Brewing makes its Sparkling Hop Water this way, steeping organic whole-cone Cascade and Chinook (and in some batches, Simcoe) hops directly into the water. The result, true to the hop varieties used, comes through as citrus and floral notes with a light, pleasant bitterness on the finish. (Pictured above: center.)

Hop extract or concentrate. Rather than steeping raw plant matter, some producers use hop oils or liquid hop concentrates engineered specifically for beverage use. These extracts provide lupulin-derived aromatics and flavor compounds while leaving behind the vegetal matter that might require filtering. They also offer something raw hops can’t always guarantee: consistency. A liquid extract measured by the milliliter behaves the same way in batch 50 as it did in batch one. 

Industry suppliers have noticed the trend. Flavor science company Abstrax recently released a technical guide to help breweries build hop water programs around its hop-derived beverage products, pitching it as a way to extend existing production capability into a new, non-alcoholic category.

In 2024, John I. Haas, the world’s largest hop supplier, introduced its Euphorics line of products, a hop-oil-based, water-soluble flavor solution formulated to make it easy to elevate hop character and deliver impactful, natural-tasting fruit and other flavor expressions. Euphorics was designed for beer, but it also works very well for hop water.

A hybrid approach. Some producers split the difference, steeping raw hops for the base character and then using a small amount of an innovative, new, hop-derived product to round out the flavor profile.

One thing breweries generally agree on: boiling the hops is off the table. A boil pulls iso-alpha acids and real bitterness from the hops. That would make hop water taste more like a de-alcoholized beer, which is not the goal.

Hop Selection and Extraction Method

As in a hop-forward IPA, the hop varieties the brewery uses do most of the flavor work in hop water. Citra brings citrus, Simcoe leans piney, Mosaic goes tropical, and so on. Breweries often market hop water flavor profiles with the same descriptors they use for an IPA. Aslan’s Chinook and Cascade combination, for instance, produces the same herbal, citrus-forward character those hops are known for in beer.

The raw-hops-versus-extract question is also becoming a quiet point of differentiation in the category. Whole-cone or pelletized hops steeped directly in water tend to get marketed as “real hops, no extract,” appealing to drinkers who want the product to mirror traditional brewing as closely as possible. Liquid extracts and distilled hop oils, on the other hand, give larger-scale producers precise, repeatable dosing and a longer shelf life, without needing to filter spent hop matter out of the final product. Neither approach is right or wrong.

Hop extracts, hop oils, and hop-derived products in general have come a long way. The science and the processes have improved, and the brewing industry no longer talks about these products with the same chagrin it did, say, 20 years ago.

Carbonation and Packaging

Hop water is almost always force-carbonated after the hopping step. From there it goes into kegs or cans, where oxygen exposure becomes the main enemy of hop flavor, much like it is for a tasty IPA. That means hop water, like any hop-forward beer, has a shelf-life. It’s not critical, and hop water probably won’t go bad, but hop flavor compounds are, by nature, volatile little beasts. Keep hop water refrigerated and don’t let it sit around for too long. 

Does Fermentation Ever Happen?

Technically, yes, in some cases. A handful of producers run a very brief or minimal fermentation step as part of their process, which can nudge the final ABV up slightly above true 0.0%. That distinction matters for labeling purposes — the difference between “0.0% ABV” and “non-alcoholic” isn’t always a marketing choice; sometimes it’s a legal one, even if there is only an infinitesimal trace of alcohol. 

Why Breweries Are Making It

The business case writes itself. Breweries already have relationships with hop suppliers, know a lot about hops, have the necessary equipment, and have customer trust — hop water lets them expand into the semi-sober and non-alcoholic space without building an entirely separate production line. It’s also a straightforward way to compete for shelf space and taproom attention against sodas and other non-alcoholic drinks.

A Note on Proprietary Processes

I’ll say it plainly: most breweries are not eager to hand over their exact hop water recipe. Beyond, perhaps, the hop varieties used, things like steeping times, hop ratios, water chemistry adjustments, and whether (or how much) extract gets blended in are treated the same way a brewery treats its flagship IPA recipe—as proprietary information. So when you read “house-made hop water” on a menu, that phrase should offer all the description you need, because it might be all you get. It usually means the specifics stop there, and the rest is the brewery’s business. Again, let the mystery keep the romance fresh. 

Sum it Up

Hop water isn’t a watered-down beer substitute. It’s its own category, built from a brewery’s hop expertise but following its own rules. Whether a brewery steeps whole cones the old-fashioned way or leans on a modern hop extract, the goal is the same: capture what makes hops interesting without including a drop of alcohol. Skip the calories, skip the gluten, and enjoy the hoppy goodness guilt-free. Generally speaking, no breweries are just phoning it in. A brewery’s hop water has real intention and effort behind it, and that alone makes it worth experiencing.

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