Spokane-area beer makers collaborate to toast their passions

After a rough six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spokane-area brewers are rekindling their self-promotion efforts as economic forces squeeze harder than a logger's hand on an aluminum can.

Surrounded by the heavy smell of fresh hops inside the brewing facility of Lumberbeard Brewing in downtown Spokane, Jason Soucinek and Adam Boyd, of Garland Brew Werks, on Wednesday explained the part each of 28 other local brewers will play to craft a beer for an upcoming event.

The brewmasters agreed to forego rivalries so that each can produce the same hazy IPA (India pale ale) called "509 Brew Parade" for the resurrected Spokane Craft Beer Week, which runs May 16 to 23.

Once complete, patrons will be able to obtain the same "509 Brew Parade" beer at every one of the 29 local breweries, with all proceeds later going to the Spokane Lilac Festival Association.

The idea "was to have a whole week that just highlights the industry of craft beer in Spokane, what all these brewers are doing, the hard work they're doing, and all the great things that they're putting on and the great beers they're making for the community," Boyd said.

The promotion began in 2015, but it ground to a halt in 2020 after COVID-19 forced the business world into a nationwide hangover. The idea was revived last year, and the "509 Brew Parade" will fuel the comeback tour for 2026.

"It's time to bring it back," said Boyd, the director of brewing operations at Garland Brew Werks, located at 603 W. Garland Ave. "It's about just kind of supporting each other and lifting each other up."

The craft brewing industry is a bit different than other business models in that the different brew pubs have much of the same clientele but without the traditional competition.

"That's not just particular to Spokane. That is nationwide," Boyd said. "Craft beer drinkers ... like to try different craft beers. They like to go to different places.

"So for us, it's about building a collective industry. And, the stronger the collective industry ... the more customers we're serving."

Evolving from a hobby

Nearly all commercial craft brewers began with starter kits and brewed beer in their garages.

While many local enthusiasts discovered they had a passion to make a delicious brew, very few acquired the business acumen to turn those hobbies into viable enterprises.

Bret Gordon, 38, started home brewing at age 21 before he graduated college. Then he started working in finance.

"Hated it," Gordon said. "I was still kind of home brewing, here and there, to help cope with the finance."

Eventually following his passion, Gordon began seeking a job at a brewery. He didn't find one.

He eventually found a brewing program at University of California San Diego and started planning to open a business in 2018.

With family in Spokane, Gordon eventually landed in the Lilac City and opened a brewery in a building one block east of Division St., at 23 E. Third Ave., which previously housed a Culligan water business.

After struggling to find a name, Gordon, who has grown out his beard since 2014, reverted to his old Twitter handle: Lumberbeard.

He opened Lumberbeard Brewing in January 2020.

"So, like the ideal time to start a brewery," he said in jest. "We had about a month and a half before we had to adjust. Welcome to the world. It was one of those, 'Well, we're here. We've already spent all the money. We're going for it.' "

After surviving months of shutdowns and uncertainty, Lumberbeard has grown into the third-largest local craft brewer behind No Li Brewhouse and Brick West Brewing, Gordon said.

"We're about 2,000 barrels a year," he said of the brewery's production. "So yeah, nothing crazy. All of that is done on site."

Following COVID, all the local breweries suffered from the same supply chain disruptions that hampered most of the national economy. And now, the brewers are facing higher costs for hops from Australia and New Zealand thanks to recently imposed tariffs.

Higher fuel prices have jacked up the cost of transporting beer, as much as $200 per pallet, after it's been brewed.

"Our suppliers keep raising our prices, which is really annoying and sucks," Gordon said. "But we can't really raise prices because the consumers are going to get pissed and go somewhere else.

"It's not easy right now."

He added: "That's why, nationally, a lot of breweries have gone out of business. That's why, locally, a couple of breweries have gone out of business."

Bringing it back

Matt Gilbreath, owner of Humble Abode Brewing, said he was in the men's room of Whistle Punk Brewing Downtown last year when he

looked up on the wall and saw a poster for the 2019 Spokane Craft Beer Week.

"And I was like, 'We've got to bring that back.' And so I immediately went out and talked to Matt (Hanson)," said Gilbreath, 51.

Hanson, co-owner of Whistle Punk, located at 122 S. Monroe St., who previously had organized the event, told Gilbreath that the promotion took a lot of effort.

After some discussions, Jason Soucinek and Adam Boyd, of Garland Brew Werks, agreed to revive the beer week.

"Portland does it. Seattle does it. California does it," Gilbreath said. "We have so many breweries here."

Garland Brew Works, which brews about 300 barrels a year, opened in 2021.

Boyd, who for more than a decade worked in the local film industry, got into the business by working for Iron Goat Brewing, at 1302 W. Second Ave.

He noted that Spokane had about 35 local breweries before 2020.

"We have seen economic hardship," he said. "There's been all kinds of issues with getting aluminum cans and stuff with tariffs importing hops that aren't grown in the United States.

"It's been harder for us to make great beer because it's become more expensive and so many of us are afraid to pass those expenses on to the customers."

Gilbreath, who worked 22 years for Staples, said his brother convinced him to try brewing at home in 2016.

"I never wanted to homebrew. I liked buying beer," he said.

But his brother had Gilbreath brew a batch with him over Christmas.

"I was like, 'Dude, that was pretty fun,' " he said. "And so I bought some equipment from my neighbor for, like, $50 ... and I brewed my first batch."

The next thing he knew, brewing at home became a second job. Eventually, it became his only job.

Humble Abode, at 1620 E. Houston Ave., opened in 2018. It later added a mostly brewing, and sometimes tasting room, in the former Chronicle Building at 926 W. Sprague Ave.

Humble Abode now brews 400 to 450 barrels a year. Most of that is sold at the Houston Avenue location.

Gilbreath agreed with the other brewers that anything to spark interest in the local brewing industry is mutually helpful.

"I've never felt like we are competing," he said. "We all have the same customers."

When customers ask about tastes and particular beers, Gilbreath willingly sends them to other breweries in Spokane.

"The collaborative part of this is huge," he said. "We're all trying to make money, trying to make a living. I think Spokane Craft Beer Week just needed to be reignited. That's what brings us here."

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