This was voted the best brewery in Tri-Cities. Here’s why

Ryan Wattenbarger likes his beer.

“I probably drink too much of it,” he admits.

But what he really likes to do is make the beer.

Wattenbarger and his wife, Hilary Bird, own Moonshot Brewing in Kennewick, which placed first in the Tri-City Herald’s most recent poll with the question: Which of these is the best brewery experience in the Tri-Cities?

Almost 38,000 votes were tabulated, and among the 12 breweries listed, Moonshot won, getting 46% of the vote.

Sage Brewing Company, which has a brewery in Pasco and another soon to open at Hanson Park in Kennewick, placed second with 35%.

Getting started

Wattenbarger, who grew up near the world famous Yakima Valley hops fields, started his career working in the wine industry.

But eventually he moved into beer, becoming the assistant brewer at Snipes Mountain Brewery & Restaurant in Sunnyside. Within six months, he was the head brewmaster.

In June 2019, Wattenbarger and Bird opened Moonshot, moving into a $1.2 million building just off Gage Boulevard.

“The biggest problem in wine was you only get to ferment two to three months a year,” said Wattenbarger. “With beer, you have things you can ferment all year round.”

The 3,240-square-foot taproom comfortably seats 100.

The key idea for Wattenbarger was being able to make smaller batches of beer to try. If they were successful, he could make more of it.

Everything at Snipes Mountain was made in large batches, and made it hard for him to experiment.

Using a 3.5-barrel Stout system at Moonshot allows him to experiment with those smaller batches.

“It makes 4-6 kegs,” said Wattenbarger. “If they work out, I can make it again.”

Wattenbarger likes the variety in brewing beer.

“For me, brewing is like being between an art and science thing for me,” he said. “I like experimenting with PH levels, blending flavors.”

But he loves the creativity a mixing different ingredients too.

“I’m somewhere in the middle of art and science,” he said.

Craft beer

According to the Washington Beer Commission, there are 417 craft breweries in the state of Washington, as beer’s popularity in this state continues to increase.

And with any popular beer taproom, it all starts with the beer.

The Herald poll is hardly scientific — people can vote as often as they want — but getting 46% of the vote is pretty impressive.

“We have some dedicated folks who like our beer,” said Wattenbarger, who has listed 100 beer variants that he has made since opening Moonshot. “And we definitely have people who only come in when we release a new beer.”

His favorite?

“It’s the Ophi Pilsner,” said Wattenbarger. “When brewers talk about how good they are, you go to their Pilsner. There is nowhere to hide, because it’s simple.”

IPAs are popular in this region because of the ready availability of Yakima Valley hops.

He says he’s really proud of his barrel-aged — or wood-aged — beer.

“We put it in whiskey, rum or wine barrels. We keep it aged in the barrels for a year,” he said.

Almost everything, he says, comes from this region.

“We use 95 percent Washington-grown hops. We’re in the process to reach that level for grain,” said Wattenbarger.

Altogether, Moonshot has 12 taps.

Pandemic pressures

Moonshot was open for nine months when the pandemic hit. At that point, it became a battle to survive.

“We applied for a lot of grants and loans,” said Wattenbarger. “Thank God we are on a small system so we didn’t have to destroy a lot of beer.”

It was just Ryan, Hilary and one other employee. And they had to lay off the employee.

“We sold hot dogs at one point. We tried the open air thing by opening the garage doors. We’d have the outdoor patio in the back,” said Wattenbarger. “The first couple of months during the pandemic we were open 12 hours a week. We did to-go orders only.”

They started doing 32-ounce Crowlers, canning the beer. That became popular enough that they still sell those.

And they are back up to three employees.

“We’re looking at a second taproom now,” said Wattenbarger. “We’re in the intel research stage.”

More than beer

But this poll question mentions best brewery experience.

“I think we strive to make sure everybody is welcome in this taproom,” said Wattenbarger. “That includes children and dogs.”

Dogs do have to be on leashes, but Moonshot also sells dog biscuits made locally from Ethos Bakery.

There is no kitchen at Moonshot.

But customers can bring their own food, and Wattenbarger and Bird also bring in food trucks all of the time. Check the company website or Facebook page for what trucks will be there.

“Fast & Curryous is here every Friday,” said Wattenbarger. “We also have Trivia nights, Bingo nights, and a Board Game night the second Wednesday every month.”

And then there is the soccer.

Wattenbarger and Bird are big soccer fans, and they’ve striven to make Moonshot the go-to place to watch soccer games.

On a recent Tuesday — a day that Moonshot is normally closed during the week — Wattenbarger opened up the place at 7 p.m. because the Seattle Sounders were playing in the Major League Soccer playoffs.

“Most sports bars might have one TV showing a soccer match. The rest are football or basketball games. We’re the place you can always watch the Sounders and the U.S. National team,” said Wattenbarger.

The whole thing, he says, makes for a great atmosphere — even though he admits his confidence was shaken by the pandemic.

“We still haven’t had a normal spring here,” he said, referring to the popular time customers usually come in for beer. “But it’s nice to see people enjoy our beer. We have some very loyal drinkers.”

This story was originally published November 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM.