Cloudburst, acclaimed Seattle brewery, sold to Yakima's Bale Breaker

While bouncing around pintxo bars in San Sebastian, eating my weight in Jamón Ibérico on a monthlong trip to Spain, I got a text from a big-name Seattle brewer with major news.

Steve Luke of Cloudburst Brewing, a superstar in the brewing scene, has sold his critically acclaimed beer brand. He is moving to New Zealand.

The good news: Not much will change, Luke said, after he sold his brewery for an undisclosed sum to Yakima's Bale Breaker Brewing Company, which plans to keep both Cloudburst locations running (in Ballard and near Pike Place Market; Bale Breaker also runs a tasting room in Ballard that will remain open).

And, as part of the deal, Luke signed a three-year contract to continue writing recipes for the beers at Cloudburst.

"The daily operations, I won't be a part of that. It will be a little break for my body. I had some wear-and-tear, gotten shots. A slipped disk … I'm a little burnt out, the 42-year-old brewer said. "I've worked in a brewery since I was 21; half my adult life. I need a break.

Luke was a James Beard Awards semifinalist six years ago in the category of Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Producer. Earlier this year, he won two gold medals at the World Beer Cup, a prestigious international brewing contest.

Luke said he hopes to open a microbrewery in New Zealand in the future. He will move to the coastal town of Mangawhai Heads next week to be with his wife, Holly Eydenberg.

"Steve is known for hoppy beers and lagers. That's in our wheelhouse, too, so it made sense," said Bale Breaker co-owner Meghann Quinn, speaking about the partnership.

Elsewhere in the local beer scene, Distant West Brewing in the Ballard Brewery District shut down this week, owner and brewer Greg Macaulay told The Seattle Times via email.

In a note posted on Distant West's website, Macaulay wrote that he hopes to sell his turnkey microbrewery space to any brewer who wants to take it over.

Macaulay started brewing four years ago before expanding with a Ballard tasting room in 2024. The news wasn't necessarily a total surprise, since Distant West shut down the tasting room last fall to focus on "wholesale, farmers markets and pop-up events."

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