bottoms up

FIVE BREWERIES CAPTURE THE ETHOS OF KITSAP’S THRIVING CRAFT BREW SCENE

Words and photos by Joshua Johnson

For a full listing and map of more than 20 local breweries, go to visitkitsap.com/craft-breweries

As Washington craft beer boomed in the 1980s, Kitsap Peninsula’s own microbrew scene took root in a Poulsbo farmhouse. It was there that Thomas Kemper Brewing, later purchased by Seattle’s Pyramid Brewing, fermented and nurtured their beers and sodas along with the local craft brew culture. Their passion, know-how, relationships and expertise germinated into a strong family tree of brewers, laying the foundation for nearly two dozen independent breweries that now call the West Sound home. I visited five of them and spoke with the owners about what makes them tick and what makes Kitsap brews special.

Russell Everett, Brewmaster/Co-Owner
BAINBRIDGE BREWING

In an alternate history, Russell Everett would have been a lawyer. The born-and-raised Bainbridge Islander passed the bar exam, but the realities of the early 2009 recession prompted him to pivot to his true passion, brewing. After 13 years away, Everett returned to the island ready to set down deep roots.

As we stood next to the brewery’s towers of gleaming steel, he told me how he’d been a home brewer for years. With an interest in creating something unique for his hometown, he and his father Chuck began dreaming about a brewery and went bar-hopping together across Seattle to study their favorite watering holes. By 2012, Bainbridge Island Brewing Company opened their doors. The father-son team now operates the Brewery & Taproom at Coppertop Park and Bainbridge Brewing Alehouse in Winslow, where ferry passengers can find a pint of fresh local beer just footsteps away.

Everett had one goal for the business—create a tangible good for the community he grew up in. As he motioned to the Taproom, you could see from the easy banter of guests that he achieved his goal. “We need a place to be together, where it’s socially acceptable to sit with and talk to strangers,” Everett said. “Public houses have always been that place, and that’s what I wanted to create.’

Caitlyn Hatchel, Owner
HOOD CANAL BREWERY

Caitlyn Hatchel was pregnant and a week overdue when we sat and talked at Hood Canal Brewery in Kingston. Even with a full term baby belly and sporadic contractions, Hatchel was focused on brewery operations and the community it has fostered for nearly 30 years.

“I started here when I was 21,” the lifelong local said. “I tended bar and learned bit by bit.” Hood Canal Brewery founder Don Wyatt, her boss at the time, saw in Hatchel someone who loved people, made them feel welcome and created an effortless feeling of family around her. After several years of bartending, it was clear that she was a part of what made the brewery a special place to gather and sip suds, and Wyatt made her his successor.

“People come here to sit in the bar or outside, have great conversations and meet new people,” Hatchel said. “It’s a breath of fresh air.”

She credits the continued success of the brewery to the people she surrounds herself with, especially her family. Her dad works on carpentry projects, her mom bartends, and her sister bottles beer. The family’s newest member, Finley Rae Hatchel, was born on July 13.

Don Spencer, Brewmaster/ Co-Owner
VALHÖLL BREWING

As a brewer at Thomas Kemper Brewing, Don Spencer remembers bringing home growlers of fresh beer to enjoy after work. That was before he helped Scott and Steve Houmes open Bremerton’s Silver City Brewery in 1996 and before the Kitsap craft beer scene really exploded. You might even say Spencer helped light the fuse.

A brewmaster at the highly regarded Silver City for nearly a quarter century, Spencer led its team to the honor of being named Mid-Sized Brewery/Brewer of the Year at the 33rd Great American Beer Festival in 2019. A year later, he exited Silver City and assumed co-ownership of Viking-themed Valhöll Brewing in Poulsbo. “This is my dream project,” Spencer said. “I’d been coming to Valhöll for years for a pint. I love this place. I just love a room full of people drinking beer.”

“This is very exciting,” he added, motioning to the four- pack of Valhöll tallboy cans sitting on the bar. The cans have been flying off the shelves at local markets since April. Equally exciting to Spencer is creating community. “I’m learning to do a new thing here,” he notes. “Being the face, the ambassador, the person that can be out front, getting people excited about beer.”

Jeffery Scott, Brewmaster/ Owner
DOG DAYS BREWING

Dog Days Brewing is the result of sheer passion and willpower on the part of owner, brewmaster and Navy veteran Jeffery Scott. The hole-in-the-wall, downtown brewery is sandwiched between Bremerton’s Historic Roxy Theatre and the Axe & Arrow Gastropub. Its casual, friendly vibes spill out onto the sidewalk, where a dog dish gleams in the sunlight. “From the very beginning, having a place that was dog-friendly and kid-friendly was really important to me,” Scott explained. “That was always a part of the plan.”

Before starting Dog Days, Scott worked full time at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. “Like most people, my first at-home batches were pretty bad,” he laughed. He eventually enrolled in a brewer program with the American Brewers Guild, followed by an apprenticeship at Sound Brewing (now Echoes Brewing).

In 2015, brewer Jon Jankowski of Wobbly Hops took Scott under his wing and then sold him the brewery. “I jumped right in and worked side-by-side with Jon brewing beers, learning the equipment and how to run a brewery,” recalled Scott, who turned Wobbly Hops into Dog Days Brewing the following year. With a roster of events that include trivia and comedy, it’s become a community watering hole for friends, furry and otherwise.

Gary Winn, Brewmaster/Owner
YOKED FARMHOUSE AND BREWERY

On a country road in the quiet South Kitsap enclave of Burley, Yoked Farmhouse & Brewery hums with the friendly chatter of guests, the crow of an unseen rooster, and the sound of scampering children playing tag in the tall grass. For Yoked co-founder Gary Winn, the pastoral landscape is soaked in memories. Winn grew up raising animals and gardening on the farmland adjacent to where his brewery began welcoming guests in 2020.

He and his mother Phyllis Tiernan—his business partner and co-founder—set out to create a special community experience. “Breweries and farms have always gone together,” he said. With longtime friend and Silver City alumnus Seth Hanson, Winn and Tiernan merged the worlds of craft beer and farmhouse culture to create a place that feels truly special.

“I’m really proud of what we’re doing here,” Winn said as he stood next to Yoked farmhand Jessica Menke, who’s often behind the bar slinging beer and greeting regulars. A permitting snafu has temporarily closed the kitchen, but the brewery plans to return to its full menu and regular lineup of events. In the meantime, patrons can order flights of beer and growlers to-go.