Preparing to hatch
After more than three years of planning, one location change and countless smaller twists and turns, the downtown brewery incubator is headed into the home stretch.
Brewing is scheduled to begin next weekend on the seven-barrel system that will be shared by Young Buck, Little Spokane and up to three more budding commercial brewers as the project progresses. Construction continues on the adjoining Steel Barrel taproom and Zona Blanca restaurant.
Beer will be pouring at some point in May in the Luminaria Building at 154 S. Madison. But whether it’s a full-scale opening depends largely on the success of a struggling Kickstarter campaign that has raised just over $4,000 of its $25,000 goal with 10 days left.
If it fails, the Steel Barrel will still host some limited events to test the waters and bring in revenue, but without a complete supply of beer, liquor and glassware.
“Over time, we’ll get to that point, once we have the cash flow,” says Peter McArthur, owner of Nu Home Brew, who will manage the taproom. “Either way, we’ll be doing some things in May.”
At full steam, the Steel Barrel’s 30 taps will pour a variety of house-brewed beers along with other offerings both local and beyond. “We’re going to carry the best beer that we can find,” says Young Buck’s Cameron Johnson.
Craft cocktails will also be a focus, centering around bourbon, beer’s natural partner, and tequila – which will pair well with the ceviche and other Mexican fare from Zona Blanca, by acclaimed chef Chad White, a former “Top Chef” contestant.
Beer also will appear in cocktails, and there will be hopped vodka and tequila. “We’re trying to tie everything into a beer theme,” McArthur says.
Atmosphere-wise, Johnson describes the approach as “a mix of industrial chic and English pub.”
Reclaimed wood tops the tables and bar, an inverted old mail bin serves as a chandelier and wall lighting fixtures were fashioned from former Kaiser Aluminum smelting ladles. A keg cooler is housed in an ornate safe that dates back to the building’s past as a fur trading company.
There will be seating for about 50 people. Entertainment will include darts and shuffleboard, on a table made from vintage bowling alley wood.
An iron fence that already was in place separates the taproom from the brewery, which customers will be able to tour.
Johnson’s first brew will be an English-style mild made with locally malted barley from Palouse Pint, which will pour at that new operation’s kickoff event on May 11. Little Spokane’s Joe Potter will lead off with a favorite recipe, a multigrain porter.
Johnson, who specializes in sours, recently bought 27 wine barrels full of aged Belgian-style beers from defunct Ramblin’ Road to add to the two dozen barrels he already had on hand.
He plans to blend the Ramblin’ Road beers with some of his own stock. “We’ll continue their legacy here in Spokane,” he says.
That’s the sort of synergistic spirit that characterizes the entire project, as Johnson explains it: “We’re focusing on collaboration, between the in-house brewers, the brewery and the kitchen, and with other local breweries.”