Puyallup hops saved beer in America. Brewallup Craft Beer Festival celebrates that legacy
The way Andy Gaine tells it, Puyallup saved beer in America.
Aphids destroyed hops across the country in the late 1800s, Gaine told The Herald, but crops in the Puyallup Valley survived, including those of pioneer Ezra Meeker — Puyallup’s first mayor.
Gaine, one of the owners of the CaskCades taproom downtown, thinks that Puyallup’s hops history “doesn’t always get the attention it deserves.”
The fourth annual Brewallup Craft Beer Festival will celebrate that legacy from 1-7 p.m. Nov. 2 at the fairgrounds ShowPlex in downtown Puyallup.
Gaine and others started the Brewallup beer festival in 2021, and it’s gotten bigger each year.
The Puyallup Sumner Chamber of Commerce hosts it.
Organizers expect 35 breweries and cideries and hope to have 2,000 attendees this year.
As the craft-beer industry has struggled to see a resurgence following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gaine said, it’s special to see a beer festival that’s growing.
The $40 ticket includes admission to the 21+ event (no kids allowed), eight 4-ounce tastes and a keepsake bulb glass. Designated drivers can get in for $20 and will find a selection of nonalcoholic beer, soda and water.
Food trucks will include Boss Mama’s Kitchen, Tacos Mirrey, Kamaiana Hawaiian, Fat Zach’s Pizza, 321 Ice Cream Parlor (and doughnuts), and Wandering Cowgirl Coffee.
There will be live music, as well as a car show that will bring 50 classic cars to the ShowPlex. Attendees can register for a 5K race in downtown Puyallup before the event for $30.
Three hotels near the fairgrounds — Fairfield Inn, Basecamp Puyallup and the Hampton Inn — will have discounted room rates for attendees.
The entrance to the festival is the fairgrounds’ Blue Gate. Parking in the Blue Lot across the street is free.
New beers and breweries at Brewallup 2024
One of the big names joining the festival this year is Fort George Brewery from Astoria, Oregon.
Gaine said he’s also excited about Monkless Belgian Ales making the trip from Bend, Oregon.
There also will be a special beer on tap that’s a collaboration between Gaine, CaskCades co-owner AJ Wiltrout and Matt McLaren with Orcas Distributing.
It’s a hazy I.P.A. that they brewed at Level Beer in the Portland area. They called it New Game +, and the hop varieties spell out G.A.M.E.
“This beer is mostly Pilsner malt with some oats and wheat, the hops we went with are Galaxy, Audacia, Mosaic (Cryo), and Elani,” Level Beer owner Shane Watterson told The News Tribune via email. “The beer is 6.8% ABV and has notes of guava, papaya and mild citrus.”
The name “New Game +” is in honor of Gaine and Wiltrout moving on to their next chapter. They sold CaskCades to a beloved employee, who takes over the business early next month.
Grit & Grain, a Pierce County craft-beer podcast with about 1,000 listeners that McLaren is part of, will record live as brewers set up at the event.
McLaren said he’s looking forward to Monkless and to Vice Beer from Vancouver, Washington, both of which have won awards in recent years.
Brewallup has heavyweight championship belts for the winners of best brewery and best cidery. Visitors vote for their favorite.
Gaine said they created a cider award after Fierce County Cider won best-in-show last year, “which had some beer guys saying: ‘What the heck?’”
Asked about memorable beers in recent years, Gaine said it’s hard to focus on the beers when he’s busy working the event, but he does remember Fremont Brewing bringing magnum bottles of The Rusty Nail, its barrel-aged stout. He’s a fan.
Brewallup brings cideries and breweries from across the state, said Lisa Owens, director of membership engagement and events for the Puyallup Sumner Chamber of Commerce.
“But we are really trying to keep it local,” she said, “paying homage to the Puyallup Valley hops heritage.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly characterized the survival of hops in the Puyallup Valley in the late 1800s. Hops in the Puyallup Valley survived while aphids destroyed others across the country, but not due to permafrost.
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 9:00 AM.
