Popular Puyallup brewery reopens with update, regulars ‘knocking on the door’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Firemind Brewing reopened in Puyallup under new owners after rebranding.
- The brewery offers custom brewing, inviting community events and gatherings.
- Owners retained Station U-Brew's vision while refreshing space and operations.
A popular Puyallup brewery is starting a new chapter.
Station U-Brew has now been rebranded as Firemind Brewing after two new owners bought the business, located at 211 W. Stewart Ave. in downtown Puyallup. Firemind Brewing opened its doors to the public on Sept. 3.
“Firemind speaks to passion – the things that light your brain, rev your engine,” said Connor O’Rourke, one of the brewery’s new owners. “This passion to the point of near obsession – because that is how we feel about brewing.”
Customers can buy beer, seltzers, ciders and more. Firemind is also one of two U-Brews in the state, allowing customers the opportunity to make their own beverages.
“Anyone interested in learning the art of brewing, or even if it’s just a bachelor party or bridesmaid party – the bachelor party makes one beer and the bridesmaid party makes another,” O’Rourke said. “So, they can battle it out at the reception to see whose beer or seltzer turned out better.”
O’Rourke said this new, fiery phase began when Steve Samples, the owner of Station U-Brew, decided he was ready to retire. O’Rourke was working at Lumber House Brewery in Black Diamond at the time, but that changed when Lumber House closed its taproom.
“[Steve] got to the point that he was ready to retire and the community seemed ready for a little fresh blood, so we stepped in,” O’Rourke said. “We came to honor his vision for a local neighborhood spot that brews great beer.”
O’Rourke said that he and his friend, Erik Edvalds, bought the business and went to work rebranding it. They closed shop for four days and “redid the interior” by cleaning and applying a coat of fresh paint.
“I would have loved a little more time to get everything lined up, but I had regulars knocking on the door every day,” O’Rourke said. “I could hardly keep them out any longer.”
The community, O’Rourke said, is the most important part.
“The best part of the day-to-day is building a place for people to come exchange ideas, the coffee shops of old,” O’Rourke said. “A free place to exchange ideas that don’t necessarily align, in a way that everyone here becomes close friends – and better for it.”
