You can score a 20% discount on your tickets by using the promo code WABEERBLOG26. GRAINMAKER Festival, a singularly cool brewfest, happens in Spokane on Friday, August 7th.
What is GRAINMAKER?
Brewers already know it, and they participate in this event to celebrate it. But if you’ve ever wondered about the importance of the relationship between a field of golden grain and the beer in your pint glass, here’s your chance to find out firsthand. Brick West Brewing Company is hosting the 5th GRAINMAKER Festival from 4-8 pm on Friday, August 7, and it promises to be one of the more genuinely cool beer events of the year. Enjoy 26 collaboration beers brewed by breweries from across the Western U.S. Visit grainmakerbeerfest.com for all the details.
Exclusive beers from near and far
Here’s the deal: 26 beers, each one brewed specifically for this event as a collaboration between breweries that traveled to Spokane just to be part of the harvest. We share the list of participating breweries below, and it includes some highly esteemed beer makers. We’re talking brewers coming in from across the Western United States: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Colorado, and Arizona — all of them converging on the Inland Northwest to experience the grain harvest up close. Best of all, the experience translates straight into the beer.
It’s not a small ask for a brewery. They’re willing to go the extra mile because this is so cool. How about you? Flying or driving in from six different states to brew a one-off collaboration beer means these folks actually care about what’s happening here. If beer were a rock band, hops would be the lead singer. Grain would be the drummer. One gets all the attention, but the other is the foundation upon which the music is built. And so it is that every brewer worth their salt understands the importance of grain. You, dear beer consumer, should learn to recognize it too.
Grown specifically for craft beer
You very likely don’t know it, but the Inland Northwest has quietly become a premier source of grain specifically grown for craft brewing. The brewers invited to participate in GRAINMAKER were chosen for their excellence in the glass and for their role in helping grow that reputation. The festival is co-sponsored by Cold Stream Malt & Grain of Latah, WA, and LINC Malt of Spokane Valley — the two outfits doing a lot of that grain-growing heavy lifting in the first place.
Event info
Tickets are $40, available online at grainmakerbeerfest.com or at the gate on the day of the event. The ticket gets you unlimited taster pours plus a commemorative glass to add to your collection. The location is Brick West Brewing (1318 W 1st Ave, Spokane, WA 99201) Fair warning: with 26 one-off beers pouring, this is very much a first-come, first-served situation — once a keg’s gone, it’s gone, so I wouldn’t show up at 7:45 expecting the full lineup still available.
Remember, score a 20% discount on your tickets by using the promo code WABEERBLOG26.
Proceeds benefit the barley fund of the WA Association of Wheat Growers, so you’re not just drinking well — you’re actively supporting the people growing the grain that makes all of this possible in the first place.
Twenty-six unique collaboration beers, brewers who flew in just for this, and a good cause behind every pour. Mark the calendar. This one’s worth the trip.
What the brewers say
Seattle brewer Colin Lenfesty, owner of Holy Mountain Brewing Company, had this to say about GRAINMAKER: “Events like GRAINMAKER remind people that truly local beer begins long before it reaches the brewhouse. LINC and Cold Stream have helped strengthen the connection between brewers and the agricultural community while giving us access to distinctive, regionally grown malt that creates a real sense of place in the finished beer. GRAINMAKER is a chance to celebrate those relationships, while drinking some fantastic beer.”
“GRAINMAKER is a one of a kind beer event that does not exist anywhere else in the world. The event spotlights local grains being grown and malted in the PNW through collaboration beers brewed by some of the best breweries in the country,” said Matt Hanson, brewer and co-owner of Whistle Punk Brewing of Spokane. “If you care about craft beer and supporting local farmers, maltsters and breweries, this event should not be missed.”
“GRAINMAKER really is a celebration of what makes this region special,” said Leslie Shore, of Cold Stream Malt & Grain. “By pairing up some of the best breweries in the Western U.S. to make a beer for the festival, we are able to share that bounty of our Inland Northwest grown malt.” Shore continued, “Every pint poured here showcases breweries that push their craft and the farms that make it possible, benefitting the Barley Fund’s outreach and educational services. We are proud to present this festival with folks coming out to celebrate alongside farmers, maltsters and brewers.”
LINC and Cold Stream partner to supply craft malted grains to brewers across the western US and beyond. GRAINMAKER highlights many of the places their malted grains are being used in beer.
GRAINMAKER Festival is supported in part by a City of Spokane Tourism and Cultural Investment (TACI) Grant, as well as by a number of in-kind community sponsors. A variety of agricultural industry and community organizations also contribute to the WAWG Barley Fund in support of the event.
Participating breweries
- Holy Mountain (WA)
- Sockeye (ID)
- Single Hill (WA)
- Urban Family (WA)
- Trap Door (WA)
- Fast Fashion (WA)
- Formula (WA)
- Stoup (WA)
- Uprise (WA)
- Obelisk (OR)
- Ravenna (WA)
- Georgetown (WA)
- Pizza Port (CA)
- Mother Earth (ID)
- Terramar (WA)
- Lumberbeard (WA)
- Varietal (WA)
- Cloudburst (WA)
- Fair Isle (WA)
- Woodland Empire (ID)
- Human People (WA)
- Irrelevant (WA)
- Project 9 (WA)
- Lost Grove (ID)
- No Boat (WA)
- Ladd & Lass (WA)
- Bizarre (WA)
- Watts (WA)
- Whistle Punk (WA)
- Solaris (CA)
- Bottle Logic (CA)
- Roses by the Stairs (AZ)
- Taproom (CA)
- Seek (CA)
- 8 Bit (CA)
- Little Letters (WA)
- Breakside (OR)
- Bale Breaker (WA)
- Sunriver (OR)
- El Sueñito (WA)
- Fort George (OR)
- Our Mutual Friend (CO)
- Halcyon (WA)
- Brick West (WA)
- Burgeon (CA)
- Mirage (WA)
- San Juan Island (WA)
- Icicle (WA)
- Slow Body (AZ)
- Grain Shed (WA)
- Threshold (OR)
- Parliament (CA)
- Ilk (WA)
Visit our events page and calendar to learn about all sorts of other upcoming beer events. To submit an event for inclusion on our events calendar, use our event submission form. Got more details to share, reach out to us.
