The news wasn’t as bad as many people think
Below, I revisit our 11 most-read stories of 2024. Why 11? Because top-ten lists are so passe. Wallowing in the darkness gets us nowhere. Chin up, shoulders back, and fight on. While people often ask what I think about “all these closures” and the other negative aspects of the craft beer scene these days, I like to point out that last year’s news was filled with as much light as darkness. Our Top 11 Most-Read Stories list demonstrates that.
Where did those 1.1 million page views come from?
The Washington Beer Blog primarily covers beer news from the Pacific Northwest. Less frequently, we cover stories of national interest. We attract the attention of both a national and regional audience. The blog enjoys some delicious Google juice; whatever we post usually ends up on the first page of Google search results. In 2024, the blog entertained about 440,000 visitors, and our audience racked up 1.1 million page views. And yes, we can tell which stories get attention beyond the Northwest.
So here they are, presented in reverse order, the Washington Beer Blog’s top 11 most-read stories of 2024, according to our website analytics.
Our Most-Read Stories of 2024
11. Jellyfish Brewing Now Open in Seattle’s Green Lake Neighborhood – This was one of several stories we published this year about breweries opening second locations. The original Jellyfish Brewing location remains open in Georgetown, but now there’s an outpost across town that serves the brewery’s beer. Food, too.
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10. Single Hill Brewing Opens its Seattle Taproom – See, like I just said, 2024 saw a number of breweries open second locations. Yakima-based Single Hill Brewing gifted Seattle’s beer-loving population with a taproom. The new taproom is located in the Ballard neighborhood, a bit removed from the hustle and bustle of the brewery district.
9. Washington Brewers Festival Returning in June 2024, with Some Changes – It was different this year, but I thought it was a raging success. It was no longer an all-ages event, so there was no bouncy house, face painting, or valet baby carriage parking. In the end, and old-timers will hate me for saying it, the new venue and format felt modern. In the heart of the state’s largest city, in the shadow of the Space Needle. The crowd was noticeably younger and much more colorful. It felt more like the place craft beer needs to be and less like the place craft beer once was.
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8. Bellingham’s Boundary Bay Brewery Closing at End of 2025 – While some sadsacks considered this a sign that the whole craft beer thing is about to die, the landlord’s decision to sell the building, likely to developers who are going to build apartments on the site, was probably a huge factor behind this decision. Ed and Janet, owners of the longtime Bellingham beer institution, took this as an opportunity to retire. I’ll be sad to see Boundary Bay go, but I am happy for Ed and Janet, assuming they got to do this on their terms, in at least some part.
7. Hulk Hogan is Bringing America Together, One Beer at a Time – Knock me down with a feather. We should all be so duplicitous. The Hulkster doesn’t drink alcohol. In fact, in the past, he referred to people who drink alcohol as weak and stupid. However, the Hulkster immediately became a huckster when offered this opportunity to cash in on a too-popular and misguided vision of patriotism. These days, flagwashing anything, including beer, is an easy way to suck money out of people’s wallets.
6. A New Brewery Now Open in Seattle: Gasworks Brewing – Just in time for the hottest days of the year, Gasworks Brewing opened on the shores of Lake Union last summer. It’s an amazing location. Paddle up to, or take a plunge off of, the dock and then enjoy a beer in the lakeside beer garden. It’s open all year, but I am particularly excited to see what next summer brings.
5. Kelce Brothers Bring Their Celebrity Power to Garage Beer – These guys are enjoying their 15 minutes of fame. Pro football’s Kelce brothers jumped into the beer game this year, lending their star power and financial wherewithal to an existing beer brewed in Cincinnati. They intend to contract brew Garage Beer at multiple locations and take the brand nationwide. Good luck with that.
4. Seattle’s Brouwer’s Cafe Announces That It’s Closing – This story captured attention from across the nation, and deservedly so. Brouwer’s was a frickin’ institution. In the past, when Brouwer’s Cafe received national attention, it was because publication named it one of the best beer bars in the country. It sucks that it’s gone, but it was a great run that lasted 20 years, which is forever in the restaurant business. Lots of great memories are all that remain.
3. Trouble Brewing at Tree House Brewing – The subtitle of this story is Your Dad is Not a Superhero, and Neither is Your Favorite Brewery. Events at the Massachusetts-based brewery reminded us that normal humans own and operate our beloved breweries. Were the transgressions at Tree House Brewing unforgivably egregious? Only if you hold those humans to some higher standard. People own craft breweries, and people are never perfect.
2. One of the Nation’s First Tank Bars is Set to Open in Seattle – This topic sparked an interesting discussion about the meaning of the term “tank bar” because everyone on the internet is an expert on everything. I admit, this one surprised me. People all over the nation read this story. Who knew that “tank bar” was such a popular keyword search term? This story also allowed me to use a photo I took at Howling Hops Brewery & Tank Bar in London a few years ago, the first time I encountered the term “tank bar” or drank beer poured in this manner.
1. Elysian Brewing Shutting Down its Production Brewery in Seattle – Elysian Brewing is an incendiary topic on the Washington Beer Blog. Whenever I mention those words, some people freak out. There are still a lot of local beer lovers who feel personally betrayed because the brewery was acquired by Anheuser-Busch a decade ago. Add to that the public’s bloodlust for bad news, then season it with a pinch of unionization rhetoric, and you’ve got our most-read story of the year. This one got a lot of national attention. Since the Washington Beer Blog broke the story, several major news outlets have linked to our original report. Thank you, and you’re welcome, mainstream media.
So there it is. As I said, our 2024 Top 11 Stories demonstrate that there is sunshine between the clouds. We’ll see what next year brings. Chin up, shoulders back, carry on.
