Renton’s beloved hometown brewery celebrates its 10th anniversary on August 1st
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve mentioned Four Generals Brewing and been met with a blank stare. Seriously? How many medals does a brewery need to win before people start paying attention? Most recently, Four Generals was named Small Brewer of the Year at the 2025 Washington Beer Awards — no small thing in a state absolutely lousy with small breweries.
Part of the anonymity is understandable, I suppose. This has been a lager-focused brewery from the jump, meaning it was something of a square peg in a round hole of IPAs ten years ago. Thankful that’s changed. Four Generals isn’t distributed widely — your surest bet for finding the beer is to make the trip to their taproom in Renton. And let’s be honest, Renton is not on most beer geeks’ radar. It’s just the place where the freeway bends west, or north, depending on whether you are coming from or going to the airport.
But, damn it, Four Generals Brewing deserves your attention. Especially if you love lagers. Once an outlier, a rare breed, craft-brewed lagers are having a moment right now. Four Generals has been doing this for ten years. They didn’t pivot to lagers because it was trendy. This is just what they do — what they’ve always done — whether the wider beer-drinking public was paying attention or not.
Ross Hudspeth, the brewer behind it all, is singularly focused in a way I find genuinely admirable. His commitment to brewing true-to-form German-style beers has led him to some lengths that could charitably be described as extreme. If getting it right means importing malted barley directly from Germany himself, then that’s what he does. He knows what he wants.
Four Generals is also a family affair — Ross owns the brewery alongside his parents, Michael and Mary Hudspeth. They’re planted in the heart of downtown Renton, and one could make a reasonable argument that the brewery and its all-ages taproom are the heart of downtown Renton. When the city decided to turn its new downtown park, Legacy Square, into a beer garden for World Cup watch parties, of course, they tapped Four Generals as the beer provider. It’s a Renton thing.
On August 1st, the brewery turns ten. They’re celebrating, and you’re invited. If you’ve been meaning to check this place out and just haven’t gotten around to it — and I know some of you are out there — this is your excuse. Use it.
“Join us as we celebrate 10 incredible years of brewing beer and building community in Downtown Renton,” said Four Generals Brewing on social media. “Our anniversary party kicks off Saturday, August 1 at 3:00 PM with the release of our Oktoberfest beer on draft and in bottles. Enjoy live music, delicious eats from a local food truck, a steinholding competition, and help us celebrate with a birthday cake cutting at 7:00 PM. Whether you’ve been with us since day one or you’re visiting for the first time, we’d love to raise a glass with you.”
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.
